Tag's Day

Born on Halloween of year 2000. Today is Tag's day.  Smart, loyal, silly.  Always at my side. I will never forget you. Rest in peace my old friend.

Fall Color and Chores

Our oak trees are turning red for the first time, according to neighbors. I am so happy. They are beautiful!

We've been trimming sheep feet again. Bob tipped them to immobilize them on their backs while I did the trimming. It went pretty well until we got to Timmi who fought like a demon and knocked Bob down, twisting his previously sprained ankle. It was the first time Bob had tried this technique and he carried on like a trooper to finish the job but is sure hurting now. This ranching stuff takes a toll on an old body. 

After trimming, Hattie helped get the sheep to a temporary pen out front where there is a lot of grass growing. She is really good with them and they are comfortable with her now, even walking by her to get to the hay while she sits in the barn doorway. I have to let her go in for a nip or a grab when they get belligerent, challenging her and stomping their feet, just to remind them she is boss. These boys are full grown now and pretty big but Hattie has a lot of confidence and isn't intimidated. And there is nothing she likes more than bossing these guys around.

Gray Sky and Peonies

The rainy season is back. During a weather break this morning I was able to plant some peonies in the new garden beds. I picked them up at the Peony Farm in Sequim yesterday. It takes a few years for them to get growing well so here are pictures of the varieties planted, so I don't forget.

Bowl of Beauty

Edulis Superba

Paula Fay

Walter Faxon

Two ITOH peonies I purchased online should be coming in mail soon to join them.

Bartzella

Cora Louise

Last week I planted irises from Shreiner's Iris Gardens in Oregon.

Pallida Variegata Gold

Cameo Keepsake

Decorum

Finalist

Grand Canyon Sunset

Happenstance

June Krausse

Makin' Good Time

Bellini

Androgyny

I am looking forward to lots of color next year!

I'm beat!

I finished the mulching today while Bob was in Seattle. He's getting a second opinion on back surgery at Virginia Mason. The gravel paths turned out really nicely. Now we'll see what plants survived the move. I'm planning to plant irises and peonies too. You can see there are mountains of mulch and gravel left that we'll use other places. Bob already started a project at the back of the garage to use up the gravel. I have a couple of rose bushes to move. One is the climbing rose at the front of the house. It's growing like gang busters but is prone to molds in spring so I'm going to try placing it someplace with better air circulation. I bought a lemon cypress at a sale last weekend to replace it. Hope to get to that later this week. My hands and arms are begging for a break.

Almost done

The plants are in just in time for rainy weather. A little more mulch and rock should be put in today and the rest is up to us. 

This bed was entirely replaced with just a few plants. Should make weeding easier. I love the new table top pine.

The big juniper or hebe that grew in this bed gave up the ghost recently so that was ripped out and I put the Japanese maple that wasn't doing so well in its previous location to that spot. A large heather was removed to make way for a little rhody. The landscaper reused some plants from other areas to save us money.

This is the bed where the cement slab used to be. Now it's growing a weeping blue atlas cedar and a weeping hemlock with some winter heather and a creeping ceanothus.

I love the way the trunk has been trained on the weeping blue atlas cedar.

My beautiful Cotinus Grace was dying from verticilium wilt so I had an opportunity to rework the flower bed in back.

This is the new bed at the side of the house where plants removed from the front were planted. Bob wants to build an arbor swing in the center.

Three cuties, Gimpy, Timmi and Mocha.

Landscaping

Lots of bodies and equipment to do the work on this project. It should be finished today.

Around the house

A new landscape project started up today. The stamped concrete pad in front of the house is being ripped out to make space for a simple entry landscaping. Across the driveway the weedy mess of plants at the point (across from the cars in second picture) is being removed to make way for a new look. The plants removed from that area will go into the back yard in a new bed adjacent the patio that will connect the two existing beds. A few overgrown and diseased plants are also being removed so the front of the house will look much different. I'll post more pictures later.

Smoke again

Woke to a smoky world this morning. Top two pictures taken around 9 am. That second pic is the sun in a smoky brown sky. It's even worse now, a few hours later. Only the closest foothills are visible. Smoke is coming from fires on both the OR and WA sides of the Columbia Gorge this time. Fires in BC earlier this summer caused even worse air quality. My lungs hurt. Bob is struggling with a lung infection. We are waiting for relief from a stiff sea breeze tomorrow. Hope it brings some cooling, too.

Hattie doesn't care if it's smoky. She wants to chase the ball or work the sheep. Now!

Tomato plants that struggled early in the season rallied nicely and are overwhelming us with fruit. We're sharing with all the neighbors. Below is my puny red bell pepper plant. I bought it with three flowers and looks like all I'll get is three peppers, but they are looking nice as they turn red. Bob is getting a lot of jalapenos, but none of our pepper plants grow much bigger than when we buy them. Maybe because of poor soil or cool soil temperatures even though they're growing in the greenhouse - but surely these plants would be larger under different conditions? 

Countdown to surgery

I am disappointed to tell that I am not able to get gel injections in my knees. My primary care X-rays didn't show the full picture. I have patellarfemoral arthritis and there is no cartilage under my kneecaps. The hyaluronic gel and a few other treatments require some space between bones but I have none. It's bone on bone. I got a cortisone shot in one knee and will try physical therapy to strengthen my quadriceps, but the orthopedic doctor made it pretty clear knee replacements will be needed. Dang. I was hoping to avoid that. But he assured me he could get me back to hiking again. I go back in three months to see how things are doing.

Minis

A young couple, doctor and wife, bought the big house with five nice acres just down the road from us and they have... ta da!... two mini horses! They fit into the neighborhood perfectly with the mini cows across the road and two alpacas just north of them.

Cuteness to start the day

Shoveling shit in the pen this morning this made me put down the shovel and run for the camera.

A sparrow, I guess. Little thing clung to his wool while Gimpy pondered what was hanging on his back and what to do about it. Eventually he just went back to eating, the bird dropped off and hopped around on the ground avoiding the hooves of the curious sheep before flying off. So cute.

I made a few more poppies before it dawned on me that this is porcelain paper clay and may react like porcelain in the glaze fire. Doh! I'm going to finish firing these before committing to making more in case they warp and end up little more than a mess in the kiln. Wish me luck.