A Puppy No Longer!

 

Lila just had her first birthday today!  It was filled with yummy liver, lots of retrieving of sticks and balls, a long romp in a pasture filled with cowpies, and a new toy.

We couldn't have picked a better puppy.  She's perfect!  Also, sassy and demanding--right now she's letting me know that playing ball with her is a much better idea than a blog post.  

Okay, Lila, I hear and obey!

I Love Bluebells

My favorite vacation was a western tour of national parks on our way to a seminar in Colorado.  One of my favorite places was Maroon Bells. We boarded a bus that shuttled us into the valley, with an informative guide.  

It was impossible to take a bad picture there.  Simply the most photogenic place I've ever been.

On our hike, I fell in love with a true blue wildflower.  It turned out to be in the Mertensia family.  In other words, a bluebell

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. Share this Quote Rumi
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/mary_oliver_381609

I've been on the lookout for one for years, but there was never anything local, just online.  Until this year!  I am now the proud possessor of two Virginia bluebells that I am nurturing.  

They are not the Rocky Mountain bluebells but...they will do! Someday I will have beautiful truly blue (not violet blue, like most) flowers that remind me of a special place.

It was long enough ago that I don't have photos at hand.  But Google Maroon Bells or Mertensia --you'll be glad you did. 

Guideposts (3)

 

 Kindness in words creates confidence.

Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.

Kindness in giving creates love.

~Lao Tse

One Day. Two Seasons

Yesterday

Sunny enough to bask if you're an older doggy like the yellow lab we are dogsitting for the neighbors.

Cloudy enough to need a jacket.

Warm enough to work in the yard but cool enough to need layers to add and subtract.

Springtime enough for the soil to be friable.

Changeable enough to suddenly feel it might rain.  And it does.

Surprising enough to wake up and find that the weather prognosticators were right and it did snow a bit.

Springtime!

I Blinked and It's Winter Again

 "Rain", they said.  Sounded good to me.  Instead...it's snowing.  Again.

It's a good day to put yardwork on hold--actually that's not even an option since the weather gods clearly are not favoring gardeners.  

Still, I can and did plan my next project.  Since the chickens are no more, and there will clearly not be any more if the HOA has its way, their chicken coop can be moved out of the run and repurposed.  After measuring it, I found it fits nicely in an unused space that has way too much shade and cedar duff to be useful for plants.  The coop will become a mini-storage shed.  It's a good place to stash pots and soil and frequently-used fertilizers.  In the winter, I can fit garden hoses, BBQ tools and tools out of the elements.

I'm thrilled I constructed it as a modular coop.  The roof, coop and base are all separate units so it will be relatively easy to move.

My huge old common lilac tree broke in the Sierra Cement snowfall a few months ago.  As soon as it's  blossomed, it's getting replaced by a much prettier lilac named Agincourt Beauty.  I just repotted it into a roomy five-gallon pot and it's funny to think of this little twelve-inch lilac replacing a twelve foot tree.  What a change that will be!

When the lilac branch broke, it also took down part of  a honeysuckle plant that shaded the chickens, provided cover from hawks and kept at least part of the run free of snow.  I gave it a hard pruning--it might stay or it might not.  The run previously was used for vegetables and that's my plan again.  There was too much shade from the cherry tree which is almost completely dead and slated for removal soon as well as from the lilac tree.  There should be plenty of hot sun again and I intend to take advantage of it for pole beans and sunflowers. 

The Sensation lilac (fourth from the left) is calling my name--I love picotee flowers.  Where to put it though?  I'm pondering the possibilities.

Gardens need to be updated every so often.  Rethought.  Refreshed. Revitalized.  

Hopefully we all will soon be enjoying lovely weather outdoors!  Ya hear that, Winter?

I

SPRING!!!

 Hurray! What a wonderful day this was!  The first day of Spring was filled with sunshine and birdsong.  There is only a teensy bit of snow hiding in the shadiest, most sheltered part of the yard.  Drumroll, please...there is finally no snow in our forecast.  Yes, we've definitely turned the corner on all things winter.

Fifty degrees, blue skies and the knowledge that it's going to rain tomorrow spurred me to get outside and do some gardening while I could.

Is there anything better than dirt under your fingernails?!

Yes, going on a playdate with your puppy's best friend and your favorite neighbor.

They played till they could play no more.  A tired puppy is a good puppy.

Enjoy life is their message and I'm taking their advice!

 

 

Guidepost: (2)

 The more man meditates upon good thoughts, 

the better will be his world 

and the world at large.

~Confucius

Such a Simple Thing

In the Olden Days of the Blogosphere, we all left comments on each other's posts and it felt like a neighborhood or community of friends.

Then Facebook seduced us with an icon so we could approve at the push of a button.  So fast, so easy.  But we still made short comments, at least.  Then heart icons on Instagram and Tik Tok appearred.  Is it just me or does typing a comment on those platforms seem a bit too pushy/unneeded/intrusive/over-personal? 

Blogs, however, don't have a cute little icon to quickly show I like/care/etc. 

I'm now guilty of reading a blog and sometimes not commenting. I got spoiled.  Putting my thoughts into words takes time compared with clicking a convenient little icon. 

Anyway, I just checked my Comments Setting and realized I'd been getting comments but had not approved them.  Mostly because I never saw them.  Might be the system never gave me a heads up via email.  Or it might have been something I did wrong.  (Not likely since I'm sooooo tech savy,)

I sincerely apologize to everyone who commented during my March Binge of Posts. When I checked my Stats, I was thrilled to not only see I had readers, but that some had commented!!! And I never knew and never acknowledged you.

Suffice it to say that I reset my Comments and they will just appear after the post (and I'll delete the spam as needed.)  Because I love anyone who is willing to spend a little of their time to make me feel pretty wonderful and connected through our common interests.  

Now I need to figure out how to respond to your kind comments.   Our give-and-take is a simple thing, but is really the essence of who we are!

I know have some technical learning/updating to do.  Blogger changed enough things since I was posting regularly--in a previous decade--that I need to relearn their system.  I'm grateful that adding photos got easier after their last iteration.  I never had a problem changing my banner from season to season or as the mood struck me, and that's a priority for me now.  The current truck and simple font is a lot different from what I'd prefer.  It does the trick, but I accept the challenge to upgrade my skills.

In random news, Lilypad Pond has been ice-free for a grand total of two days now.  Apparently Lila thinks it is warm enough to wade in.  Sheesh.

Teensy Teaser

:

 Yesterday was a good day on the bunny front.  Turning and stuffing the arms, legs and heads just seemed endless--then I began embroidering the faces and the clouds parted and trombones sounded!

Is it because embroidery was so much easier?  Or just more creative? 

I'm going with the latter.  Suddenly they just had personality.  

 Here is a bouquet of the four little bunnies.  A teaser of what a warren of seven little fully dressed bunnies will look like!

Hippity hop!  Back to include bunches of carrots and overalls with suspenders and buttons.  All much more fun than the basic body parts.  I can't wait till they are all done.

p.s. I found a remnant of a stuffed arm on the carpet.  Bummer!

If I had to reconstruct the events, I'd go with:

• Said arm fell off the sofa and onto the rug as I stuffed others.
• I didn't count up arms and legs so I didn't miss it and begin looking for it.
• Somepup saw it laying there and decided it was a new toy
• Chewing is fun and ingesting muslin and stuffing in small amounts causes no problems
• The new toy was abandoned in a remote corner of the dining room.
• Only to surface two days later
  

Loving Some Bunny

 I have a treasured Easter bunny that my grandma made long ago. He looks pretty spry for a sixty year old.  I wonder how old that would be in bunny years?

(He's been living with all the other bunnies on a special shelf in my lawyer's bookcase.)

I thought I'd try reproducing him. Not bad for a first try without a pattern.

I'll be making a few more destined for a new generation of grand-littles.  

Possibly I should have taken photos earlier when there was still daylight...ya think?! I promised myself I'd post decent lighted and nicely edited photos of the whole litter of rabbits when the last stitch is set.

But for now, a poorly illustrated post is better than none.

Guidepost: (1)

A seed neither fears light nor darkness, 

but uses both to grow.

~Matshone Dhliwaho

Garden List for 2023

 I can't even discern where my garden is.  The yard is a sea of snow with zero topographic hints.  I know there is a pond.  Somewhere raised beds exist.  Undoubtedly there are green bits happening underneath the icy crust.  There's just no visual proof.

My heart knows that Spring will arrive as it always has. It's that whole circle of life thing that is part of a gardener's code.  I'll see the first penstemon flowers from new plants and I'll find out if the Double Delight rose survived.  There are apple blossoms and hyacinth flowers  and rhubarb leaves in my future.

Also, chores. Lots and lots of chores.

• Pruning apple whips
• Shaping the donut peach
• Cutting out deadwood on the roses
• Raking up old leaves
• Mending old drip irrigation
• Checking the sprinkler system
• Getting the potager ready for new crops
• Ordering retaining wall blocks and caps
• Mucking out the pond
• Waterlily purge
• Figuring out lawn survival with an active puppy
• Varmint control
• Brick resets
• Storm damage removal. I'm looking at you, lilac tree.
• Seed sowing and germination

So a Pineapple Express melted three-quarters of the snow.  Hurray!  Our nearby open space was a bit squishy, but the pup had fun jumping over ditches filled with snowmelt. 

But wait!  This is Nevada.  Twelve hours later, there was snow covering everything yet again.  It's still snowing.  Sigh.

Thank heavens for a list--it keeps me moving forward to having dirt under my fingernails again.  

Although the snow IS pretty and I love watching the flakes drift daintily down.  Meanwhile, looks like another day with a paintbrush and a sewing machine to keep me busy.

 

Stuck Inside

 When Mother Nature isn't in sync with my preferences, I have to pivot.

In the last week, we went from subtle-but-unmistakable Signs of Spring to Winter on Reboot.  Alas.

Fortunately, there is always Art.  Art doesn't depend on the weather (like hiking) or seasons (like gardening) or holidays (like Turkey Day, Santa celebrations and Cupid extravaganza). Art can be anything, anytime.  

Christmas in a July heatwave. Tulips as leaves fall in October.   Ripe apples instead of February snowstorms.

My day could include loose sketching practice and watercolor giraffe caricatures,

 

followed by floral compositions as well as canine portraits, 

with thoughts on impressionistic landscapes and loose family portraits.

 Why not?!

Art is my creative playtime.  I'm not expecting masterpieces--heck, I'm not even expecting an occasional keeper.  I'm refining new skills, experimenting with new media, learning from new teachers.  

Sometimes failing.

 

Sometimes being surprised by the results.
 

Art is my ultimate coping mechanism when Mother Nature is on her own inscrutable timetable.

That and making lists of all the innumerable tasks any gardener faces as a new growing year approaches.   Ah, but that's a subject for a future post...

(I'm offering my very amateur doodlings in the spirit of real life with no filters. It's me, at this moment in time, knowing that I can only get better.  No living subjects were harmed in the creation of these drawings.)

No Risk, No Gain

Living on the outskirts of town is a blessing that I never get tired of.  

There are plenty of paths, but my favorites are little trails and open stretches. We might flounder in the snow and suddenly find ourselves knee deep in a snowdrift but that's part of what makes it fun.

Sights like this never get old though.  Changes through the seasons are welcome.  Some things are new, some are expectantly anticipated.

Goats will be goats.  Yes, they do nibble on anything. Even wooden lightning bolts.  Just in case it might be edible.  You never know. Risk not, gain not.

My first love has always been lambie pies.  But if I had the opportunity now, I'd choose goats.  Color me a farm girl at heart!

Ways to Make the Time Change Easier

 It's never gonna get easier to wake up an hour earlier, but there are ways to help yourself adjust more quickly.  Even so, a little grumbling is okay. 

Side note:  I just love having the morning sunshine in my living room again!

My number one key to resetting my internal clock is to change my eating habits to reflect the new time displayed on my clocks.  Not so much my breakfast or lunch, but definitely dinner.  It feels a little strange to eat an hour earlier at first, but give me three days and I no longer notice the difference.  I am ruled by my stomach.  Totally.

If you aren't the type to jump into the cold pool and would rather inch in gradually, you can anticipate the time switch by Springing Ahead by fifteen minutes a day.  So this Thursday,  I'll be trying to eat and sleep fifteen minutes earlier.  Friday, thirty minutes earlier.  Saturday, forty-five minutes. So a fifteen minute change on Sunday won't feel so monumental.  Can't hurt, right?!

The last thing I recommend is to climb into bed whether you feel like it or not.  If you aren't tired enough, then do sometime soothing that will make you sleepy.  Read a boring book.  Take a warm bath before putting on your jammies.  Listen to soothing music.  No smartphones, tablets or laptops.  This is the only time I feel like I have to be disciplined about my activity, because changing my bedtime to an earlier hour is hard for me.  It's helpful going to bed at the usual "time" regardless of what my head is telling me.  

One way or another, we'll all soon be waking, eating and sleeping on our new schedule without a second thought. 

I Might Be The Only One

 I enjoy Springing Ahead and Falling Backwards.  

I don't at all mind "losing" an hour of sleep so that my clock time matches the sunshine that has started to flood our east-facing bedroom.  If I'm gonna be awake anyway, I'm much happier to hit the ground running at seven instead of six in the morning.  

Getting up in the cool of a summer day that has the potential to go triple digits is another reason I'm thrilled with daylight savings time.

It may have been a few years (okay, decades) since I had little ones who, like chickens, woke with the sunrise.  I liked my kids a whole lot better when my clock radio said it was only six-fifteen instead of a dreadful five-fifteen.

I don't think I'm losing anything.  Especially since I know I'll regain that hour of sleep next Fall when the days are getting way too short.

With snow falling and accumulating on an almost daily basis--still!--I'm also ready for any hope of Spring.

Signs of Spring

Even if there is snow and it's not exactly warm, there's hope.

 It's March.   It's sunny.  I hear a time change is fast approaching.  And the first official day of Spring isn't far off!  Whoo-hoo!

A few leaves have bravely made their appearance.  Mini-daffodils are so reliable.  Buy a pot for color in the deep of winter, shove them in the soil later that spring, and enjoy them every year after.  No thought or care required.

This regular old daffodil is pushing through the snow too.

It occurred to me that this is a three-season photo: old leaves from autumn, snow from winter and the "can Spring be far off" leaves. 

It's not springtime without flowering bulbs and it's always a toss-up whether the crocus, mini-iris or mini daffs will blossom first.  

Except this year, the violets beat them all. Presenting the first flowers of 2023!

Another four inches of snow is predicted in our extended forecast.  More water for my garden.  But still, sigh...

A Silver State of Mind

 I do live in the Silver State actually.  But this isn't about that.

I'm in the market to update my style so I was laying out necklaces, trying to decide what length I liked and what style.  Before I knew it, I was possessed by a wild hare, grabbed those tarnished strands and ran downstairs to restore them to their silvery white sparkle.

Soon I was playing around with various methods of cleaning tarnished silver like a kid who needed a science fair project.  

I used baking soda, vinegar, salt and boiling water in an aluminum pie tin first.  Which worked. Then I grabbed my almost empty jar of Wright's Silver Creme.  That worked too.  Both required some scrubbing/polishing to fully shine the various bits I'd gathered though.

 Sparkly fresh and lovely silver now resides at our cottage.  Even it it is just plate, it's still pretty.

Chemistry was my least favorite class in high school.  I just never "got" it. But just like that science fair kid, I had to know why such a simple group of kitchen essentials worked so well.

I bravely googled "silver baking soda aluminum equation" though.  I do know about oxidation and reduction processes from years of firing pottery, so it made sense after a bit of reading.  I'm now smarter than I was when I woke up this morning.

I also now have a new way of cleaning my silverware--because I do use silverware because I like it so much more than stainless--that will be less tedious than polishing them individually.

My necklaces look lovely and fresh.  I decided I really like the twenty inch length.  

Coincidentally, I can report that metal around my neck gets REALLY cold when you are shoveling snow in a denim jacket instead of a winter coat!

Our sunny weather is causing the icicles come crashing off the roof onto the snow below.  In other random news, an icicle is hanging from a branch of the sugar maple.  I can't think of anytime I've never seen an icicle on a tree (other than our blown glass icicles on our Christmas tree). I can only speculate that a bit of snow on the branch gradually melted and the temps were just cold enough to refreeze it. Who knows?!

Hang in there.  Spring is almost almost almost here!

March Goal, a Month of Posts

Posting each day?? A lofty goal since I've let my blog posts dry up for longer than I even want to know!

Today's word is "tenebrous".  Pretty much the way our skies have looked for the past couple of days as the storms rolled in.  Not today though!

 

Today's March came in with glorious sunshine and relatively warm temperatures considering that the tail end of February brought lavish amounts of snowfall to the Sierra Nevada.  So, I think I'm crediting March with a Lamb entrance even though there's snow piled up everywhere and icicles have made a drippy-droppy appearance.

Tonight the western sky is treating us to the sight of Venus and Jupiter "kissing".  It's a lovely way to end the day.