Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, your popular host, Mani the purebred border collie, here today to bring you up to date on what’s been happening in the last several days. You may remember me from such posts as “Up The Creek”, among so many, many others.
Here I am in a characteristic pose. I guess you can see how hectic it’s been around here lately.
It was cold, then it wasn’t, then it was, and now it isn’t. That pretty much sums up things around here.
The guy I live with had his last radiation yesterday. That was thirty-nine in all. He has to have follow-up appointments in a few months. The hormone therapy is still going, will be peaking in a few weeks, then slowly things will return to normal, though of course things won’t ever be all that normal here again.
The guy I live with said that for a while now he’s been happier than he has been in a long time, and I can tell. He is just going with the flow and not thinking too much about the future. We had a pretty good day today, working in the garden.
Here I am helping. You know, watching out for stuff. 
There are bunches of things in flower now. He used the phone to take pictures of these color forms of Corydalis solida. The focus could have been better. He says the corydalis all had labels once, but that a certain puppy stole all the labels because it seemed like a fun thing to do.
Most of these were selected by nursery people in Latvia and Lithuania, but now they don’t ship here. You can get some color forms from Odyssey Bulbs, though. These corydalis (the guy I live with won’t let me call them “corydalises”) are very easy to grow in sort of a woodland setting.
We kind of have this policy of not showing dead things, except for dead plants, of which there are always a lot, but we kept wondering when water in the canal would start to flow again. It seemed like it was really late in the year for it to start. One day we looked down into the canal bed and there was this huge dead crawdad. 
I went down to look at things, but not at the crawdad. It might only have been playing dead and pinched me on the nose. The guy I live with said there were some others lying in the dirt, pretty pathetically, but I prefer to err on the side of caution.
Then just a couple of days ago the water started flowing. It felt good just to walk by it.
I went in, but the water was really cold. I mean really cold. So I jumped back out again. The guy I live with would have said I was a wimp, but he knows better. He know just how fierce I can be.
Well, I guess that’s all I have for today. I know this post was a bit rambling, but I hope you liked it despite that.
Until next time, then.
the miserable gardener 
Stella, the dog I live with, found a dead crawdad in our back yard once. I have NO idea where that came from since we don’t live near a creek or anything. We go on ‘yard patrol’ of our acre everyday, and it’s amazing what Stella can find.
I’m happy to hear that the radiation has ended. Smooth sailing from here on out, I think
The guy I live with says maybe a heron picked up the crawdad, and then dropped the crawdad because it was all pinchy. He also says thanks, though this will always be at least in the background. Periodic checkups and stuff.
Finishing radiation is a landmark indeed. More time for gardening and dog walks without all that driving around! We play a similar fierceness game here, frequently involving hiding and jumping out (by the humans, dogs have more gravitas).
ceci
The guy I live with says thanks. There might not be all that much gardening here this year, aside from just looking at things. The guy I live with is getting old. So he says. We play a number of games here, though not Farfnickle, because the exercise bike is in the way.
Gorgeous Corydalis! Is there a list of the universe of possible cultivar names for them (like on the invoice for the plant order), despite the depredations of an unnamed puppy? Thinking that with DBG so close by, there might be occasional visiting experts who could sort a few of them out.
Just learned this week that there are 300 species of crawfish in the U.S. (from a biologist kvetching on Twitter about the relative neglect of freshwater conservation vs. marine biology). When I was growing up here, I spent lots of time around the spring and creek, watching crawdads and frogs and whatnot, and am ashamed of myself for not having even gone near the creek for years now. Never got pinched, but the ones here are a lot smaller than those in your canal. So great to see it flowing again!
Some of the corydalis names are Vermion Snow (white), Harkov (purple), maybe Red Banner (guess what color). There are others. It hardly makes any difference according to the guy I live with, because Odyssey sells a bunch of these color forms. The crawdads here are tinged with blue, as some pictures we posted earlier show. Some of them get pretty big. There used to be a great blue heron fishing (and I guess crayfishing) in the canal but it may have become wary of Chess, the purebred border collie who lived here before me, because of his total fierceness. Or maybe just because.
Yes, you can be very fierce when necessary! That’s when it counts. Like if that crayfish (that’s what they are called here) came alive and grabbed you. I have a reputation for killing them, accidentally. So, maybe once or twice, no more, I slipped on the muddy bank and crushed one that was in its burrow, but it’s not like I do it on purpose. They used to grow a lot bigger than the do know, and my family (when I was little) would go fishing for them. I have photographic proof they were big!
I just find dead birds in my yard, often headless. I guess owls fly off with the heads, although I’d guess the bodies would have better eating.
I may have missed it, but where does the canal water go? Is it for irrigation somewhere? My brother lives near a year-round canal, and he can pay an annual fee to tap into it for his garden. Problem is, the water is becoming saltier and his garden has been suffering.
The guy I live with says we sometimes have big snails here, which is totally weird because the garden is so dry. They come from nursery pots. Sometimes one gets stepped on in the night and it’s super gross. I don’t know about headless birds. That sounds kind of ritualistic in some scary way. Not sure where the canal goes. It’s really a ditch, but “canal” sounds better. “Walked along the ditch” doesn’t have that romantic sound, like “my evening walk along the canal” does. It goes east. Well it would have to, wouldn’t it? Everything here goes east, and then south. It goes somewhere. Just the other day the guy I live with noticed a sluice, complete with steel door and stuff, in a place we walk by all the time. Like the one pictured sometimes, but even closer to our house. There used to be farmhouses here. Or at least houses, so that would be their water.
When I lived on a creek the crayfish would come up and nibble your toes. You’d be sitting on a rock daydreaming and become aware of a light touch on your feet. They never pinched and maybe decided we weren’t good eating. Well, Mani that picture of you sleeping with your tongue out is very appealing. I often wonder why it’s so cute when dogs do this or that, but if a human adult did the same thing you would say eeeww. Nice color scheme with the plants. Was it planned? I am wondering if your house sits on an acre. It seems like a big garden and that is a lot to take care of as the years advance. Perhaps you could harness some of that energy and fierceness to help with garden tasks. Sorting tags, for example.
Thanks; you know there’s a picture of me when I was little sleeping with my tongue out. I guess sometimes I’m not sure what to do with my tongue. Or maybe I was dreaming about biscuits. The color scheme wasn’t planned. The guy I live with has no color sense at all. The garden is 125 feet from the back patio to the south corner, and I think about 100 from the north side, and then something like 95 feet across. Maybe bigger than that. It’s a pretty big back yard. I love my back yard. But I prefer a supervisory role. Or a guarding one.
Mew mew mew you look ‘dog tired’ inn yore ferst photoe,,, An mee thinkss mee seess an wee tongue hangin out!!! Mee wuud do a razzberry too…our weather has bin like yoress: cold; not so cold; cold; sorta warm; freezin with snow, wet snow an hali an rain then nice an warm an now back to cold!!! FISHCAKESS an MILKBONESS!!
Concatss to ‘THE Guy you live with’ finishin hiss treetmentss. Hee is a a true-purr an a warrior an wee cheer him on!!!! Wee hope hee feelss bettur an bettur as dayss go bye.
An mee thinks yore clevurr to stay away from anything that bitess or pinchess!
An yore video iss purrfect! You are so hansum butt you did look furoshuss fore sure…..
Happy Good Furiday! Hoppy Easter to you both.
~~head rubsss~~BellaDharma~~ an {{huggiesss}} LadyMew
Thanks. I can be pretty fierce. Sometimes. It was 74 degrees Fahrenheit here today. The guy I live with went to a plant sale with his friends. The guy I live with says thanks about the radiation. It wasn’t too bad, just 39 days of it.
Guud job Mani on beein feerce! Iss guud you can purrtect yore ‘guy’ way out there. An today was 60 deegreess an sunny! Yippee!
Our Snowdropss are all wilty; they nevurr bloomed….**sighsss**
Glad yore ‘guy’ iss dun his raddyation! Wee both are.
**purrsss** BellaDharma
Thanks. I can be extremely fierce when the occasion calls for it. Just check out “The Nameless Horror” and see for yourself. The guy I live with says that sometimes snowdrops don’t flower if the weather is wrong. But feeding them with a tomato fertilizer before the leaves yellow might help with next year. He uses Espoma organic fertilizer. Even on tomatoes, which never produce here. Yes, done with radiation, though there is still a ways to go, with blood tests later, and the hormone therapy, which should wear off eventually.
Mew mew mew Mani wee did NOT have THE rite weather fore those little snowdropss 😦
Wee keep meowin to Sky Cat to help yore ‘guy’ feel better an bee well soon….Mee must find THE blog you menshunned….mee lovess yore bloggiess!
***purrsss*** BellaDharma
Thanks; I think the guy I live with is feeling much better. The whole thing, which is not finished yet, has been ….interesting, to say the least. But radiation is finished, and so I don’t get left alone every single weekday. You can just do a search on our blog’s page for “The Nameless Horror”, and it will appear.
YIPPEE fore yore ‘guy’ feelin bettur. LadyMew told mee ’bout raydiation an stuff…..it all soundss purrty scarey!
An mee red THE Namelss Horror an ‘liked’ it! What a grate bloggie post you rote!! That balloon wuud have scared mee too Mani!! You did rite by yore ‘guy’ warnin him of danger…
~~head rubsss~~BellaDharma~~
Thanks; yes, the balloon was pretty scary. I guess the radiation wasn’t so bad, compared to the “prep” work beforehand, and the hormone therapy.
Yore ‘guy’ iss brave fore sure…LadyMew told mee ’bout THE bee-fore an treetmint. Mee all most fainted Mani! Wee keeps purrayin fore him to get well soon!
Thanks. He just came back from having his eyes examined, too. He said something about blindingly bright lights, like an alien spaceship or something.
The Fierce dog on exhibit in the video does not appear capable of caution. I hope your velociraptor days are behind you. Leaping combined with Fierce is overwhelming. How is it we are just hearing about an *exercise bike*? Beautiful pics of beautiful corydalis. May we expect to see a portrait of you replete with floppy, furry bunny ears, Mani?
Thanks, but I won’t be wearing bunny ears. Whew, huh. The guy I live with didn’t feel like saying anything about the exercise bike, I guess. It’s because of the hormone therapy…. I still like being a velociraptor from time to time.
I’m not surprised you need your rest Mani. All that beng cold, then not cold, then cold, then not cold, can be really tiring.
You are a brave dog and really fierce – those hands look very scary
Thanks. Things have been pretty different around here for quite some time. Though today was even scarier, with thunder in the morning.
Ran the “fierce” video early this morning. BabyBeast came running and all he wanted to do was play, bow, and lick the screen. Can’t fool him. Mani’s a lover.
I prefer to think of myself as super fierce and tough. Though the guy I live with did say something when I had to hide from the thunder this morning.
Rhody says that pure bred border collies are not as fierce as terrier mutts.
Fiercest dog ever met… a Tibetan Mastiff. Made the dobes, giants, shepherds, presarios, pits, BRT’s, and rotties look like pussycats. Don’t want one. And then, there was also that one chihuahua way back when.
Not sure why this appeared in our spam folder, but, anyway, way back when the guy I live with climbed telephone poles for a living, there was this one time when he was up on a pole, and at the bottom of the pole was a very unfriendly mastiff. It took some acrobatic moves for the guy I live with not to get chomped.