The Perils of Poppy

Yes, two posts in one day; don't panic!

That's because I decided to 'divide and conquer' the topics and photos piling up in my mental and laptop files. Although I could have worked Poppy into the previous post since she has a flower name.... 😉

Poppy leads a busy life. She plays, she hunts, she sleeps, she goes to agility class . . . and I even get photos of some of it!

She loves our bed – with or without company:

She's a good little traveler, and sometimes is rewarded with FUN! On Sunday Rick had to go to the coast on a vet emergency, so Poppy and I rode along. The client had a large mixed breed puppy, and they had a great time playing together (even thought they look like they're fighting 🤣):

Then we went to the beach for a walk:

She wants to get a seagull SO.BAD.

Yesterday while outside, she must have tangled with a bee or wasp, because she came back to the front door looking like Rocky Balboa:

She's almost back to normal now. I suspect she revisited something she killed; the yellowjackets go crazy for flesh this time of year. If I find something right away, I pitch it on top of the woodshed so the vultures (and wasps, I suppose) can clean it up from there. I did that last weekend with three of Poppy's catches. At first I thought she was playing another gopher – until I saw a long, hairless tail. Ugh; a RAT! After I got a closer look at it and the two smaller carcasses I thought were mice, I did some online research. Who knew there were so many species!?! What Poppy killed appeared to be an adult and two young Dusky-Footed Woodrats, which  now makes me kind of sad because these aren't your nasty city rats. Oh well; terriers will be terriers.

That's it for now from . . .

Beauty and bounty

I posted this to Instagram>FB last week:

In spite of a lack of watering (the soaker hose I've used for them has failed), my daylilies are providing some color in the yard.

Rick and I took Poppy for a walk Sabbath afternoon and found more flowers:

Up in the garden, the flowers are less obvious but more fruitful:

I've eaten the first yellow cherry tomato; something helped itself to my first Matt's Wild Cherry tomato. 🤨 My tomatillo plants continue to go CRAZY; if I'd know they'd get so big I would have planted things differently. The eggplants seem to like their shade, but the pepper plants are struggling to find more light.

The zucchini, true to form, are producing well; hurray! I've harvested eight to date; Rick and I enjoyed the first two sautéd with onion, garlic, EVOO, and Penzey's Fox Point Seasoning, then tossed with whole wheat spaghetti. This morning I gave the neighbor three of the four I had just picked. She was delighted; they turned their garden plot into their chicken yard so have nothing planted this year. I really like the light green variety that was in the Renee's Seeds mix; need to save seeds for more of those next year!

This morning before it got too hot I chopped thistles and pulled tansy. Both noxious weeds are blooming now, and we don't want THOSE to go to seed.

That's it for food and flowers for now from . . .

I spy with my little eye

I've been taking garden photos for a planned post, but it's taken me so long that my title no longer fits! That's zucchini for you; it goes from blooms to 'boom' in practically the blink of an eye:

I picked this yesterday – after finding the last few strawberries

This was just one day earlier!

Lots of other zukes on the way!

We have blooms galore on the tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, and eggplant, the snow peas and bush beans are beginning to flower – and the cucumber plants have finally gone from lackluster to gangbuster!

I spy with my little eye from our bedroom window, bluebirds in our nest box. Since early spring we've gone from bluebirds to swallows and now back to bluebirds again; each pair has been in residence long enough to raise a clutch, I think (and hope).

As for my chicks, I got this update from friend Kate today: "Chippy is quite the beautiful bird and came over to see what I was up to when I wanted to take photos. Getting back far enough was a challenge. Dot and Lottie really like the 'sand pit.' Kate is curious but cautious. Dot will be smaller than Chippy [they are the two Whiting True Blues] I think but very similar to Lottie. So it looks like three regular girls and the homecoming queen." It is hard not to be able to spy all this with my own little eye!

I spy with my little eye . . . bleepin' TOUGH weeds. Tim suggested letting Brian use a propane torch to kill the weeds in our driveway when I mentioned that I can't keep up with them manually and don't want to use poison. Being a boy, he decided to mix used oil and gas to really scorch them (leaving a black, probably toxic mess...). 🙄 Yesterday I noticed new growth:

I spy with my little eye – my little spy:

I had pulled some hay down off the stack to feed horses and sheep, and Poppy had to check out the newly uncovered hidey-holes. She didn't find anything there, but the next morning managed to catch a gopher. Yay; a new TOY!  😝

I do spy with my little eye a few flowers around the place. My lemon yellow daylilies are in full bloom; my deck geraniums are trying to put out some color, and the Queen Anne's Lace blooms where it can (one weed I don't mind too much).

Finally, I spy with a teary eye just two horses out on pasture this evening. Poor Oliver was struggling to move around on broken-down legs and wasn't eating well; it was past time to end his suffering. Still, it is sad.

That's it for now from . . .

Another update!

Last night and early this morning I did 'CPR watering' in the garden and took closer stock. Some heat/sun damage is now apparent, especially in the beans, potatoes, and greens. But my hill of zucchini from starts was ablaze with blooms this morning, promising tender, young summer squash soon!

Before Rick left he helped me give Berlin her second CD&T shot. I had already done chores and hadn't noticed anything amiss, but when I went back down to catch my lamb, her dam Vienna was stuck in a corner unable to get up. She seemed to have no strength or will when I went in to help her; I wondered if Berlin was going to get a shot and lose her mother today. But eventually Vienna struggled to her feet with my help (she seemed even more thin than after shearing) – then showed an amazing burst of energy when I brought out the rice bran pellets! I refilled the ewes' mineral feeder with sheep minerals and kelp, then stood by so the two old ladies could help themselves first. Vienna again pushed her way in with vigor, not giving way even to Berlin who was squished against the wall. Considering the thoughts I'd had just minutes before, it was good to see.

Squished!

My friend Kate sent me fresh photos of all four chicks this afternoon. Chippy, my 'chipmunk' Whiting True Blue, has gotten really dark. Spot, my white True Blue, still has her namesake markings. The other two reserved for me I have named Lottie (all white) and Kate (whose deep red feathers match my friend's hair color). I'm not sure what breed either Lottie or Kate are. Kate may be a Rhode Island Red; Lottie could be a White Rock, White Orpington, or White Wyandotte (I didn't realize there are so many brown-egg-laying all-white breeds!). Reinforcements are on the way – eventually. 😊

Both my Whiting True Blues

For supper I made a big batch of pasta salad from a recipe I made once before. It calls for arugula, but since mine is bolting/waning, I supplemented what I had with some kale, basil, and parsley. It's yummy!

That's it for today from . . .