It's Pugdimonium!!

I've decided that it's time for a "Pugs Only" posting. There have been requests for more pugs (Mary!!) so here they are. Because they aren't too active by dog standards, most of the pictures are of them sitting or laying down. Or positioned by windows so they can bark at someone or something outside i.e. Mom, Dad, Various Friends and Relatives, UPS Truck, Post Man (Woman), Neighbor, Neighbor and his Dog, Wild Turkeys, Deer, Raccoon and 'Possum.

The bedroom and breezeway are prime spots for outside viewing and the arm
of the couch works well for just chilling out.


Dad had better not pay too much attention to Garm
because . . . .


some other little dog is ALWAYS watching and insists on joining in . . . .


but, happily, everyone can fit on the smaller couch.

(Notice that Steve has a different tee shirt on.)

Ashley has a special fondness for Garm and look how
I caught Thea in action!! She looks like Maniac Pug!
This is how she is half the time.






Garm loves this recliner and is a big ol' snoozer. My neck would
be soooo stiff if I slept like that.


Who is this little angelic dog with her dolly?
And who says animals don't smile??



Aww . . . .

In the world of No,

dogs are Yes.

Robert Sward

*******************************

This is a short and sweet post because I've got the latest Harry Potter novel and plan to do a lot of reading tonight.

Bye for now,

Alyssa

A Salute To Steve

Here is Steve potting up the very last petunias that I had started indoors. I had become so tired of planting that he graciously offered to finish up. This year he's found out that there is no "big secret" to planting small annuals and that it is "a lot of fun". You see, Steve has created a new garden - literally - from the ground up and planted all of it himself.

Last fall he decided that one of the paths leading from the lawn to the woods needed to be set off with planting areas on each side. He loves to work with rocks and found a handsome selection on the back of our property. We are very lucky that years ago our land bordered a farmer's field and said farmer would throw any of the rocks he plowed up along the lot line. We have 300 feet of various and beautiful rocks to use in our landscaping. Well, he found some very pretty rocks and set them in wide semi-circles on either side of the path. The he dug up the area and put in loads of compost from the city recycling yard. He bought me shrubs for my birthday in September and placed two on the left side and one on the right side in the back. I had a few hostas, a spider wort, and a couple of silvery pulmonaria that were in pots during the summer so he put them in and left it for spring. Here it is in early spring.

In the left side garden he made a fantastic rustic bench from part of a tree trunk that had been sawed down the center. It is held up on either side by rocks and is completely stable. We have another facing the vegetable garden and they are both large enough for Steve, me and the pugs.

I had bought two flats of mixed impatiens for the new gardens but was just too busy to put them in so Steve said he'd try. For all of the years of gardening he has done, he had never really put in small, flat-size plants. He carefully dug each hole, mixed the dirt with potting soil, made sure the little roots were separated, then planted and watered each impatien. As he got to the second flat he realized that it was becoming a case of overkill and dropped some of the planting steps. In the right side garden the two "Black Lace" elderberries were also planted. Then he mulched it all with the hemlock chips.

During that week the rabbits or deer ate the flowers off of some of the impatiens and I sprayed a repellent on to slow down the damage. The next weekend he asked me to go with him to the garden center and show him which perennials would be good for shade. He liked how the existing perennials looked - especially the hostas- and wanted more of those but wasn't sure about the rest. We found some excellent variegated chartreuse hostas - 6 of those and another with white spots called "Speckles". Nice large plants. A variety of red stemmed astible really caught his eye so we picked up 2, one gallon pots of those. And I liked a very chartreuse tradescantia that went well with the hostas that we also purchased. A marked down hanging basket of New Guinea impatiens that could be separated was the last thing we bought. Steve laid out the plants and put them all in. Here is how it looks and close ups of some of the plants:

The left side .... and the right side.

The pictures don't really do it justice. The lighting on the camera was set too low but I'm sure you can see how beautiful it looks. It's quite restful. How talented he is to have done this from scratch by himself!

I call this Steve's Garden now - I name most of the gardens. He also calls it "My Garden" which I think is so very sweet. He said he's surprised at what a sense of accomplishment he feels after putting all the plants in himself. He said he knows now how I feel.

And for that reason this garden is very special to me, because it has brought us even closer together. Tonight, as we sat outside in the gorgeous evening enjoying a fire and taking about the work we had done today, I thought how very lucky I was. I have such a fine person and companion to spend the rest of my life with.

Experience shows us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but looking together in the same direction. Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900 - 44: Wind, Sand, and Stars)

Bye for now,

Alyssa

Busy, Busy Days And A Tip

As I said in my last post this is "crunch time" for me when it comes to getting the gardens and my containers in order. I've been running back and forth to a couple different garden centers picking up the last few plants I need and also trying out some new "goodies" that have just hit the market.

One of the nurseries has all sorts of "Proven Winners" which I'll swear by, myriad new coleus, and luscious new tropicals as well as animals. There are sheep, goats, and a llama to feed and pet. (An emu named Raquel used to be there and I was given one of her gigantic eggs. She's gone now, though) Ever since Ashley was little, we'd go there for plants and to see the animals. This Friday we took a quick trip out there for "just three perilla plants" and ended up with a double decker shopping cart full of wonderful plants. .Here are two "Black Lace" elderberry shrubs and a wonderful "Tiger Eye" golden cutleaf sumac that I found. We also picked out a couple of the "Supertunia" varieties, various "Superbells" (calibrochoa), five or six sun coleus, and the perilla.

There was quite a line at the check out when Ashley remembered she wanted some "Fiber Optic" grass she's seen in the back greenhouse. We pulled out of line and the cart and I ended up by a closed, temporary check out booth open at only the very busy times. No one was there at that time. Well, a few minutes she came back without the grass - she couldn't find it. I told her to stay by the cart and I'd get her plants. Well, when I quickly returned, a young man had opened the check out and was fussing over Ashley and had her nearly all rung up. And we had quite a cart load! Still standing in the other check out line were, seven or eight, mostly women my age or older and they were giving her the evil eye. So my tip is: if you want to get checked out right away, leave the cart with your lovely grand daughter. Young men will jump at the chance to help her!
In my last post I wrote about the metal rod contraption that is designed to stack pots on. Actually all but the bottom pot is supposed to be tipped but I tried it this way. When I was through I was sure Steve would hate it - he's quite conservative. He was gone while I was constructing this but when he returned he just raved about how cool it looked. And today when Ashley came over, she loved it. I must admit, it is growing on me. The only drawback is that the tipped pots are extremely hard to water without the soil running out. The directions say to "water gently" - that is an under statement! I'm thinking of using a small tube pushed in each pot and pour the water down that.

I will show you the flowers in my Main Garden that I truly hate - if it is possible to hate a flower. They are some yellow iris that I had rescued from a deep woods down our street. I couldn't imagine how anyone could throw such pretty plants away! Well, here's why:
If there is one breath of wind, these things topple into a horrid mess. I thought I'd pulled them all out once, but I fear I left a few root pieces behind. This fall for certain, I will dig them all up and throw them back into that woods that I rescued them from!

Here is another bit of whimsy that I couldn't pass up. I've been moving him from place to place among the gardens but Steve says he looks best on the entry steps. That's where he's sitting tonight. A mini Garm . . . .

Of course, Steve is working in the gardens too. I've got a grouping of four half whiskey barrels that are at least ten years old. The bands of two of them had fallen off and they were rotting. Steve bought two new ones and began to replace them. The bottoms had completely rotted away and tree roots were making their way upwards. Every year I dig and renew some of the soil in them, but never all of it. I had wondered why they were drying out so very fast last year. Those thirsty tree roots were taking all the moisture. After he completed that, he decided to chop out a decaying (lots of rotting stuff around our yard!) stump that one of the other barrels was resting on. Oh, everything becomes such a project here! It took him hours to get most of the stump and here he is. . . . .

The previous day he'd helped his son re roof his house, today he planted impatiens and the two elderberry bushes in that very far line of rocks (not the circular burning pit) which is a new area he made last fall. He then spread a fragrant mulch around the plants. It's quite beautiful. I don't know where he gets his energy - he's 59 and can out-work fellows half his age.

I still have the flower/vegetable garden to finish up as well as clean the little pond and put the fish in. That is at least two to three more days of work for me. Ashley said she'd clean out the pond, but I don't think her heart will really be in it. Oh well, any help she can give me will be appreciated. There are also containers and hanging baskets that I want to do. There is always next weekend.

This rich, dark columbine blooming near the birdbath was a complete surprise for me this year. Isn't it lovely . . .

Our pride and joy at the front of the house - a fantastic stand of "Krossa Regal". It gets alot of sun and never burns out and keeps this frosty blue color all summer. No pests bother it either.

And finally, some pretty lettuces and a pea plant and an angel lost among the Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Francis Williams hosta and ornamental grass. Obviously I haven't found just the right place for her. But I will.

Today ,while listening to a song by Bob Seger, I began to think of how many memories music can evoke in me. Many of the important times of my life are marked by music and in my next posting I'm going to explore that facet of myself with you.

Bye for now,

Alyssa

Don't Let This Happen To You ! !

I know it's a bit melodramatic but this is what happens when you buy a cheap birdbath and leave it out over the winter. I noticed after our last bout of freezing temps, that there was a hairline crack in the bowl. Later I was trying to empty some watery ice from it and it fell apart in my hands and into the garden. I suppose I should have brought it in but . . . .

this concrete birdbath I've had for at least 10 years and have left it out all the time. And not one problem. Steve got this for me as a gift and paid quite a bit for it back then. And it is worth every penny. I want to replace the broken one but there aren't any birdbaths out at the stores yet. But . . . .

instead of birdbaths, I found these cute planters. Actually, they are quite big - about 8 - 10" across and heavy! They were at my local Steins Garden Center where I also stocked up on animal repellent to do battle against the deer, rabbits, and my true nemesis, the crafty vole. Yes, he's (or it's) back and No, I don't think it was ever gone. He's eaten tulip bulbs and tunneled around the Main Garden as well as moving into an abandoned chipmunk hole conveniently located a foot away from said Garden. But . . .

he hasn't made his way to my little pond. This is an interesting story - trust me - it is. In this very spot was a huge and wonderful oak tree that I loved - I called it the "Old Man Tree". Sadly, it had chlorosis and couldn't be saved and died. When it was cut down, Steve built a garden surrounded by rocks (two layers high) and added a plastic pond form. Here is how it turned out . . .

Very beautiful and I have fish and plants in it during the summer. I have 3 large orange and white comets (like giant goldfish) and 4 small shubunkins (poor man's koi) that are wintering in our basement in a large kiddy pool with a bubble stone in it just waiting for it to warm up a bit. I also have a small fountain in it and the sound of splashing water is wonderful. The birds and creatures love it and

this Green frog lived in it all summer. He became very tame as you can see. In fall he wanted to stay in the pond but would have died so I put him in a container and drove him to a small river near our home. I felt bad 'cause I'd never see him again, but happy that he had a real home of his own. Hopefully, another frog will visit us this summer.

Steve hauled the rocks from different places on our land and figured out how they would fit together best. As you can see, he isn't a big guy, but he's very strong and muscled all these rocks around with just that red dolly! It took him about two weekends of solid work and he created a wonderful focal point for the back garden. He loves working with rocks and has done many beautiful projects around the house and gardens. He has a special knack for it and I wish he'd been able to do it as his life's work. Unfortunately, he ended up in the same factory I work in. Actually I'm glad he did, otherwise we'd never have met.

To make this long story short, the pond is a memorial to the big old oak who stood in that spot for almost 80 years. A fitting one, I think.

Last Fall I planted miniature species tulips and scilla around the pond and if you look closely at this picture, you can see another creature that is visiting.

Bye for now,

Alyssa

Hunting The Elusive Shed

The season is upon us -- shed hunting season, that is. One of the great passions in my husband's life is finding sheds, any size, shape, or age --- and we have hundreds!

Not the small- storage- structure -type of shed, but the horns-that-have-fallen-off-a-whitetail-deer-type of shed. It's quite a popular hobby for hunters and non-hunters now days, but when I met him years ago, I had no idea what he was talking about. I thought: why would anyone "hunt" for a small building - just go to the hardware store! He immediately clued me in and it has been a big part of our lives for the past 17 years.

The above photo is the first thing you would see upon walking into our living room. The sheds displayed here are behind a small couch that faces into the room. Then upon the fireplace mantle, in front of the fireplace, on top the television, my music CD cabinet, a large bookcase, and in a wicker basket you'll see sheds.

Since whitetails grow them anew every year, there is, at least theoretically, an endless supply of these things where ever the bucks have been. Actually, it sounds pretty easy, but it isn't. You'd be surprised how those sheds look just like fallen branches, leaves, or when covered with dirt and lichen are almost invisible!

Steve, my husband, starts the shed hunting in earnest in January when the bucks begin to drop their prizes. If there has been a small amount of snow they will show up and not sink down. But, it's not as if they drop both sides at the same time, or on a well worn path, or on your lawn. No, they can be dropped anywhere. Steve's crawled under thickets, walked miles through brush, scoured muddy bare corn, soybean, alfalfa, and wheat fields, examined railroad tracks and the undergrowth along them, and searched all kinds of woods.

And, if he puts in enough man hours, he can be rewarded with a nice half with 6 points on it that has just been dropped - you can see the fresh blood on the end. Or many times he finds a small piece of a shed antler that is years old and has been nearly gnawed away by mice, squirrels, or chipmunks - they get needed minerals that way.

Some years he has found 20 plus, and other years it has been slim pickins with only 6 or 7. But they all find their way to our home and the mantle holds that season's sheds through the summer. Shed hunting time lasts only until the woods and fields begin to green up - then everything is hidden.

You'd think that this kind of hobby would be pretty laid back and mellow -- Oh no! Steve has sons and friends who also hunt sheds and it is quite competitive. He won't tell his friends where the "honey hole" is for that year (he does tell his sons) and good areas are secrets. If you meet another shed hunter in the woods or fields, you don't give away too much info or brag too much about what you have. Sometimes, if he's found a nice shed, he'll hide it under his coat the whole rest of the time he walks. Just in case he meets up with someone. It isn't always a solitary time, he does go with his boys and makes a whole day of it.

During the week, since we work 2nd shift, he can do some walking in the mornings. Most people are out walking on the weekends so he generally has the areas to himself. It's funny, but most of the good shed areas are behind and around subdivisions, industrial parks, and developments, not up north or extremely wild spots. That does make things pretty tough since he won't trespass on private property. Luckily, there are lots of parks and sanctuaries near the developed areas and the deer like to hang out there.

This snowy winter wasn't good for shed hunting and last weekend Steve went out but came back within an hour. The snow was still boot high and everything was still covered - even in the wooded areas. But this week we've begun to warm up and the snow is disappearing fast and tomorrow it will be the official start of the season.

I like it that he does this kind of hunting. Nothing dies and he gets a lot of exercise and fresh air. And if you could see his face and hear his voice when he slyly pulls one out from his jacket pocket and says "Guess who's still got it!" you'd agree completely with me.

He has such patience, an excellent eye, and just loves doing this that I hope he'll be able to do it until he's old and grey (actually he's nearly all grey now!) I'd go with him when we first dated, so I know how truly hard it is and I'm very proud when he finds them. The elusive sheds are out there and quietly waiting for him.

Bye for now, Alyssa