Revenge of the ducks

When I was a teenager we moved to a acre in the country. With all this land, [after moving from the suburbs a acre felt huge], Dad decided to build his hunting dog a training pond. This was a very deep, and long rectangle pond, that they could spend hours playing in. Purebred Chocolate Labs love the water, my Dad loved the dog. All was good.

Then a friend gave us some ducks, Daisy, and Daffy. Ducks love water so they were allowed to live in the huge pond where they did what ducks do when they are excessively happy, they made more ducks. All was good. Eventually we had more ducks than we had water, and it was decided that the ducks had to leave. The very early morning squawks that were a wake up call from the hens was not popular with the neighbours. I did not agree with the removal, so I refused to help out. Did I mention that the bottom of the very deep pond was full of wet slippery clay soil?

Dad donned his hip waders, and with the help of the bird dog tried to round up the ducks. They would have no part of this chase, and went from one end of the pond to the other. Eventually he decided to wade into the pond, and meet the ducks on their own turf. Slippery wet clay, and smooth bottomed hip waders do not mix. Dad slipped spectacularly into the water, and start to float, with the ducks swimming all around him. Gee, I wish that I had a camera back then.

We won.......I think.

Well the cat is out of the bag! After much controversy, and complaints, not to mention 30 years, of martial law, this building is allowing cats. There may be former owners turning in their graves, but the kitties have conquered. I am sure that everything will work out fine, and we will not be having trails of cat litter running down the hallways, like some of the dissenters were saying.

We voted, and then we voted again, changed something, and then we voted one more time.

There were owners switching sides, changing each others minds, and getting completely confused. One owner managed to hold up two votes, which made us all vote again. Council was scribbling numbers furiously sans calculator, while the teachers in the room called out tips on how to multiply percentages. No paw was left unturned, but we did squeak through by a whisker. Kitty, you can come out of the closet now.

Cat fight tonight

Wondering about the title? Is it spring here already, are the Tom cats out on the prowl? This is a different sort of cat fight. One that hits closer to home, our condo is having it's Annual General Meeting, or as we like to refer to it, a chance for each owner to stand up and complain until they are asked to stop.

And the most important issue at stake, at least for us cat lovers, is the vote to to allow cats inside apartments. All the basics have been covered, where they can go, what to do about allergies, how they help lower blood pressure, are wonderful companions, and a great benefit to everyone.

It is the biggest topic at the daily mailbox coffee klatch, which way are you going to vote? Do you have a illegal cat?

After the last fight, we were defeated by only 3 votes, read what I wrote about the other side cheating, bullying, and intimidating the owners here. Ah feline fiasco's. So think good thoughts for us tonight. Prayers would help immensely, there are a lot of lonely people out there that could use a cuddly companion. I really do hope that we win, and if we don't, then there is always next year, and the year after that.........and the year after that. We will not give up.

I will let you know on Friday, which way it goes.

Newest Greeting Cards for Muddy Boot Dreams

I wanted to share with you some of the latest editions to the Muddy Boot Dreams greeting card collection. You may be familiar with some of the photos, they have been previewed on here occasionally. With Mother's Day coming up I need to rebuild my stock, since it is a big weekend in the garden centres, and lots of cards will be selling. "What?" you say, Mother's Day is over three months away. But I must tell you, I have been neglecting my business, having much more fun blogging. This way I can blog with a clear conscience. Hey, a girl's gotta blog.

Wanted: Gardening Fairy

I have decided after the fourth day of trying to clean up my deck, that all I really needed was a gardening fairy.

I need to go from this.......

I should have advertised for one, imagine how much easier it would have been then. She could have interviewed, shown her credentials, been hired, and waved her magic wand. Instantly the entire deck of 250+ pots would have been transplanted, cleaned up, trimmed back, watered, and ready for spring.

To this!

Unfortunately life doesn't work that way. So it has been me, who is transplanting, trimming, moving, or should I say heaving pots around. Sweeping, washing, tiding and cleaning. There is literally no end to it. And to top it all off, I am only halfway. I don't remember it being this hard last year, but then again, maybe last year I hired superman to come out and help.

More Spring Cleaning

I am still in a spring cleaning mode, and now it is focusing on the house.

Last night I mentioned to Gar that I would like to give the bathroom a fresh coat of paint. He was almost asleep, and when I asked him for his opinion on a appropriate color, his answer was "hot pink". Now I know that he was teasing me, and there is absolutely no way that we would paint it that particular shade.

But am I not tempted?

Spring Cleaning

I did a little spring cleaning on my blog yesterday. Set up a few new things, brushed out some old cobwebs. Nothing that is really apparent, new site feeds, a few tweaks here and there.

And I am hopeful that my blog still shows up in your readers, and in Blotanical. Keep your fingers crossed.

I'm in the Garden Archives

I feel sunny today.

Sunny, and cheerful, and bright.

Happy sunny day.

Music to garden by

Yesterday I decided to fit in a little gardening, and enjoy this extraordinary run of sunny weather we have been having. The deck is still a mess, and it looks like it will be for some time. On the way out the door I thought briefly about turning the stereo on loud enough that I could hear it outside. The music might be soothing, but I was in a contemplative mood, so I changed my mind.

Had I turned it on I would never have heard the natural gardening music.

There were birds singing, gulls keening, chickadee's were chirping. Crows were cawing at each other, and anyone else who moved. Faint rustles in whispering leaves as the warming breeze swept through the branches of the Rhodo. A wind chime from far away gave off a high tinkle, like sunlight sparkling on water. I listened to the sound of Bootsie appearing, as he slithered through the open patio door. Always hopeful that I would put down my gloves and go inside to feed him another helping of his favorite canned food. Then after wards the crackle of stirred up dead leaves as he runs through the shrubs, playing "hide and go seek Bootsie" with me.

The smallest of birds with wings fluttering descending on the winter bird seed, rushing away with a whir when they discover me there instead. Truly music to garden by.

Spring Cleaning

I have heard you loud and clear. Fatigued Fridays will not be a regular post, I promise! I was just too tired to write last night. Garden Centres in the spring, are hives of activities, a flurry of getting ready, unpacking, and cleanup. Some days it seems like you never get caught up, that every time you look up from the pile of boxes you have been unpacking there is another delivery truck zooming up the driveway. Lately we have been sorting out plants that never made it through the winter. Our poor babies have had a lot of winter stress this year, due to the weather, and they are showing it. We have had to sort through, might make it, have not made it, and hooray, they made it. By the end of the day, our feet are dragging, sunshine or not. While we are happy to be active, there is a enormous amount of work to be done.

So I promise no more Fatigued Fridays, and I will try to stay awake long enough to write my posts.

Fatigued Fridays

After moving very heavy nursery tables around in the glorious sunshine all day, I am rather fatigued. No complaints, just tired.

In fact, I fell asleep on the couch, life gets in the way sometimes, you know how that is.

So my apologies, I had a wonderful post in mind, but I think that I just can't make my fingers type much more. I am writing this on Thursday night, trying to stay awake. But at least Gar and I got dinner.

So I am jokingly going to start a new idea for posts, called Fatigued Fridays. Who knows, it just might catch on. TGIF.

My spell check needs to learn latin

Do you think that there is a spell check that understands Latin?

Is there a program out there that I can type in Philadelphus coronarius 'Aureus', and have the correct spelling the first time? Without resorting to googling it every time? It is bad enough that my spell check only speaks American, not Canadian eh? Colour becomes color, centre becomes center. My pre published posts are full of little red error lines throughout. Very distracting when you are trying to proof read a post. Worse if you are a potentially poor speller. Like me. Maybe I should just send my computer back to school, Latin 101. More than likely it would come back with a attitude. I can hear it now..... That is not how you spell Philadelphus.

Redo it.

The domino effect

I am not going to show you pictures of my messy deck right now. Trust me, you don't want to see them. There is nothing there but pots full of brown dirt, dead sticks, and a little bit of evergreen branches. Not to mention the pile of pots that are perched precariously on the 1 x 6's balanced between two of the lawn chairs. Oh, and the crumpled, cream colored duvet cover that was used for emergency winter protection, the one with the great big dirt smudges on it. It started when the temperature dipped suddenly to way way below zero. In Celsius it was cold, and going down to -15. I was still in the middle of that nasty flu virus, but I braved the sub zero temperatures and went outside. Only to find out that most of the pots were frozen to the brick railing. Those that I could pry off, made it to the lawn chair's temporary shelter.

And there they have sat for a few months. Every year I get too anxious and move plants out too soon, cut back to early, and re pot before I should. And I pay the price. This year, well I figure that most of them have frozen to death, so they can wait a little while longer.

Yesterday was a lovely day, I moved a shade loving golden mock orange, Philadelphus coronarius 'Aureus' to a better spot under the giant Rhodo in the garden. It was frying on the deck, despite the shade from the Parotia tree. That meant that the maiden hair fern, Adiantum pedatum, could finally move into a bigger and better spot. It has huge fronds that need to get shuffled aside every time someone opens the deck gate. With the Maiden hair fern vacating it's container, the Japanese painted ferns should be moved so they can show off their spectacular burgundy and silver foliage.

Do you see where I am going, once I start moving just one plant, there is a huge line up of others clamouring to be repotted. And it is not even spring yet, I can hardly wait.

The mess is growing bigger every day.

Mindful plant buying.

Yesterday's post dealt with the question of should we buy so much. And who is ultimately responsible for it when we no longer want it. Interesting ideas, and some very interesting comments. And to Kim at The Irreverent Farmer, not that I think you were offering, but no, I do not want your couch. [For those of you who don't realize it, that was a joke! ]

Teza's comment echoed what I was thinking about when I wrote yesterday's post. We as gardeners are good at stopping ourselves from buying something we don't need, except when it comes to plants. Then it is a no holds barred, hands off this is mine, gotta have it, race to the cash register. Try working in a environment that has a constant array of color, selection, variety, and to top it all off, gives you a staff discount. Might as well just sign over your pay cheque at the beginning of the week.

At the end of summer, as the heat fades, the light goes quicker, and my energy flags from all the hand watering that I must do, my regrets start to take over. Why did I buy that perennial? Did I really need another clematis? Was that shrub a need or a "no one else has one of those?"

Yesterday was spent digging up a six foot length of Houttuynia cordata "chameleon", six feet long, and at least 18 inches deep. One of my impulse buys, but it looked so good, it's little orange, green and yellow leaves smelling like citrus when crushed. This was one of my "gotta have it" from years before. I knew also that it was invasive, and it did live up to that warning. And today, well my sore muscles are paying the price of that purchase. I have other plants that have outstayed their welcome, or maybe just outgrew their pots, and there is no place to put them. Since I am running out of foster homes for my delinquent plants, I may just have to practice mindful plant buying.

That is, until the nursery brings in another "gotta have it."

Mindful Consumerism

We all know about the 3 R's, right, REDUCE, REUSE, AND RECYCLE. And while everyone is somewhat concerned about the environment, some people are simply more into it than others. I have a friend, who is going through a personal green revolution. A earth lover, she is caring and concerned about the environment. Trying to do her part, recycling her left overs, her no longer wanted, and her not needed items. She recently gave me some items that at one time she cherished. Now that she is finished with them, she has passed them onto me, and my problem is where do I put them?

And it was not as if I could refuse to take them, at least not without hurting her feelings. But it brings the question, why do we buy so much, if a little while later we will no longer want it.

How much responsibility do others have to take those items off of our hands when we no longer want them? Or is it a case of "you bought it, you got it......... forever? What if it was a gift? I have made a concerted effort to give consumable gifts in the last few years. Many of my friends are downsizing, throwing out, and purging their decor and household items. I respect that, and give gifts that are services, or can be consumed.

Do we have a responsibility to think before we buy? Or is it perfectly fine to purchase a trendy decor item, and then pass it onto someone who may, or may not want it? Are we really doing our part for the environment, even if we use it and then pass it on? Who has the ultimate responsibility for decor items? What if you just can't make that purple silk pillow work, or do not need the chair that you fell in love with a decade ago? How about that lovely little vase you found on vacation, and now can't stand? These are my musings today, and I would love to hear what you think.