Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, your popular host, Mani the purebred border collie, here this evening to bring you a rather creepy post indeed. You may remember me from such creepy posts as “The Missing Grass” and, of course, “Creeped Out”, among at least a few others.
Here I am in a characteristic pose.
It’s hard to say what the weirdest thing is, lately, because the list of weird stuff is pretty long.
It rained. That was weird. We got maybe a third of an inch, and on top of the watering that was done a few days ago, the soil in some parts of the garden is pretty damp.
There are colchicums in flower now. This is ‘Disraeli’.
And you can see how much it rained on like the parking lot by where we walk.
The guy I live with said, “Look, a duck”, but I didn’t see it.
It’s actually kind of a nice parking lot and reminds the guy I live with of the kind of places where he used to work.
There’s a place where a bunch of cottonowood roots have come to the surface, like huge earthworms, because I guess the grass is watered a lot.
Well, across from this is like an old sluice, which maybe I’ve showed before. Probably. On the concrete there is a very large, and I mean really extra fairly gigantically large you know what. The guy I live with said that if you get too close to her she goes into this defense mode, because there are babies close by, and I really didn’t want to see this defense mode, thank you very much anyway, and we are certainly not going to show a picture of the creature the guy I live with calls the dark queen, because, well I’ve already been plenty creeped out lately.
He did say that there’s been one there before, maybe not the same one, though it would be weird to think that two you know whats have raised babies there by the sluice.
I almost put my nose right on her. The guy I live with started making loud “nose somewhere else” noises.
Well, so, it rained, and today she wasn’t there. The babies were gone, too. The guy I live with said they were probably moved. Hopefully not any closer to me.
A couple of the times that it rained we were under a severe thunderstorm watch, or warning, for most of the day. This is what it looked like the last time we were under a watch. You can see the big clouds right at the bottom of the picture. 
With the rain, the garden perked up a bit.
I guess that’s really all there is, today. We’ve mostly just been sitting here, not doing much. The guy I live with’s head might explode trying to work with this new editor. It’s not very easy to use at all.
I think I’ll leave you with a nice sunset picture of me which the guy I live with posted on Facebook, and which he likes a lot. Of course, because it has me in it.
Until next time, then.
the miserable gardener 
Mew mew mew Mani it does sound like sum creepy thingss happenin there…Mee thinkss mee has THE ‘Dark King’ here…LadyMew callss him Pee-air an MAN does hee stink Mani!!! As inn PEE-YOU!!! Efurry nite wee can smell Pee-air an wee have to close windowss…..
Yore Diss-raeli flower iss so xquisite…dellycat an purrty!!! An yore garden does look perkier! An Mani you look hansum purr usual. Pleese give mee ree-gardss to yore ‘Guy’.
Pee S: All tho’ wee did not get Hurrycane Dorian here wee DID get a lot of wind an rain…purrty wild weather efurrywhere it seemss……
***purrsss*** BellaDharma
Oh, like a skunk? We haven’t smelled any at all this year, which is totally weird. The guy I live with says thanks and hopes that LadyMew is feeling better.
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Oy yea Mani wee have a HUGE skunk! Pierre lookss like a cat fore reel!!! Mee happy you not have any there this yeer. They can reelly mess with us 4 leggedss an our Hu’manss!
LadyMew had a guud week last week butt iss not well at all this week. Kidneyss are furry sore. An her Bladdur iss hertin too.
Mee an shee hope yore ‘guy’ iss doin well an enjoyin THE end of Summer there….
**purrsss** BellaDharma
Well we are sorry that LadyMew isnât feeling well. The guy I live with knows how that is, and we hope she feels better soon. I guess itâs the end of summer; itâs still hot here, and very dry.
Oh, I donât know why the characters in this message are so weird. New email program.
Mew mew mew Mani an yore ‘guy’ LadyMew had a turribell week butt got inn to Clinick to see a nice Lady Docktur who told her THE truth ’bout her beein sick. Shee NOT have Kidney Disease like Urologist said….
Shee did have a bad bout of Costochondritis which drove her Bee P upss. Today iss Furiday an shee iss normal again….well HER normal….
Wee post a bloggie Sunday with dee-tailss!! Mee so happy LadyMew goin to bee here with mee fore a long time! An mee noticed THE funny squiggellss on here butt they are nice so mee not worried ’bout them….
**purrsss** BellaDharma
Thatâs pretty good news, huh? Itâs so nice to feel relief like that.
Mani you tooked THE werdss outta mee mouth! REELEEF iss rite! LadyMew’ss Costochondritis has settelled down an onlee tendurr not pain full like it was.
An LadyMew iss MUCH clamer….. 😉
Well thatâs so much better. And being calmer is better, too.
Mew mew mew you said it Mani!!! 😉
You’re a light unto the nations, Mani! Keep glowing.
Speaking of glowing: In the ‘characteristic pose’ shot, I at first mistook the whitish ?grass beyond for your tail, in an especially bushy moment. Maybe TGYLW knows what plant that is?
Thanks. The guy I live with had to look, but that’s the Artemisia ludoviciana ‘Silver Frost’ that you see in almost every picture. It really spreads.
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Pic by the sluice…. that’s one spectacular tail.
Thanks. I tend to agree.
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Uh, *I’m* in the dark about the Dark Queen. Does the creature have pinching ability? Does it swim? Is it bigger than a breadbox? I hope you will not be dismayed to hear, Mani, that I cannot tell the garden’s state from Rain to Not Rain. Looks pretty good to me at any time. Recent photos of you show a fierce and handsome dog looking especially excellent this season. We here know all about exploding heads, and we have the stories. We’ll trot ’em out if you’re ever in the neighborhood.
Thanks. We try to make the garden look the same no matter what. The guy I live with is into sameness right now. The Dark Queen is very large, possibly larger than the one on the patio, with eight legs, and a certain aggressiveness which is pretty scary. There are babies, though. If she has pinching ability I really don’t want to know.
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Like this?
Not nearly as scary, really.
Sameness is elusive, and at this time of year (here) would have to be cyclical sameness, as in the same at this part of the circle of the year. We are definitely having fall, even if it is still hot and humid – the soil is cooling and dry as dust, something you are probably used to. I wonder if it reduces the smells? My dog companion knows but isn’t telling. The name Dark Queen is a good one; I’m going to think of them that way and perhaps will be less startled when one runs across my arm, as happens a lot at this time of year.
cheers,
ceci
It sort of feels the same as it did last year, though the only way I know is the guy I live with talking about this time of year, and all the tenth anniversaries still to come. It has gotten a lot cooler, and the light seems more slanting. The guy I live with said that if the Dark Queen crawled across his arm, or, really, anywhere near him, he would probably let out a little scream.
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