the miserable gardener

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 all the exciting happenings around here. You may remember me from such posts as “Mist, Drizzle, And Ice”, among so many, many others.

Here I am in a characteristic pose.
I have this idea that I don’t need to tell anyone that it snowed again.

The guy I live with is very happy with the snow, which is kind of weird, if you ask me, because ordinarily he would be very put out by the snow and cold weather, complaining about how it’s affecting the autumn-flowering snowdrops and some other bulbs, but he explained that after last year, and all the extreme fire danger warnings, snow is infinitely preferable to dry weather and the apparently futile hope that we might return to typical autumns featuring rain and drizzle.
He did have to shovel the snow, which he said was good exercise.

Yesterday, it looked like this, to the southwest.
And like this, to the east.
I went on my walks, as usual. It wasn’t very cold at the time.
But there wasn’t any gardening, unless you count filling the bird feeders.

The guy I live with spent some time cleaning the “depression glass” on the shelves that divide the living room from the kitchen. His wife tore out the hideous divider that was there, and built the shelves; the glass was something she bought at antique stores.
He said it’s much nicer to have sparkling glass at this time of year, instead of dusty stuff that looks pretty forlorn. (That’s her picture, there, too; I’ve pointed this out before, I know.) And there are a few porcelain animal figurines, too.

The next cleaning project is a fairly daunting one.
You can see how dirty the glass is. The last time, the guy I live with piled pillows on the kitchen table and then unbolted the glass from the metal fixture. He’s afraid of breaking it; it was something his wife found in a lamp store in Boulder and really wanted it. It’s very heavy.
There was an orb weaver spider living in the lamp this summer, weaving the usual intricate webs every day.

And then there’s holiday stuff. The guy I live with left me alone yesterday, to go out with his friend, and bought some candles (tapers), which are our main holiday decoration. They went to a special store to get candles that didn’t smell like petroleum products.
Today, he baked a couple of loaves of Moravian coffee cake, to give to his neighbors.
And that’s really all I have for today.
I’ll leave you with a picture of me, all lit up, on my walk this evening, when it was 19 degrees F (-7.2C). We’re both pretty tough and the cold didn’t bother us. I had to wear my boots, though.

Until next time, then.

Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, your popular host, Mani the purebred border collie, here today to bring you some news which comes as a huge relief for us. You may remember me from such posts as “The Usual Stuff”, among so many, many others.

Here I am in a characteristic pose. I imagine you can tell what happened here today. And in fact, it’s still happening.

It was snowing when we woke up this morning. I guess all the anxiety about drought is gone, for now, and this is very relieving indeed.
And of course I like the snow, even though I had to wear my boots on my walks, because I got ice in my paws on my evening walk yesterday. The boots do make it easier for me.
It’s not very cold right now, but it is supposed to get pretty cold, for November, tonight and tomorrow night.
The guy I live with said ordinarily he would rather have snowdrops and crocuses in flower now, but considering how terribly dry it’s been, this is much better.
Here I am by the old sluice.
And here I am by the apartment complex. I almost slid down the hill. The guy I live with said I was paying more attention to the scents on the ground than my footing (or I guess pawing) on the slope.
This is where the creek goes through a culvert under the canal and the canal road. The water in the canal was shut off yesterday, I think.
So that’s our news. It’s snowing.

Until next time, then.