Properly positively spring...
Bright Daffodils
I love it when I have a properly positive spring gardening day - no dramas or sad things, no dog misbehaviour, not too much wind, no rain or unpleasant weather events, no interruptions...
This afternoon I spent four such calm hours doing good gardening - attending to details, remembering to fix this, divide and replant that, and so on. I spread more horse manure, shifted ash off the bonfire, hand-weeded around the lupins in the Dog-Path Garden, weed-sprayed the dog-path, the brick courtyard, and the dandelions along the water race banks. My goodness! You name it, I did it.
My dogs were so good. They trotted around after me. When I lay down for a wee rest on the warm grass so did they. No-one wandered off and got into trouble, or chased a cat (Pebbles, that's you I'm talking about). And now I'm inside with a glass of Australian Merlot, while out 'there' the country is finishing off voting in the general election. I'll probably sulk at the result. MMP voting systems can throw up some odd results.
Spring thoughts...
There's more to spring then vibrant yellow daffodils and 'over-the-top' fluffy white cherry blossom. How about fresh green variegated foliage, and subtle flower colours? Like the Pieris, and the Trilliums (mine aren't the most robust of treasures), and Lamium (aluminium plant, so one of my friends calls it).
And - caught flowering in a most unsuitable place for the very first time - the early flowering peony many gardeners affectionately call Molly the Witch. Paeonia mlokosewitschii is her proper name. Have I spelt that right?
Ewes and Twin Lambs
Sunday 24th September
Today we tailed the new merino lambs. They are all girlies! Lovely.
And it's been another positive day. But this is largely due to new dog Pebbles almost enjoying her visit to see big brown Escher. We took his parents a trailer load of horse poos, and the three dogs ran and played together. At one stage Escher came very close, and where before she would have fear-attacked him, young Pebbles rolled over submissively to show him her tummy. Yeay! Normal dog behaviour.
Back home in the garden I've been trundling around dumping ash and weeding, and the dogs have been following me faithfully, with a few barks when a nuisance neighbour zooms up or down their driveway. Thank you for barking and alerting me to this, you lovely dogs. Non-Gardening Partner has mowed most of the lawns, and he is talking about putting in a boundary fence, to stop the dogs roaming over next door. It's four year since the neighbour's pine plantation blew down and trashed our fences.
Monday 25th September
Slightly 'unpositive' weather - there's a nasty big wind blowing, and we've already had a power outage - a tree blew over just down the road, hitting a car. Hope all is OK. The dogs and I have just come home from visiting a large dog park, where my friend helped me continue Pebbles' dog socialisation programme. It went very, very well. I only had to roll her over twice, both times just a precaution. She relaxed very quickly, and there was no subsequent problem meeting, greeting, and then ignoring the dog(s) in question.
Winnie and Pebbles
On the way home I felt quite emotional and tearful. My new dog is learning to how trust, feel safe and secure, and therefore how to behave appropriately. My DAB (Dominant Alpha Bitch) method is working! Just wait until I add the next dimension - my Dog Zen book is arriving soon in the post. Should be interesting.
Mount Fuji Cherry Blssom
Serenaded...
We've walked around the garden with the camera, serenaded by screeching, whistling noises as the wind roars through the high gum trees, biting at the branches (oops - a dog metaphor just slipped in). I think I might just stay inside and have a nice long think about spring.
And hope that the wind doesn't blow all my new blossom off. Not that the blossom is mine. It is lent to me to enjoy, for the shortest of times, and I am so grateful.
But hang on a minute - I did plant the tree (a memorial flowering cherry for a long dearly departed cat, ginger Smoocher). Oops. Spiritual overflow! Still feeling rather emotional about my darling new dog, I think...