Rainy Days

Making pesto and staying out of the (much needed) rain today.

Keeping dry

World Dog Day

I don't know who determines these things, but I'm all for a World dog Day. Do something special with your pup today and every day.

Tux, wondering what a dog day is all about.

I want a World Duck Day, too!

Happenings in the Yard

We've had a pretty successful gardening season considering our lack of experience. We're thinking of ways to improve the soil over winter and making plans for what to grow more of and try new next season. Bob's been busy building things. Besides working on the shed he made a compost bin and enclosed the veggie beds with wire to exclude the voracious duck-girls who were helping themselves to everything.

Compost bin

Artichokes, more of these next year!

Lemon cucumbers - tasty, but take too much space in the greenhouse. Next year none.

Squash - no more than one plant! I have enough to eat for years to come. 

Duck proof beds

The ducks are a delight. They are crazy for tomatoes now that the raspberries are gone. We have so many Cherokee Purples that the cherry tomatoes would be going to waste if not for the ducks. I tossed one into the garden and tried to get pictures as they fought for ownership. 

The winner!

There is still a ton of work to be done in the yard, but ever so slowly I will add shrubs and beds and trees. This stunning red shrub is Cotinus coggygria 'Grace'. It will grow to eight to ten feet high and wide and I've planted it near the new patio. I want to put a purple or golden Cotinus next to it, maybe both, for contrast. 

More beautiful than the picture can show.

The scrawny own-root roses I planted a few months ago are growing like crazy. This is a New Dawn climber growing next to a clematis. 

This is a garden developing on the east side of the house where I'd initially thought of doing roses. It's going to be a peony garden instead. No peonies planted yet, they won't be ready to pick up at the nursery for another month or two, but there are irises, cone flower, grasses, and crocosmia keeping the little fig tree company. I'll plant tulips this fall and peony poppies (if the seeds grow) next spring. Flowers in shades of red in this garden bed. 

Here is one of the beds in front of the house that I started last fall. It's not apparent from this angle, but there are color groupings of various plants along the row. I'm still pulling out unwanted bulbs and am moving things around until happy with placement.

Here is Tux at the memorial garden where she spends most of her time. I've planted a rugosa rose, compact strawberry tree, ceanothus, lavender, sea holly and four different irises so far, in honor of Tag and Hoop. Oriental poppies and tulips to be added, and maybe mock orange or red flowering currant in the background, close to the fence. When the shed is finished we'll make a spot for a bench where we can sit with Tux and remember the border collies.

The Shed

Still waiting for wood to be delivered before construction of walls can begin. In the meantime the doors were made. Tux seems to think it's hers.

Neighbors gave us some apples so it was time to try making a pie. It's been many years since I last made one. Here it is, just out of the oven.

Elwha Valley

We checked out another area in Olympic National Park today, the Elwha River Valley. This is where the Glines Dam was removed last year to restore the upper part of the river for salmon which are slowly returning after a hundred year absence. Removing the dam was quite an accomplishment as recorded in DamNation and other videos found online. The two pictures below show the narrow canyon slot where the dam was torn out and the old lake bed that is being restored with native plants. 

The dam abutments (fuzzy photos taken on crummy iPhone camera).

Madison Falls, not really spectacular but an attraction none-the-less.

The beautiful peeling bark of my favorite tree, the Madrone, growing amongst the firs and cedars.

A photo taken earlier this summer that I just found on my phone: a peony called Salmon Dream. 

Rain Forest Visit

Big leaf maple covered with moss

It was warm and dry in the Olympic rainforest yesterday. Trails were dusty and there was not a single slug to be seen. We haven't visited a national park in years because of the no-dog policy, but now that Tag and Hoop are gone we decided to get the lifetime senior pass and see what's out there. I think there are too many people in these parks to enjoy any type of outdoor experience but it is what it is.

On the drive home the vet called with results of Tux's latest cocci titer. She's down to 1:16, a very good place to be! She was at 1:256 for so long we didn't think she would ever get better. But she has clearly been feeling very good so we were expecting this bit of good news. Now we're awaiting word from the vet in Arizona as to a need for change in medication. She may be on antifungals for the rest of her life, which may only be another year or two. I found photos of her joining our family in November of 2006 at about nine months of age, so she is older than I thought.

Trees growing on nurse log

Bob on nurse log

An Evening Walk

A few pictures from an evening walk to McDonnell Creek and down to the coast:

One of several bridges across the creek

A slug

With luck we see a fish in the pool

Tux on the path to the overlook

Bob at the overlook

The old steps down to the beach

Miles of beach to walk

The cabin roof is finished!

The Cabin Roof Grows

  

Bob's just about finished the roof in amazing time. He needs to trim the top shakes then put the final cap pieces on the peak. Top picture shows the platform he's been working from to avoid stepping on the shakes. I'm going to put a fresh coat of paint on those old window frames. The porthole we got while in Alaska finally found a home. Can you see it under the eave, left side, in the bottom shot? The place is looking awfully cute for a garden shed.