The Dog and the Fruit Trees

Photographic evidence of why we don't end up with many figs at the end of the summer....
Jack likes to snack on them before they're even ripe!

I also have a couple of low-branching apple trees that finally, many years after being planted, have baby apples on the branches. Pointy Boy has decided that small, hard green apples are his next-favorite tasty treat. We all know what havoc green apples can wreak on the digestive system, right? Y'all, it's not good.

I guess one of the joys of being a dog is that absolute living-in-the-moment consciousness, and the bliss of stealing apples from the tree and crunching them up far outweighs the tummy rumbles (and worse) that come later.

Dogs + Gardens - it's a challenge some days.

For Miss Janey... since she mentioned fig trees recently.

Spring!

Jack, enjoying the spring sunshine.

Fido Friday: Jack

A little Jackie-boy in the foreground, a reclining Dane and a Deco vanity in the background - what else do you need for a Friday?!

And the rare-er Smilin' Jack in warmer weather.

Happy Fido Friday!

Happy Weekend!

Ophelia and Jack, in their usual lounging positions

The Dog Days of Summer?

After a beautiful month of weather in May, we've been hit hard with real summer temps (hello mid-90's and high humidity) for the last week or so. As a result, my attention span has dwindled to that of a two year old, so it's looking like blog topics may be real lazy for a little while. With that in mind, I've taken some inspiration from SillyMonkey's blog, by raiding my photo archives for dog antics. We've had plenty of misbehaving dog stories over the years, even if only a small portion of them have actually been captured by a camera.

We have a fig tree in the back yard, and it didn't take Ophelia and Jack long to figure out that they really like the taste of figs. Between them and the birds, Smithy and I don't actually get to eat many figs ourselves! Here's Jack's impression of a giraffe:

Jack actually has a long and notorious career as a troublemaker, and one of his less-flattering-but-printable nicknames has been Anxiety Boy. He's had separation anxiety problems in the past that medication and re-training only put a slight dent in. (He's also fear-aggressive with new dogs, but that's a story for another day.) So, in the wake of his anxiety and stress, there were many, many times that I came home to scenes like this. This is an old picture of Jack and the late, great Blue, my first Great Dane, in (an old incarnation of) my kitchen. Frankly, there were a lot of days that I just didn't want to come home.


Yes, that's a homemade dog gate that Smithy constructed in order to keep Miss Blue confined, but it looks a little like Shawshank in the pic!

Here's the beginning of the devastation to the kitchen floor:

(Yes, we've tried crating, medication, and several trainers and behaviorists...)

Then there are the harder-to-capture dog moments, often tying in with behavior and body language. For all her statuesque grandeur, Blue could be quite the alpha bitch bully to the other dogs. We all -eventually- learned how to manage a multi-dog household, especially one containing 'she who must rule the world'.

And we managed to have a good time...

(black and white photos by Louis Cahill, see link to the right)

Even though I could do without a lot of the dog-related drama, I would hate to live without a dog!

Hydrangea Blue

Like lots of people with more creative ideas than time, I have a looong list of unfinished house projects. That doesn't seem to stop me from brainstorming about the next project though...

So, one of the things I'd like to tackle this summer is a mini-makeover of my front porch. Just some fairly simple cosmetic things, but not anything requiring rebuilding . One of the simplest things that I want to do is repaint the front door, and change the color scheme a bit. While I'm at it, I will probably paint the vintage metal glider on the porch, and spruce up the throw pillows. I've had a coral-red front door for about ten years now, and while I love the color, I'm longing for something a little different. Something soothing and serene, but a little bit funky too.

Photo of SMITHY'S rails (and our red door) by LOUIS CAHILL.

Naturally, I've been pacing back and forth in the front yard with a couple of Benjamin Moore fan decks, drawing strange looks from the neighbors, and the color range that I keep coming back to is mid-blue. A stroll in the back garden helped clarify the idea: the color I'm looking for is a hydrangea blue.



In case you've ever wondered, there are about 3 Benjamin Moore colors that could fit the bill, depending on the depth of color you prefer. (Yes, I held a hydrangea blossom up the the fan deck.) In the Classic Colors fan deck, Aqua Marina 816 is the best match, but the lighter Swiss Blue 815, or the deeper Brazilian Blue 817 could also be in the correct family. See HERE.



Here's what the Benjamin Moore site has to say about blue in their Color Associations section:
"Blue is non-threatening, and is a symbol of trust and longevity. It is refreshing, soothing, calm, and dependable."
Perfect!

And, if you're looking for the real deal, here are a couple of great resources. Wilkerson Mill Gardens is an amazing and informative mail order nursery which specializes in hydrangeas. They are only shipping plants through the end of May, then will resume shipping in the fall when the weather cools off again. I still haven't made it to their retail location, but if you are in the metro Atlanta area, I understand it is well worth the drive to check out the nursery.

Another mail order favorite is Nurseries Caroliniana. They have many pages of hydrangeas in their catalog, in addition to an amazing variety of other plants, and I've been very happy with plants purchased from them.

Although some of the their links aren't working at the moment, The American Hydrangea Society is another good source of information.

Renowned plantsman Michael Dirr has a book on hydrangeas HERE.

And for more general info, the National Arboretum has a page dedicated to hydrangeas.

Jack = Naughty

Remind me to never brag about my dogs' maturity ever again.
You just know that kind of statement will come back to bite you on the ass - and usually within about 24 hours.

I seem to recall telling family over the weekend that the dogs had finally matured, and they don't really chew things up any more....

Of my three-pack, Jack has always been the one who really has to have a structured routine to his day, otherwise, he finds things to do to amuse himself. Generally the exact things that humans don't want dogs to do.

Bad things, like chewing up the kitchen floor.
Or shredding things.

And he's not above a little doggy blackmail...

He's latest trick to steal shoes or pens, parade around with the object, and eventually present them at my feet. You see, a month or two ago, I 'traded' a bone for whatever object he had in his mouth. Jack thinks this is a great game. Now, object in mouth = give me bone, now!

So, with all the family situation going on over the last few days, life has hardly adhered to Jack's usual routine. I've been gone a lot, and the dogs have been confined more than usual, and haven't had as much exercise. This morning Jack decided to take matters into his own paws by chewing up the corner of one of my new-ish cowhide pillows. Not the kind of thing that can be mended very easily, unfortunately. And this is a dog that is almost five years old!

Looks like it's time for a bit of doggie bootcamp....

Sunday morning gratitude

The sun is shining, birds are flirting with each other, Smithy still has a studio, and Chez Dame is still standing. In light of the wild spring storms and the tornado that came through my city this weekend, we're feeling quite fortunate at the moment.
Happy to be here and very willing to overlook the dust, the dog hair, the (dog) drool, and the clutter - all under one nice, solid roof. Not that these punks would ever dream of being messy....