Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, your popular host, Mani the purebred border collie, here today after quite a long absence. You may remember me from such posts as “Practically Nothing”, among so many, many others.
Here I am in a characteristic pose.
This is mostly what both of us have been doing for the last two weeks.
I had a considerable amount of digestive distress a couple of weeks ago; eventually the guy I live with helped me out of that, and then weekend before last he got really sick.
I mean really sick.
Things are better now but there were a few days when he wondered if he would have to be hospitalized, and worried where I would stay if that happened.
Both of us did a lot of serious napping, especially last week. As you can see, I’m an expert napper.
All the while, the garden smelled like what the guy I live with said was the smell of a 1950s candy counter.
The smell was from this.
The Russian hawthorn, Crataegus ambigua.
Sometimes it can smell awful, but this year it didn’t. Even the house smelled like candy.
We have gotten a little rain, though not as much as we expect in May, and there are other shrubs in flower.
Rubus deliciosus.
Rubus x tridel ‘Benenden’.
Lycium pallidum.
Mahonia fremontii.
The big thing is the fifteenth anniversary of his wife’s death. I know this has been weighing on his mind a lot lately.
Here’s a picture of her, with Chess, the purebred border collie who lived here before me, taken a week before she died.
I know the guy I live with will never get over this, but at this distance in time I guess there isn’t much to say about such things.
I’ll leave you with a picture of me wading through the sea of smooth brome out in the field. We purebred border collies enjoy strolling through tall grass. I suppose eventually this will all be mowed, but until then, this is more fun than walking along the canal road.
Until next time, then.
the miserable gardener 
There isn’t much to say, except that I am thinking about you…
The guy I live with says thanks.
I am glad you are there to take care of the guy that you live with, Mani. Anniversaries, such as that, are difficult. I am glad that you are both past your illnesses too.
Out in the garden, your Lycium pallidum and Mahonia fremontii are very pretty. Is Rubus deliciousus actually delicious?
Thanks. The guy I live with says that some people claim the rubus fruit is edible, but he remains dubious.
The shrub has seeded itself here and there, I guess because he didn’t eat the “raspberries” and let the birds eat them instead.
Glad you are both feeling better. And it’s never too long a time for someone to be remembered.
Thanks. It does seem like an awfully long time, in some ways, but in others, the guy I live with said it could be this morning.
I appreciate your posts about the guy you live with missing his wife.
Cindy’s artwork in High and Dry is simply stunning.
Thanks. Most of those watercolors are now in the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation.
Well deserved; an impressive institution.
There are something like thirteen of her watercolors there; one only about half-finished, but the Hunt wanted it.
The guy I live with jokingly said his wife would have been insufferable, strutting around and snorting about how many drawings the Hunt wanted, especially since she had little confidence in her ability to work in watercolor pencil.
She was entirely self-taught.
That’s a sweet picture of Cindy and Chess.
It really is. The guy I live with says she would have really liked me.
Sending tender thoughts of comfort. We hope you both feel better. ❤️🩹
Thanks. I certainly feel better, and the guy I live with may actually be on the mend after his ordeal.
Your flowers are pretty, and your Mahonia fremontii is compelling, but this is a difficult post to read. This is why canine people like you are so helpful.
Thanks; we try to be helpful.
Thankfully you each have each other for support. I am so sorry to hear about your recent illnesses and hope you are both well on the mend. Spring is a glorious time for renewal and memories. I hope there are plenty of good ones to help you through this time.
Thanks; I’ve never seen the guy I live with be so sick. He said the last time he was this sick was some time in the last century.
I had, and maybe still have, the usual “digestive events” that we purebred border collies seem to have; the guy I live with says it’s because of all the stuff I eat that I’m not supposed to. Grazing in the garden, you might say.
>”I guess there isn’t much to say about such things.”<
“I cannot say what loves have come and gone;
I only know that summer sang in me
A little while, that in me sings no more.”
Edna St. Vincent Millay