FishinBC's Blog

Phenology
Jun 17, 2008 | 8:48 AM PST
Tags: Birds , rain , Showers , Seeds

It is a word.  It is the study of the times of recurring natural phenomena.  I learned that some of my writings are phenology.  See you are never too old to learn something new. 

I love our spring showers and storms.  You can always feel them coming in the air, by the sounds from our part of the forest and the reactions of the local fauna.  The birds are usually the first to alert and all come to the feeders to stock up before the rain hits.  Just as the temperature and humidity start to rise they wing in to get their fill of seed. 

As the sky begins to darken they wing off to find a roost to wait out the storm.  The chickadees are always the last to brave the sudden winds and large drops and sometimes take this opportunity to stake out the feeders throughout the storm, protected under the cover of the deck.  

Yesterday’s storm went about this normal routine with one exception; the chickadees had a wren as a guest.  As I watched from the kitchen window, all were swinging from perches at the feeders as the wind picked up and the thunder rolled through our hills.  We had the typical heavy downpour for about 20 minutes, and the gang of little birds chirped and fed on seed through the deluge. 

As the sun began to break through the clouds and the rain lessened to a sprinkle, I watched as the wren sprang from his perch to the rain heavy branches of the cedar tree.  This little character proceeded to fly up to the limb above him, knocking the water from the limb to land below, flapping his wings and thoroughly enjoying his self made shower.  

No time for a summer cold
Jul 20, 2007 | 6:58 AM PST
Tags: veggie , Pond , Daylilies , Squash Vine Borers , Tomato , Cukes , Zukes , raised beds , Banana Peppers , dogs , racoons , birds

Still dry but we are supposed to get some rain this afternoon.  I should have watered last night but was just too tired.  Been fighting a summer cold and trying to convenience myself I am not going to catch it.   I am sure it will sneak up and bite me sooner or later.  I don’t have time to be sick!

Gave some more pond plants away.  I potted up some off shoots of the lotus and four leaf clover, added some hyacinths, water lettuce and gave them to a co worker who just put in a pond.  My pond is still full!!  Loads of lilies still blooming, but nothing from the lotus yet. 

We will get the new raised bed up this weekend and do the soil prep, to have it ready for a fall veggie planting.  Want to do some peas and beans and more greens.  My yellow tomatoes have been the best producers so far.  They sure are yummy.  The red varieties are producing, just not as big or as many.  I think the vine borers have finally discovered my zukes, I have two plants withering that I will pull out tonight. L  Cukes are still doing great and I have one with dinner every night.   I think the heat is starting to get to the peppers.  The banana peppers are curling.  I have been checking to be sure that they have adequate even water.  Any suggestions?

More of the new daylilies are getting ready to bloom.  These should be the Crimson Shadows.  I have to late season ones that I hope will bloom also.  One is called Late Embers and the other Fall Pink Melon.  The two blooming now are called Go Figure.

Have the inevitable weed pulling and deadheading to do as well.  Been lazy about the weeds in the flowerbeds with heat we have been having.  The black and white brigade has been promised a trip down to the lake in the morning, so we will be up before the heat and I will have no excuses after that.  The boys will be good and tired after a swim and Briar will have a good long ball session.  They deserve it after being put aside a bit while company’s been here. 

Rob now has the timing of the raccoon family’s visits down.  They show up on the deck at about 5am every morning now and he knows it.  No barking this morning, he just sat at the sliding glass door to watch them eat their breakfast.  The babies are growing fast.  Got a couple of dark pix of them this morning and will try to get them posted tonight.

The bird feeders have been really busy in the evenings.  I am seeing a lot more indigo buntings this year.  Not sure if there are more than normal or I am just providing a better seed selection.  Must make some more of Gene’s suet for the pileated woodies.  They are now daily visitors too.

Supposed to rain all weekend…
May 23, 2007 | 10:47 AM PST
Tags: elephant ears , cone flowers , leaf lettuce , spinach , birds , peppers

So that means that the decks won’t get finished.  Oh well. 

 

Brought some pallets home last night and will work on getting them put together for a compost bin.  My Friday is today, so tomorrow I will work on that and can start filling it with the pile I have been saving.

 

Just putts’d around last night dead heading flowers and checking on things.  I bought a cone flower and put it in the ground.  I think I am going to get some more and put them in the bed where the squirrels did a number on my petunias.  There are already some sunflowers coming up there from the bird seed.  I left them to grow for the birds.

 

 I need to harvest more lettuce and spinach tonight, so salad is in order with dinner.  Checked the peppers and they are all blooming now or have little peppers.  The cukes and squash are going crazy since it has warmed up again.

 

And surprise, surprise…one of the elephant ears that I planted before the freeze and that I thought was a lost cause suddenly made and appearance over night.  It wasn’t there when I was checking on things last night and viola! this morning it is 4 inches high!!  I hope the other two made it also.  Guess I will know in a few days.

Watered the herbs on the deck and filled the bird bath on the deck with fresh water.  Came back in and watched all the birds come to bath while I cleaned up the dinner dishes.  One tit mouse was a hoot, it would sit on the side of the bath then slip off the side into the water and waded across a few times; none of the usually flapping and fluttering with this guy (must be a kid with an aversion for bathing).  A chickadee came and soaked itself really well then sat in the tree preening itself.  The Summer Tanagers come to bath every evening also, and last night they did some bee hunting from the tree, picking off a few victims from the verbena potted on the deck railings.  They caught them then took them back to the oak to bang them to death against the limb before eating them.

Almost there...for now anyway.
May 21, 2007 | 12:30 PM PST
Tags: Birds , Deck , Daylilies , veggies , dogs

What a beautiful weekend!!!  Lot’s of sun, perfect temps and best of all no humidity.

The rest of the daylilies I ordered came Friday night by the UPS man.  The dogs were out front with me when he delivered the flowers. He gave them all a cookie, said he keeps them in his truck because some dogs aren’t very nice to guys that they think are mailmen.  He got a big kick out to the black and white brigade, all three sitting at the same time and looking up at him when they realized he had treats.  He said he wished all dogs were so polite to him!

I got brave and decided to give the dogs their lion cut for the summer.  Left their manes, front leg feathers and tails.  I hate doing it and hate how they look but I know they feel better with all that hair off.

I got busy at 7AM Saturday morning prepping the bed I put the daylilies in.  Put some more mulch around the pond where it was wearing thin from the traffic to the hose bib.  Hubby cut the grass and then we gave everything a good watering. 

The veggie patch is growing, we had our second salad out of the garden and there are loads of maters.  Yummy.  I staked and tied of the green beans and caged the tomatoes that I have in containers because they are starting to get big.  My carrots tops are growing but there isn’t a lot of activity happening under ground.  Is that normal?  Never planted carrots before.  Lot’s of blooms on the bell peppers and a couple of peppers well on their way.

The pond is off and running again.  Everything is coming in great.  The lotus is filling in and the four leaf clover is ALL over.  We had one lily and my hyacinths are making little hyacinths already.  No blooms yet on the cannas but they are growing nicely.  All but one of the 25 cent gold fish dozen made it.  They are growing fast and giving the four big fish a run for their money.  We had zillions of tadpoles a couple of weeks ago but no signs of tadpoles and no little frogs at all.  I think the fish have been eating tadpoles; the new fish sure are growing fast!

After doing some shopping I spent the rest of the afternoon watching the birds between loads of laundry.  The blue jay pair has three fledglings and their wings and beaks are busy keeping their brood fed.  The whole family spent most of the afternoon in the trees near our deck.  I never realized that they would feed their young from my feeders.  I guess I would use any resource I could if I was in their position.  The young were certainly demanding.  I also wonder if they are teaching them to come to the feeders.  I guess that is possible.  The cat birds are actually visiting my feeders as well.  That is a first, normally I see them down in the blackberries but they have never come to the deck before.  The rest were the usual crowd.

Sunday afternoon we started in on sanding the deck and prepping for re-staining.  I am very sore this morning but the hard work will pay off.  Just a bit more sanding to finish and we will be ready to stain.  I am taking Thursday and Friday off this week and will start on the lower deck.  Hubby is off Friday and will help finish up then.  Other than the decks and the shed cleaning, which still needs to be done, I think we are almost ready to take a break from all the work and finally sit and enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Great Mom's Day!
May 14, 2007 | 2:50 PM PST
Tags: veggie , birds , Pond

I I had a wonderful weekend and a wonderful mother’s day, because I got to play to my yard the whole time and hang out with the boy!! 

 

I picked a whole colander full of lettuce and spinach from the garden Saturday and we had a big salad with our dinner.  Used some of the fresh herbs on the deck to make a dressing.  Yummy!  My tomatoes are going gangbusters and everything else is coming along.  It was really warm this weekend with record highs.  But we have a cool down this week so that will be nice. 

 

Ryan and I went to the pond store and got some water lettuce and hyacinths for the pond.  We spent most of Sunday morning just running errands, going to the produce stand and having lunch.  A good mom and son day.  When they turn 20, their idea of a good time isn’t really hanging out with mom.  But I think if you asked him he probably wouldn’t deny he had fun!!   We also got some more 25 cent gold fish and added them to the pond.  The originals are now about 6 inches long and did great over the winter so we got them some friends.  My lotus now has six leafs and all the lilies have buds.  Looking forward to the lettuce and hyacinths multiplying and helping to shade the water.

 

The daylily farm called to confirm that my order was dug and packaged and will be sent out today.  Of course now I can’t find my receipt and don’t remember what I ordered!  Oh well, I like surprises.  I have been saving room in one bed for them and listening to hubby grumble about the bare spots.  I keep telling him they are coming.  Whew!  Now they finally are. 

 

The yard got its second haircut this weekend.  I am so glad we did the front as well as the dog yard.  It looks great and feels wonderful on the bare toes!!  Zoysia was the way to go.  Even with the trees it is doing great. 

 

We got the back of the house power washed.  The next project is to clean and re-stain all the decks.  Once that is done I am hoping we can sit and enjoy the fruits of our labor for a few weekends without working.  I did take some time to sit on the deck and watch the birds yesterday.  Had all the regular visitors and a rose breasted grosbeak passing through stopped for a bite and a drink on his way north.  His mate looks like a sparrow on steroids.  She ate her fill and eyed me from the tree a few times.  Got some good photos of her, but he was hiding in the cedar by the time I got back with the camera.

Squirrel Anyone?
May 3, 2007 | 7:33 AM PST
Tags: veggie , birds , Squirrels , dogs

   Lots of good steady on and off rain for the last couple of days.  The veggies and flowers are loving it.  By Saturday, we are supposed to be in the mid 80’s and tons of sun.  We have quite a few small tomatoes and tons of blooms.  My spinach and lettuce is growing like crazy and I put in another row of lettuce seed.  The radishes and carrots are up and going to town too.  The peppers have a lot of new foliage and are showing signs of blooming soon.  Onions are plumping and the cukes are happy in there new bed. 

   All the daylilies, dahlias and lilies I planted are all up and doing well.  Columbines are still blooming like mad.  My new shade bed looks so nice, it really added to the front of the house.  The pond side of the front was so busy and this side was a brick wall with a couple of windows.   I just need to find something to put in there for winter interest.  Is there a holly that does well in part sun?  Pictures of all will be posted as soon as the rain let’s up enough to get some good photos.  

   The sod is well established now and looking wonderful.  It will get its first haircut this weekend.  Still need to finish the edging around the grass and ring the last of the trees with stone.  

   Went out front and sat in the rocker to watch the hummer wars last night.  We have three feeders in the front and one little guy that takes up a position in the tree where he can guard all of them.  I watched as he sat scanning the area, his little head swing back and forth, determined to catch any others trying to steal from his treasure.  As the interlopers flew in, he was quick to strike, diving from his perch onto his unsuspecting victims.  He successfully knocked one opponent to the ground.  After each attack, he then proceeds to test a sip from each of the three feeders to be sure that all is well.  I think I will get some S hooks to hang a couple of the feeders from the trees further apart in the yard, so that others have a better chance at a drink. 

   Anyone need a few squirrels?  GRRRRR!!!  Went out to the deck to check on my herbs and other pots and the buggers had dug in every single pot on the deck.  Oh!  And they somehow managed to get to my hanging basket of strawberries and ate every one of those too!!  Told DH I needed a gun.  He looked at me and said, “What did you do with my wife?”  Teehee!  

   This morning I loaded the deck railing with peanuts and bird seed and hope that will keep them busy enough today and keep them out of my flower pots.  I just bought a new finch feeder because they ate the plastic one.  I think I have peeved them off, because this one is metal and they can’t get to the seed and they’ve taken revenge on me.  I need a dog door to put in the sliding glass door to the deck and post Rob there during the day; he’d take care of them for me.  You know that’s not a half bad idea really!

Where the heck did spring go??
Apr 12, 2007 | 12:13 PM PST
Tags: freeze , birds , garden , vegetable garden , veggies , Pond , Lotus , japanese maple , sod , containers

Another night below freezing last night and another to come Saturday night, will spring ever come back???  They even said the words “snow flurries” for Sunday!!  Whaaa!!!

Okay, still waiting on the extra 20 yards of sod to fill the patch and trim out the rest.  Rain again is keeping them from cutting the sod.  The rest of the grass we have put down is looking great.  What a difference in the front yard it makes. 

All my container plants were hold up in the garage again last night.  I will take them out again for the day as soon as it warms up.  We have given up on the rest other than the tomatoes and peppers.  Containers in the garage, veggie bed covered and filbert covered.  For all the good it will do.  But at least it isn’t the 20 degrees or lower 5 nights in a row. 

I asked Treeman about my very sad Japanese maple, the news is not good.  I will wait a bit and keep an eye on it but odds are its toast.  Thanks, Treeman for breaking it to me gently.

The birds are back at the feeders, this cold giving them an urgent need for fuel.  Some of the birder talk I get emailed to me is saying that this warm spell we had bringing everything out and now this freeze is going to hurt the birds pretty badly as well.  The new tender foliage is now brown and crunchy, leaving the insects nowhere to do their thing and that means no insects for the hungry birds sitting eggs or feeding young.  Not good.  I don’t know how much good it will do, but I will keep a close eye that my feeders are filled and have water there for the birds.

Hoping we get a bit of a break in the rain we are suppose to get this weekend, so that I can pull up or cut back damaged flowers and access what to do now in my flower beds.  Most of the annuals are toast.  I planted those just for instant gratification.  I really want to get serious and plan out some nice perennials.

The pond is doing well.  The lotus was trying to put up shoots when the freeze happened.  I had sunk it deeper in the water to protect it and checked it last night and it is still okay.  The lilies slowed down but are okay and the four leaf clover is doing well too.  The cannas slowed too but are fine, since I threw them in a cooler with the pond grasses and stuck them in the garage.  The pond nursery said they would have hyacinths by the end of this month, so I will head over there to get some to add to the pond soon. 

I really want spring to return soon, and not go straight into 100+ degrees with humidity.  But I am sure my wish is no different from any of us.  Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm.

 

Transplanted Transplant - Moved Journal to Blog
Apr 11, 2007 | 2:32 PM PST
Tags: garden , Border Collies , birds , House , Home , Squirrels

I have moved my previous posts from the Garden Journals here. 

Posted: Jul/12/2006 9:57 PM PST 

 

Transplanted in Arkansas We have been here a year now and havent missed California one bit! Recently returned from Daughter Number 1s college graduation in California and we were so excited to come home to Arkansas and our trees, flowers and birds.  We have a large deck off the back of the house and it is the happening place every morning and evening. Birds and squirrels (grrrr) glore. Over the weekend I planted two hanging baskets of million belles, they were beautiful. Key word WERE. The bushy tailed beasties dug up one of the baskets. I have now moved the remaining one to an S hook from the gutters that the squirrels cant reach.  There is a ton of work to be done around our new home. Previous owners idea of landscaping was rock. There is probably two dump trucks of the stuff. Cant wait till we can start hauling it out and put in grass and beds. We have an acre and a half and there are 27 oaks in the front yard alone. The trees are wonderful and one of the main reasons for selecting the house.  We have improved the pond and got it working correctly, everything looks nice in that little corner of the front. The Japanese Maple is doing great now that we have moved in and it is getting watered. It is only about 5 feet tall and it will be so pretty at the back of the pond when it gets a little taller.  Going to try and work on one area in the front. There is a ring of oaks and I would like to make a shade bed there. Going to work on cleaning up that area and decide what I want to use as a border. Probably keep the flagstone theme that is around the pond. One or two low rows of stones, then a little topsoil should do the trick. Then I will decide what should go in there.  Well off to set the dogs on the squirrels on the deck.  

Posts: 304  Posted: Jul/13/2006 7:22 PM PST  Well woke this morning to find a leak in our downstairs closet. Our new to us, two year old house is having issues. Not good. Plumber is due anytime. This is so frustrating.  Heat is unbearable today and I havent been back outside since watering early this morning. It is suppose to stay this way through the first of next week. If it wasnt so humid maybe our leak would dry out.   Also suspect the coons were back last night, stones in the pond again and my pots knocked over. Cant find the last two gold fish either.  Guess I will chalk it up to being the 13th. Do you think because it is Thursday that it will make a difference? 

Posts: 304  Posted: Jul/17/2006 3:20 PM PST  Can you say hot!?!?!?! Came home from work Friday, took two aspirin and told DH that I was going to lie down for a few minutes. I woke up at 5 AM Saturday morning! Took the dogs for a walk before the sun was up to shrivel us all. Walked down to the lake and let the black and white brigade swim for a bit. They just love the water.  I watered everything in the yard and repaired the drippy leak from the pump in the pond. The drippy leak in the house gets seen by professional (haha) again today. Long story short, AC guy took one look at damp ceiling and said it is plumbing, plumber guy opened ceiling and said its the AC line. That was Friday, today I am waiting for a call to find out when the bloody AC guy is coming back. (GRRRR) I have a terra cotta pot tray that I fill with water for the birds on the deck; the squirrels were laying in the water last night. I sent Rob Dog out to explain to them that it is for the birds and not their personal Jacuzzi. After he chased them off he took up his post just inside the sliding door and kept vigil for me. I think he enjoys this new job. He wandered into the laundry to check on me and I asked him, Have you checked to make sure the squirrels arent on the deck? Away he went to do his job. They may not be sheep, but as we say in the border collie world, Thatll Do.  Briar Rose is stir crazy, the one-kidney-wonder cant get over heated so no ball playing in this heat. The swim helped but ball is her job. My 24/7 girl has got cabin fever bad! Buddy just goes with the flow, as long as he is with me, he is content. It is amazing the change in this dog in just 3 months. Having lived his whole 12 year life outside in a dog run with no attention, you would think he would be a basket case. He has fallen into our routine as if he was brought up to it. He is definitely the best rescue we have had and he is staying put right here with us. I watered this morning very early before heading for the air conditioned (leaking) house. Got some top soil and some mulch for my little shade garden in the ring of oaks, but unless I rig some lights for night work, its not getting done until it cools off. There is an arborist suppose to come by and advise me on what to do about the three oaks in the front that have dead tops. Havent heard from him since last week but then he is probably hiding out where it is cool too. I dont want to loose the trees and hope something can be done. 

Posts: 304  Posted: Jul/18/2006 1:04 PM PST  Okay, I have had enough of the heat and humidity and will never complain about having to wear gloves in winter ever ever ever again, I swear. I actually, broke out in hives on the way home last night. The heat has not affected me this bad with hives since I was a kid. Can someone please blow this high pressure cell out of here and give us all some relief? By all weather reports it’s not likely to happen any time soon. No motivation to do anything except sit there and puddle. I did find out why the a/c was dripping, it was frozen up solid. All this heat and humidity makes the a/c refridge lines freeze up if there is not quite enough coolant in the system. Lovely this. System has been checked for leaks. There are none. System was recharged and is doing its very best to try and work probably. Like me it is saying “does it have to be so bloody hot outside!?” Lesson Learned: Cold pipes and ice on a/c unit does not mean it is cooling. Go figure. Okay that is enough of my whining, need to go lay down with the dogs on the kitchen tile WHERE ITS COOL! 

Posts: 304  Posted: Jul/19/2006 7:51 PM PST  The birds waited till sundown to come drink and feed. We had a busy deck with golden finches, cardinals, indigo buntings, Carolina chickadees, a couple of nut hatchers and the titmice. The lone robin came in for his handful of raisins; I can almost set the clock by him now. We seemed to have outwitted the bushy tail monsters:evilB: ; there is plenty of seed in the feeders. I filled the bird bath in the morning and by the afternoon it was almost dry. I rinsed it out and filled it back up and no sooner than getting back in the house it was swarming with thirsty birds. I even watched one cardinal panting. Golly, it is just way too hot!!   The dogs have pretty much given up, the kitchen tile is the only relief they get. I have never shaved Rob Dog ever. I broke down last night and took off that marvelous coat.  If it doesnt come back this winter, I will kill myself. Border collies have a Teflon coat, dirt just falls off and even a double coated dog like Rob stays spotless. He does seem to be a little relieved, though he looks like a black brillo pad from neck to behind. I left the mane and the tail. My son thought it was hilarious until I threatened to go after him with the clippers. Buddy Dog got a trim too but Briar Rose would have none of it!  I have a three tiered basket of ivy over my kitchen sink. I was afraid when we moved to the new house that it wouldnt like the new location. In our old house it was in an east facing window. Now it is in a west facing window, saving grace was the roof section over the deck keeps that direct sun off of it. It is doing great and I will try to get a photo of it. I bought the silly and really little plant somewhere, and within a year have trained it to cover all three baskets. Its my pride and joy, but then Im an ivy nut. We all want desperately to get outside and work around the house but the heat is just too bad. They say we might get down into the 90s, wow.  

Posts: 304  Posted: Jul/24/2006 8:14 PM PST  Finally had a weekend we could work outside without turning into a crisp!!! We had one completely dead tree on the side of the house. Hubby and I took it down and chopped it up for the wood pile. It had a huge ant nest in the base. EEWWWOOO.  Dead headed all the flowers that cooked in the triple digits and gave them all a feed. Need to replant some of the water garden stuff in bigger pots, to give it all a chance to recover before they have to winter. We went to this really great water garden nursery. Don’t know why we haven’t been by there before? The man there was very helpful and told me what to do to winter all my stuff in the pond. They had some gorgeous lotus. Some were 5 to 6 feet tall. I bought a very small one, about a foot high. I’m so excited and it looks very pretty in the pond. I also found four leaf water clover. Never seen anything like it. It looks just like four leaf clover and floats on the surface like lily pads. It is soooo cool. Need to get some batteries for the digital so I can post some photos. The Japanese beetles have chewed up every rose bud that was left. I need to go by Lowes and get some of those bag thingies and see if they really work. Didn’t get around to starting the shade garden yet, too much else to catch up on. Would really like to get some stuff in there and get it established before winter.  There was a pair of blue birds at the water dish this morning. I have seen them down at the marina but never up here in the trees. I have a new honey-do for the hubby, a blue bird house. Nesting must be over for the hummers. The feeder battles have begun. I have one little guy that has taken up a post in the cedar tree near the two feeders on the deck. Deutsche Luftwaffe is now dog fighting any other hummer that tries to come and drink. We have to look out when we go out to the deck, because they have no fear of us and swoop right down. It is amazing to watch them swoop and spin chasing each other off. 

Posts: 304  Posted: Jul/27/2006 3:46 PM PST  Went home last night, got everyone fed - hubby, son and animals. Did all my watering and sat myself down on the deck with a big glass of sweet tea to watch the birds. What a difference a few months makes! When we first moved into the house and I put the feeders out, I couldn’t go out on the deck without scaring everybody off. Now I can go out and sit and they all come to eat and drink.  The goldfinches have such a pretty song. There is one male and two females that follow him everywhere. The girls hit the feeders first while he sits in the cedar tree on look out. He is a clean fellow and bathes almost every evening. The contrast of his color against the backdrop of the oaks and the terra cotta dish is just beautiful in the evening light.  The nuthatches are little acrobats, hanging this way and that and swinging on the perches. The downy woodpecker is another clown. His little black head with the white lines above his eyes reminds me of Madeline Kahn in Young Frankenstein. The cardinal couple are regulars and still a little on the shy side. If I sit real still they will feed or get a drink. The female has a lot of deep red in her feathers. I read somewhere that the more red the older she is. Wonder is that is true? She is very pretty and the braver of the pair.  Did not see the blue birds, hope they come back. The female tanager showed up, gulped a drink and took off. No sign of her mate. The indigo buntings did pop by late so I did have some blue color in the end.  There is a whip poor will in the mornings, though I have heard them, I have not seen them. The catbirds are happily munching on the blackberries. Their call drives Rob Dog crazy because he thinks his Nadia cat is down in the bushes. He will sit looking over the deck cocking his head from side to side trying to figure out what she is doing down there.  The hummers are still at their dog fights over the nectar feeders. The little Hitler bird did allow a female to check out the Lantana that is potted on the deck. The males should be starting their migration soon so I guess he is guarding the food so he can store up for his long flight.  The chickadees are the bravest of the brave and could careless what I do on the deck. They are quick to scold and carry on when they think I am too busy. They come in flocks of 8 to 10 and are noisy and rambunctious and usually run everyone else off.  Two years ago we went up to Mammoth in the Sierras to snowshoe. On the trail up to the lake, we stopped to take a break and met a sweet elderly lady that was out on her own snowshoeing and said she was heading back down to the lodge.  She asked if I had any birdseed with me. I told her no and she produced a sandwich bag of seed and said, “You are going to need this when you get to the top of the hill.” I thanked her for the seed, thinking she had lost it a bit. I did have a granola bar with me and wasn’t about to start munching on bird seed. We took off up the hill admiring the scenery and enjoying the peace and quiet. As we rounded the top of the hill we stopped to take in the view. There was no one else around just hubby and I; it was breathtaking looking down on the frozen lake. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a small bird flying to the tree near us.  As I turned back to look at the view the little chickadee landed on my shoulder! I couldn’t believe it! He gave a little chirp as I scrambled to get the bird seed out of my pocket. I filled my hand and he jumped right down, using my thumb as a perch and began eating the seed. We stood there for a couple of hours feeding the little birds right out of our hands.  The lady was a very wise woman and yes, I definitely needed some bird seed. [IMG]http://img.photobucket
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Posts: 304  Posted: Jul/31/2006 5:55 PM PST  House has new issue, septic system. As much as I love our new home, I am beginning to think we bought a lemon. The alarm went off on the septic system Saturday afternoon and as of this morning was still blaring when we turned the switch for the alarm back on. We have septic company coming out this afternoon. More $$$$! This house is only two years old, they say things come in threes, if that is so then this is it. I HOPE!!! Too hot to do anything but water and then run for the A/C. Even the birds have decamped and dont show up except in the wee hours of the morning or late in the evening. Took the black and white brigade to the marina on Sat and Sun by 6AM. Briar played ball and the boys went for a dip. Brought them home and fed them and never heard another peep out of them till dinner. They all hit the tile and stayed put.  The pond is going gang busters. My hyacinths are blooming, and though they dont last long they are very pretty. The floating clover has spread to twice its size in just a week. The new goldfish love hanging out under it. The lotus has six new leafs in a week; it is about the only thing enjoying the heat and humidity. I am ready for fall. It is even too hot to go fishing and camping. Havent been fly fishing since April and need a fix real bad. As for camping, I finally realize now why everyones tent trailers here have A/C. Coming from Calif where it is normally 75 degrees and partly cloudy all year, we never needed A/C in the Sierras. You cant go camping here in the summer without it, youll cook or puddle. So note to self, get A/c put in tent trail. More $$$$! (grrrrr) Went to the nursery Sat afternoon, things are winding down and they really didnt have very much. Bought some sick looking hostas that were marked down, I will try and healthy them up and get them in the shade garden this weekend. It is supposed to cool down to upper 80s, so maybe I will get something accomplished. Ordered some bulbs, and want to work on the area where I plan to put them in.  Hubby bought an Arkansas shovel! Its a 6 foot long 30 lb iron pry bar. One ends pointed, one has a sharp blade. I have assigned him the task of getting the spot for the veggie garden ready. He said he needed the bar to level things off enough to even put the raised beds up. It is all rock! One of my daily prayers is to thank the guy upstairs for bringing this wonderful man into my life. He is my best friend and soul mate and I couldnt live without him. 

Posts: 304  Posted: Aug/03/2006 7:31 PM PST  This heat wave is beginning to seem like something out of a science fiction story. How about HIGH PRESSURE, the story of the 2006 heat wave that never ended and drove mankind to go underground. Checked the weather report this morning and there is no change expected for us through the end of next week. More 100s with humidity.  Cant go out and enjoy the yard and pond because of the heat and I have cabin fever so bad! The heat flares up the hives, so no matter how hard I try and tough it out I end up covered with welts and scratching. Benadryl and A/C are the only thing working and the benadryl knocks me out flat. I have taken to driving home sitting on ice packs, because the A/C in the car takes forever to cool off. We get in the door from work and I run stripping to the shower so I can stand under the cold water. Doc said I am just one of those rare Urticaria cases caused by heat. Great, why me, the person who would live outside 24/7 if I could? Anything over 95 degrees and I turn into a big puffy hive. (GRRRR) I have been watering early in the mornings, so far most everything is surviving or trying to. I have a couple of azaleas that are starting to look rather poorly. They are in a shaded area but do not like the heat. The pond is going crazy and is so pretty. The lotus has shot up and is filling out nicely. The hyacinths bloomed one after another. They only last a day, but are so beautiful. The calla bloomed again and we had one more lily. The four leaf clover now covers half of the lower pond, I think it is my favorite, must be that redheaded greened eyed Irish devil in me. (teehee) The little frogs are emerging from the pond. They are so tiny! Have to look where I am stepping in the morning. There was a very small one, about the size of my smallest finger nail. He was sitting on a leaf of the sweet potato vine and his color just matched the leaf. The ones in the mulch match the mulch so I guess they change color. Have to do some investigating to see what they are. The birds are like me and only venture to the feeders and water during the wee hours of dawn and late into dusk. Otherwise the deck is like a ghost town in the heat of the day. Even the dogs wont go out there. Havent seen a squirrel in days and days. Not much loss there to tell the truth.  I have one oak tree in the front that I am afraid we are loosing. The top is dead and now the leafs that are there are all dying down to the bottom limbs.  The area does get watered where I have a flower bed started, but maybe it is not enough. I have called a certified arborist who is supposed to come by and take a look at the 4 trees that I think are sick. But nothing happens fast in Arkansas so My Shannon is coming from California next week!! :carrot: arty09: I can hardly wait to see her. Her graduation from college was in June, but she was very busy and didnt get to spend a lot of time with us while we were there. Looking forward to showing her around and just sitting and talking with her! 

Posts: 304  Posted: Aug/11/2006 2:52 PM PST  Well, the sky’s opened up last night and we got RAIN finally! Still too hot to do anything, but we so need the rain. The temp on the deck yesterday when we got home was 104 add humidity and you have just plain torture.  Everything in the pond is loving this heat though. All of the hyacinths are multiplying like crazy as well as the water lettuce. The cannas lily hasn’t stopped blooming. The four leaf clover now covers the lower pond and the lotus is two feet tall with new leafs daily. At least something is happy, right? It’s August and the trees are changing color. News report said it is caused by the heat and drought. They are trying to survive by going to sleep early. The dogwoods in the back are all yellow and dropping their leafs. The oaks just look wilty. With the rain last night there is a lot of tree debris in the yard. Like me they have all had enough of summer. I am keeping my potted flowers watered daily and so far things are hanging on. We have given up the fall garden idea for this year. I’m so frustrated that I can not be outside. The hives are still running amuck and my only solution is to stay in the AC. We are enjoying our visit with our daughter so much. Next week we are off from work and plan on showing her the sights. She loves sitting on the deck watching the birds in the mornings. At least they have Shannon for company. She gets a kick out of the little hummer guarding his territory. She also has the timing down perfect now on when to set the dogs on the squirrels! Ryan goes back to college on the 21st and Shan leaves back to California on the same day. It is going to be very quite around the house. I am praying for fall daily and downing benadryl in the mean time. 

Posted: Aug/24/2006 9:56 PM PST  Im free, Im freethe weather has finally cooled off enough that I can actually go outside without becoming a giant itchy red welt!! Yippee!!:greenappl  Our oldest daughter spent almost two weeks with us and I miss her so badly now! We had wonderful time showing her Arkansas. She really liked what she saw here so maybeI dont know we will seenot sure if my surfer girl will ever leave So Cal. I spent a lot of time just talking with her and cutting up. It was so great, I will treasure that time forever. I am back to spending my evenings on the deck with the birds. Had a new one and ran for my book to check out what it was. I have now added a Dickcissel to my bird list. He didnt visit the feeders but did drink and bathe at the water dish. Handsome fellow. The pond is glorious! The lotus should have opened its bloom today. I cant wait to get home and check it out. I think I really need to thin out some of the hyacinths and water lettuce, they are taking over. Anyone need pond plants??? The canna bloomed again and we had two lilies. With all the cover in the water I still have two goldfish (they havent become raccoon food yet) and they are getting huge!  I have ordered some flag stones like the ones around our pond and will finish off the shade garden start over the next weekends. Also looking at areas where we are going to take up all the rock. I want to get beds in soon so that I can begin planting some of the bulbs I have ordered for this fall. Loads of tulips, iris and daffies.  Fall is my favorite time of the year, I really enjoy fall decorating. We have such a large front porch that I will have lots of space for pumpkins and gourds, hay bales and mums. I am going to go down to the farmers market this weekend to pick up some of the beautiful gourds they have. But next spring I am planting my own in my very own garden! Sorry, having our own home at last, with room to spread outside, just puts me over the edge. 

Posts: 304  Posted: Aug/29/2006 6:54 PM PST  We had some nice steady showers this weekend and had more last night. We really need the rain. Not too much accomplished but picking up and cleaning up outside in between the rain showers.  Neighbor’s cat decided to have her kittens in our storage shed. They found her in a parking lot as a stray and brought her home all ready preggers. She escaped, had her kittens and they followed her a week later to our shed. I fed her, then locked her in my dog crated and went kitten hunting under the pallet she crawled out from under. She had four little beauties, two white, one black and one gray and white. My neighbor was so relieved to get her back in the house with the babies safe from wild critters. I love happy endings. Happier still is the fact that they are taking her to be spayed as soon as babies are weaned. I thinned out some of the hyacinths and water lettuce from the pond. I am sure it will all multiple again in a week but it looks better with less. The rain beat up my first lotus bloom but the second one should open in the next day or so. We are supposed to have a glorious weekend coming up and I am all geared up to work the days away in the yard.  The birds seemed to enjoy the rain we had and sat in the trees near the deck taking their showers and feeding in between.  The squirrels have finally figured out how to get to the feeders. I caught one hang upside down from the pole above the feeder by one back leg. He was hanging there stuffing his face with both hands. I slowly opened the deck door and called Rob. Rob did a classic silent out run around the table out of sight of the beastie. He looked back at me to be sure that he could go ahead and finish the gather. Squirrel was quickly herded nicely at a fast walk for one lap around the deck and escorted off the side with a bump of a border collie nose. Rob doesn’t seem to mind that they are not white and wooly. They seem to herd about the same to him. Called “That’ll do” and he came back to lay in the door way to await the next bushy tailed sheep. Rob Dog and I working: [IMG]http://img.photobucket.c
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Posts: 304  Posted: Sep/05/2006 5:42 PM PST  I can feel fall coming! Started decorating the front of the house. Mom and I put up fall garland around the entrance with lights and she made me a wreath for the front door. Got some gourds and put them around the pond. Found some cute little scarecrows at the store and put them around in the beds and the pots. Got a larger one and he’s dangling his feet over the pond. We had on and off clouds all weekend with a shower on Monday morning. Took Briar down to the lake for a ball session and we both got wet in the rain, not that she noticed. An older man stopped to watch her playing for quite awhile. He got the biggest kick out of me telling her that I couldn’t reach the ball and she needed to bring it closer to me, and the fact that for a border collie the shortest distance between two points is a circle. The boys (human and canine) decided to sleep in.  I ripped up all the weird flowers that had come up on their own this spring next to the pond. Dug up the bed and put in clean compost and dirt. Went down to Lowes and they had a ton of mums for a buck a piece. They were marked down because they never water anything there. Bought a couple of dozen and some pansy and filled in the cleaned bed. Looks really nice. I attacked the little corner bed next and filled it in with the remaining mums and pansies.  Hubby helped me take out the climbing roses. I am just not a rose person. My friend was thrilled to get them and she is much better with roses than I am. I know they have a good home. Son helped by cleaning up the dog yard. There was a lot of tree litter from the last storm and he pulled the weeds and cut the grass for me. Hubby moved the azaleas that were looking pitiful. They should do better now.  Raked all the mulch around the pond. Thought we needed more but once I got it all raked and fluffed it looked good. The pond does look better without so many hyacinths and water lettuce. Finally found my two replacement goldfish and they are huge!!! My 12 cent goldfish that were an inch long are now about six inches long and very fat. Must be all those tadpoles they have been macking on. Hubby took the wire hanger from my squirrel demolished plastic feeder and added it to my new armor plated feeder. The squirrels ate the ports off the plastic one during the day on Friday. The new one is metal and the ports curve in over the birds head, instead of making a small bowl. So far it has foiled the buggers but it is only a matter of time… The hummer wars were wild this weekend. Six birds have taken up position in the trees to guard 3 feeders and the lantana that is potted on the deck. I don’t think one of them ever made it to the feeders. Every time I walked out there I was ducking trying not to be hit by the air war as 3 to 4 birds at a time would zoom through the cover on the deck chasing the other off. There was one lone male and the rest were all females. Lot’s of chittering and tail splaying going on. There is a very young pair of golden finches following their parents to the deck to eat and drink. One of the little ones has no fear of humans and landed on the water dish as I was filling it. When it didn’t seem to be bothered by me at all, I grabbed a handful of sunflower hearts and sprinkled them on the deck railing next to him. Down he jumped on the seed and sat stuffing his face with me standing not inches away from him. The next day they were back and I walked right up to the feeder he was sitting on. He simply cocked his head to look over at me and went on eating. Very cool!! 

Posts: 304  Posted: Sep/18/2006 6:52 PM PST  I spent all last week in Las Vegas on business. I am not one to truly hate certain things but that is one place a really hate to go to. I dont gamble, Im not a drinker, cant stand crowds and noise, dont care about the pool. People watching can be interesting but scary too. I attended my meetings and headed for my room every night by 6 pm. I took two books with me and spent my free time reading to my hearts content. Got home late on Friday and was never so happy to be home in my life!! The dogs were so excited to have me home. I spent hours with them cuddling and playing. We all finally went out to the front to listen to the water fall in the pond and take in the trees and flowers. I missed my yard!!! Saturday I played catch up on all the house work that was not really done while I was gone. The boys try but just not up to moms specs. Got all that done, then went out to water and feed the birds and squirrels. That is something else hubby refused to do while I was gone. Poor birds were so happy to have water in their bath and couldnt wait for me to get out of their way so they could dive in. Only saw the female hummers this weekend. Not a male in sight. We are supposed to dip down to mid 40s tomorrow night, so I guess they will be leaving soon as well. The blue birds stopped for a bath Saturday early evening. It was good to see them again.  I have a frog or toad living in my sweet potato vine pot. I went to water it Saturday and he jumped out and scared me half to death. Peaked in there this morning and he was back again. I bought a toad house a couple of months ago, tried to convince him he might be more comfortable in it, but he didnt seem to agree and prefers the vine pot. Saturday we had a massive rain storm. When I checked the rain gauge it had about 2 and half inches after about 4 hours. It was lovely and the trees really needed it. The dogwoods already have red berries. Last year that didnt ripen until early November. I have a feeling it is going to be a cold winter and many of the natives arkies seem to agree. We have some concrete repairs around the house to get done before it begins freezing, and we had water leaking in a front window after the rain on Saturday. Guess these things will take up time before anymore gardening gets done. Have ordered the rest of the flagstones to finish the front beds, that should arrive by next week and I will try to get some photos of the progress so far on those shade gardens. 

Posts: 304  Posted: Sep/25/2006 6:31 PM PST  Spent most of Saturday watching the light show from the storm we had. We were under a tornado watch from 11 AM Fri to 11 AM Sat. Went out to the porch in the morning when the storm hit and watched the sky flashing like a strobe light for hours. When the rain finally came it was a long fast dump and we now have a canyon along the road next to us. Sunday was cloudy and very cool. The dogs and I had a great run in the park early, then spent the day puttering around the house. The goldfinches are changing their feathers. Most of the females are almost all tan now and the males are sploched with tan. I hung up the suet feeder and that was a big hit. We are down in the 40s at night now so I figured it was time to give the birds some heat energy. After filling all the feeders everyone came in for their share of the goods. I had three male cardinals on the sunflower feeder. Chickadees and woodpeckers were at the suet. The niger sock was covered with finches and a female RT hummer was sitting on the hummer feeder. All tables were full for the lunch time crowd! When I took the dogs to the park I passed a tree stump on the side of the road, all the way round it was covered in bright orange mushrooms. After dropping the black and white brigade back at the house, I grabbed my camera and headed back to the stump. I cant wait to get the film back and see how they came out. The day was pretty gray and with the tree cover the light wasnt great but will see. Someone said they sounded like sulfur shelf mushrooms or wood chickens. I remember my Irish grandfather telling me stories about not stepping into a ring of mushrooms in the forest for fear that the little folkes would cast a spell on you or take you to the Otherlands. So beware rings of fungus in the forest. 

Posts: 304  Posted: Oct/04/2006 9:55 PM PST  First our national sales meeting in Sept then this week we hosted the entire Board of Directors for our company in our office here. I am done with dog and pony shows!! Our old Buddy dog was bitten by a copperhead snake Monday night. Scared me really bad, trying to keep the other two from being bit and getting Buddy away from the snake. I am so glad I trained “leave it” on the dogs. They really listened when it counted. Buddy is recovering nicely and that more than anything is most important to me. At 13 years old I was so afraid of loosing him. The ponds plants are beginning to die back with the cooler nights we have had. I have fed everything that is supposed to winter over in the pond. I think I should get a bubbler to keep the water surface moving if it is going to be as cold this winter as everyone is saying they think it will be.  My mums and pansies are doing nicely and I hope to start planting some of the bulbs that I ordered over the next few weekends. The rest of my flagstones come tonight so I will be able to finish the beds and get the soil in. I am so excited about having daffies and tulips in the spring.  The hummers have decamped, haven’t seen one in about 10 days. The goldies are now tannies. I love listening to their little songs. Lot’s of nuthatches and wood peckers now that the suet feeders are up. So far the squirrels don’t seem to be able to reach them. The cardinals have stopped there territorial business and I have a cedar tree decorated with red birds every evening. Also every morning for the past week the pond is much lower in the mornings. Hubbby thought we had another leak somewhere. I explained to him that if it was a leak why wasn’t it leaking all day and just at night? Answer came with looking out the window when the dogs were disturbed the other night. Three deer were having very large sips of our pond. Couldn’t get the camera fast enough before they moved off into the trees. I love Arkansas (except for copperheads)! 

Posts: 304  Posted: Oct/30/2006 8:48 PM PST  Fall is here and everything is a riot of color. The leafs this year are really putting on a display, loads of red, gold, yellow and russet wave in the breeze off the lake. They are also falling and are knee deep in parts of the yard. Hubby attacked with the blower this weekend only to find out that we are under a burn ban and he couldnt try out his new burning barrel. So into a pile they went only to be redistributed throughout the yard when the wind came up. After spending 4 hours on Saturday, I think he has decided to wait the trees out until they have all come down. Daffodils and Tulips will go in as soon as it stays in the 60s most days. We were close to 80 this past weekend so no go then. I was concerned about the deer eating my tulips, but had heard recently that if you put human hair down that they wont bother them. I asked the person that cuts my hair if she will save me up a bag of clippings that I can pick up from her next month when I go in. She says she does the same in her garden and it works. I am so against chemicals and dont want to harm the deer in anyway, just dont want them snacking on my mail order tulip bulbs. Mom and I went through the Christmas decorations to see what she brought with her in the move and to see what we needed. She went down to the OOPS warehouse and got 5 boxes of garland. My mother has an unbelievable talent for decorating for the holidays and I so look forward to helping her this year.  We spent Sunday afternoon carving pumpkins, though I am doubting we will see any ghost or goblins up here in the forest. There are a couple of kids up the street and I hope they come down the hill to our house. Rob Dog loves Halloween and cant wait for me to open the door so he can see what strange thing will be out there next. He doesnt bark or carry on, just sits at the door waiting for me to open it and reveal the next surprise. Had a wonderful turn of luck last week, we have a client that is renting office space in our building. She asked me if I was the one with Border Collies. Told her yes and asked if she had one. Oneshe has 15! She and her husband train and trial working border collies. I have died and gone to heaven! Told her Rob and I have taken some lessons and that we only play at it, he will never run an open, but they are local to us and her husband doesnt have a problem training with newbies that will never trial. Just the joy of watching Rob do what he was meant to do is enough for me.  One day maybe I will walk to the post and give that Come bye command in a trial, I know that will never happen with Rob. But it really is enough to see him turn on and work just for the pleasure it gives him. So, Rob and I will be off herding again very soon!!! Briar never turned on for me the couple of times we took her to sheep. You would have to paint them tennis ball yellow and launch them into the field for her to retrieve. That would be the only way she would even notice them. And Buddy is just Buddy and he is happy just being an inside dog and king of the bed.  

Posts: 304  Posted: Nov/01/2006 8:28 PM PST  The starlings have begun gathering together in the evenings now that it is getting cold at night. I have never seen so many birds at once. They fly in a river of black over our offices every evening to roost in the trees in the neighborhood behind us.  Most of the trees have lost their leafs but by evening they are filled with starlings, looking as full and bushy as they were during summer. Watching as the river of birds continues to fly in, it seems to take only one additional bird to tip the scale of the tree’s capacity. When this happens you hear the whoosh of wings as one tree after another expands out in an explosion of birds, a great black swirling cloud swooping around to settle in the tree once more. The numbers are staggering, the black river overhead continues as far to the south as you can see and still they keep coming. This goes on for over an hour as the trees fill with birds, the assiduous squawking from the road near their roost is deafening. It is truly frightening that so many birds of an invasive species control that much of the sky and wreak havoc for the people that live in homes under those trees.  As I watch, a red shouldered hawk takes advantage of this mass confusion and stoops in a graceful dive to snatch his dinner from the air. But this one loss will not affect the colossal numbers that remain. The magnitude of this spectacle is chilling.  [IMG]http://img.photobucket
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Posts: 304  Posted: Nov/08/2006 3:17 PM PST  Have begun taking down the fall decorations and hauling out the Christmas stuff. We usually have the outside done in time to turn the lights on the day after Thanksgiving. I then spend that weekend putting up the tree and doing the house.  Found some really pretty deer for the yard. They are wire framed but are covered with grape ivy twigs and lights. One has its head down, so I thought I would put him near the pond. We are really deep in oak leafs in the yard. I have called every weekend to see if we can burn in our barrels but the burn ban is still on. The pond if full and I will have to attack it and clean it again this weekend too. My mums and pansy did okay in the frost the other day. I have one bed that was marigolds that died after the freeze; I cleaned it out and will put bulbs in there.  We can actually see the lake from the deck now that the leafs have all fallen. We had a wonderful sunset last night and enjoyed it while we could. I hate the time changing and coming home in the dark after work.  I signed up for the backyard feeder bird count. I should have the information soon, as the counting is due to start very soon too. I found it interesting that Cornell does this for studies and look forward to doing my part for my feathered friends.  I have had lots of robins the last few days. Now that the dogwoods are cleaned of the berries they are coming to the deck railing for raisins. Still have the resident chickadees, cardinals, goldies, wrens and titmice. The downy woodpeckers love the suet cakes. I even saw a pileated woodie out there on Sunday. Hubby built me a lookeyloo nesting box to hang on the kitchen window. It’s a songbird box with a Plexiglas back that mounts on the window with velcro. The wrens didn’t mind nesting in my flower pots hanging in front of the window last spring, so I am hoping some will take up residence in this commg spring, so that I can watch their progress.  I hung a window feeder for the birds and Nadia cat is enjoying sitting in the window sill watching them come and go. With our windows she can see the birds, but they can’t see her. She will spend hours there during the day as long as her dog doesn’t trying herding her back to her room.  The black and white brigade will get their bathes this evening. They need one badly after running in wet fields and dipping in the lake. They are all rather ripe. Now that it is cooler we shower them in the house, no cold hose in the yard for these spoiled brats. Rob will actually walk right into the shower stall. Bud and Briar we have to corral and haul kicking into the shower. Once it is all over you would think they were so happy about their bath. The bath zoomies kick in and soon they are all running around the house. 

Posts: 304  Posted: Nov/15/2006 3:26 PM PST  Outside Christmas decorations are just about done. Have a few bits and pieces to finish. We have friends coming for Thanksgiving and friends that will be sorely missed. We will put up the tree and finish off the inside of the house over the next couple of weeks. Got some photos of the outside and will post those as soon as the film comes back.  I am off to see the doctor today.  Having some female plumbing problems and this one has me scared. Have had very sharp pains and all indications point to ovarian cyst, a large one. So today I find out what they plan to do about it. I am tired, tired of pain, tired of taking pain killers and tired of all the stuff involved with this.  I finally got some bulbs in the ground this weekend. Cleaned out the pond from all the fall leafs and cut back the pond plants. The water is very cold but my fish are still going strong. Hubby made a screen out of pvc and fish net to catch the leafs so I wont have to go wading in the pond to clean it out anymore this year. He is working on a martin house in his shop. Still trying to figure out what kind of roof he wants to put on it.  A flock of buzzards have taken up roosting in the trees on the lot next to ours. They fly in over the lake in the evenings, there must be close to 30 or 40 of them. They are huge! The boy said that he can hear them flapping and making noise during the night as they are near his loft over the garage. He watches from his deck as they come in to roost and calls me up so that I can see them come in. Its amazing to watch. Suppose to have snow this afternoon, not much but I am looking forward to it. 

Posted: Nov/28/2006 2:42 PM PST  Hope everyone had a great Turkey Day! Ours was wonderful, lots of good food and good friends. I got the tree up and all the little things that make it Christmas Time for our family. The outside decorations are all finished. I wrapped some of the oaks with white lights and the one side of the front that was bare. We heard from all the California kids on Thursday. They are all doing well and we sure miss them at this time of year. I finished getting the rest of the bulbs in the ground and all tucked in for the winter. I also did 5 pots for the deck. Saw some gardening show where they packed in the bulbs into a pot and they were beautiful come spring. Hope it works.  The long weekend was beautiful with temps in the 70s. We are expecting a winter storm tomorrow and are due to dip into the teens at night. Guess we have seen the last of those comfy fall days. I look forward to the snow, though it doesnt last long.  Spent a lot of afternoons this past weekend just sitting on the deck and watching the birds. They are going through the suet cakes fast and furious. We have had lots for woodpeckers and I found a new basket feeder that came with a cake of peanuts and sunflower seeds that has also been a big hit. The robins are actually flocking together now, I had six come for raisins on Sunday afternoon. The cardinals are very shy again and I havent seen as many lately either. There is a red shouldered hawk that has been roosting near the house, it is magnificent. But I think it is worrying my song birds. Going in for surgery on the 7th of Dec. The womb isnt needed anymore and needs to go. Dont need to have it incubating things that have no business being there. I had biopsy yesterday and am praying that comes back normal. Just kind of numb right now waiting to hear. The dogs will be beside themselves having me home for 3 to 4 weeks. Hope I recover quickly so that I can spend lots of fun time with them.  Looking forward to Christmas and just enjoying the home front.  Posts: 304  Posted: Jan/15/2007 10:03 PM PST  Okay, I dont like ice storms and prefer earthquakes. My 27 oak trees are sagging under the weight of over an inch of ice coating them all over. I fear for my trees, I fear for my house. My fence has already taken a beating. And now we have wind!!! This is not good. Temps are supposed to stay below freezing for the next three days. So it is not melting anytime soon. When you stand outside and the breeze comes up it sounds like hundreds of windows breaking at once, then you hear loud cracking and a crash as another tree goes down in the woods. Whats ironic is the beauty of it. Its like a frosted wonderland made of glass. Its breathtaking and very dangerous.  Being hunkered down in the house gave me time to enjoy the birds as they were fueling themselves against the cold. I put out a lot of seed and chopped up some suet cakes for the blue birds and wrens and put it on the deck railings. Had all the regular visitors in force, lots of tit mice, chickadees, wrens, juncos, white chinned sparrows, blue jays and cardinals. There were four or five downy woodpeckers and two red bellies at the hanging suet cakes.  I also put up a new thistle seed feeder that was a hit with the goldies. Our little blue bird family of four was down to three all weekend, one of the juveniles is missing. They really appreciated the chopped suet and made quick work of the piles on the railing. We have a pair of pine siskin coming pretty regularly too. The large piliated woodpecker comes to check out all the activity but never comes to the feeders.  All at once the little birds took off or dove into the cedar tree for cover. A red shouldered hawk landed on the oak tree near the deck and I think I got a pretty good photo of him. He hung out for a bit then took off toward the lake. It didnt take long for all the little ones to return to their food.  The squirrels are always sure to get their share. The little birds dont seem to mind sharing with the bushy tailed beasties. The fat one is the only one to chase off the birds and when he does, I simply open the door and call Rob to come and take care of the tail with the attitude. You would think he would have wised up by now being launched off the deck so many times by a border collie nose, it just doesnt seem to sink in. I cant tell you how many times he has shot for the cedar and missed. The rest of them are all very polite now and no longer chew my feeder ports or chase the birds away. Fat one is so brazen that he will come right up to the sliding glass door where I sit to watch them when its cold out. Maybe he thinks he will get a special hand out. NOT!! 

Posts: 304  Posted: Feb/09/2007 8:01 PM PST  I have been rather sedentary lately. Cold days make for wanting to hibernate. We are expecting more snow next week as last weeks batch has finally melted away. Though I do like the snow, I am longing for spring, the sun and a chance to dig in my flower beds.  The pond is still frozen over and I have to melt a hole for the fish every couple of days. I see their blurry orange bodies moving under the ice. Poor things, I dont know how they survive but everything I have read says they should be fine. I havent even gotten up the gumpchin to pick up the fallen branch from the ice storm. I have put in my order for dirt for the two unfinished flower beds we started in the fall. Been trying to plan what we will put in there. I change my mind every time I sit down with the catalogs. So who knows The folks bought themselves a motor home and have left to go vagabonding for a while. They were very excited and planning where they would head off to. Packing it up had mom overwhelmed. I sat her down and told her to decide what she wanted to take. After she made her list I then sat her down and told her to decide what she wanted to take from that list. I finally convinced her that she was over doing it and really didnt have the space or need all the things she planned on taking. Minimalist is not in her vocabulary.  Once we laid out everything, I started holding stuff up and saying Why do you need two of these or three of those? The night before they left we packed it all up and they still had room to spare. Hopefully, they will not over load to the point they have no room left. They are off to California to see the grandkids then plan to stay near Sedonna for a while then head up to Yellowstone later in the spring. Wish I could have gone with them, but cant leave my THREE dogs. Now, why to I need three of those? Well you know.  

Posts: 304  Posted: Feb/21/2007 9:44 PM PST  Well after the ice storm and some scary moments with some of our trees, we had an arborist have a look and we are loosing 7 trees. Two are completely gone due to some fungus that red oaks are getting. Others are showing signs of it and the sooner we get them away from the healthy trees the better. A couple had some damage from when the house was built and were not doing well either. There is a couple that just needs some lower dead wood removed and cleaned up and they will be fine. I am sooo sad about loosing them. The red shouldered hawk has been around often and I wonder if he and his mate are going to nest here near the lake? I hope so; I will have to keep a watch on him to see where he heads.  Dogs go to the vet tomorrow for their annual check up and pedicure. They all need claws clipped badly after being in the house so much this winter. We will get their heartworm and frontline refilled and be ready for spring.  I took them to the park by the lake on Saturday, finally above freezing here and we had a great time. I snapped some photos of them and they are in my photo link below. There were scads of Canada Geese there and Rob was so antsy to take off so he could push them into the lake. I finally gave him a release command and away he went too fast for me to even snap a picture. He herds them down to where the dock is so that he can run out on the dock to watch them swim. Briar played ball and Buddy just ran around enjoy the fresh air and wind in his ears.  DH is taking me to Kansas City for my birthday. We need a road trip weekend , should be fun and I am really looking forward to it. We got a great rate on priceline for the Sheraton downtown, where everyone recommended we stay. Lots of restaurants and shops. We are also going to Cabelas while we are up there; I loved Bass Pro in Springfield, MO and looking forward to seeing what Cabelas is like. 

 Posts: 304  Posted: Mar/03/2007 12:25 PM PST 

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I'm calling him Harrison and I have to say that with this guy hanging around my deck has been pretty quiet. The goldies will come to the feeders and that is about it. I haven't seen too many squirrels lately either. DH says I have started my own food chain. I feed the birds and the squirrels and they are feeding Harrison. Well the circle of life, right? I think he is gorgeous. We are off to the home and garden show this morning to waste the day. Maybe we'll get some ideas. Will get the berry bushes in today and then we are headed over to a friends to help them clear the lot next to them they just bought. Busy, busy, busy. 

Posts: 304  Posted: Mar/04/2007 6:19 PM PST 

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One of the bushy tailed beaties on the deck this morning. I love my new camera and look forward to taking a class so I can really learn all the bells and whistles.  Got my berries planted yesterday and some lilies went in near the daffies and tulips. Though the pond had a sheet of ice this morning, I think spring is finally just around the corner. The wind yesterday was biting but this morning all is calm and sunny. The home and garden show was very small but we did get some ideas for an arbor. Hubby is going to build it on the side of the drive way. The design has a little bench in it. I want to plant wisteria to train up it. Should be pretty. Well the black and white brigade are itchin' for a run to the park so I will write more later. 

Posts: 304  Posted: Mar/08/2007 3:11 PM PST  I received a ton of razzing yesterday after I ordered 16 yards of topsoil. Billy has teased me non stop. Every time he catches my eye he says, “You got dirt!” Okay it is a lot of dirt, but I have two large beds to fill, plus a raised bed for the veggies, plus he wants to build a retaining wall that needs back fill and then there is the dog yard to finish to. I don’t think it will be enough dirt. So I will have my laughs when he has to order a second truck full. So there!  So my weekend will consist of dodging thunder storms, shoveling and wheeling my dirt. I will then get my dahlias in come he** or high water and start laying out the rest of the two beds. The veggie garden will be a raised bed and little does he know, that building comes before his retaining wall. (I got dirt!) My lovely Rob Dog went counter surfing on Saturday and pulled down two of three suet cakes I had for the birds. He ate them both and proceeded to have the worst gas and the trots I have ever…seen. At least he made it outside and didn’t do it in the house!! What a mess he was and what a SMELL.  Bathed him then fed him up with cooked white rice and pumpkin, best cure for doggie runs and always works really fast. Note to self ALWAYS lock away bird feed!! Got my black raspberries in last weekend and they are showing little green tips already. The lilies in the pond are starting to put up pads. I have a ton of leafs to clean out again, but I love it and look forward to having it beautiful again. Need to make a trip to the pond plant nursery and see what’s new and get some water lettuce and hyacinths. The frogs are back in force and singing like crazy nightly.  I have some red honeysuckle I am going to plant on the dog yard fence. Hubby grumbled but it will look better than the ugly chain link once it fills in. I have promised to keep it trimmed and trained, that was the only way he would let me put it in. We are having a heck of a time finding good sod for under the trees. I want grass and I want the trees, but there aren’t a lot of good options right now. More research needed in this area.  I put my little hummer feeder up but have seen any yet. They were here about the end of March last year so I am counting the days. The rest of the avian crew is very active. I stuffed one of the suet feeders full of dog hair and have takers every day. Whether or not they are using it for nesting yet or just playing, I’m not sure. No activity in my nesting boxes that I have seen yet. Well the MY dirt should be here any minute so I best keep a look out. 

Posts: 304  Posted: Mar/12/2007 1:14 PM PST  The razzing has stopped, because we need MORE dirt. Finished the second bed and got all the dahlias in. Added a border of annuals and it will look nice when the dahlias come up. The upper bed where the bird feeder is has my tulips, petunias, gerbar daisies, primroses and hyacinths. I filled the old log stump with dirt and planted in it. Just need to mulch the works. We spent most of the day Saturday and Sunday shoveling and wheeling to cover the dog yard. Hubby also moved one gate to keep the black and white brigade out of there till we can lay the sod and get it established. They now have a very small part of the yard, so we need to get that in over the next week.  Still need to plant the wisteria and honeysuckle. I have decided to put both along the dog fence. The open lot on that side that we were interested in buying has just been tagged and marked for clearing, so someone is going to build. They keep clear cutting the small lots so I can imagine what it will be like. Grrrr!   Hubby is getting the wood to build the raised veggie bed, but until the grass is in for the dogs, they need the space where that will go. The clock is ticking and there is still a ton to do. But we are having a blast! It’s ours and all our work is what we want.  Found the greatest little tree at the nursery. It’s a Filbert Walking Stick. But the nursery was closed by the time we got there Saturday. So we will go back and get it next Saturday morning BEFORE 12. It was 8 minutes after 12 when we got there and the place was deserted.  Will try to get some pix of the beds and put them in my photo bucket below. :banana-wa ETA: Pictures are in PHOTOBUCKET link

Posts: 304  Posted: Mar/15/2007 4:34 PM PST  The sod for the dog run has been ordered. The sod farm won’t be cutting it until next week so we won’t have it for this weekend, but should have it in by the next. I found some Irish moss at the nursery and will take up the pebbles around the pond and put it between the flagstones. Wish I could have a whole lawn of it. It’s beautiful. Last night, I mulched the last of the lower bed near the house. Need a few more bags for around the pond.  I have filled in the planter down on the back driveway. Need to decide what to put in there. It gets sun most of the day in the summer. Something shrubby and some flowers will be nice. Also have the small bed downstairs by the fireplace to fix. I think the armadillos have been at it. Looks like someone went through and turned the whole bed with a shovel! Guess I should thank them. Waking every morning to lots of bird song! They are all twittering away out there. They must be busy with the spring thing because the feeders are not going down as fast as they were. The insects are picking up with the warmth and the birds are probably enjoying the fresh food. I have a pair of wrens and a pair of nuthatches battling over the little nesting box on the Bed and Breakfast in the front. One of the wrens was singing up a storm yesterday. Hard to believe that something that small can be so loud. I ran for my camera to get a pic of him with his head up singing, but he decided to stop the minute I got back with it. The goldies are almost to their full yellow. Haven’t seen a hummer yet but the feeder is up and ready for them. Once they arrive I will put the rest up. So excited, they should be here soon!! We will be making a trip to the water garden store this weekend, since there is no grass to lie yet. The lilies are coming up fast and the four leaf clover is showing little green squiggles. Keeping an eye on the lotus but no signs yet. The gold fish are huge and swimming all over the pond. I want to get a couple more now that it has warmed up. They need company.  Trying to decide what to put in the little veggie bed. Tomatoes are a must of course, some sweet peppers maybe and a cucumber. Not a lot of space so that might be it for now. Think I am going to try a cherry tomato in a container on the deck. Lots of sun out there and I can just run out and stuff my face with them! Yummy!!: 

Posted: Mar/16/2007 1:54 PM PST  Had to haul out a bunch of old moving blankets and cover up my flower beds last night. Didnt quite dip down below freezing but tonight it is suppose to be 29! Uncovered everything this morning and will cover it all back up tonight. Hope this is the last of the frosties!! Long day at work yesterday, so I didnt do much but check on things and get them covered and protected. I will put the Irish moss in around the pond tomorrow, and by the forecasts things should only dip down into the upper 40s after tonight. Billy said he would dig the holes for my wisteria and honeysuckle. Both are sprouting green leafs and I want to get them in the ground. Plans are to get up early and head to the nursery to get the little filbert tree and then over to the pond nursery. We also need to clean the shed out and the garage. Winter seems to make the garage a catch all for things that never quite get put away. That and we pulled a bunch of things out of our camper to use during the ice storm in case we lost power. All that needs to be packed back up and put away in the camper. I will take the time while we have it out to clean and restock it.  We are taking an extra long weekend at the end of the month and heading for the river to fly fish for 5 days. I cant wait!! I got a huge dutch oven to add to my collection at Christmas. I want to try some new things and with this big one I can actually put casserole dishes down in it and bake. I gave Mom my little 8 inch dutch to take with her in the motor home. She has used it a couple of times and really likes it.  We have some friends that are part of a western target shooting club. They have had us out a couple times to cook meals in the black pots for the club. Thats been fun. Did traditional ham hocks, beans and cornbread for the cowboy crowd the last time. Its a lot of fun when they dress up in period clothes and do their shoots. They are moving their targets and buildings to a new property this month and once all is settled they are making a proper fire ring and grill just so I can come and cook for them. Been told I have to get myself a get up to wear.  Well enough blather for now 

Posts: 304  Posted: Mar/19/2007 7:06 PM PST  We went over to our friends Saturday and helped them finish clearing the lot they bought next to them. This lot is on a 45 degree angle down to the lake. We spent the day pulling tree limbs that were trimmed from the bottom to the top of the hill. We couldnt get the chipper down any closer. UGH!! We sat down that night, the four of us to have our corned beef and cabbage for St. Paddys and could hardly lift the forks to our mouths. We never made it to the nursery or pond store way too tired to move. Maybe next weekend. Sunday, was spent leveling the dog yard for the sod and putting in the sprinkler system. Looks like rain Tuesday so that means they probably wont cut the sod at the farm, which means it rains on all the leveled topsoil in the dog run and washes down the hill side! We are going to try covering it with tarps in the hopes of saving most of it.  Got all the Irish moss in around the pond and planted some Verbena, Creeping Phlox and Corkscrew Grass in pots for the deck. Also got the elephant ears in the ground at the back side of the pond. They should do well there, with a drippy hose there is always lots of moisture. I planted a cherry tomato in a hanging pot for the deck. When I looked this morning it already had blooms coming on it. Yum!  Weatherman says rain and storms all week through this coming weekend. So, we are waiting on the sod and will be house bound during the storms. Wood is ready to start building the raised veggie bed. But we cant complete that until the dog yard is finished. WaitingIm not good at.  

Posted: Mar/20/2007 7:13 PM PST  The sod came, the sod came!! Thank goodness!! They called this morning and said since we didn’t get as much rain as was expected they would go ahead and cut it this morning. It just arrived!! Yippee!! Now we get to rush home and put it in. The doggies are going to love it. We will keep them out of that area for a little while longer so that it can get established. But I can’t wait to see old Buddy roll around on it; the old guy just loves a good roll in the grass. I think this weekend calls for some relaxation. We have worked so hard the last few weekends, needed to go back to the office just to rest up. But…now that I sit here thinking, the decks need cleaning and resealing, never did get the garage cleaned, need to also wash down the outside of the house and the windows need done, still haven’t gone to the nursery for the filbert, the veggie bed needs building and filled in…nope ain’t sittin’ this weekend. 

 Posts: 304  Posted: Mar/21/2007 1:23 PM PST  We went home last night and laid the sod in the dog yard. Almost got it finished and had to break out the camping lanterns to see what we were doing. What we had put down before it got dark looked real nice. The dogs were thrilled. We let them in the yard for a short time to check it out. We will finish it off this evening and give it a good soak.  Need to water all my flowers tonight. Our week of predicted rain has dwindled to a scant chance of a shower and we are supposed to hit the upper 70’s today. My little cherry tomato is doing well and loves the sunny spot on the deck. Lots of blooms on it already.  My tulips are up but not one is showing signs of a bloom. What’s up with that?! Everything I planted is doing really well. I am enjoying the spots of green moss around on the pond and can’t wait for the water plants to start coming back. The lilies have loads of little pads reaching for the surface and the four leaf clover has lots of little tendrils coming up. My friend has decided to put in a small pond also and we have made a date to go to the pond store this Saturday morning. My deck seems deserted; the birds must be off nesting and doing all that important spring stuff. I saw the cardinal pair on the weekend. The male was obviously courting her, taking her seeds and nibbling beaks with her. The sounds from the surrounding trees are like music. They are all singing up a storm. The wrens have won the battle for the bed and breakfast nesting box and have taken over that little garden. Hope I won’t bother them too much watering the flowers. We saw two does on the way to the office this morning. They crossed the road and walked on up the hill. So pretty. Harrison was on the wing last night and being stalked by two crows. He was yelling at them for all he was worth and finally got rid of them by climbing very high in the sky. I am going to start some bell peppers and some cuke seeds in small pots on the deck, then transfer them to the veggie garden once they are ready. Will look for some good mater plants this weekend and thought about putting a few herbs in too. Will try to get some photos posted of the finished dog yard. 

Posts: 304  Posted: Mar/22/2007 8:08 PM PST  Okay after all the ribbing I got for ordering 16 yards of topsoil, I got to giggle and jab as Billy ordered ANOTHER 16 yards!! HA! Told you we needed more dirt. We are renting a little bobcat to remove all the small rock in the front yard on Saturday. The dirt comes tomorrow. Once the rock is out we will put in the top soil and level it all out to be ready for the next pallets of sod that come on Tuesday.  Got our Filbert at lunch and we will have to bring the van tomorrow and pick it up. Now, to decide where we really want to place it? Billy really likes it and said he thinks it would look nice in the front near the house opposite of where the pond is. I dont envy him digging the hole for it. Bless his heart.  We finished the dog yard last night and gave it a good soaking. The boys were hauling sod and setting it down for me as I put the puzzle pieces together. We started on the front raking the rock back and that is when we decided we needed the bobcat. The stuff is 6 inches deep in some places! All three of us were beat last night when we finally finished up about 9PM.  I gave everything a watering last night. The squirrels have already been at the verbena on the deck. They just like digging in the fresh dirt I think. I will have to move it to hanging baskets I guess.  They had some really nice columbines at the nursery too and I picked out three different ones will put them on the shady side of the pond. Will start my pepper, cuke and bean seeds tonight in little pots. We have an old bakers rack I can move to the deck for my flower pots and see if that will help deter the bushy tailed beast.  Oh! Oh! and best news of all!! Had my first hummer of the season this morning!! That so made my day. Plan to rush home and put up all the other feeders right away!!

osts: 304  Posted: Mar/27/2007 2:55 PM PST  Its coming together! The dog yard is doing real well and you can barely see the sod seams. Spent Saturday removing the rock from the front yard and putting in topsoil and leveling it out. The rented bobcat was a lifesaver and the rental cost paid for itself in spades! Ryan had a blast in it and did most of the dirt work after Dad got rid of the rock. We put down the remaining sod in the front and are waiting for our last two pallets. It rained last night and is supposed to rain today so they will not cut it today. We are playing the waiting game again. (pix in Photobucket link below) My beans, peppers and cukes have peaked out of their seedling pots. I started some cosmos for the butterflies and will put them on the sunny side of the house when they get a little bigger. We are taking a long weekend this week, camping is out for now and veggie garden readying is in. As well as deck cl