garden | Change Is Hard

Wordless Wednesday-still blooming

October 23, 2013 by dawnkinster 20 Comments

This gallery contains 8 photos

Wordless Wednesday – after the rain (click on photo for details)

October 2, 2013 by dawnkinster 7 Comments

September 28, 2013
by dawnkinster 19 Comments

Photo challenge – saturated.

This week the photo challenge from WordPress is to provide a photo that represented the concept of saturation. The post was talking about saturated color so here’s just a tiny piece of the color in my yard at this time of the year. The garden is trying so hard to be spectacular, as if it knows frost could arrive at any moment.

buzzzzzzz….

Of course before I read the complete instructions I was thinking more along these lines:

Saturated!

I guess the flower is prettier. But don’t tell Katie that, she gets her feelings hurt easily. Don’t you know.

Light

September 27, 2013
by dawnkinster 10 Comments

I’m being ignored!

Hi guys! I’ve missed you!

Katie here. Have you noticed that I have not been featured on this blog for days and days? Months maybe? Well. I’ve noticed it too, and let me tell you I’ve been telling my Mama off. After all, what in the world is more important than me? Right. NOTHING! That’s what I’ve been telling her too. Even Dad noticed that she hasn’t written about me!

Tonight when she finally got home from work she said we’d go on an adventure. Yea. Right. She says that all the time and then do you know what happens? Absolutely n.o.t.h.i.n.g. So when she got my leash down I was all excited. And you know where we went?

Big purple flower. Yawn.

We went on a walk around the yard.

Little purple flower. Double yawn.

Yea. Exciting isn’t it. My own darn yard. And she made me pose next to flowers and stuff. This did not feel like an adventure at all. I have been gypped once again.

So I stole a tomato out of the garden.

Yum!

Cause I deserve it.

I want a real adventure!

September 25, 2013
by dawnkinster 9 Comments

Wordless Wednesday – officially Fall (click on photos for details)

Golden

Crab apples

Hungry birds

Summer fades

Last of the tomatoes.

September 14, 2013
by dawnkinster 13 Comments

Frosty morning

Garden beauty

This time of year we here in Michigan are always threatened by an early frost. Just when late blooming dahlias are at their best the weather turns cool and those dastardly weather people start making noises about frost. Wednesday it was in the 90’s (32.2 C) here. Last night we were warned it could go as low as 38 (3.33C) in the city, maybe colder out here in the country. So after supper Katie and I went out and cut a few of the beautiful blooms, bringing them in to save them from the cold.

New variety

Katie had to go out this morning at 5:30 and I could see there was frost on the roof of the car parked in the driveway but I haven’t been out now that it’s daylight to see if the frost killed any plants. We covered the tomatoes with sheets so they should be fine. Meanwhile I have these lovely flowers inside to enjoy. And Katie and I saw a shooting star when we were wandering in the cold earlier.

Pretty amazing

Flowers and shooting stars. Not a bad way to start the weekend.

Summer memories

September 5, 2013
by dawnkinster 12 Comments

Tomato Thursday

What? That’s not a popular concept?

Huh.

After years of no crop we almost gave up and didn’t plant any tomatoes this year. Still…it’s hard to give up on the hope for fresh homegrown tomatoes. So husband planted 6 plants.

Guess it worked out.

Yum!

Katie loves tomatoes. She heads right out to the garden to see if she can pick any for herself whenever we’re outside. She’s feeling a bit put out that her dad picked so many for us. If any were to accidentally fall on the floor she wouldn’t complain about cleaning them up.

She’s still waiting.

waiting….

August 25, 2013
by dawnkinster 12 Comments

Combining some of my favorite things

This morning Katie and I ventured out to the garden looking for flowers to put in the beautiful vase that Truck Safety Coalition presented to me this past spring during our Sorrow to Strength conference. (See? Some of my favorite things; Katie, flowers and Truck Safety. And you didn’t think I could find a way to combine them into one post!)

I haven’t been out in the garden for awhile and it was a beautiful, sunny, warm morning. Katie immediately plopped down to enjoy the sun on her fur, closing her eyes. I set about clipping blooms. Pretty soon I had enough, and I called out for Katie to follow me back into the house. She did, reluctantly leaving her sunshine to race me to the front porch, trailing her leash behind.

I got myself, the bucket full of water and flowers, the scissors and Katie inside the front door, closing it behind us with my hip. The door didn’t close right, but I figured I’d come back and shut it the rest of the way after I got the flowers into the vase. This is what the flowers looked like when I was finished:

Truck Safety vase with garden flowers

Then I went back into the kitchen, cleaned up the water on the counter, put the bucket away, the scissors back in their drawer and commenced to make myself a peanut butter sandwich. Katie barked – one yip. I ignored her. She barked again. I called her to come and she didn’t. She’s so stubborn. She yipped again. I told her to shhhhhhh as her dad was still sleeping. She yipped back. Darn it all….Katie…be quiet!

Then it struck me that she hadn’t been under my feet in the kitchen while I cut the flowers and put them in the beautiful vase. Nor had she followed me into the dining room where I took my time photographing them. And she wasn’t back in the kitchen with me even though I was making a sandwich. Very odd.

So I went searching and there she was, out in the foyer at the end of her leash, the handle of the leash caught in the front door which had not closed correctly when I pushed it with my hip. That I was going to go back and check after I put the flowers down. That I forgot all about because I have no short term memory.

I won’t tell you what Katie said when I started laughing as I released her from the leash. I don’t think it’s printable.

You FORGOT me Mama?!?

August 5, 2013
by dawnkinster 15 Comments

Awesome weekend!

Katie here. Bet you just can’t wait to hear about my awesome weekend! It was great! I’m going to have to sleep for three straight days just to get rested up!

First of all I got to go to school Saturday morning. I love love love going to my school. Mama said something about me paying attention cause we have some doggie trial or something next weekend. But I just did my thing. Came in crooked on the recall. Lagged behind Mama during the off leash heeling. But still. Being a princess and all that was pretty good. I DID sit still while all the other doggies moved on the long sit and long down. I know for sure that when I’m uncertain I only have to look at my Mama and if she’s staring at me I’m not supposed to move. So I don’t. Cause I’m a good girl. Yes I am.

This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago when my Aunt B was here, but it shows you me at school. Cause I knew you’d want to see.

Sitting straight

Then Saturday afternoon I supervised Mama while she was working in the garden. I love sitting out there while she’s working. We stayed outside a long time and I couldn’t have been happier.

Mama’s flowers. And me.

Well, that’s not quite exactly perfectly true. I got even happier later in the day when my Mama put up my tent! OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY! We got to go camping!! I just LOVE camping! I could hardly wait to get out there and go to sleep next to my little window in the cool evening air.

My tent.

Ah yes this is doggie heaven! Mama was sleeping under four blankets, but I was perfectly happy to just be out there. She gives me two pillows and a blanket all my own and I’m good.

My window

Of course I got her up at 5:00 to go out. But she wasn’t even mad because the stars were so bright and pretty when we walked around the back yard.

Camping in our yard

I helped her pack the tent up last night but I’m hoping we’ll get to camp next weekend too. Mama even said something about going to a real campground! Wouldn’t that be cool?

THEN guess what? We got to go to my park on Sunday! TWICE!

Resting on our walk

The first time was the farmer’s market where I got to sniff a bunch of stuff and I even ran into the vegetable guy’s sheltie. I’m not too sure about him, but I liked everyone else that talked to me. And THEN Mama took be back to my park Sunday evening! Hot dog! A walk in my park where I got to look for ground squirrels and baby rabbits!

My park

This weekend turned out to be super fun! Too bad Mama has to go to work today. On the other hand, I could use the rest. I sure am one happy tired puppy!

Have a happy Monday everyone!

Happy dog!

August 4, 2013
by dawnkinster 15 Comments

Looking for red

Katie and I were weeding on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and Katie was in full supervisory mode.

Don’t bother me Mama, I’m busy watching the neighbors.

As I moved down the bed I was suddenly buzzed by a female hummingbird. Then she began to work the red beebalm just down the garden from where I was working. I thought to myself…what a great shot that would be. But of course the camera was in the house. So I went to get it and naturally the bird was gone when I got back.

I put the camera on the house generator, to keep it safe from dirt and weeds and began to work again. I had my head buried in the beebalm, pulling out a massive nightshade plant when I was buzzed again by you know who. I lifted my head and we had a stare down. She won. I went to get the camera and she left.

So here’s a picture of beebalm. Pretend you see a female humming bird there, will you?

Hummer breakfast

I continued on down the bed, pulling grass and weeds. I began to realize there was a lot of red stuff in bloom right now. These are particularly beautiful this year. I can’t remember their name but I bet some of you know it!

Beautiful

And there are a couple of surprises too. Buried deep in the leftover bleeding heart and behind some coneflower is a red dahlia in bloom. I must have planted it there this spring, but had forgotten. It’s the first dahlia to bloom this year and I might have missed it without Katie insisting I weed.

Hiding in plain sight

And way down at the other end of the garden is one solitary gladiola. I planted the bulbs 3 years ago and I’m supposed to pull them up each fall and replant each spring. Well. That never happened…but this courageous glad just keeps coming back.

Spiky red

The weeding yesterday was oddly relaxing. And I appreciated all the red, a color the camera shy Ms. Hummingbird loves as well. In fact I bet she’s out there right now enjoying my garden. I hope so. I sort of had her in mind when I planted it.

Of course there were other colors and other visitors as well. I almost stepped on this little guy. Do you see him?

Blending in

And there were lots of these guys in the garden too.

Resting

All in all a nice day to be outside. Even if it was just to weed. Katie and I will be weeding other beds today. She’s pretty excited at the prospect; she’s napping now to gather strength for her supervisory role. It’s a hard job but somebody has to make sure this work gets done!

We hope you all have a wonderful Sunday! Get out and enjoy everything the summer has to offer. I think we’ll plan a little park time today as well. Katie will have earned it.

Did somebody say PARK?!

Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

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