January 2016 – Page 2 – Gardens For Goldens

Wordless Wednesday: Jingle and Belle

Garden Update: Listen for the Rain

Winter arrived with a blast of cold. It blanketed the garden in little crystals and frozen bird baths each morning for a week.

A final whisper from the north to the garden: “go to sleep.”

We have learned to let the garden stand instead of conducting an end-of-season clean up. The dead stalks provide cover from the cold for the future growth below.

While we have had some nice December rainfall, the total still put us at “average”; nowhere close to what we need to begin a recovery from our prolonged drought. I wish there were a way to relieve the rest of the country of the water that inundates them. Mother Nature is a fickle mistress.

They say the El Nino is now upon us. In a supreme act of faith, I completed raising the beds to protect them from the flooding they say will ensue –

and buried a shelter in Ina’s garden for our feral kitty. Shhh…don’t tell Ina. (Note to my sister, the cat rescuer, yes…our country cats have been neutered or spayed and have plenty of warm spaces to shelter with extra food and water.)

The holiday pines were recycled to mulch, and to provide the blueberries with the acid they crave.

And the birds are well fed.

In the next few weeks, we will prune the roses…all 43 of them…and the grapes.

Until then…we wait. And listen for the rain.

Teach Your Children Well

A garden is a reflection of its keepers. Tidy and structured;

casual and carefree;

or untamed and wild.

It inherits our priorities – not by birth, but by effort and example. So too, our children.

“Whatever you would have your children become, strive to exhibit in your own lives and conversation.” ~ Lydia Sigourney

Kate is a dedicated Homeward Bound dog walker. Despite juggling a full life with young children and a husband’s doctor hours, she shows up every Sunday to get the dogs out – rain or shine.

She has an eagle eye for the first sign of a sneeze, limp, or matted ear – and an enormous heart for those most in need. In 2014, she extended it to George. As a Black Lab with insecurities in a place surrounded by sought-after Goldens, she was worried that he would be overlooked forever. So she took him home.

And while he is still unsure when he encounters dogs on his walks, it turns out that he is fine with dogs in his home. Go figure. This, of course, makes him a perfect host for fostering, which he has taken to very nicely following Kate’s example.

Last week, Kate saw that Maggie needed a soft place to land as she recovered from recent medical procedures.

With George and family in tow, an introduction was planned.

It did not take long for Maggie and George to give the “all clear.”

The kids cheered.

Rescue runs in this family. Kate and her husband, Christian, see to it by living the example. The love, respect, and concern for animals that they have inspired in their children is obvious.

Because of that, Maggie is in their foster care today. She has an opportunity to get well in the comfort of home, and to be loved upon while she waits for her own furever family.