Dang deer!!

There once was a lovely young Dogwood growing down by the redwood trees. Granted, its placement was not so good..the redwoods forcing the little dogwood to bend towards the sunshine, but it did bloom there and was a bright spot in an otherwise dark part of the yard.
Wednesday night I came home from work and saw that the dogwood was leaning more than usual and was looking rather tattered.



On closer inspection it became obvious that Tripod had been using it to scrub the last of the velvet off his considerable antlers. The little tree is completely girdled and will not survive. Too bad he didn't scratch his itch on that stump of a pine tree not 3' away!

Venison is beginning to sound like a treat....even though I don't care for the taste. Jerky perhaps. Grrrrrr.

I feel sorry for the deer. They have been pushed away from their traditional grazing areas along the river by the human penchant of building starter castles with huge walls around their perimeters. ("We want to live near 'nature' but we don't want it to bother us")
The deer have moved into the subburbs and have taken up residence where the neighbors don't have WALLS around their properties. Though I'm happy to give them a safe place to live, I am worried about the population. Currently there are two does, 3 fawns, and Tripod-the-buck spending most of their time on this 2.5 acre property. The does and the fawns do travel to neighboring lots but Tripod can't jump fences anymore so he's here 24-7.

ahhhh. Compost!

One morning last week I forked the first third of the left compost bin into the other compost bin. (Duh. The first TWO thirds. The third third went into the flower bed!) The mornings have been cool and lovely to work in. I am lucky not to have to leave for work until 10:00a.m. so I can gets lots done.

My brother made these duo bins for me several years ago. I'd only had to whine for two years before he caved in.


This little feller was filled twice with the nice compost and yes, some of the yummy dirt from the bottom of the bin. This thing holds a bit more than 5 gallon bucket-load.



















This is the litle flowerbed that benefited from the compost. Things are rather crammed into this bed because, until I decided to make a flower bed in the dog's yard, this was the only fenced area available. (deer you know.)

Since I'm not moving to Oregon afterall, the bazillion things that had been living in pots for the past 2 years, are now getting to live in the ground...hence the crowding. I like the crowding but it is a bit of a challenge to weed. And as you can see, not everything has been unpotted yet.

Potted things that the deer had been ignoring are suddenly being tasted by the fawns so sometimes pots just get moved into the fenced area with the promise of later planting.

Freddy The Frog

A close up of the new pond mascot.

But of course the weather got hot again!

The little plastic "pond" seemed to be drying up every day instead of every few days so I figured it must have a crack in it somewhere and time had arrived to replace it. Being cheap, paying $8.99 for something I'd be able to find for $5.00 or less in another month, wasn't an option. (yes, I can be frugal. Then again, I can go broke saving money too..) Besides, that blue was getting on my nerves. The weather had been in the very tolerable 80°range for the past week or ten days so I decided I didn't really need to have my own personal pool in Phoebe's yard anymore.
My own personal pool.
It quickly got drained and rolled into the front yard. While filling, it was "fitted" with various lengths of old drain pipe, and then with the water loving plants. oh, and the duck decoys. (Much less messy than the real thing and never molested by marauding raccoons.)
And THEN, I found this fabulous bejeweled frog-on-a-reed (not to be confused with the interesting things-on-a-stick found in China) on sale at Pier 1. Believe it or not, I'm not usually into quirky frogs but this one is absolutely perfect.

Of course you know the tempertures shot right back into the 90°'s the very moment the pool became a pond. And as you must see, there is no room for an over-heated human amid the plants.

Must go play in the sprinklers now.......

Aint it the truth!

Rather than throw away a small piece of chicken wire I decided to attempt to copy Angela's "chair basket" yesterday. And voila!

This particular thyme plant has been surviving against all odds in a hanging basket, hidden behind a fluffy, leafy branch of lilac in Phoebe's yard. The secret to its survival, it seems, is that I'd planted it in a plastic bag last year so it held the moisture I'd infrequently remembered to give it. Hopefully the deer won't dine on it now that its within their probing, hungry, chomping parts. The fawns seem to have to taste quite a bit of something before they decide its not palatable.

And then, of course, a rock had to be found for the profound thought...

Phoebe's phlowers

A couple things happened. One, I'm not moving to Oregon any time soon so all those things in pots voted to be planted in the ground. Two, I just finished Willie Nelson's book "The Tao of Willie" which was a great reminder to live every day NOW. Interesting; I've always liked Willie's music and now I find that we agree on politics and religion too. Who'da guessed.

Phoebe's yard has been mostly a patch of Bermuda grass and a lot of pots. That is changing now. Not to mention that her yard is safe from the herd of deer! Woo-Hoo!! The dog's yard is also about 25' x 45' so there's plenty of room to put stuff. Somebody does need to come prune the dickens out of the olive tree/jasmine/trumpet vine tower. (beware of vines. They can and do get away from domestic behavior and turn rapidly feral!) and just how they will do that remains to be seen. Perhaps a couple of monkeys with saws? There is no access for a "cherry picker" to get into that yard and close to the tree cum vine tower.
Though Phoebe still behaves with puppy-like enthusiasm she does not tear up flower beds (watch me eat those words) nor does she have the habit of sprawling her body on/in them. Sprawl on the couch, the bed, the lawn, the gravel driveway, any available lap, yes. On flowers and shrubs, no.

The fun thing about this bed, along with being able to stick things in the ground instead of pots, is that it just keeps growing! What started out as a 6' x 3' bed is now about a 15" x 3' bed and it will probably continue to expand. It gets sun most of the day in the summer months. Not sure how things will enjoy a totally shady winter but figure they'll deal with it.
Another fun thing is finding neglected plants in the big yard that can be transplanted into the little yard at no cost. Hmmm...I could move some Chinese ground orchids into this bed as well. And what about those overgrown and ceder needle covered Queens Tears? Yeah!

It will never be "done" and that's one of the great things about gardening. There's always an excuse for playing in the dirt... I was playing in this very dirt 60 years ago...and it is just as much fun now as it was then. 63 going on 3. Whoopie!!






The drawback to this project is realizing that Phoebe can't have doggie friends over for awhile lest they play tag in the middle of all this lushness. Maybe I can figure out a temporary fence should impending canine company be on the schedule.






Among other things, planted here are Campanula pyramidalis (white) that had been in a pot and which had been constantly pruned by the deer. This morning I can see the white of the impending flowers! Also, Ecballium elaterum "Squirting cucumber" which was not bothered by the deer but which was not doing much, certainly not squirting, in a pot. There Are Angelonias, Love-In-A-mist "African Bride", Cuphea cyanea "Caribbean Sunset", Lisianthus "Echo pink Picotee", Salvia "hummingbird coral", Salvia splendens "Sparkler purple", Gerber daisy, pinks, basil, and "Black Lace" elderberry...Santa Barbara daisies...the list goes on...
daylilies...

I'd rather be gardening but must get ready for my real job in the real world.
Toodles~

newest signage

Found this in Portland and just HAD to have it. I'm surprised it didn't trigger something at airport check-in. ;>) Haven't yet had anyone apply for the positions of "Weeders" or "Planters" but maybe the sign is just too far from the street. har-har-har. I have lots of pruners..in the form of deer. DOEreen and her kids, Pete & Repete, and the (possible) Dad, Tripod, plus I saw the yearling doe hiding out behind a brush-pile this weekend. She was banashed from the property by DOEreen when the twins were born.

But back to pruning. The deer have eaten all the hydrangeas down to bare sticks. The plants are sending out new growth but as soon as its a tiny mouth full, it too will be eaten. They have pruned my Heucheras, nibbled my succulents. They have taken 2/3 of the leaves off the Abutelons, the Jacobinia,(but not its cousin, the Shrimp Plant) and the Raphiolepis. Petunias were pulled from the ground. The 3' tall Phlox is currently one foot tall. They like plum leaves (yeah!) and Texas Privet. (yeah!) Unfortunately, they do not seem to care for bamboo, or nut grass, or Bermuda. On the other hand, they are leaving lots of fertilizer and they are tres' fun to watch...especially since I've found nary a tick on the dog or myself.


Someone told me that "deer won't even walk on plastic netting so you can use that on the ground instead of as a fence." Yes? Well, I watched DOEreen casually walk down a 15' stretch of plastic netting on the ground Sunday. She didn't seem to mind at all.

And yes, I am an "Obama Mama"! Isn't it refreshing to hear someone speak using correct grammer and sound like he's actually speaking to you and not just reading, in a 2nd grade fashion, the sentences placed before him? (or repeating what he's hearing in his ear piece?) I also like WHAT he says not just the WAY he says it. I saw lots on Obama signs in Portland and Corvallis and now I'm starting to see more of them around here. The McCain folks haven't started showing their support of Bush #3 yet.

My poor rickety picketty fence! The fawns muscle their way through the slats which was fine when they were not much biogger than a pussy cat. However, they are quickly becoming DEER but don't quite have the springs to get them over the fence yet. So, they still go through. It will soon be time to haul out the electric screw driver and and a handfull of screws for repairs as it just wouldn't do to have Phoebe escape into the busy street or to have stray dogs enter our Peaceful Queendom to hassle the deer.

The Japanese Gardens in Portland, OR

Lisa of www.fercryingoutloud.blogspot.com gave my family and I a wonderful, informative tour of the Japanese Gardens in Portland, Oregon this past weekend. It was such fun to meet a "Blog-buddy" in person! Again, Lisa, thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule to accomodate us. We loved it! We loved YOU!

This is the Zig-Zag bridge. It would be a fun thing to have in the yard..though mine would be more of a zig-zag "path" since the only time a "bridge" would actually be needed would be during a typical mid-winter rainy season here.
The zig-zag design is so that the demons can't follow you because they can only travel in straight lines. Which makes me think I need to redesign my computer room/desk/area because the demons have certainly been busy in my little corner of cyberspace. Now the CD "drawer" refuses to open which makes having all of my Portland photos on a CD next to worthless at the moment. Luckily, I forgot to delete the last bunch of pictures from my camera. Camera. Need a new one of those too. This one has been having major issues with it's on-off button. Sometimes it requires a stab from a pen point, or a stick, or a few well chosen swear words to make the camera turn on. Or off. I almost bought a new one on the way to the airport last night..but decided I'd best do some homework first.

This fence gives me some ideas for a possible deer-barrier in my yard. It would have to be MUCH taller of course but I do have a huge patch of bamboo that needs thinning...

I suspect that the entire west coast is operating under smoke to some degree. Mt. Hood was barely visable through the haze but at least we didn't smell the smoke. Back in Sac, I can smell it, feel it, and see it. We flew over many fires and in between incredible cloud decks. There were fair weather cumulus clouds, swelling cumulus clouds and cumulus congestus clouds.There were also cirrostratus layers. And smoke. Lots and lots of smoke. It was very difficult to find any landmarks. Good thing the pilots have navagational instruments! ;>) I don't know what the flight was like going up because I'd made the near fatal mistake of booking an un-godly early one..I had to meet the shuttle at 3:15 AM...soooooo verrrrry tired....note; taking marvelous Meclizine HCL to curb motion sickness is a moot action when there has been only a modicum of sleep. It did not work for me. Very embarrassing to fly with one's head in a bag and making rude noises. I'll not do that again! Flight home was great.

If you look very hard at the sky above the um, is that the bank tower?.. the tallest of the Portland skyline buildings, you can see Mt Hood floating in the distance.

Oh how I love Oregon. I didn't want to come home. We spent a day in Corvallis at the da Vinci Festival too but that post will have to wait until I can wring my photos from the CD that the computer is refusing to allow in.

The Japanese Gardens in Portland, OR

Lisa of www.fercryingoutloud.blogspot.com gave my family and I a wonderful, informative tour of the Japanese Gardens in Portland, Oregon this past weekend. It was such fun to meet a "Blog-buddy" in person! Again, Lisa, thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule to accomodate us. We loved it! We loved YOU!

This is the Zig-Zag bridge. It would be a fun thing to have in the yard..though mine would be more of a zig-zag "path" since the only time a "bridge" would actually be needed would be during a typical mid-winter rainy season here.
The zig-zag design is so that the demons can't follow you because they can only travel in straight lines. Which makes me think I need to redesign my computer room/desk/area because the demons have certainly been busy in my little corner of cyberspace. Now the CD "drawer" refuses to open which makes having all of my Portland photos on a CD next to worthless at the moment. Luckily, I forgot to delete the last bunch of pictures from my camera. Camera. Need a new one of those too. This one has been having major issues with it's on-off button. Sometimes it requires a stab from a pen point, or a stick, or a few well chosen swear words to make the camera turn on. Or off. I almost bought a new one on the way to the airport last night..but decided I'd best do some homework first.

This fence gives me some ideas for a possible deer-barrier in my yard. It would have to be MUCH taller of course but I do have a huge patch of bamboo that needs thinning...

I suspect that the entire west coast is operating under smoke to some degree. Mt. Hood was barely visable through the haze but at least we didn't smell the smoke. Back in Sac, I can smell it, feel it, and see it. We flew over many fires and in between incredible cloud decks. There were fair weather cumulus clouds, swelling cumulus clouds and cumulus congestus clouds.There were also cirrostratus layers. And smoke. Lots and lots of smoke. It was very difficult to find any landmarks. Good thing the pilots have navagational instruments! ;>) I don't know what the flight was like going up because I'd made the near fatal mistake of booking an un-godly early one..I had to meet the shuttle at 3:15 AM...soooooo verrrrry tired....note; taking marvelous Meclizine HCL to curb motion sickness is a moot action when there has been only a modicum of sleep. It did not work for me. Very embarrassing to fly with one's head in a bag and making rude noises. I'll not do that again! Flight home was great.

If you look very hard at the sky above the um, is that the bank tower?.. the tallest of the Portland skyline buildings, you can see Mt Hood floating in the distance.

Oh how I love Oregon. I didn't want to come home. We spent a day in Corvallis at the da Vinci Festival too but that post will have to wait until I can wring my photos from the CD that the computer is refusing to allow in.

Sycamore trees

The trees look pretty darn healthy, they just feel like shedding their excess clothing I think. Hard to tell how many other trees in the area are dropping leaves because so many people can't stand to let a leaf go "un-blown". I'm thinking "mulch" while they are thinking "mess".

what to do with all that cat hair

You just sweep it up and "craft" another cat!

I learned something today

I knew that deer were ruminants. What I didn't know, but which makes perfect sense, is that they can pig out on plums and then rid themselves of the pits at their leisure without making them go through the miles of digestive system. My goat of long ago used to eat the plums and spit the pits out right then and there.

This is a close-up of one of Tripod's favorite bedding areas. Its in Mom's old lathhouse. The second picture shows some of the hundreds of cherry plum pits. I suppose there will be a veritable forest of plum trees in that spot now. Oh I hope NOT. I detest plum trees. They know nothing of birth control and pop up EVERYwhere.
On the other hand, they do give the deer something to eat. .... Along with the Hydrangeas, Abutelons, violets, roses, Rhaphiolepsis, cuphea, some of the camellias...the list goes on...

Lots of deer poop around for fertilizer though.

Fall leaves in mid-July

This is a little collection of the confused leaves. They look just like they do in the fall to me.

Fall? In mid July?

My sycamore trees are dropping leaves like crazy. Even though they aren't getting any less water than normal in this drought...because I never water much where these trees are...and even though its the middle of July, they are shedding as if it were October. Is this "normal" or could it be the fact that we've had a month of dark days due to the smoke from forest fires? Or all of the above? This IS July isn't it? I haven't been in a coma have I?

stuff n nonsense

Finally! The promised photo of Phoebe in her pool! yeahhhh! Big frickin' deal, eh?
she didn't really want to be in there this morning. Perhaps that was due to the fact that the air was quite comfortable and there was no need to stand in water. Interesting, the pose she chose when I told her to "stay".
Then this nasty looking but interesting fungi appeared when I contemplated moving a plant out of an old copper or brass container. They are about 4" long and 5/8" wide. I don't remember ever seeing this one before. Anybody know what its called? It should have some sort of delightful name, like that "Dog Vomit" fungi I sometimes find. Ah ha! I think its a Kysurus mokusin or Stinkhorn. angela sent me a great link http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/skey.html

These tiny (1/4" diameter) fungi are in yet another pot. The open ones look like weensy bowls of Lilliputian fruit snacks while the still round ones look like white peas. Again, I have not a clue.
Although...now I think this one is a type of Bird's Nest fungi.





Do you suppose these salmon, swimming north on Watt Avenue, are Steelhead? (yuck, yuck, har, har)

Wayyyy too hot here

This is why the beautiful black widow lost her home, and sadly, her life. The Human wanted a place to get cool in in a hurry. It was 108° here today. Our store's air conditioning started losing ground by 3:00pm so it was 80° in there when we left. My house was 96° when I got home. Yes, I was in the stock tank within 5 minutes of arriving home, why do you ask?

Its just big enough that if my neck rests on one side and my heels rest on the other, my body sags ever so nicely under the water in the middle. Very pleasant. I don't know what the sheriff's deputies think when they fly over in the 'COPter. Probably "Hey Vince, did you see that drowned cow in the stock tank?"

Wearing wet clothes and sitting in front of a fan helps a little bit but I certainly can't go to bed in wet clothes so that's when the plastic ice thingie from the freezer comes in to play. You know, the containers you freeze and then place in your porta-cooler to keep your wine chilled, or your tunafish sandwich from going gicky on you? It works wonderfully as a "cold water bottle" for hot feet.






This is Dawson. Dawson is not real thrilled about being a very furry cat about now. I've been trying for years to get him to enjoy brushing but he'd rather bite the brush and then go shed three or four cat's worth of fur around the house. He normally is not outside during the day but since it was so nastily hot, he didn't have the energy to hunt birds. Besides, I was right there with him....making sure.

Phoebe has her own pool. I'll try to post that tomorrow. I just know you're all waiting with baited breath to see a dog standing in a wading pool. How novel.