Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, your popular host, Mani the purebred border collie, here to bring you up to date on what’s been happening here, which is really not much at all. You may remember me from such posts as “A Wintry Mix”, among so many, many others.
Here I am in a characteristic pose. You may be able to see that it was snowing today.
It wasn’t very cold; above freezing, actually, but the snow means that the snowdrops and other flowers will be put on hold for another couple of weeks.
It’s always snowed here in winter, but the snow usually melted “back in the old days”. In the last several years, it hasn’t. The snow just stays on the ground.
And the paths in the garden get pretty icy. The guy I live with says it’s “hot paws racing out to bark at squirrels”, which is probably accurate.
You might not be able to see just how icy this path is, under the snow.
But you can definitely see how icy the flagstone is. This sort of thing doesn’t happen here all that often.
It’s slippery, for sure. The guy I live with keeps telling me to be careful, and I saw how cautious he was when he went out to fill the bird feeders.
One of the feeders is under the arbor, on one side of it, really, and just today the guy I live with looked up, and saw this:
He just stood there for a while, looking at it, then took the picture you see. He said he wasn’t sure if he’d ever noticed that little lantern before. He probably had, but it came as a surprise anyway.
I know he’s been down in the dumps, lately. He’s been having trouble with his ear, and went to the doctor yesterday. He got some antibiotic drops; when he lies on the bed with the drops in his ear, I lie next to him, because I can tell how unhappy he is.
He’s going to have to go to an “audiologist”, which I thought meant he was going to go shopping for a new hi-fi, but that’s not it at all.
It’s not really that, though, just part of it. He’s been missing his wife, a lot, lately. Some people might say unkind things about that, the way they do, especially after all these years have passed, but that’s how things are. Something must have triggered it.
He hasn’t been able to see his friend for a while, though they talk on the phone quite a bit. He hurt his back shoveling the neighbors’ walks and driveways, and then this ear thing started last week. So there’s been a lot of staying at home, which suits me just fine.
If you ask me, which people don’t usually do, it’s because of being under the weather, which he hasn’t been, much, for years, and so it reminds him of the times when things like this happened and his wife was here.
But he does have me. And that’s a big deal, for him. Even though he’s been telling me I’m a “bed hog” in the last few days. Can you believe it? A bed hog.
I didn’t think there were all that many rules here, but it turns out that I’m expected to sleep parallel to the length of the bed, and not across it.
My excuse is that there are so many toys on the bed I can only fit one way, but the guy I live with just moves the toys and says there’s plenty of room “over here”.
And also (this part I understand), if I sleep right next to him, it’s toastier, and I get the full benefit of being able to sleep at least partly under the nice wool blanket the guy I live with got to make the bedroom even cozier. I can also see the TV better, when “Q.I.” is on. (It stands for “quite interesting”, if you didn’t know, and I can hear the guy I live with laughing, even though he watches the same episodes over and over again.)
He also says that even though I’ve never seen a sheep, I have an affinity with them, and so, by extension, with a blanket made of wool.
Well, so, anyway, I do have some plant news. Look at the seedlings of the buffalo gourd now.
Obviously some transplanting will be necessary pretty soon.
I don’t know why some of the seedlings are yellow, though maybe it’s a nitrogen deficiency.
(The seedlings in the rearmost pot are Amsonia tomentosa.)
Our walks have been pretty nice. I haven’t had to wear my boots because it hasn’t been so cold.
The willows, like you can see in the first picture and in this one, are quite photogenic at this time of year.
I’ll leave you with a blurry picture of me, on my walk just this evening.
Until next time, then.
the miserable gardener 
This is a pretty miserable time of the year to start with and all other worries and sadnesses become magnified because of that and then those sad thoughts are not interrupted by the normal activity of being outside, gardening, walking, being busy etc and so they fester and become worse and worse. He is very fortunate to have such a good companion. Be careful on the ice and wear your warm shoes!
Thanks. The ice is pretty bad. I hear we didn’t used to have winters like this. They were a lot of “disconcertingly” warm weather (he liked it, but no one else did), followed by Arctic blasts. Now, winters are mostly steady cold, though not really cold. It’s just below freezing right now at twnty to nine at night. (Instead of a zillion below.)
What?! You allow him to sleep in the bed?! Well, that is rather generous. Rhody sometimes allows me to sleep with him, but only because he like warmth, and does not need all the space. He typically sleeps in a separate smaller bunk though.
I mostly only sleep on the bed at night in the wintertime. I sleep in my Upstairs Fort in the summer, when the fan is blowing cool air into the bedroom.
Nonetheless, it is generous of you to allow the guy you live with to share the bed.
It really is. We purebred border collies can be so noble and selfless.
Rhody may not be as selfless, but he does not occupy much space in the bunk, and appreciates extra warmth.
Extra warmth is always excellent.
Yes, and some might not mind if it is provided by a kitty.
There were cats here long ago, but I never hear of them being toasty.
Rhody believes that Darla is quite tasty, and regularly chews on her ears. (It is disturbing to witness.)
The guy I live with said he almost brought me home a smoked pig ear. But he didn’t.
Maybe he got one, but neglected to share. Well, if he had, you would have been able to smell it. It sounds better than kitty ears, and is likely less resistant to getting chewed on.
I guess.
If Darla would not mind, Rhody would not mind sharing one of her ears. She has two, at least so far.
I think I’ve forgotten what this was about. I’ve never had a pig ear.
Mew mew mew ‘hot pawss’ made BellaSita Mum giggell (THANX Mani; shee needed a guud giggell).
An ‘bed hog’…yeah mee two…Mee triess to lye horryzontall an BellaSita innsistss mee lye verticall on THE rite side of bed…..that iss “MY” side apparently. Hu’manss sure are quirky aren’t they???THE Willow treess are lovelee this time of yeer…..Yore flagstoness sure look slippurry!!
An you got a bit of snow! Since wee last meowed wee have had 2 snow stormss an now tonite it has snow fore 6 hourss strait! Wee have allmost 2 feet of snow!
As fore Guy pleese give him sum **nose kissess** from mee OKay??? BellaSita Mum has been gettin sicker an shee iss missin hubby Kevin so much shee sayss shee hertss! An hee left her July 2003. No one shuud meow one nasty thing to Guy or BellaSita or anyone who has lost a Spouse purrson they loved an reelied on. That iss so crass!
BellaSita iss sending gentel {{hugss}} to help Guy feel a bit bettur….
***nose tubss!!! BellaDharma
Thanks. His ear is driving him crazy, but he puts his antibiotic drops in every night, like a good patient.
We got about an inch of snow, but it’s not very cold right now.
He doesn’t know why he’s been so desperately missing his wife lately. Maybe it’s the pandemic or something.
Sometimes when people hear things like this they say dumb stuff, like advice, and that’s usually hurtful, as you know. He just lives with this.
The willows are pretty cool, though you can see how the branches break in the snow. That big broken branch has been like that since last spring.
Mee-yow wee are purrayin Guy getss bettur furry soon!
Wee gotted 2 FEET of snow…due you want us to send you sum Mani???
BellaSita meowed to mee shee iss missin hubby Kevin ’cause when hee was with her hee tooked grate care of her an was so kind an thottfull.
Shee told mee shee missess hubby Paul beecause hee kept her busy (hee was a Quadriplegic) an takin care of him gave her a purrpose.
An there iss THE LOVE….that iss tuff to live without an THE connection to that speshell purrson….
Covid brott alot of memoriess back to peepell an many are feelin THE same.
Wee wish Covid wuud just dye off furever……..
The guy I live with says thanks. I think you’re right; this Covid stuff has been very hard on a lot of people, and causes memories to resurface.
We would all like it go away.
The guy I live with’s father was a hemiplegic, from the Korean War.
We’re supposed to get about half a foot of snow tonight and tomorrow. The guy I live with says we don’t need any more, but they could use some in Denver (the botanic gardens is about fifteen miles to the northeast of us, I guess).
Mee-yow Guy’ss PawPaw was a Hmeplegic?? That iss tuff to live with. Our upstairss nayburr iss allso.. Shee iss 66 like BellaSita an been like this since 16 yeerss old! WOW!
When shee falls BellaSita Mum calls 911 fore Ambylance an shee will go to Miss R an sit with her.
An wee due hope youss’ get more snow fore THE plantss an ground!
An Mistur Guy wee send POTP an kind reegardss…beein single iss not easy an wee understand….
Thanks; we have about six inches of new snow here.
You can read the post “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow”, if you like. It was written before Chess, the purebred border collie who lived here before me, took over the narration, but it’s still okay.
HURRAH fore 6 inchess of snow!!! Xcellent mewss!
Wee will try to find that post you mentioned!
**purrss** BellaDharma an ((huggiess)) BellaSita Mum
Supposed to get more snow tomorrow.
You can just search in the search box. (The guy I live with would provide a link but then he gets this weird back-link or something to a blog that he never uses and doesn’t know the password. Long story.)
Ear issues and especially ear infections are in my experience especially disheartening, something about the pain and disorientation and lack of energy. So much sympathy to your guy, who has so much sadness to bear anyway. Fortunately he has you for comfort, even if there are territorial issues around bed space.
Maybe a nice warm compress for his ear – like a microwaved rice bag – would also be comforting, as would some actual spring weather? I know you are doing your best to help.
Warm regards,
ceci
Thanks. The guy I live with has been pretty sad lately.
He was hoping to be able to see his friend, but the weather keeps getting in the way, and on the one nice day last week he had to go to the doctor. (That in itself is unusual. Typically he has to go places on the worst weather day of the week.)
I guess there will be more doctor visits, but he goes to the doctor all the time anyway.
It’s OK to be sad and missing the ones you have loved. Please carry on sir. Fondly, m
Thanks. The guy I live with isn’t sure what triggered this.
The whole house, especially the studio, and including the resident purebred border collie, reminds him of her, so in a sense she’s still present here.
Some people don’t seem to get that.