Yard Pick-up; Round Two

Now that I have burned the yard debris closest to the fire pit, it's time to begin collecting from further out. 

I fired up the rattletrap Gator, grabbed a chain and began hauling branches over to the fire pit.

Last fall some of the trees were trimmed so the RV could fit in the driveway. 

Many Most of the branches that were trimmed, lay where they fell. 

I had my helpers with me.

Anytime we fire up the rattletrap Gator, they come running.

After I made four trips hauling large limbs, 

I hooked up the $20 wagon I found at a yard sale.

I filled the wagon and the back of the Gator with smaller

branches and debris.

Then, back to the fire pit.

It was time to get cookin'.

You can see the fruits of my labor all around the Gator.

Oh, and the red barrel? It's a pickle barrel that has been repurposed as our water hauler,

and it this case, as a reserve 'fire engine'! 

The branches all had to be cut to reasonable lengths for burning. 

And of course, the Mister has a tool for that! 

By close of day most of my morning's haul lies in ashes in the fire pit.

 

Green Grow the Rushes Oh

Our lawn is green! It's about darn time! It has responded to several years of TLC, including fertilizer, aeration, water and mowing.

When we first bought the house the front "lawn" was in reality a thistle field. The thistles were about 4 feet tall. We cut. We sprayed. We dug out plants. (We still fight the thistles... they aren't all gone!)

Because of all of the spraying, our "lawn" was more realistically a dirt field.
With a few patches of weeds and some tufts of grass here and there.

Moving Day

Even the deer passed our lawn by. 

Nothing there worth eating!

After about two years of spraying and digging out thistles, and other obnoxious weeds, I began to concentrate on making the area green. I decided to plant a dryland prairie mix of seeds, so it wouldn't need as much water once it was established. Each year I treated the little patch of lawn to soil conditioners, fertilizer, broadleaf weed preventative and lots of mowing. This year, although it is a lawn of "many colors" being comprised of a variety of native grasses, it is thick and lush and very green. It looks great!

Oh, and did I mention it grows incessantly and requires constant mowing? Perhaps I should have begun a new landscaping trend by leaving the front yard "in dirt"!

Oh, Deer, They're Back

The deer have enjoyed the fact that we have lush green grass in our yard, nice shrubs, trees with yummy summer growth and mostly…. that we haven't been home for weeks and they could enjoy it all in peace! Now, they aren't so happy!

They have been making themselves at home in our yard. So much so that I had to pick up deer poop with the doggie pooper scooper! Picking up deer poop? Has Dreaming totally flipped out? If I tell you that Gypsy 'deerly' loves wearing it, does that help explain my behavior?! By the way, did you know that if deer eat foods with high moisture content, like the lush green grass in our yard, their poop will be in large clumps and not the usual pellets? Trust me. I know. Oh, and thank me as I didn't take pictures of the almost 3 gallons of the stuff I picked up just outside our back door!

Moments before I took this picture the bucks had been inside the picket fence area of our yard. Of course, once I got the camera they had responded to Tucker's barking and they were heading out.

Tucker's  hearing is amazing. He will let me know, even in the dark of night, that a deer is walking by. Tucker is also amazing in that he knows he is not supposed to bark at night. He will woof very quietly until I thank him for letting me know, and tell him to go back to bed. At least he complies with that instruction better than he responds to my directives to come! I am cautious in letting the dogs out to chase the deer as I don't want a confrontation. I get the deer started on their way, and then let Tucker and Gypsy escort them off the property.

Yesterday morning we had a bit of snow falling. When I looked out to the front of the house I saw three does bedded down. They were very much aware that we were in the house, since Tucker told me of their presence.

Last night Tucker let me know someone was out front.  We had a bit of a staring contest before he turned and walked off. The deer aren't very afraid. In fact, they are downright bold!

This is not a win-win situation. I am not thrilled that they are hassling my plants and making attempts at fertilizing my lawn. They are not thrilled that we are back in residence. I hope that since Tucker is so noisy, and we make a team effort to drive them off,  that they find it more peaceful to find some other place with lush grass and yummy shrubs! 

Flowers for Friday

Foggy Morn

Doesn't phase him in the least....

Just a Little Rain

What....?

What is it?

I was so busy eating that
all this time I thought it was raining!

Geesh! 
I don't need to be 'sprinklered' on!
I don't have to get wet!

Ornermental

Hay, Doc,
What does ornamental mean?

Orn-er-mental?

As in ornery and daffy?

Like you?

Watch the name calling, buddy!
I said 'ornamental'

Oh, sorry, I couldn't hear you 

with the flies buzzing around my ears.
*wink*

Ornamental means something that's 

pretty to look at. It's decoration.

Why would my Mrs. Owner consider

grass to be something to look at?

Doesn't she know it's something to eat?

Blue Fescue Grass... after Pippin

What it looked like... before Pippin!

Horses Have a 'Hay'day

Two Haflingers are staring at me as I type this entry. They are in their paddock, but I can see them from the kitchen table. I can feel their luminous, soft, dark eyes boring into my soul. They are trying to channel into my mind. They may even be chanting.... "Ouuuutttt. We want to go ouuutttt!" But they are telepathetic - it is not working!

On any given morning, I hop out of bed (yes, I am one of those people who come up to speed very quickly upon opening my eyes) grab some clothes, run a brush through the hair, and head to the barn to let the boys out for a morning nibble. This morning was no different until I was stopped in my tracks on the way to the door.... uh oh, this isn't right. From the window I can see two contented ponies standing in the corner of the back yard. Yes... they are so contented they are just standing there. Oops, only one is standing. Doc is napping and Pippin is standing guard. By the time I make it to the door (and gosh darn, I didn't grab the camera) they are both napping, nose to tail.

Like guilty kids, they both stand as soon as they see me, blinking their large eyes at me, trying to pretend that all is right with the world and it's OK for them to be relaxing in the back yard at 6:30 AM. Our back yard is fenced and they actually have been 'mowing the lawn' for us for an hour or so each morning, so this isn't really unknown or forbidden territory, it's just the timing that is all wrong. And, judging from their behavior (standing... not eating voraciously) and the dearth of poop piles in the paddock,  they have been 'mowing the lawn' for a number of hours!

I walk toward the paddock and two contrite ponies follow in line, heads down as they march back to confinement a water source. Doc stops at the gate to ask me for a treat... unh uh, not this time, Doc! "But," says Doc, "we've been working hard all night to get your grass mowed just right!  We wanted to surprise you! That should deserve a treat!"

I let them in through the gate (which had swung shut after the escape) where apparently I did not secure the snap hook that keeps the slide latch shut securely.  I am guilty!

Pippin and Doc have given up on staring at me.

 We didn't want to go out and eat, anyway.

I'm pooped! It's been a long night!

Me too!
z-z-z-z-z-z

Hardy Souls

Our yard has a few hardy souls! 

It is a pleasant surprise to see what has survived years of neglect,

and the ravages of weather and wabbit!

This reminds me of a native (Rocky Mountain States) rose.

The blossom is very simple, but oh, so beautiful.

A little research on the Internet (I am soooo in love with the Web and all of the information I can have at my fingertips!) yielded very little information. I found 'the' rose on one site. It is growing at Joan Franson’s (evidently she is a renowned rose judge) Laboratory of Roses and the author of an article about a tour of Fran's garden comments, "One vigorous rose that arches into the street, its long canes dotted with lavender pink sprays of blossoms, has remained a mystery species rose, although visiting rose lovers bend over an impressive cane, carefully scrutinizing the blooms. "No one knows what that rose is,"

So, we have a mystery rose in our garden. How fitting, since so much about our house is a mystery!

White Roses

We have about 4 plants that survived.

Sadly, they have no odor, and they turn brown quite quickly.

Russian Sage

Perovskia atriplicifolia

This is a weed in our yard. There were a few clumps, originally. 

Now it has spread in all directions. Russian Sage thrives in dry climates.

Shhh! Don't tell the plants that they aren't supposed to like clay soil!

This is a tiny red rose. It reminds me of the

'Valentine' roses that are sold in grocery stores.

Potentilla

This shrub is well suited to dry climates and therefore, it is no surprise that it survived years of drought at our house. The plant is also called Cinquefoil, Shrubby Cinquefoil or Buttercup Shrub.

The funny thing is that in the past my husband has pointed out this variety at stores and in other plantings. He has said he'd like to have it in his yard. He was pleasantly surprised when some of the dead-looking shrubs we noticed in the winter turned out to be thriving Potentilla.

Now, hopefully, everything will thrive.... unless we kill them with kindness!