Love, empathy, tolerance--also puppies, flowers, and laundry

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Color Coordinated

One blonde blogger...
 
check.


One blonde border collie...
check.


One golden retriever...
check.


Four golden blonde chicks...
 
check.

I like having a theme when I decorate, but maybe color-coordinated livestock is carrying things a bit too far?

 
Intentionally blonde,

Monday, April 26, 2010

Once Upon A Time

Girl met boy. 
(Fell in love, got married, raised kids and pets, planted fruit trees and flowers, survived various roadbumps...the usual stuff.)

 
...and they lived happily ever after.
(knock wood)

Another year, another anniversary.
 

Make that Mr. and Mrs.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Guideposts - Week16

 
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.
--Roger Caras


Amen,


Linking (as always) to Notes From A Cottage Industry.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Four Years of Puppy Love

Four years and one day ago, my life was missing something. Then the cutest puppy in the whole wide world came into our lives. I'm still smitten--as in head-over-heels, ear-to-ear grin, rose-colored-glasses happy.
 

Each day is better because of Kharma. The first thing I do when I get up is greet her--she stretches her "coyote nose" up to mine. Then I tell her how much I love her as she gets a massage from her ears way down to her tail. It's a wonderful way to start the day for both of us.
 
All my dogs have been wonderful, exceptional and much-loved. I've thought every one of them is the best, smartest and most-perfect dog in the world. But Kharma is, well, my heart-dog. And I'm trying hard to be worthy of her.

Here's my first post about Kharma, if you want to join me in a trip down Memory Lane.  I won't deluge you with a fond mom's myriad posts...but feel free to go back into the archives for April and May 2006 and read more of those short but sweet ramblings about our new baby.

It's our anniversary...so please excuse me while I go bake her some special treats and spend the rest of the evening spoiling my favorite furry girl.

Still crazy in love,

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Guideposts--Week15

 
Give me health and a day, and I will make the pomp of emperors ridiculous.
 --Ralph Waldo Emerson


Just guessing, but I'll bet ol' Ralph Waldo had some bug when he wrote this and was frustrated at his body being unable to work on all the projects his mind was thinking about  (repaint the shutters, transplant some iris next to the fence, prune the tree...)  Just like I was filled with ideas for Spring Break and a week later have accomplished pretty much nothing, alas.

But then, I could be wrong, maybe he was just philosophisizing...either way, he was right about how much you can accomplish when you feel healthy.  Which I plan to be SOON.





Linking up with Notes From A Cottage Industry!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Three Fifths

Yesterday's Spring Break adventure yielded three raised-bed planters for the Queen Mother's veggies.
I kinda like the striped look myself but I'm sure some paint is in their future (then they'll match the fence). We cut enough wood for five beds total but put off assembling the last two until this weekend.

The fence company was going to charge her to haul away this lumber from her fence that blew down. Hello? Free lumber? I don't mind pulling out nails and stacking lumber for future use--especially since I was already plotting these raised beds to make her gardening easier in our Nevada climate.

Total cost: $6 for a box of screws. With enough lumber left over to build a chicken coop and run.

A slightly sunburned but satisfied,

Thursday, April 15, 2010

The Awakening

Not so long ago, it was winter. Brrrrr!
 
The frozen pond napped beneath a deep snowy blanket. It felt like we'd never feel warmth again.

But the Vernal Equinox brought sun back into our lives.
 
And my trusty yellow viola brought its own sunny look.

The Johnny-Jump-Ups began showing their cheery faces.
 
Hi, guys!

Heather blossoms appeared next to the granite boulders
 
adding to the feeling of the High Sierra in springtime.


Tiny bits of green began showing on the cutleaf lilac, and could those be flower buds?
 
Yep, these will be her first blossoms since I bought her two years ago as a little bare-root cutie.  I can hardly wait!

The creek is running again and the moving water attracts thirsty mourning doves and dirty robins in need of a good bath.
 
Personally I think they appreciate the rhodies I've provided. Fresh flowers add so much ambiance to any room, don't you think?

The Spring Peepers have begun tuning up for almost two weeks although they are very shy and we rarely catch a glimpse. (Or maybe our dogs make them nervous. They'd make me skittish if I was a frog.)

The water lilies have stirred from dormancy and we can see tiny leaves emerging. I've noticed that still water is difficult to photograph--it reflects the sky's mood and color. Taking pictures of things below the surface is even harder--my camera doesn't look below the surface at all well.
 
My red "Mother's Day" violets survived transplating (Yippee/big sigh of relief) and are the last of all my sweet violets to bloom.

Yep, things are definitely waking up around here. It's nice to have my garden back and even nicer to have flowers to admire while I clean up from winter and prepare for summer!


Cheerily happy to see the sun shine and have a warm Spring Break day,


Participating in My Romantic Home's Show-and-Tell Friday