June 23, 2017 · 12:58 pm

Sweet, Innocent Puppy…

Amber – 15 weeks

You might be saying, “Awwwwww! What a sweet puppy!”

I’m sporting a new bandaid on the index finger of my right hand from an innocent game of tug of war with her rope. The thing is, you’re playing, having a good time, and suddenly, she cheats, biting YOUR end of the rope – and my finger in the process…. The lesson is that if you’re not the one with the sharp teeth, you’d better pay better closer attention.

This morning my husband was letting Amber have a time in the living room with him. He routinely keeps the retractable leash on her, giving her lots of room to play with her toys, and sitting on the part you usually hold. He then reads a magazine. This morning, all of a sudden Amber was free! He was still sitting on the end of the leash, so – Amber had quietly chewed through the end of the leash that goes to the part you clip on her collar ring. The clipping part was still hanging on the ring – minus the leash. My husband tied the end of the leash around the clipping end so we can still use it, but now we know we can’t depend on that keeping her corralled.

When we returned from Lunch Bunch and errands, I immediately took Amber out to do her business. That accomplished, my plan was to put her in the office behind the gate, refill my coffee cup, and spend some time with her. In the time it took me to get to the kitchen, Amber was out, wagging her tail at me. (She had jumped over the gate.)  Thankfully, my husband picked her up and deposited her over the gate into the office again. I climbed over and went to my chair. Happily enough, she is content (for the moment) to take a nap right beside the wheels of my chair.  I’ll remember not to move my chair…

It might sound like I’m griping, and that would be true – at least on the surface. Amber is definitely a handful. She needs constant care and/or supervision, lots of attention and love, lots of play time and exercise, AND lessons on entertaining herself with hopefully approved activities, AND the idea that it’s OKAY to take a nap and rest at least a little bit every once in a  while. Gradually, we’re adapting to each other. I held Molly in my lap last night while Amber cavorted around, trying to get Molly to play with her, diving at her face, leaping around the room. Molly wasn’t happy with the situation, but she’s beginning to realize that Amber is a big, lumbering puppy who means her no harm. Annoying, yes, but dangerous to her, maybe not so much.

We’re managing to have some quiet times during the day, where everyone takes a deep breath and gets a bit of rest. Then one of us goes out to play or walk Amber, maybe bring her inside for a bit, feed her, etc. Over and over again, until late at night when it’s crate time. It’s going to work out. I’m still looking for good sugar-free energy drinks…

 

 

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June 23, 2017 · 12:36 pm

I Love YouTube

I just found a good video of a man trimming his fairly early tomato plants. He pinched off the lower branches that touched the soil, saying that you can stop a lot of disease if you do this. He was also pinching off the sucker (he’s pointing to one here) early on to make the main part of the plant sturdier.

He said he waits until mid July to pinch off suckers that are about 6 inches long and then plants them in soil for his fall crop. I think I may be too early in my efforts, so I’ll wait and try to follow the things he showed me.

Meanwhile, I got a different style thermometer (doesn’t use alcohol) and will put in into the greenhouse later. Hopefully, this style will live through the heat.

I’ve decided to try planting some more spaghetti squash seeds, since we still have a good amount of time for them to grow over the summer. Wish me luck?

Right now, the heat index is 103 degrees, lethally hot for old folks like me. We have a 60% chance of rain this afternoon and evening, but I’m afraid it will only be momentary relief.  I may take Amber to stand out in the rain with me, thankful for at least a short reprieve.

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June 23, 2017 · 10:33 am

3-D Paper Sculpture – Take 3

Calvin Nicholls

 

 

Calvin Nicholls

These Extraordinary 3D Animal Sculptures Are Made From Carefully Cut Layers Of Paper by Calvin Nicholls.

By Emily Davis, Trendingly

 

Calvin Nicholls

“Canadian artist Calvin Nicholls has been a full-time paper sculpture artist since the mid 80s. He creates these amazing 3D animal sculptures from multiple layers of paper, with each piece taking anywhere from 4 weeks to 2 years to complete.”

 

Calvin Nicholls

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June 23, 2017 · 10:19 am

Tomato Plants From Suckers – Take 1

These two tomatoes were ready to be harvested this morning. We have one harvested a couple of days ago, so we’ll feast on sliced tomatoes tonight!

Yesterday I tried to plant suckers in order to grow new tomato plants.

“Tomato suckers, or side shoots, are the growth that appears in the crotch between the stem and a branch. (See photo above.) If left to grow, they will become another main stem with branches, flowers, fruit and more suckers of their own.”

I carefully gathered several suckers, went to my greenhouse where I had pots of Mel’s Mix ready, moistened the bottom of each sucker in water and then stuck it in rooting hormone  (shaking off the excess) and put the suckers in the pots. I then watered the pots. It was really hot in the greenhouse so I left the thermostat-controlled exhaust fan on.

 

This is what the thermometer in the greenhouse showed this morning, although it didn’t feel that bad. The exhaust fan is set to start and run when the temperature inside the greenhouse is 90 degrees F. or higher. It was off. The outside temperature is 77 right now.

 

As you can see, Trial 1 was a failure.  I chose and cut the suckers carefully. The fact that I planted in the heat of the day, rather than in the morning or right before dark may have been a factor. I read the directions on the rooting hormone and followed them carefully, so I don’t think that’s the problem. The fact that the thermometer is reading so high vs the exhaust fan being off may be a factor. I may bring the thermometer in and see if it’s working correctly. *

*It’s now about 45 minutes later. I brought the thermometer inside and my husband shook it. It has red dye now in the bottom of the package. Apparently, the temperature in the greenhouse blew its top off. We’ll hunt for a different style today while we’re out.

On a happier note – I harvested the first of the experiment to try to grow celery from the bottoms cut off stalks bought at the store.

 

 

I cut off the bottom of the stalks of celery I bought at the store and put each in a glass of water. These need to grow a bit more before they’re ready to be taken out to the garden and planted. (If you look carefully, you can see that in the glass that’s second from the left, I’ve put the end of a head of lettuce in a glass, just for giggles.)

 

The celery plants are bushy, rather than looking like what you get at the store. I cut the largest stalks, leaving the smaller ones to hopefully grow.

 

There is a LOT of greenery on each stalk. I washed everything, then cut off the stalks into usable pieces, washed them again, and then took the bowl of cut celery to my husband in the living room where we each tried one. Oddly enough, they taste like celery! :0)

I’m like a kid at Christmas. After several tries and several failures, I’m actually growing edible celery! Woo HOOOO!

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June 23, 2017 · 8:49 am

“Verandah”

“Verandah” – Paul Militaru Photography

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June 22, 2017 · 10:16 am

3-D Paper Sculpture – Take 2

These Extraordinary 3D Animal Sculptures Are Made From Carefully Cut Layers Of Paper by Calvin Nicholls.

By Emily Davis, Trendingly

 

“Canadian artist Calvin Nicholls has been a full-time paper sculpture artist since the mid 80s. He creates these amazing 3D animal sculptures from multiple layers of paper, with each piece taking anywhere from 4 weeks to 2 years to complete.”

 

 

 

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June 22, 2017 · 10:11 am

Silly Humans

My name is Amber. I came to live with the Lewises, a kind-enough couple, but kind of doofus, 5 weeks ago. I’ve been making wonderful discoveries almost every day since then.

For example, I found a squeaker with a new voice in this bright orange bone this morning! I love it!!! I walk around with it my mouth making it squeak continuously. I can drive my older sister, Molly, nuts with it. If I could smile with it in my mouth, I would. :0)

My humans put up a metal gate across the opening of the office, thinking it will make me stay in here with them. My mom went to the kitchen to let Molly in. Was she surprised when I showed up in the kitchen and jumped on Molly! The humans then finally acknowledged that the gate is a joke. Maybe they’ll leave it down now.

My dad took me out with him to the shop. I LOVE going out to the shop because he feeds me a biscuit. I even stop there when my dad ISN’T there, hoping.

My dad put me on a string and then went in and out of the shop throwing stuff into a barrel. Then he did something at the bottom and fire came out of the top of the barrel! And little bits of black stuff started sailing around, all over the yard around the barrel. One landed close to me. I immediately went to sniff it. YUCK! It smelled bad, so I jumped backwards and barked at it Then I crept up on it again, slowly, my tail wagging mightily. I then tried to bite it, even though it smelled bad, because I can’t tell what stuff is until I taste it BLECK! It tasted even worse than it smelled. I spit it out, then sneezed, and my dad laughed at me.

After my walk, I’m back on the porch for a morning snooze. I have to tear up things on the porch before my humans come out again so they’ll feel secure…

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June 22, 2017 · 9:54 am

“Surrounded by Joy”

“Surrounded by Joy” – Paul Militaru Photography

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June 22, 2017 · 9:52 am

Watercolors I Love – Take 15

Pure Blinding Colour

 

 

River Otter Watercolor – Artist Unknown

 

 

 

“Smoochy Foxes” – Etsy UK

 

 

 

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June 22, 2017 · 9:39 am

Creaky and Crispy

Write Now

Today I’m feeling twice my age –

I’ve told you that my husband got a new-to-him 45 foot ham radio tower and rotor through his ham radio club. Most of it is in a pile close to my greenhouse, but one segment of the tower plus the rotor, are in the shop. My husband is making a base for the tower out of 1/2 inch iron. This weighs a TON – give or take a few pounds.

Meanwhile, we’ve been looking for someone to come drill a 10 inch in diameter, 6 or 8 foot hole in the ground, put a pipe down in the hold and fill it with concrete. He’ll weld the heavy base on the end of the pipe. He’s contacted two drilling companies who don’t seem to be interested in such a small (for them) project. Finally, my husband remembered the name of the man who drilled our water well 30 years ago, Mr. Musgrove.

I remember him well because his first question on the phone was which side of Mt. Harmony Road we lived on. When we told him, he said, “Ok. I’ll come. There’s water there. There isn’t in any other direction.” He came with a Dousing Rod! It looked like a stick to me, but he wandered around our property with it – and either due to its working or a really good dramatic flare, the switch suddenly pointed down to the ground. He dug down and found water, plus Fool’s Gold, at 168 feet. We put some of the Fool’s Gold in a sandwich bag and hung it, plus his notes – framed – on a wall in our dining area.

Mr. Musgrove is now 85, but his sons are carrying on the business and they should be contacting us soon about the drilling we need.

This news sparked a lot of activity yesterday from us. We have a trio of large evergreen trees on one part of our property. They’re so close together we thought for a long time that they were one large tree. My husband took the ladder, a large extension cord, and the chain saw out to the trees. We worked for about an hour, taking limbs off the evergreens that are in the way of a truck driving through there to where he wants the hole drilled. He cut and I either held the cord so it didn’t cause him trouble, held the ladder still, or hauled off what he cut down. This morning he took out a barbed wire fence post that was also in the way, so we think, other than having to undo one end of Amber’s dog run, we’re fixed for the truck and equipment coming in and out.

As a result of my labors the last several days, I was stiff and sore when I went to bed last night. I woke up in the night with my back and hips hurting. I took some pain medication and slept on the heat pad. This morning I slathered on Sports Creme (I know – athletes would cringe at this old lady using their stuff) and took more meds. I’m still stiff and sore, but functional now.

We have declared that today will be a rest day. It will also be a yoga day. (I planned for this yesterday, but the branch cutting took precedence.) I MAY set up to start tomato suckers in the greenhouse today, and I MAY spray weed killer on the ground under my raised bed planters, and I MAY prune stuff in the trio of brick planters in the front yard – but I MAY just ignore these things and take a nap…

 

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June 21, 2017 · 3:17 pm

Shameless Plug for Chewy.com

Chewy.com

This is a shameless plug for the website Chewy.com.

I’ve bought about 6 things there since we got our new puppy.

  • First, it’s easy to order from their website.
  • Second, their delivery time is amazingly fast. You feel almost as if you just ordered it and it arrives.
  • Third, their quality is great.
  • Fourth, their customer service is outstanding. I just discovered this today.

I had ordered a collar for Amber. I meant to order a regular 1″ wide nylon collar with a snap closure. What I actually ordered was a martingale collar, which was a choke collar competitor, which wouldn’t work with our setup.

I called customer service. I got right through, didn’t have to go through a phone tree, didn’t have to press ‘1’ to continue in English. I told the man I wanted to return an item.

The man asked me, “What’s wrong with it? I told him flatly that, due to my own stupidity and sloppy reading, I had ordered the wrong thing and needed to return it. He laughed, telling me he did that all the time. He told me he would give me credit in the full amount of the item, tax, and shipping, credited to my credit card, which would take 3 to 5 business days. When I asked about returning the collar I had received, he just said, “Please give it to a charity or someone who might enjoy it.”

I sat for a moment, dumfounded. I told him that I had ordered 5 or 6 things from Chewy.com and had just found ANOTHER reason to tell people what an outstanding company it is.

If you have pets or know people who have pets, please spread the word to give Chewy.com a try. I rarely give shameless plugs for companies, but this one is outstanding.

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June 21, 2017 · 2:50 pm

Watercolors I Love – Take 14

Joe Cartwright

 

 

Karolina Kijak 2016

 

 

Mary Gibbs Art

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June 21, 2017 · 10:59 am

Dog with a Ball

As Amber calms down more, she is discovering that life is really good. She’s an exuberantly happy three-and-a-half month old, fast-growing yellow labrador retriever puppy. She’s gained 20 lbs in 5 weeks. Our vet said, ‘She’s a beautiful dog.” :0)

Every day she discovers another thing she loves. So far, she loves

  • jumping into her kiddie pool several times a day, walking around the perimeter and drinking water
  • squeaky toys. The purple ball in her mouth makes a delicious squeak. She loves to fetch, but wants to hoard the toy when she gets it.
  • shade. Every time she finds a shady, grassy spot, she dives for it, lies down, stretches out, and rolls – in Heaven.
  • sticks. She rarely completes a walk without having grabbed – and many times eaten – a stick.
  • butterflies. She jumps and tries to play with them.
  • cats – but they don’t like her.
  • Molly – but she doesn’t like her.
  • people – she wants to be with us 24/7. She is learning that the better she acts, the longer she gets to stay inside with the people.
  • chewing. Though many toys are provided, she wants to chew on EVERYTHING. We have to watch her like a hawk with a rolled up newspaper, a flyswatter, and a stern, “NO!!!!” with us.
  • treats. She’ll do almost anything for one. She even cheats – pretending to do her business, or peeing several times in the attempt to get more treats. She watches our hands and our pockets, alert for any chance she’ll get one.
  • her crate and other safe places. She readily goes into her crate each night. We got a soft bed to put in there, plus she has a couple of soft toys for snuggling. During the day she pulls out the laundry basket that holds her toys so she can sleep between it and the wall. (Kind of like me in a restaurant. I like the wall behind me.)

Each day is a new adventure. We’re adapting to each other now and things are getting into a bit more of a pattern.

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June 21, 2017 · 10:40 am

3-D Animal Sculptures – Take 1

Calvin Nicholls

These Extraordinary 3D Animal Sculptures Are Made From Carefully Cut Layers Of Paper by Calvin Nicholls.

By Emily Davis, Trendingly

 

Calvin Nicholls

Canadian artist Calvin Nicholls has been a full-time paper sculpture artist since the mid 80s. He creates these amazing 3D animal sculptures from multiple layers of paper, with each piece taking anywhere from 4 weeks to 2 years to complete.

 

 

Calvin Nicholls

 

 

Calvin Nicholls

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June 21, 2017 · 10:34 am

What Happens When You Read?

Rantings of a Bibliophile via Cathy Ruggiero

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June 21, 2017 · 10:32 am

Poppies!

“Poppies” – Paul Militaru Photography

 

 

“Poppy on the Field” – Paul Militaru Photography

 

 

“Poppy Sighting” – Paul Militaru Photography

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June 21, 2017 · 10:01 am

Nothing

Sun-Gazing.com via Cathy Ruggiero

I used to want to have ‘something to do’ each day – somewhere to go, people to see, activities. I realize that wanting the opposite is definitely a sign of old age, but I’m embracing it.

Today there are no scheduled appointments, no ‘have-to’ errands, no commitments. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

_________________

Yesterday my husband and I both worked most of the day in the hot sun.

My husband was trying to relocate a microlink to our computers in the shop. This is not a thing we HAVE to have, but it used to work and yesterday it wasn’t. In order to get it to work again, my husband had to move the equipment on the house end from the front of the house to the back and mount it on the window bars. This involved a lot of cable making, stapling inside the wall of the garage, welding and painting for the piece that mounted to the window, testing of cables, switches, and links, etc. It took my husband all day, but he got it working. Now he just has to put his tools away and cut down several branches on a tree between the house and the shop for a clearer line of sight.

In the garden, I planted two celery plants, pulled out the last of the spinach and lettuce plants, pruned the plants that were left, and weeded the raised bed planters. The only thing remaining in the garden to spray the weeds on the ground with weed killer.

I took some stuff out to the greenhouse in preparation for starting some tomato suckers, but the thermometer showed red all the way to the top – over 120 degrees – so I just put the stuff inside and came out again.

I dumped the water from the kiddie pool, washed it out, and refilled it.

I cleaned Amber’s porch up, hosed it out, then squeegeed and mopped.

I mowed the yard on the riding mower after helping my husband with the microlink several times.

By the time we finally stopped for dinner, it was almost 9:00. I cooked, we ate and watched a movie.

Whew!

____________________

There are things I’ll do today, but I’m concentrating on doing things INSIDE while the sun is at its hottest – as we SHOULD have done yesterday – and OUTSIDE when the sun is going down, with only the finishing touches on dinner to do.

I’m going to also take time to read more of my latest “In Death” series book by Nora Roberts while I’m relaxing.

Because my back is letting me know I overdid yesterday, I’ll try to work in a session of yoga.

 

Funny-Pics.co

AHHHHHHHH!

 

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June 21, 2017 · 9:14 am

Welcome, Summer!

Askideas.com

“As a major celestial event, the Summer Solstice results in the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The Northern Hemisphere celebrates in June, but the people on the Southern half of the earth have their longest summer day in December.” ~ Unknown

 

DesiComments.com

“The Celts & Slavs celebrated the first day of summer with dancing & bonfires to help increase the sun’s energy. The Chinese marked the day by honoring Li, the Chinese Goddess of Light.” ~ Unknown

 

 

Heavy.com

“Perhaps the most enduring modern ties with Summer Solstice were the Druids’ celebration of the day as the “wedding of Heaven and Earth”, resulting in the present day belief of a “lucky” wedding in June.” ~ Unknown

 

 

Holiday Calendar

On The Summer Solstice … “Whatever is dreamed on this night, will come to pass.” William Shakespeare

 

 

 

International Business Times – Stonehenge

“Today, the day is still celebrated around the world – most notably in England at Stonehenge and Avebury, where thousands gather to welcome the sunrise on the Summer Solstice.”~ Unknown

HAPPY 1ST DAY OF SUMMER!

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June 20, 2017 · 12:49 pm

Fashion Statement?

Hotel for Dogs

Arkansas got the ‘summer memo’ about 3 weeks ago. We’ve been in the high 90’s with uncomfortable humidity since then. I have to tell you that spring and the 60s are where I am comfortable, so I visibly wilt as soon as I go outside.

We have a lot of sweat bands we keep on a special hook thingie on the back of the door to the garage. I grab two of them routinely because my husband needs one, too, but never seems to remember to get one. He wears a ham radio hat and I wear a hat that makes me look like a squashed mushroom to protect us from the direct sun.

I’m getting so that it FEELS as if I’m wearing a sweat band even when I’m not. It’s a regular part of how I look during the day and evening when we’re home working.

We grab a sweat band and head out the door. We come in, throw the sweat band in the washer, regular as clockwork.

I doubt if we’ll start a fad, though. You definitely need a sense of humor up here on top of our hill.

Today is a several-sweatband-day. I’m going to

  • plant two celery plants in the square foot garden and cut stalks from the largest plant out there
  • sweep the pooled water from the latest storm off the floor of the greenhouse
  • prep for putting tomato suckers in water out there
  • cut down some weed trees
  • prune stuff in the trio of brick planters between the driveway and the front yard
  • mow this evening when the sun is down a bit

I hope that you’re having a good Tuesday.

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June 20, 2017 · 12:24 pm

Oh, Baby!

Amber at 15 weeks today.

We just got home from taking her to the vet for her last puppy shots, a rabies vaccination, and a checkup.

We brought her home 5 weeks ago. She weighed 16 pounds. Today she weighed 36 pounds. She’s a BIG baby!

The vet checked her arm pits where the harness was chaffing her. He said they would just heal on their own. He thought she looked and acted GREAT.  She was friendly and cooperative with him. We scheduled her to be spayed at 5 months, August 7th. We got more samples of Sentinel, to protect her from Heartworm. We can’t buy any yet, because even the 3-pack wouldn’t be the right dosage as fast as she’s growing.

Amber met the vet’s dog, a grown female labradoodle named Ellie. They got along fine, both sniffing and wagging tails.

Amber didn’t fuss with any of the undignified things that happen to dogs on the table at the vet’s. She didn’t seem to even notice the shots.  The vet noticed the “Thunder” leash we were using and asked about it. He hadn’t seen it before. We explained that if she pulls on the leash, the strap around her squeezes her. Her reaction is to slow WAAAAY down, or even stop and sit. This is really a good thing when you have a big dog and you’re not as young or strong as you used to be. Since she’s growing like one of our weed trees, we feel good we found it.  She still will run around or through our legs, if we’re not paying attention, so it’s still a challenge to walk her when she’s off the beaten path of our land.

We let her stick her face out of the window, with her riding in my lap, on the way home. Suddenly, she turned around, looked at me and licked my cheek. We all laughed.

I feel relieved that her underarms are healing well.

 

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June 20, 2017 · 10:26 am

Watercolors I Love – Take 13

25+ Best Ideas about Watercolor

 

 

Ann Fullerton – “Autumn Afternoon”

 

 

“Black Bear” – Dean Crouser

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June 20, 2017 · 9:57 am

Books

Title Wave for Books via Cathy Ruggiero

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June 20, 2017 · 9:48 am

Eyelashes

The few times that Amber is still – and I think I can count the times on one hand in the month she’s been a part of our family – I’m struck by her eyelashes.

I don’t think I’ve ever noticed a dog’s eyelashes before. I love a dog’s eyes, and I’m partial to dark noses, but I love Amber’s eyelashes. I still haven’t gotten a good picture of them, but if you look carefully, you can see that they are light, like her hair.

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June 20, 2017 · 9:42 am

“Black Goat”

“Black Goat” – Paul Militaru Photography

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June 19, 2017 · 12:34 pm

“Touched by Rain 1”

“Touched by Rain” – Paul Militaru Photography

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June 19, 2017 · 12:32 pm

Roadrunner

Photo Credit: Christopher Schwarz/Audubon Photography Awards

We saw an amazing sight out the window of our office this morning. A roadrunner much like the one pictured above was standing in the grass with a tiny snake in his/her mouth. The tail of the roadrunner seemed longer and fuller to me than the ones we usually see. It stood stock still, then looked around as we watched. Then it turned around, flew up to the top of our well house, and then walked over the edge where we couldn’t see it anymore. We don’t know if he/she is feeding babies in a nest somewhere, but it was obviously taking the snake to someone else. Amazing sight!

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June 19, 2017 · 12:22 pm

Volunteers

Second only to perennials, which come up year after year with no effort from you, I love ‘volunteer’ flowers. These are annuals which come from seeds planted elsewhere, planted last year, or just replant themselves in the yard somewhere. This year I have some wave petunias in a clump just off our deck, some impatiens along the edge of the house behind a brick planter, and zinnias in spots along the front yard and beside some planters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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June 19, 2017 · 12:15 pm

And How Does Our Garden Grow?

Huffington Post

 

This is one of the celery plants in my garden that I started from the end of a stalk I bought at the store. I’m going to cut some of the stalks today and see if they taste good.

 

This is one of two spaghetti squash vines I have growing right now. I grew this from a seed I saved from a squash I bought at the store. It’s a bit larger than a softball now.

 

We have lots of green tomatoes, and this one ripening one. It should be ready to bring in in a couple of days.

 

 

Here are two celery plants that have been growing in water in my kitchen. These are ready to be planted in the garden.

 

Can tomatoes be ‘cute?’ If so, I think THESE are. These are grape tomatoes and this is today’s harvest. It may be awhile before I have enough for a salad….

And finally, this is the first thing I’ll do in my new greenhouse – try to grow tomato plants from suckers.

A ‘sucker’ is a sprout from the juncture of two branches. If you look carefully at this picture, you can find the juncture of the tall vertical branch on the right side of the picture and the horizontal branch going out to the left at the bottom of the picture. The ‘sucker’ is the smaller branch with leaves growing right out of the juncture.

 

In the next few days I’ll get some glasses in the greenhouse so I can put the suckers in the water and see if they’ll sprout. Fingers crossed!

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June 19, 2017 · 11:48 am

New Collar and Tag on the Way

It doesn’t show in this picture, but Amber is wearing a never-used collar we ordered for Molly. Her poor underarms are healing from the chaffing she got from the harness. We think this happened so suddenly because she loves to jump into her kiddie pool and then out again on a LOT of our walks. The wet harness then rubbed against her skin. :0(

I ordered a new collar in a deep purple with a purple tag on it. Since Amber will have a tag and is microchipped, we decided to forego having her name on the collar she will probably soon grow out of.  The collar is an inch wide, so it shouldn’t cause her any rubbing. If it does, we’ll see it more quickly on her neck than we did on her underarms.

She goes to the vet tomorrow for her last puppy shots and her rabies vaccination, plus we’ll ask our good vet to look at her underarms to see if there is anything more we should be doing. I’ll be interested to see how much she weighs tomorrow. We think it will be around 30 lbs.

I sprayed the basket she keeps trying to chew with Bitter Apple spray this morning. She still chewed on the basket until I whacked her with the flyswatter, yelling, “NO!” crossly…

Poor baby. She only has 3 toys in here and two people –

She’s not following many of the suggestions for stopping bad behavior yet, such as spraying her with a water bottle (she LOVES that, trying to bite the stream of water and play in it); shaking a can with coins in it (she stops for a second, then wants to BITE the can); and now the Bitter Apple spray. I’ll keep spraying, just to see if I didn’t spray things well enough, but this is like living with a little kid. She’s always looking for something to get into, and if she’s quiet, it probably means she’s eating something you really like…

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June 18, 2017 · 3:31 pm

Happy Fathers Day 2017

The Joseph Firm PA

“My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, “You’re tearing up the grass.” “We’re not raising grass,” Dad would reply. “We’re raising boys.” ~Harmon Killebrew

 

 

Pinterest

“A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.” ~Author Unknown

 

 

Social Work Helper

“When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father, both cry.” ~  William Shakespeare

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June 18, 2017 · 9:56 am

Feeling Bad

zazzle

Today I noticed a new ‘doggy smell’ when I petted Amber. I made a mental note that we should give her a nice bath very soon. Then she was stopping and licking the floor all around her. We finally stopped and really looked and found that the harness she has been wearing had caused a bare, sore spot under her arm.

We took the harness off, bathed the spot carefully, and put triple antibiotic ointment on it, not having anything specifically for dogs. That seemed to ease the problem, since she stopped trying to lick it.

Since we need to put her on a leash to take her out several times a day, I got concerned that we didn’t have a collar for her. At this point, trying to ‘trust her’ not to spot one of the cats, Molly, or something else while out and running off after it is ludicrous, so I hunted all over the house.

I rummaged around and finally came up with a collar we got for Molly years ago, but it was too large and couldn’t be made any smaller. It’s 14″, just the right size for Amber – for at least a couple of minutes. I was concerned because it’s storming outside, dark as night right now (at 9:45 in the morning) and we should be walking her.

I feel bad because I didn’t really check her for problems with the harness. She’s so active that it’s difficult to look at her carefully, but we’ll start now, and insist that she allow us to look at her all over from now on.  We had been concentrating on touching her mouth, her ears, and her feet, but we should have been making her lie down and let us check her from stem to stern.

We have an appointment on Tuesday to get her last puppy shots and her rabies shot, and we can ask the vet to look at this place and see if we need to do more. For now, the ointment seems to have given her some ease.

 

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