it’s spring

Greetings and salutations everyone; yes, once again it is I, Mani the tiny purebred border collie, filling in for the guy I live with, and here to bring you the latest news from our garden. (I almost wrote my garden …..) You may remember me from such posts as “My New Friend” among at least a few others.

Here I am in a characteristic pose. I’m not really completely still, as you can tell.15032205It turned into spring since the last time I talked to you. I didn’t notice much of anything, really, though the sandy loam appeared on the driveway and it was moved into the back yard, and put on top of the piles of gravel. I had to stay inside while this happened, of course, but it took a lot less time than moving the gravel did. The sandy loam seems to be sand and cow poop, and I think it’s pretty excellent. 15032204Like, for one thing, if I needed to survey things, which of course I do, being so little, the mounds make superior places for doing that. This picture was taken yesterday, when it was all gloomy and overcast for a while. 15032201It’s also my job to tamp down the sandy loam. Loam is kind of a funny word. That part that looks like a trench is what the guy I live with calls an “access path”. I haven’t used it yet. 15032205There were some crocuses blooming the other day, Friday I think, and I’m supposed to show those. It’ll help make this post seem longer. This is Crocus tommasinianus ‘Barr’s Purple’. You can get this one from a regular bulb place, sometimes. It reseeds, too. barrs

 

barrs3

barrs1That’s really all I have for today. Yesterday evening the guy I live with took a picture of the new moon, and so I’ll leave you with that.15032203

 

Until next time, then.

 

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a misty day

Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, Mani the tiny purebred border collie, filling in for the guy I live with (who doesn’t have anything to say anyway), and here to bring you the latest news from our garden, and maybe a picture or two of me being cute. You may remember me from such posts as “Still More Melting”, among at least a few others.

Here I am in a characteristic pose.15031901It was misty this morning, not really hugely misty, but still misty, which it rarely is around here, or so I’m told, and it was pretty different. I picked up an earthworm on the patio this morning, right after breakfast, but the guy I live with told me to spit it out, which I did (“for once”), because it was icky.

This is part of the garden, looking all misty (but not really misty). You can see that there are piles of gravel where there weren’t any two days ago, and you can also see some plastic covers for bulbs whose pictures need taken, and the tray of cactus that still hasn’t been leveled, though I understand it might be, soon.15031911The piles of gravel appeared yesterday, and I had to check them out, of course. Here I am taking a survey. Measuring stuff, you know. gardenWell, today, I was wandering around the troughs, and I met someone who didn’t like me at all, which was surprising. Everyone who’s met me has liked me: the little kids in the neighborhood come down to see me when the guy I live with carries me out in front to meet people, and other dogs have liked me, but this thing didn’t like me at all. The guy I live with realized that I’d just met Earl, and of course he didn’t have his camera with him, so he went to get it, but by that time Earl had learned that there was a new King of the Garden, and it wasn’t him. Partly because he was the old one, or acted like it, but partly because he could see my fiercely gnashing teeth and determined brow. That’s his tail up there in the tree, against the big branch going off to the right, some. 15031902

 

15031903So that was that. Earl was really mad, because he could tell I would brook no nonsense at all, and that there was going to be a tough new regime here.

Then I discovered another squirrel, and chased it out of the garden. This is me triumphantly watching the squirrel leave. I’m standing on the seed frames, which I’m not supposed to do, but this was important. 15031904

 

Speaking of the seed frames, the guy I live with says “Stuff is coming up”.

stuff coming up

stuff coming up

Afterwards, I stopped to pose in front of the seed frames. This is me. Like, if you weren’t sure. 15031906I took a nap after that. 15031908We went out again a little later, after I had my lunch, and I got all interested in the moss growing in one of the troughs. I learned soon after that how much the guy I live with likes the moss there, and how protective he felt about it. He said not to eat the moss.

the moss

the moss

That’s really kind of it, for today. The day isn’t over, but there’s some stuff to do, and I guess we’re going to be doing it. Or at least thinking about doing it. I kind of like the pace of things around here.15031910

 

Until next time, then.

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