Gosh, I love a cottage garden! I planted a few purple coneflowers in some of the beds 16 years ago. I added a few to the big garden bed a few years back. I now have hundreds of them. This particular group also self-seeded outside of the garden bed – you can no longer see the stones that make up the border. I will never pull a coneflower. No way. Let them multiply with abandon.
Right now, the coneflowers are opening up, the hostas are blooming, the phlox is beginning to bloom, the black-eyed susans are just about to open – it’s my favorite time of the summer.
I’m still suffering from allergies, but this morning isn’t nearly as bad as yesterday. Other than checking on the garden beds, I’ll refrain from doing any work outside. But it sure is lovely out there today.
Maybe a few photos…
I’ve started on a new puzzle with gorgeous artwork – all about trees. It’s challenging, but it was just what I needed yesterday. Peaceful piecing.
Stay safe.
Happy Friday.
hope you keep feeling better, claudia!
your hard work and love show … your gardens are beautiful! glad you have them to enjoy (if through a window at times of allergy troubles).
if i ever have a space to garden, i will surely plant gorgeous and rather-daisy-like coneflowers (daisies, too … they are my favorite flowers) and other self-seeders, too.
staying indoors here, too, except for a walk in the coolest part of the morning … not because of pollen, but to avoid the 90 to 95 degree heat and humidity we’re having all this week (again … ugh).
glad you’re enjoying another puzzle. what are you reading now?
nearly 40 years ago, at a job, someone much older than me gave me a beautiful and very old picture frame. for nearly all of those years, that frame has held a favorite photo of my parents . i am more of a mixer than of wanting things to match, but i’ve long wanted another such frame to hold a photo of my parents, brother and sister together. well, after lots of searches in shops and online, i finally found one (online … from a seller somewhere here in iowa) and it’s on the way to me! :)
best i get going on stuff.
hope you all have a nice day and stay safe!
kathy
Still reading a mystery- reading is a bit slow these days. I’m distracted easily.
So glad you found the frame!
Stay safe, Kathy.
Claudia, I sure hope you can feel better soon; allergies are bothering SO many people! We’re prepared for a hot few days ahead; another heatwave in Southern Calif. Makes me prickly. Thing is, it’s July; it’s summer; just get thru it; find ways to stay cool.
We’re getting closer to adopting the foster dog after nearly five months. He has a long way to go, but we couldn’t bare to send him back now. He’s also come a long way, though: He lets me kiss his nose now; has become a big 65-lb cuddler. We take him everywhere with us; he thinks he needs to help my husband drive. In the front seat. Doesn’t like the back seat with his doggie seatbelt. I hope I’m not repeating, but we’ve discovered he wants to jump in the ocean; run on the beach as fast as he can. And he’s not afraid of the gulls; they seem familiar to him. He’s been there before; there is NO doubt. (I thought they’d said he was a ranch dog!) Can’t let him run unleashed just yet on the sand; not til he’s ours as it’s a rule of the rescue group that he can’t; also wouldn’t want him to get away from us, and he’s not socialized around people enough at this time. But we’re eventually going to figure it out for him because I think the beach is somehow his happy place, just as it is OURS!
Could we use a wonderful story? How about another dog tale! My cousin is in the process of adopting a pair of elderly dachshunds, one of whom only has one eye; mother and son, lifelong doggie companions. My cousin is in another state, or else I’d be smothering him in hugs for doing this good deed and giving these two dogs a home for their ends, as the mother dog is already age 11 and the son is age 9. They’ve been in a pen together at the rescue shelter for TWO YEARS because they could only be adopted out as a pair for their best wellbeing (as they’re seriously and absolutely inseparable). Two old dogs are not the first pick in most adoptions. But not this time! They’re going to a wonderful man in a nice, big house and yard! Where they’ll be loved, coddled and also help my cousin get past his grief of losing his own dog of 15 years back in April. Love and love and love and LOVE!
thanks for sharing more than one wonderful story, vicki … your cousin adopting those two dachshunds to provide them with love and space, peace and for keeping them together, especially at this point in their lives and you adopting the pup you have been fostering and loving and for giving him (and you two) time at the beach. may God bless you all and your big hearts!
xo,
kathy
… thank you as always, kathy, for your sweetness and light!
Hi Vicki,
Please let your cousin know that we had a dachshund who lived to 23! He was an ornery little rascal who was always chasing the groundhogs down their hole. When he was older, he would get stuck in the hole, my husband would have to (gently) pull him out by his tail. When he died, he was buried down that groundhog hole.
Have a great day,
Anne V
Well, thank you Anne V, for this comment! I will definitely tell my cousins, as I have one each on both sides of my family who are dachshund aficionados.
The cousin of whom I just spoke, always tries to adopt dachshunds in pairs, but also my other cousin who is a volunteer at a dog-rescue shelter out here in California (a third-generation dachshund owner she is!), never has less than three or four dachshunds at any given time running around in the house. (Lots of little nails clicking on the wood floors!)
I’m getting pretty old(er) now and I can remember when her grandmother had a dachshund when I was growing up. When the puppy was so little (had been a runt and weaned too young; I don’t recall all the details now, but she needed a lot of hands-on care at the beginning), my mother told me that my aunt was reluctant to leave her home alone, so she’d put the sleepy baby-pup in a deep pocket of her heavy, fuzzy, woolen coat while she stood at a checkstand all day in a largely-outdoor market in colder winter. That way, the pup was soothed with her nearness and plenty warm enough but with enough air to breathe, besides being a handwarmer for my aunt, too! (Like a kangaroo with a ‘joey’ [baby] in the pouch!)
I have no idea how long The Duchess Dachshund lived. I can remember when she’d lick and lick my hand when I was probably only age 5 or 6 but this was the doggie’s greeting to me well past my teen years. Fond memories of my uncle in his giant recliner (he was 6ft-6inches tall; big guy) with The Duchess wedged in between him and the arm of the chair. She was always with them. Always-everywhere. Her little face got so white as she aged. Dearest dog.
I have never known anyone who got any kind of dog to age 23; only age 19. Wow. A cat, yes; never a dog. I really had to visualize that groundhog hole just now, with his little doxie butt hanging out the hole.
OH MY GOSH, our dogs; they give us a life of such challenge and amusement, bless ’em!
Love both stories! Bless your cousin.
And I knew you would adopt your wonderful foster dog. You’re a family! We used to take Winston and Scout to the beach in San Diego. Both of them would run endlessly, chased the gulls, ran in the water. It made all of us so happy.
Stay safe, Vicki.
Oh, I loved hearing this about your fur babies Winston and lovely Scoutie who I well recall; Winston I didn’t know of as he must have passed before I started reading you, but I’ve appreciated your stories of him because of our own Aussie Shep mix. It’s a bit of a coincidence/serendipity that you had both a beloved border collie mix and a Aussie Shep mix just like my husband and me. These unique herding breeds.
Have a great weekend, Claudia; feel better!
I think I just mixed up their breeds; my brain isn’t working today. Again. Boy do I need some sleep.
Winston passed away before we moved into this house – while we were in our rental. He had a tumor on his heart and was only 8 years old when he left us. I cry, just thinking about it.
Oh, Claudia; it’s so sad! We lost our beagle when she was only age 7; she could have lived to age 14 if not for an irreversible spine problem (congenital) likely due to some kind of irresponsible ‘backyard’ breeding (messed-up genes); and, besides that, if this wasn’t bad enough, she also had an impossible-to-fix trachea problem, so she was doomed from the start (little would we have known; I saw her advertised ‘free to a good home’ and immediately called just to get that ad out of the paper as there are too many unscrupulous people out there in the world looking for that sort of thing [beagles are wanted by out-of-state labs for testing; you may have recently read about that facility in Virginia where 4000 beagles have been rescued; I still can’t wrap my brain around it]).
All I can say, for Winston and our Sadie, is that they were LOVED for their short time on earth, and in our hearts forever.
But I can see now why I don’t remember Winston other than from your memories, because haven’t you only had the blog of course since you’ve had the cottage. It’s Scout who is in the memory/hearts of your long-time readers; how could we all not feel like we didn’t know her, beautiful girl (I always call her Snow Princess).
We rescued Winston one week after we moved in together. He was 18 months old. We adored him.
Don’t forget Riley!
Stay safe, Vicki.
vicki, my sister-in-law lost her black lab dog after 14 years. It was so painful for her she said no more. Well two years later her daughter encouraged her to foster and she did and fell in love She has adopted a black lab that she has named Finn.
She is over the moon in love with him. Thank you for hanging in there with your dog.
Linda, it has NOT been easy; we had no idea that this dog would be SO hard to transition. But we were also clueless about the breed. Didn’t do our homework! Was a very spontaneous thing back in February. He’s been temperamental; we’ve both gotten bit more than once; he still keeps us up at night. He’s still on drugs although we’re hoping to taper (major separation-anxiety/panic in this dear dog). When all we’d wanted (or my husband had wanted!) was just some kind of ‘average’ dog from the shelter (instead of this huge, strong, sometimes willful BEAST!!).
But as I’ve read up on the Aussie Sheps, they don’t adapt very well to change; it’s about 50/50 for them. Also, even if he hadn’t had the greatest previous owner, he may have been bonded to them, as Aussie Sheps tend to bond to one human (in our case, why, but it’s me, which makes my husband feel pretty badly, as he’s the one who has the biggest work of the dog, like walking him miles and miles per day!). And our guy was brought in with another dog, so he may have all along been missing his companion dog, too. Our buddy-boy still needs a lot of training and socializing but he has some of the dearest traits/personality I can’t even describe; he stole our hearts for as difficult as he is. So, yeah, we’re just old(er) retired folks; we’re not so busy that we can’t give him a home. For a reason I don’t understand (we’ll give that one up to God!), we’re all supposed to be together; like Claudia said, a family!
I love your foster-to-adoption story about Finn. Love that name, too!! Wonderful name! I’m glad for your sister-in-law; that it has all worked out for both her and the doggie. And thank you for your kind words, Linda. I’ve needed some encouragement on this along the way! I’m so lucky indeed for the kind words of you, Claudia and everybody on this blog; it means a great deal to me. Claudia is generous to let us/me indulge in the continuing conversations on any day’s post, which is why we come back again and again to read her!
We are having a good soaking rain today that is so welcome after the heat we have had.
Did I tell you my daughter has a puppy now? An Australian sheepdog named Sofie. What a cute bundle of sweetness. My daughter said she has waited 33 years to have her own dog so it is a dream come true for her! I remember how much love you got from your dogs and that is my wish for Maggie (my daughter) and Sofie (my first granddog!) :)
We are lovers here of the Aussie Sheps! Claudia’s, mine and now your daughter’s! I would LOVE to have seen my 3-yr-old foster guy as a little one; I’ve only seen puppy photos of these dogs in books and online; and they are A-DORable. Our boy is a blondie/red merle, looks on the one hand like a palomino pony; but we are calling him The Nordic Prince. Noble, proud; strong. Intuitive and intelligent.
Happy for your daughter! One tip as a newbie Aussie Shep ‘caretaker’ … as the little girl grows into a big girl, she’s probably gonna need a lot of exercise, so get her accustomed early to the leash/harness for many walks (these dogs have ENERGY)!
Oh, in my haste, I think I may have read this wrong! The diff of Australian sheepdog vs Australian shepherd, not the same, yes the same? I need to read up more on this! Maybe the Aussie sheepdog is really from Australia, whereas the Aussie shepherd is an American breed.
But it’s all good! These herding breeds; mine really does want to herd me as if I’m a goat, sheep or cow. Our dog is a mix but mostly the Aussie Shep breed (by a big percentage) per the rescue group ; double coat and sheds like crazy. I have blonde hair all over my house and car!
I should have typed Australian shepherd as that is what her Sofie is. She was quite shy but is getting braver each day and she has 1 blue eye and one greenish gray eye! Thanks for the advice!
My Winston was an Aussie Shepherd mix. Great dogs!
So glad for your daughter, Ellen!
She will just love having a dog.
Stay safe.
Greetings Claudia! I am curious. How did you know that the monarch was male? Eagerly awaiting your reply. (-: Leslie
Male monarchs have a black spot on each hind wing.
Look at the third photo in yesterday’s post. :)
Yes, Amy beat me to it, but it’s the black dots on the wings. That’s how you know it’s a male.
Stay safe, Leslie.
Your coneflowers are true beauties! Just lovely. Most of my plants are blooming as well…and with more rain than last year we are now caught up so to speak. We appear to be out of the drought! But…the heat will return next week…so I best enjoy this weekend. We will be planning the wedding in our backyard tomorrow for next July. So I am happy the plants are cooperating.
Sounds like you found a perfect puzzle for you. Hope your allergies continue to subside. Happy .day to you! ;)
We really need some rain. Funny how things can be overly wet and then, suddenly, it’s too dry. I think we’re getting some rain next Monday. Fingers crossed.
Stay safe, Donnamae.
I love those flowers, too, as well as your great photos of them. We had those same hostas at the lake, year after year. But I could never get any coneflowers to make it through the winters there. Too much shade, maybe, under so many big trees.
I wonder why they never made it through the winter? Ah well.
Stay safe, Shanna.
Your garden is looking glorious, Claudia. Love those coneflowers. I wish mine would spread so beautifully as yours! I must check what’s left of my hostas (the deer love them, unfortunately and I have my eye on a couple of bunnies, too.) Tis the season!
The deer chomped on my hostas earlier this summer but since I’ve sprayed them, they seem to be leaving them alone.
Stay safe, Jeanie.
Beautiful, just beautiful. I miss the northern summers.
They are beautiful, that’s for sure!
Stay safe, Kay.
Your flowers are beautiful! Do you have to deadhead the purple coneflowers to prolong their blooms?
No, I never deadhead. They don’t need it. Plus, the dried flowers provide seeds for birds during the winter.
Stay safe, Jen.
You know, my husband took out all of our tall, waving sunflowers last year and I told him he should have left them so that the birds had seeds, even though he said it was a big mess of seeds and dried-up ‘flower’ all over the place up there on the hillside. I’m gonna remind him of the birds needing the seeds in winter; glad you mentioned this!
The birds appreciate all of that growth being left over the winter. Provides food and shelter.
xo