Mostly Wordless Wednesday: Barn, Mushrooms, and Dogs

47°f/8.3C, mostly clear. No rain in sight til the weekend.

This old barn is on my son's property. 

Wish I could remember the name of this wildflower.

Along my son's road.

And up by Sarah's cabin,  Larry spotted these mushrooms and thought they were Chicken of the Woods.  Unfortunately they were actually Jack-O-Lanterns, and are poisonous.

We went to the shelter yesterday and found a dog. Buddy is thrilled to have a playmate! His name was Mr. Pibb, but we are calling him Pip, which he seems to like. Pip is 6 months old and had been at the shelter since he was 2 months old,  so he has much to learn. Everything is scary and wonderful to him!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Not So Wordless Wednesday

63°f/17°C, supposed to be 90 today. Ugh.

Where I've been since Sunday morning:

Root cellar tidy-up, putting all the empty jars on shelves and organizing like with like-- pickles, fruits, etc. The green is the leeks I dug the other day. I'll be making them into soup for canning tomorrow.

Garden: hoeing, planting, tilling, digging, weeding.

Red Sails lettuce, ready to pick. 

Broccoli is heading up, should be ready to cut soon.

Yellow squash just sprouting.

Making changes in this area because it just too wet. So I am making raised rows.

The cool bird feeder with wifi camera my son Derek gave me for Mothers Day. We finally got it mounted, but the birds haven't found it yet.

We restocked booths on Tuesday, because the wicker dresser I put in the window a week or so ago already sold. Unfortunately the sun glare messed up my photo, but I put a table we made from a treadle sewing machine base, a cool old typewriter, and an antique chair in the window this time. I don't like putting dark furniture in the window because it just doesn't show well, but had nothing else ready to go.

Got my stringtrimming done. Buddy approves! 

Also dead-headed the roses and did some other garden cleanup while Daisy just rolled in the grass.

Bye-bye, crabapple tree! After 50 years, she finally gave up the ghost. Larry is cutting it into firewood for the firepit. I am so sad to see this tree go, as it was one of the first I planted here. It was just an ornamental, but so pretty.

And hello hollyhocks! After years of trying to grow them, I have two sturdy patches this year, from plants I grew from seed last year. In the past I planted them in my big flowerbed but the deer killed them. This one is right by the house, so I think it is fairly safe, now that we have two active dogs. The other one is in the herb garden.

A few of the roses now in bloom:

And the last of the peonies.  The heavy rains shortened the peony season this year.

Working on this end of one flowerbed. I am not happy with it, but the wire we put under the mulch limits planting pretty severely, so I am messing about with planters. I lost several perennials in this area due to water, and have to figure out how to correct that. If I even can.

And finally,  we had some really pleasant, cool evenings by the firepit. Friends Jeff and Tamara came over Sunday evening with their son and another boy. We roasted hotdogs and marshmallows and the boys stayed busy finding sticks to burn and burning up more marshmallows than they ate! Good times.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. Nao Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Back in the Gardens Again

61°f/16°C this morning, rain, continued all day, some localized flooding. Over 2" total, and cold! Temperature dropped to 55°by evening.

It was a foggy ol' morning out there today, and honestly it was a bit of a relief to know it would rain all day and I can take it easy. I pretty much overdid it the last two days, working for hours outside, and I paid for it last evening, getting myself dehyrated and a little feverish and hurting all over. You would think I would know better. So today has been a day of rest and it felt pretty good.

I appreciated all your comments on yesterday's post about the good people I met recently. I agree, we all need to be more aware of the goodness around us in these dark days. It helps me that we do not watch TV, so our news exposure is pretty limited, otherwise I think I would find it overwhelming. But there are so many people out there doing good things in quiet ways, and it helps to remember that. And noticed it.

I have at last planted ALL the plants that were waiting on me. It seems like every time I would be nearly done, lo and behold more plants magically appeared. Okay, not magically, I bought them. But I haven't bought any more since Tuesday, so maybe I am finally done? Probably not.

The Mexican primroses are really taking over in this bed. I pull them up as I need space, them and the lamb's ear which also spreads at will.  That's a random peach tree on the right, no idea how a seed got there but I have let it grow. There used to be a peach tree here about 20 years ago when this was the compost bin and not a garden. So perhaps a seed survived all those years?

These pictures did not load as I had intended so it's a mishmash of veggie and flower gardens. This is the lettuce and spinach. For the first time ever in my life, I have spinach. I have never had luck with it. I think I have found the solution, at last: blood meal. Greens need lots of nitrogen, and apparently I wasn't giving the spinach enough.

Hard to see, but these are the peas on the arbor, doing terribly because this area is too wet for them. I'll pull them up this week, I think, and get the rattlesnake beans planted. The rhubarb is under the arbor and is doing well so far. On the left are the tomatoes, also doing well. I've had to add my bone meal/blood meal/wood ash mix a couple times because of all the rain leaching out the nutrients. These were planted in the no-till area, so we just pulled back the mulch and dug holes for them. It took longer for them to look good, but now they seem to be fine.

Oh, and the big black and white thing is one of those air thingies that car lots use. Granddaughter Sarah sent it because she had heard it would keep predators away from the chickens. Larry figured it would keep crows out of the garden too, and it certainly seems to be working. It's a skeleton, kinda weird but effective.

The herb garden is finally finished, for now.

I used a log from the tree that fell on my van to be a plant stand. You can see part of the tree is still waiting for Larry to finish cutting it up. Maybe one day...

I love this rose, and have had a time keeping it safe from the deer. I thought they had killed it last summer, but here it still is. The bloom turns pink as it ages. I thought it was a climber so planted it by the big wagon wheel, but oops. 

The first canna to bloom looks a little worse for wear for some reason.

The old cast iron pot was painted and had a hole in it, but sure makes a pretty planter.

Back in the veggie garden, this is the cabbage and broccoli, and at the top of the photo is the tiny corn. The broccoli is beginning to head up.

This is hard to see, but it is an area below where I planted a strip of wildflowers three springs ago. Mixed in the grass and weeds are many coreopsis plants, along with a few cosmos, that seeded themselves.

And this is the original row. I planted a row of daffodils here and on a whim scattered the wildflower seeds on top of them. Now, after the daffodils are done, I have all these coreopsis and yarrow. Last year I tilled the area behind them and planted more flower seeds, but due to the drought only a few came up. But this year, we have quite a row of zinnias and other flowers back there, Problem is, there is grass and weeds too. So what to do? try to weed it? leave it to its own devices? Any advice appreciated.

That's about all the news, because that's about all I've been doing. Except today I did run to the store to get some meds and a bandage for Little Boy, who has been limping for a while. 

We left him alone thinking that, as dogs do, he would take care of it himself, but it seemed to be getting worse. It looks like he has got it caught in something and kind of split the area between his paw pads, so it looks pretty sore. He does not like the bandage, but I put lavender oil on it so he won't chew it off and so far that seems to be working.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Poor Baby

32°f, 0°C this morning. Sunny, then overcast and raining moved in around 4pm.

Little Boy is feeling very sorry for himself. With good reason. He started the day with no food or water since yesterday evening, and a ride in the truck to a strange place with strange dogs and people who took him away from Larry. 

Then when he woke up after surgery, feeling all woozy, he whined and cried incessantly, according to the staff there, and didn't stop until Larry picked him up. He is a very vocal pup, even at home. 

Worst of all, he has to wear the cone of shame. This is really to protect him from our other curious dogs. They are completely baffled by it, and have given him plenty of space. But he is so funny with it! He thinks that when he bumps into furniture that he's stuck, so I have to go move him around whatever it is. His eyes are so sad, it just breaks your heart. Like he trusted us and now this! Still, it had to be done. Now we will babysit him for a few days to be sure he heals properly. 

Honestly,  young dogs are like having young children all over again. This morning after the truck pulled away Buddy was so upset he demanded petting and stroking for a full 20 minutes. Maybe he thought his friend was never coming back? He howled and whimpered pitifully. So I sat here and comforted him with soft words and much stroking. Such a baby. Regular doggy daycare here.

In retrospect, maybe having 2 young dogs at the same time at our age isn't such a great idea.  But here they are, and I have to admit they certainly liven things up. Larry takes them for at least 2 walks a day, which is good for him, and I take them out too. In the evenings they come for cuddles,  then lay down by the fire to sleep.  Our old girl Daisy gets aggravated with them sometimes, but she's lost weight and loves the walks too. And she mothers Little Boy so sweetly.

        Left to right,  Buddy, Little Boy and Daisy

I have almost always had a dog, usually 2 at a time, but they were outside dogs for the most part, and demanded little except food, water, shelter and the occasional petting and praise.  So I am in unfamiliar territory nowadays, but I think I like it. Most of the time, anyway.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Gone to the Dogs: Superstitions, Folklore, Stories and More

My dogs howl. Long, loud and mournful. Usually it is the howling of coyotes that set them off, but sometimes they just sit and howl at the moon, literally. They're not hounds, either.

Photo from last winter. Remember when
we had real snow??

We have two black labs and a yellow lab--maybe there is a little hound dog in one of them, but the other two are pretty close to being pure bred. Their singing last night made me wonder if people attached any meaning to this wailing. So this morning i've been reading up on the topic, and have found that yes indeed, people were spooked by the mournful sound all right.

The most common belief seems to be that dogs howling at night means death is on the way. Some clarify this with the stipulation that they must be howling at a rising moon, so there is a little leeway for those of us who hear the hound-song in the morning or after moon rise.There is no indication of which listener will see the Grim Reaper although the Irish attach the misfortune to anyone who is in their sickbed when the dogs howl.

The ancient Romans thought the sound indicated the coming of evil, and noted that dogs do not howl at ghosts--they growl. The Canidae website's blog says that "In Ireland, folklore claims that dogs howl when they hear the universal phantom pack of hounds. These mystical hounds are said to lead their riders on a wild, barren hunt through the sky gathering the souls of the dead." And in his blog Appalachian Lifestyles, Matthew Burns reported that "if a dog howls while looking at the ground, he senses death is very near." Poor dog--or maybe it's not his own death?

Then there are the hellhounds, those mythical beasts of bad omen found in cultures around the world and hailed by a wide variety of names. Wikipedia says that in the British Isles "many names are given to the apparitions: Moddey Dhoo of the Isle of Man, Gwyllgi of Wales, and so on (see Black dog (ghost))."

Title page of the Rev. Fleming's
book, from Wikimedia

My mother grew up in the region of England called East Anglia, and there, Black Shuck is a fabled demon dog to be avoided at all costs. One account of the terror the dog evoked: "This black dog, or the divel in such a linenesse (God hee knoweth al who worketh all,) running all along down the body of the church with great swiftnesse, and incredible haste, among the people, in a visible fourm and shape, passed between two persons, as they were kneeling uppon their knees, and occupied in prayer as it seemed, wrung the necks of them bothe at one instant clene backward, in somuch that even at a mome[n]t where they kneeled, they stra[n]gely dyed." (from Wikipedia, excerpt from  A Straunge and Terrible Wunder by Rev. Abraham Fleming in 1577). You can hear some of the stories about Black Shuck on YouTube.

Across the ocean, in my own county in West Virginia, there is a ghostly story about a headless dog. Ruth Ann Musick included it in her book, The Telltale Lilac Bush. Listen to the tale, read by Jason McKinney for the WV Network on Youtube:

But there are some good things about dogs in folklore too. The Scots believed that a strange dog coming to your door means a new friend is on the horizon. Of course, in our case, the new friend is often the dog! Native Americans believed that seeing a white dog was good luck, although there was that movie To Dance with the White Dog that had a different interpretation. In England, it was the black and white dog that meant good fortune was on the way, and a gold-colored dog meant prosperity. Well, I have a gold dog, but I can't see any wealth on the way for me, sadly. 

Another golden dog story is the eerie Golden Dog of Quebec. The mystery of this cut stone, which can be seen over a door in the old city, is as yet unsolved. The dog is chewing on a bone, over a verse in French which reads: 


"I am a dog that gnaws a bone,
I crouch[sic] and gnaw it all alone,
The time will come which is not yet,
When I'll bite him by whom I'm bit."

What does it mean? To what person or event does it refer? No one knows.

We use the word "dog" to describe a lot of less-than-pleasant experiences, expressions, and people. For example:

A dirty dog= cheater, thief, someone underhanded in their dealings.
A man might refer to a woman he thinks is ugly as a "dog." When a man is called a dog by a woman, however, she usually means a "dirty dog" as defined above.
Dog-faced=shame-faced.
Dog-eared=torn, tattered, worn.
Dog-tired=worn out, exhausted.
Dog someone=follow them relentlessly.
Call off the dogs=quit following, bothering, nagging, etc. Quit "hounding" someone.
Going to the dogs=not doing well financially, socially, or personally.

...and many, many more! Check out the Idioms Dictionary for a long list of the ways we malign our favorite animal with the phrases we use. We should be dog-faced about it. 

For more "black dog" superstitions and lore, check out the Villians Wikia.

Sacred Texts has a good article on Irish dog myths and lore as well as English dog lore.

Dog ghost stories? Try Ghost Dogs of the South.

A slobbery dog? Yes indeed, in Margaret Read MacDonald's book about a British legend.

Well, doggone it, I think that's enough for today ,although I've only touched the tip of the dogpile of stories, legends, myths and superstitions from all over the world about our canine friends.

Oh, and keep an eye on your dog. He or she might be trying to tell you something.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Memorial Day Flowers

These are not what you might be thinking from my post title; these are pictures from around my flowerbeds at home. The past week we really got focused on getting the place cleaned up in time for Memorial Day, and we almost finished. A half-truck of mulch still to spread, a few more weeds to cut, and a little more cleaning up and we'll be done.

 This metal rocker frame was one of those plastic "wicker" rockers someone tossed in the trash. We removed the plastic, and ended up with a nice frame for the garden. I've planted morning glories around it. We'll see how they do.

My gardens are always a mishmash of whatever comes up. Here the vervain is crowded by the oregano that planted itself and an ever-spreading grape hyacinth that came from who knows where. Behind them, the dead stalk is actually a small cherry tree that Larry accidentally broke off--it had come up from seed, and is now sprouting new growth. I am curious to see what kind of cherry it is, a wildling or a seedling from my sour cherry.

Young apple trees survived the winter in fine shape, but a black cherry sadly did not.

The newest of the flowerbeds is now at least 10 years old, I'd guess. It's doing very well after all the dirt, manure and mulch we've added over the years.

One spot in the "new" bed: when I find something that does well here, I plant more of it. Our spring weather is great, but summer can be tricky because our sandy clay loam soil can dry out quickly and we get a lot of sun. So if a plant can thrive in those conditions, those are the ones for me. Coreopsis, daylilies, stevia, coneflower, vervain, and some hostas seem very happy here.

The far end of the new bed has been taken over by pink poppies, and I don't mind one bit. Wild yarrow has also made itself at home here, and coneflower has seeded in all of my beds.

Another view of the rocker frame, and you can also see the windchime made by my nephew Josh Mathias, who has started an etsy shop of his creations. I'll be writing a post about Josh's work soon.

The peonies are finally recovering from being moved a few years back. I planted a red one two years ago but no blooms yet, mainly because my old dog Jeb (who passed away a month ago; we sure miss him) was always digging it up.

I am doing a lot more container flowers this year because of the dogs. The new ones are learning not to lie in my beds, but if the flowers are in pots they're safer, and by placing the pots strategically in the flowerbeds I can protect some areas from being mashed by dogs. It's a trade-off: I know my flowerbeds are attractive places for them because the mulch is cool, and I know some plants will be damaged by the dogs whatever I do. In exchange, the dogs keep groundhogs, possums, most of the deer and other varmints away. I cannot imagine trying to have gardens here without dogs to help protect them.

The herb garden was a jungle. I made the mistake of allowing a goldenrod plant to stay in the garden and bloom last year. I was rewarded with goldenrod coming up everywhere and strong roots that were a bear to remove. That little succulent groundcover I call sedum was also taking over, along with my arch enemy gill-over-the-ground. I filled two big wheelbarrows cleaning up this little patch, but it's looking good now. I'll need to be vigilant with the hoe this summer

That's a tour of most of the gardens in the yard. They will probably not look as good for long, as summer will descend on us, weeds will try to take over again and I get too busy with storytelling. But for this one moment, I am enjoying the peacefulness and beauty around me. I hope your gardens are doing well, and that you will have time this weekend to enjoy the fruits of your labors too.

As for me, this day will be spent on the porch, reading, listening to the birds and petting the dogs.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.