Feast or Famine... no middle ground.

We asked for it. We wanted RAIN. We did dances and said prayers... and feared the summer. Well, someone was listening and someone, possibly Mother Nature, decided that we needed a reprieve from all the worry for a while. But, good grief!! I'm not sure how long this rain will last and it's wonderful, but by about 3:30 p.m. this afternoon, I was going out of my ever lovin' mind. The rain has been non stop since Friday and we needed a break. After all... this is California.
So, this afternoon, I put on my raincoat and my boots, took my camera and told the Prospector that I was goin' crazy, so I was goin' for a walk. I asked the dogs to come too. They were reluctant. They don't like getting wet, pedigree Corgis that they are, but they finally came out with me... only out into the garden to relieve themselves... and then... back up onto the porch again.
The minute I stepped outside I heard the creek at the bottom of the canyon. I stood at the edge of our garden and listened. The creek was roaring.

The rain stopped for a few minutes. I walked out to the driveway and picked three daffodils that had chosen to bloom during the last few days and were suffering from the drenching rain.

Poor lovely flowers. Reminders of Spring. I needed to save them.
The old '38 Chevy was right behind me watching me hold the daffodils and take pictures at the same time.

She has been very neglected since the Prospector bought the RV. Even though we keep her under a tent like plastic cover, she is a mess. I think she has a cold. Her eyelashes don't look good and it looks like she threw up recently.  I know this isn't anyway to treat an old lady. We have talked about selling her this summer. It's very expensive to restore these ladies to their former beauty and the Prospector has lost interest. After all of my jealousy and inappropriate comments about her when she first came here, I feel kind of bad.
I will give her a bath when the sun shines again. She's still a beautiful car, even with all the dirt and rain. She deserves better. She deserves to be restored.
See this post about the day we bought her... here.
And the day we brought her home... here.



It started to rain again, so I decided to not take my camera up to the well and back. Too much moisture. I could walk again, later, without it... or tomorrow. So I headed back to the house.
The dogs were waiting, on the porch, and ran out to great me. I let Cutter smell the flowers.

He can be so adorable. I thought he was going to eat them... but he just nosed them and backed away. When he determined that it wasn't a biscuit... he lost interest.
The rain started getting serious and both dogs went into the house to be dried off by the Prospector. It's a game Carl likes to play. "You dry me off and I try to grab the towel." He loves the tug of war.
I walked around the garden for a few minutes. One of the garden ladies was looking quite Zen in the planter.

I cut the chrysanthemums and the holly hocks back to the ground before Christmas and look at them coming back up. The rest are (I think.) some paper whites and maybe, in the front, some blue hyacinth or Crocus. To be honest, I don't remember what I planted there. Bulbs are always a surprise for me because sometimes I write down what I plant and where... but, not often enough. If they are in there for more than a season or two... then I forget and it's a happy surprise in the Spring.
OK, I probably wrote down what I planted the first year or two that we lived here. That was sixteen years ago. After that... Who knows.
The hummingbird wind chimes are calling the hummers...

 ... but they must be weathering the storm in a sheltered place. Haven't seen any for a week. Yes, a few stay all winter here. It's mild enough and we feed them.
The donkey, like the Tin Man, needs an oil can.

He hasn't moved from this spot for two years. I think he likes the garden. I will make a hat of daffodils for him when there are more of them blooming.
It started raining heavily... so I went inside the house and found something to put the flowers in.

Daffodils brightened up the whole kitchen. They don't have a strong fragrance but they are so beautiful.
Maybe tomorrow I will walk down the road and take some pictures of the roaring creek for you. Should be a wonderful walk and maybe I will run into some other interesting sights as well... like a salamander or something.

These Daffodils are for all of my friends who are neck deep in snow and are tired of being cold.
I know that this has been a long winter for you. Think Spring... it will come.

Cats, Critters and a Beautiful Summer Day

The garden is so beautiful right now.

We don't have to water much.

Everything is new and beautiful.

The heat isn't so intense that flowers wither from it.
Even the angry little Gerbera Daisy is happily planted with some friends. He has survived the other companion flower, the prettier one, possibly because he was a conjoined twin and has the strength of two. Two stems... one flower. He seems very happy now.

All is good in the garden.

All is right with the world.
******************************
Then, you look across the driveway and you see Annabel, the cat, playing with .....
OH NO! That can't be a small Rattlesnake!
Not yet. It's too early.
This can't be happening.
You grab the shovel and run through the gate and across the driveway... yelling at the cat to stop.
She ignores you.
You pick up a small piece of gravel and throw it at the cat to make her back away.
As you get closer, throwing another stone above the cat, you can see the snake tail twitching and the cat pawing at the critter as if it was a moving cat toy.You throw one more piece of gravel. This time you hit dead center in the conflict and Annabel backs away.

Yelling and getting between the cat and the critter, you close in on what you have to do.... but wait.
This is not a baby Rattler.... this is not what you thought was the end of the best  "mouser" you ever had.
Maybe you need new glasses...This is a very good sized Alligator Lizard...

and it's mad....

"You better keep that Cat away from me or I will give her a bite that will make her wish she was never born."
He was on the defensive. He lifted his head up and stared at me.
I said, " I'm sorry little guy. Annie's gone." (She wasn't really. She was sitting on the hillside watching us, but I continued the deception....) "You need to run and hide somewhere."
I reached out and touched his back. He didn't move.
"Go on now. I know the sun feels good and you're a bit shook up but you need to go somewhere else. PLEASE."
He looked at me for the longest time.

"Don't get any closer, lady."

He didn't move. He was really on the defensive and , I suspect, a bit tired from his wrestling match with Annie.
Finally I reached down and started to touch his back again. This time he was ready.

He'd had enough of this inhospitable farm. He gave me one more tough expression and then ran. I don't think he even touched the ground. He ran across the road and disappeared into a pile of  dry garden clippings. He was like GREASED LIGHTENING.... he was gone.
Annie was watching the whole thing.... switching her tail. She was waiting for me to finish off this poor creature and hand it to her, on a plate, for lunch.
"Oh Annie. Why do you do this? Next time it will be a Rattlesnake and I guarantee that you won't win."
She looked at me and walked away.....

Carl, the Strawberry Bandit

Yes, there is a small problem in the garden. For some reason, Carl, our older Corgi, has discovered that Strawberries are delicious little morsels that magically appear on some plants and now he is rooting for them everywhere, like a little Javalina... only he's smarter than the average pig... and he's sly.

If you click on the photo above, you will see him PRETENDING he is just cruising around looking for a bug or a leaf. He acts like he's not interested in much of anything but this is just a ploy... He's really heading for THE STRAWBERRY PLANT.
It's the same routine everyday. He has mastered the fine art of deception.

He, nonchalantly, walks over to the pot with the strawberry plants. He sniffs the leaves. He checks to see if anyone is watching.... and then.. in goes the nose. He roots around, finds a strawberry and runs with the stolen goods. Lately, he hasn't even been running away. He just eats the strawberry and sashays away like it's no big deal.
"Hey, little man. Where are you going. I want to talk to you. What's with eating my strawberries?"

"Oh!' Farmlady. I didn't see you." He turns and walks back toward me...

Look at that expression. He is looking at the Strawberries.
"I hope Farmlady didn't see me eat those a minute ago. If I just walk past without stopping, maybe she won't notice that they are gone."
He walked right by them...

That must have taken a lot of self control, thought Farmlady. Then he walked around the container and got a drink of water.

"Carl? Are you eating my strawberries again?" He didn't turn around or look at me. He was acting like he didn't know what Farmlady was talking about. "Carl? Are you bla..bla..bla..blaing my blaberries again?"
Then he fuzzy butts over to Cutter who is barking at the turkey in the drive way.

"Hi Carl. Wanna help me bark at those big birds?"
Carl wasn't too interested. HIS TUMMY WAS FULL!
"No cutter. I just ate the last of the strawberries that Farmlady was going to eat. I'm trying to act like I didn't do it."
"Oh. Strawberries? Where?" as he forgets about the Turkey...

"I want some strawberries too!"
"It's too late. I ate them all" Carl says.
"YOU ATE THEM ALL?" Cutter ran over to Carl and sniffed Carl's mouth.
"Yes, I did."
"You're 'spose to share."
"It was a spur of the moment thing." said Carl, "You have to get them when you can. I can't be saving them for you Cut'. You're big now.You have to get your own."
Cutter looked at Carl and then he decided that this was more than he could take. After a day of going to the vets for shots in the morning and then having the turkey ignore his barks, he was not going to take this "dump on the puppy" stuff anymore. He walked slowly around Carl and then he jumped on Carl's back. They wrestled and ran around the yard until they were exhausted and then they both laid down on the porch and went to sleep.
. Farmlady decided that she would move the strawberries to another place outside the reach of Carl as she had done to another pot of strawberries. If she didn't, she would never have any ripe red strawberries because Carl had even taken to eating them before they turned red. He didn't care if they were unripe. He liked them even when they were white with a little pink on them.She moved the plant and started for the house. Carl and Cutter were laying on the porch.
Farmlady wondered, for a few minutes, about having dogs in her life. She decided that a few strawberries were a small price to pay for the joy of living with these two little Corgis and, as she walked into the house, she heard them both get up and follow her.
Later, after dinner, Farmlady thawed and sweetened some frozen peaches to put on ice cream. Fresh strawberries would have been lovely.... but, as Carl curled up in her lap, watching her eat and waited for the "licking of the ice cream bowl", she decided that life was much more about THIS DOG LYING IN HER LAP than not having fresh strawberries for dessert.  Life was about two little dogs that love their people, think the garden is theirs and sometimes take advantage.... but she wouldn't have it any other way.
Farmlady finished her ice cream, let Carl and Cutter share the little bit of ice cream that was left and curled up on the couch with one dog on each side of her.
She fell asleep  and dreamed about a lovely strawberry field, long and filled with thousands of red berries. She was there with two Corgis running ahead of her, They were jumping into the air and looking back at her as they ran. It was a beautiful dream.

California Groovin'

This is Bart. He is one of our four Nubian wethered goats. He's quite the gentleman. When I stop to see them, usually every evening, he's the first one to come over and "talk". He was being exceptionally sweet yesterday. We always say "Hello." by touching noses and then he starts sniffing me. It's his way of making sure that I am who he thinks I am. It's like he says...
"Ah! It's farmlady. She's wearing that wonderful shirt that has the shinny buttons and the Jessica McClintock perfume. I know her. She is...(sniff, sniff...) my favorite person besides The Prospector, who feeds me. I like Farmlady very much." Then, I start rubbing his neck and tell him what a wonderful goat he is and, for once, I caught the "look" with my camera. When I start rubbing and talking, he closes his eyes and gets all groovy. It's so cute. He's such a lady's man.

The garden looks so nice right now and I haven't had to do anything. Spring is just a wonderful time of year. We don't have to water or prune. We don't have to fertilize or plant anything..., yet. It's a time for enjoyment. We watch the bushes and trees bud out and the bulbs that we planted in the fall push up through the damp earth and blossom into lovely flowers, some of which, I had forgotten I had planted. Bulbs are like "surprises" in the Spring. I have white tulips that I didn't remember planting..., but here they are, opening up in the wine barrels and looking all lacey and lovely.
The French Pussywillow is ready to be picked and the alyssum is all over the place. Some of the alyssum has grown down onto the walkway. Cutter has decided to use these soft fragrant flowers to rest in after he wears himself out running around the yard with Carl. He look so cute sitting in this shady spot watching Carl. He waits for a sign that it's time to play again. Carl thinks it's funny that Cutter is sitting in the flowers, but he forgets that he use to get a drink in the birdbath and then lay right down in the middle of my flower bed when he was a youngster. He prefers to sun himself on the porch now that he's a big, grown up dog. They are both enjoying the beautiful weather.
As I sit here in the warm California sunshine and think of all the beauty around me, I remember Robert Louis Stevenson's small poem that says....
"The world is so full of a number of things,
I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings."

I think that sums up how we feel, here, today....

Coffee in the Garden

Bonjour! Hope you're having a good day. I thought to take these pictures after my morning cup was almost empty. It was then, when my brain was sharpened by the caffeine, that I went out onto the porch and decided to let this charming cup, that my daughter
in-law gave me years ago, be the center of attention.

We are having a beautiful Spring. One day we have rain, the next day the sun comes out. It's as if nature is in perfect sync with itself right now.
I took a walk, in the rain, yesterday. I was getting that house bound feeling that tells me to get outside no matter what the weather. I'm a person who needs a lot of space. When I feel confined I start to shut down. I get fidgety and cranky.
Someone once told me that I didn't focus very well. I disagreed with them. I do focus..., only everything comes at me at the same time and it has taken years to distinguish one thing from another. I still find a bird singing outside the window at the same level of mindfulness as someone talking to me in the house. It all feeds in at the same intensity and I'm use to dividing my attention into parts and then having to choose what to listen to and what to ignore.
...so I went for a walk in the rain. For someone who hears the grass moving, this can be an experience of overwhelming passion. The sound of the rain, the color of Manzanita trees darkened by the wetness, the green grass covering the hills and glistening with water, and the wind moving the oak trees slowing as if they were dancing..., and then a bee, a bumblebee I think, flying overhead, following me. How odd, how wonderful, from the top of the hill all the way down to the house..., buzzing.., flying above me, as if he had some purpose with me. A fellow creature looking for answers?..., or a flower?.., or, I'm pretty sure, my red raincoat.

Today the sun shines and everything in the garden is all glitter and sparkle. I sit and watch Carl running around like the crazy little puppy that he is. I hear the chickens discussing the weather. A red-tailed hawk flies over head.
I keep my shadow from intruding into the photos as I obsessively take pictures of a coffee cup and I drink the rest of the ,now, lukewarm coffee with a tiny bug floating in it, being careful not to sip the bug into my mouth. The rest is thrown to the dirt below the stepping stones and I return to the house to write this post in the silence of my guest room without the distraction of this intensely beautiful day.


"Coffee. Garden. Coffee.
Does a good morning need anything else?" ~Betsy Cañas Garmon~

Finding All is Well

My friend "C" is home. She went to a hospital in Sacramento, a week ago, and had a knee replacement. I drove down to see her yesterday. It was so good to see that she is recovering well .., and to just give her a hug. She is doing really great. It's amazing what they can do these days. I had relatives back in the day who didn't have this choice and lived with damaged knees and hips. They were in pain until they left this world. I'm so glad we live in a time when they can replace parts of us that are injured and worn. I remember the Bionic Woman on television years and years ago. It was, then, kind of "science fiction" and everyone watched it with amazement. Now we have become a bionic society and the science fiction is a reality. It's wonderful. "C" will not be in pain for the rest of her life and this operation is going to give her a strong knee that will keep her ticking for a long time to come.

She didn't want any photos. Can't imagine why..., so I took one of her cat, Max, the guard cat. He was outside when I got there but finally he arrived and graced us with his presence. He's a very handsome cat..., and I think he knows it.
"C"s daughter is here for a while to take care of her Mom. I'm so glad that she could do this. She's not only glad to be here for her mother.., but "Darn", she's missing all the horrible weather back in Cleveland, Ohio. The warm sunshine yesterday was a nice change for her. Our California winters can't be beat.

On my way home I stopped at TraderJoe's and bought some bread and a few other things. This bread was so beautiful that I had to take a picture of it. Look at the shape. It's just a culinary work of art. We don't have a Trader Joe's up where we live so I always stop and pick up some things, in Elk Grove, on my way home.

Today we are having one of those gorgeous, early Spring days. It's so beautiful, and warm, that it nearly takes your breath away. The daffodils are blooming and my perennials are starting to bloom too. It's as if the SUN is growing inside of everything.
...,excuse me while I go outside again and just walk around the yard. There is a small dog out there who needs some attention and wants to play. How can I say "No"....

Oh!..., Happy Birthday Red Dirt Woman. I hope you're having a wonderful day.

Ninja Mantis of the Rose Garden

I was out watering the garden, yesterday, and I'm usually very careful about where I aim the hose, but I didn't see any little creatures on my white bush rose. No honeybees, bumblebees or spiders were anywhere in sight. The sun was shinning warmly across the front porch and I was thinking that I needed to prune some of the spent roses because they were looking rather sad. As I watered, my mind was planning things like where the Narcissus and Daffodil bulbs should be planted sometime this month, what plants I should just pull out because they struggle so much every summer and when I would have time to sand and refinish the porch that desperately needs some stain on it. So many things need to be done before winter sets in. November is a good month here, for projects. The rains will, hopefully, come but before they do, I have many gardening things that have to be done.

So , as I'm filling my head with all of these ideas and thoughts, I didn't pay attention to the hose and where I was watering. All of a sudden this huge Mantis comes charging up out of the white rose in attack mode. She plants herself on one of the white roses that needed to be deadheaded and then , with her beadie eyes on me, she lifts her front legs up and takes on the stance of a monster in one of those Japanese horror movies.
I don't think I got her wet. I was only watering the ground around the rose..., but she came up out of that Rose plant like I had called her to battle. She positioned herself in front of me like she planned to do me great bodily harm and if she hadn't been all of two or three inches tall ..., if she had been huge like in the movies, I would have grabbed the dogs and run to the house, locking the door and calling the sheriff. This is the Corgi dog of the insect world....,a tiny Ninja disguised in pale green, looking like a dried leaf. This little Ninja was not praying for guidance, she was ready to take me on.
I had to laugh, but at the same time, have respect for this creature as I watched her defend her place in this world she lives in. Brave, rather scary (even with her small stature) and showing the world that she is the biggest, baddest insect in the garden. I laughed, but I removed the hose, said I was sorry and went for my camera. She allowed me a few snapshots and , being the little alien that she is, she moved her head and front feet around menacingly just to let me know that she was being patience with me and at some point I needed to leave her to do her work in the rose garden. I did.

How fascinating.
This creature will always be welcome in my garden, as all the insects are. Maybe she has a nest down inside the rose. I will be much more careful from now on.

Stagmomantis Californica - California Praying Mantis
Family - Mantidae
Order - Dictyoptera
Length - 4.5 to 5 cm.
Recognition - Typically green or light brown or yellow
Habitat - Common on bushes and low vegetation
Behavior - Predator
Residency - Southern United States
Note - The California Mantis is cannibalistic. During courtship, the female may decapitate the male for unknown reasons. This, however, does not prevent the male from continuing the mating process. (That's a guy for ya!)

This information on the California Praying Mantis was found at:
The Free Information Society. site

The Pupster Seizes the Day

"Hey, I've never been able to come into this part of the garden before. I think Farmlady forgot to put my leash on. I'm not attached to anything...., whoopee, where's Maggie....."

"Maggie, look..., here, no over here...., look at that view..., what's that smell. A fox, I smell a Fox..., no wait, it's THE CAT. I smell the cat. No, maybe it's a lizard. No, it's definitely a Fox. Well, maybe it's ...., what's that noise? Maggie listen. I hear dogs on that hill over there; howling. Lot's of them. Maggie? Do you hear that? ...., What? I saw something run under the bush over here. I'll go find it ....., what was that?..., wait, I smell, uh, goats. Yes, where are they? On my...., what's that other smell? Maggie? There's poop here and it's not ours. Want a bite? Oh Maggie, this is so fun. Do you think Farmlady knows where I am? I think she...., what's that smell? Hey, Maggie....."

"Hi Farmlady. You forgot to hook me up to my leash this morning but It's OK. It's good that you keep me on a leash because I'm safer and I can't get hurt but...., I had so much fun. I didn't see any rattlesnakes. I was really OK. Did you know a fox came into the garden last night and left you something. Maggie and I helped clean it up. It was delicious! What do ya mean NO kisses?....,
Thanks for the free run this morning, Farmlady. I love you."
"Wanna go for a walk? Let's go for a walk. What's that? I smell something......"

Happy Labor Day Everyone.

Oh May, Oh May, Oh May.... Oh My.

"Everything is blooming.... most recklessly;

if it were voices instead of colors,

there would be an unbelievable shrieking

into the heart of the night." -

~Rainer Maria Rilke~

"...with my face to the rising sun."

We spent the day in the garden. It was a warm, lovely day. Maggie has been looking for her old friend. She doesn't understand. She walks through the house and makes little wimpering noises. She wanders outside and then looks at us as if to say...., where is he?





We talked about Moke and dug in the garden. We gave Maggie extra lovin' and we sat with our faces toward the sun. I thought of an old hymn I use to sing in church. Some of it goes..."Let us find strength together on our knees. Let us find strength together on our knees. When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun. Oh, Lord, have mercy on me." It has been in my head all day.










This evening before dinner I had the Prospector read all the wonderful emails and comments that were sent to us. We thank everyone who sent us such kind words. It made the sadness more bearable. Tonight we feel better knowing that Moke is beyond the pain and suffering. He has , as one friend said, crossed over the Rainbow Bridge where all animals go when they die. God will watch over him. It's a place where the animals are happy and free of pain. He will be waiting for us until we get there. I hope so. Until then Moke.......