The Season of Mud and Molt

 

Letting Suzy, Sandy and Mikaela free roam in the house is a big chore. Actually, the free roaming is fine. It is the getting ready to let them free roam that is the work. They all attack cats. Suzy and Sandy to play with them but they are so big, the can hurt a cat really easy. Mikaela attacks to kill. Anything furry and small is for hunting. This is the season, though, that they are free roaming a lot. They need regular brushing, cleaning and nail trimming. Normally, the molt hair is impossible to keep up with no matter how hard we try. About a week into the thaw, we usually throw our hands up and get ready for a few weeks of mud and molt. This year, our winter season has been extremely mild. There is not much molt for us to deal with. None of the dogs developed their full winter coat. Not even Summer. The mud, on the other hand, has arrived with its' usual reliability. Our yard is the only one with snow left and there is not much of it. It is a bit unique in our yard because we have so many trees. It means the snow lasts a few extra days here. With most of it melted, the girls lower pen is a swamp. Time to close that pen until the spring run off is finished and the ground is able to dry. As much work as the next few weeks will be in terms of the dogs, it does mean that the garden will be blooming soon. That is always a plus.

The Charitable Side

Natural Connection is the charitable side of Little Shop of Hoarders. It will locally promote our connection to nature through garden programs. I expect that most of the funding will go towards the pet medical fund but most of the programs will be garden related. The pet programs will assist in keeping pets healthy and in loving homes. We will not be taking animals but rather, will be helping others keep their animals. It will be a much better solution than us taking every stray that shows up broken in the valley! We can't keep up with that.

Window Watching

Hmmmmmmmm, I wonder if anything is ever going to walk by that window!

Maggie

The last few days have been a whirlwind of animal care. Tuk has developed a rash on his inner thigh, Didi hurt her foot on something outside and Maggie's allergies are flaring up really bad. She has to get cream twice a day and wear a t-shirt. Although she prefers the t-shirt to a cone, all her confidence disappears when she wears it. The back actually says "Porchlight" but on her, no matter what angle you look, all you can read is "orchlight". I feel bad for her because she is really suffering with the itch of allergies but darn it... she is just too cute in her little t!

Hot Afternoons

Hot afternoons are hard on plants and all things furry. The dogs are living in front of the fans!

King of the Castle

Sometimes it is important to be king... even if you are the only one in the castle!

Embracing Change

Heliopsis 'Loraine Sunshine', monkshood and Linda's red daylily are just a few of the new plants in my garden this season. I also reduced the size of the sun gardens by more than half and surprisingly, I am really enjoying that because it has meant that it is almost always completely weed free! Taking the rock edge away where that garden meets the lawn has also made it easier to keep a clean edge. Overall, I am happy with all of the changes in the garden this year and am planning even more. Today I have been clearing out at the front of the house for my new rose garden. The excitement of the day, despite the blooming flowers, was the little female finch I had to save from Penny and Hannah on the front deck. She hit the window and by the time I got there, Penny had her in her mouth with just a wing sticking out and a high pitched tweet coming from inside. Fortunately, Penny dropped her as soon as I told her to but by then, Hannah was running towards us. It was a bit of a panic but I managed to get the bird into a tree and after awhile, she flew off. We spent the afternoon cutting up the latest tree brought down by the prairie winds. That makes 3 this year. Another change I made today was the blog background. I did that in honour of the awesome skies we have been enjoying here. We are in the land of the living sky here but the last few days it has been more incredible than usual. A very pure, bright, clear blue that I have been unable to capture in photograph and do it any justice at all. We see a lot of sky here. It goes out for miles and miles. So it takes something special to get me snapping the camera upward. The colour has been so crystal clear, I find it impossible to even describe.

Dog Fight

I have no clue what happened or how but last night Summer and Maggie broke into a dog fight, right at my feet, that brought Didi and Moxie running to help. It was definitely mayhem. Fortunately, none of the other dogs felt the urge to jump in but still, Miles and I both hurt our backs in the fight break up process and both Maggie and Didi were injured. Didi ended up getting the worst of it but I think she will be alright. She has a puncture wound on her neck that I am cleaning, disinfecting and checking twice a day. Any sign of infection and she will be off to the vet. Maggie seems to be doing better than her but also has two small puncture wounds. They already look like they are healing up though. The terriers are relentless, even when it is so clear to us that they are the most likely to get hurt in these situations. Summer seems to have suffered less damage than even I did. Moxie is unhurt but did manage to bite my finger. There was blood everywhere in the kitchen/dining/living rooms and most of it was mine! We are spending the day recovering. I hope a day will be enough for that.

Sleeping Dogs

Some days you just know it's better to let sleeping dogs lay. The dogs were all worked up today and had several little skirmishes over nothing. Cabin fever was setting in. Then, this afternoon, the sun came out, the temperature went up and the dogs all headed outside. Energy drained and back in by dark. The warm afternoon made a huge difference. With luck, we will have a few more of those throughout the real cold snaps that January usually brings.

Winter Rays

The little girls already do not like the winter weather. They stay inside a lot more than even a week ago. The only sunray they could find to share was on the dining room floor.

My New Best Friend

A skunk has moved into the yard somewhere. Penny was sprayed yesterday and today it was Wile E and Tuk. It's awful!!

Fall Shows Up

Fall colours are showing up and if we had any sun, I would have taken some photographs of that. Tomorrow is another day... you hear that Mr. Sun? Had Yehoni at the vet today. His bloodwork came back normal so he goes for a chest xray on Thursday. More diagnostics but so far, results have all been good news. It was cold, wet and rainy again today. It would have been a beautiful fall day to be in the garden if it had not been so wet. I have started to get desperate and take pictures of everything that is left, eventhough today it all looked pretty waterlogged. Still, not many days left to enjoy blooms I think. Only advantage to the rain at this point is that if it keeps up overnight, it will keep the frost at bay. We turned the heat on for the first time last night. It is getting cold at night now.

Settling In

I arrived home from Calgary a couple of days ago and all the dogs were happy to see me, particularly Penny and Summer. My garden is full of blooms and I have been wandering around in it several times a day.  I had a great visit with family, met the hawks that have nested in the yard there and the smallest frog I have ever seen. I brought home divisions from my cousin's garden, some of which are already in the ground. The rest will be in by dark today. I am waiting for the heat to die down a bit before going back out. I have planted Chinese Lantern which were given a huge space they can go nuts in. Also, Clematis which broke into two pieces on the trip home and will now, hopefully, be in two places in my garden. There is white lamium that is pink blooming, sedum 'Autumn Joy', dark purple Iris and something that looks similar to Brunnera with a pointy leaf which my cousin tells me blooms yellow. I have no idea what it is or if it is even my zone but she had a huge patch and it never hurts to try.

Summer Day

It was a quiet and relaxing Summer day in the garden for all of us. Our more typical weather showed up and it was warm but breezy. No planting today because my sister and I are off to visit our Aunt for a few days and if the sun shows up like it did today, transplants would struggle in the heat. Decided it was best to leave everything where it is already happy and rooted. Divisions begin in earnest when I get back though because signs of Fall are everywhere here. I managed to get all the gardens well watered and found at least three dahlia that should open any day for me. Hopefully by the time I am back. 

Maggie and the Frog

All three little girls jump at doors when they are outside and want to be let in. Two days ago in the early evening, Maggie and Moxie were inside and Didi was outside when there came a knock, or rather a jump, at the front door. As is Maggie's habit, she faithfully followed Miles for her traditional meet and greet when Didi came in. When Miles opened the door, the knock was not Didi but rather, a little frog that had lost his way. Linda suggested he was perhaps Prince Charming but if he was, Maggie killed her Prince. There was no stopping her once she saw where the knock originated. She went tearing out into the yard in a flash. I think it is OK though because if the way Maggie treats Wile E. is any indication, she has no time for boys, princely or not!

We can actually see the Little House now !

It has been busy days the last few. This yard at the guesthouse still needs some decisions on pruning made but it is much, much better than it was two days ago. Penny likes the new view. Miles has been mowing and Josh has been here running the weed whacker. There is real progress everywhere, especially on the private road that is once again useable. I have been planting still. Tomorrow is my last day and I am still not sure I will get through it all but I am off to visit Linda in her garden so what isn't done will be in Judy's garden or compost. I finally got all the Glads in. The weather has not cooperated at all with planting season and the storm two days ago hit us hard in the Shade Bridge Garden where it took out the lower trunk in that photo from the tree in the top right. Just missed crushing Sean's car. Didn't miss my orange Lily Garden or the raspberry patch. Both needed repair after the trunk was cut up and moved off of them. Better news is that the 'Winnipeg Parks' Rose, 'Morden Blush' Rose and Delphinium continue to open.

Long Days

'William Baffin' started opening a couple of days ago and is already covered. The Poppy patch is stretching to reach sunshine that we have not had. Many of the individual flowers are seeding before they are even fully open. It is storming now. Lightening, thunder and pouring rain. It is quite spectacular aside from a couple of nervous dogs.  It was hot today though so we are under tornado warnings. I am already wondering how the garden will weather this storm. Plants like the Catmint and Columbine, which grow tall and drape, or like the Peony, with flowers that make the stalks top heavy, can fall flat in the rain, sometimes taking days to recover. We had visitors in our garden today including my nephew, his family, a Yellow Shafted Northern Flicker we have never seen in our yard and  Hammy's new baby! Solomon got one of the slower ones last week. Try as we might, squirrels look like rodents to him and he is allowed to hunt rodents. Sometimes the line gets blurred. We were happy to see there was at least one other that made it through the Spring. 

Tuk & Penny's Latest Gardening Project

Penny started this when she jumped it and knocked a stone down. That got her digging. Tuk finished it with a bit more digging and some rolling around in the wet dirt to make the rock pillow. Three days and ta da! they have a new shade bed. Tomorrow I will move the rock that looks about to fall and break his back although the whole thing could come tumbling down on him any minute they way they have dug it out from underneath to fit their form. I guess I'll check all the rocks above. I have long ago learned that when they make a nest, it's best not to fight with them about the space. It is only frustrating to try and besides, he looks very comfortable.

Suzy Q

This is Suzy. She is our Grey and White Giant Malamute. She is Sandy's littermate and the last of our pets left to introduce here. 6 cats, 11 dogs... you have met them all now. Suzy's favorite passtime is watching the cat door that leads to the basement. That is what she is doing here. Funny thing is, she will watch the cat door even if there is a cat sitting beside her, above her, almost on her.... it seems like what she likes to watch is the door itself. She is fascinated to see a cat go in or out of it. She is also very mellow and will lean into you when you pet her. Suzy and Sandy both used to like walking between our legs when they were little. Suzy sometimes still tries to do it but she ends up lifting me up because she really isn't little at all anymore !

Large and In Charge

This is Sandy, our red Giant Malamute. Her littermate, Suzy, is a grey and white and is also with us. Sandy is beautiful and gentle with people. She loves to be petted and she is my giant baby. She and Suzy were our first dogs and moved with us to here. She won't take any crap from other dogs though and will get aggressive if they get on her nerves. Some days it is easy for them to get on her nerves. She also likes to play with cats but she is way too big for that. Sandy and Suzy also are so large they scare strangers so they are 2 of the 4 dogs that are fenced when they are outside.