Nature Photography – Page 5 – Gardens For Goldens

The Truest Things

I had a friend I thought I would grow old with, but the friendship was false.

I had a title that I thought fit me until it did not.

I thought I knew the heart of my country – but lately, I am less sure.

Life unfolds in mysterious and unpredictable ways.

The truest things I know are found in what comes forward from the earth,

in the miracles of the natural world,

the connections of two souls adrift, and found –

in the innocence of a child,

deep in a dog’s eyes,

and in the wonder of joy restored. From this:

to this.

Eddie found his forever home this weekend.

“As change is the order of Nature,
And beauty springs from decay,
So in its destined season
The false for the true makes way.”
~Alice Carey, “The Time to Be”

Summer Upon Us

Everybody in the pool! The dog days of summer are upon us.

We’re getting a taste this weekend of what promises to be a long hot summer.

In the morning, everyone is busy trying to get in their work,

play –

and tussles

before the heat calls for a long, lazy nap.

The good news: as the thermometer brushes 100-degrees, the searing sun kills the black spot fungus spores that have invaded our roses.

Never before have we been faced with this scourge. But never, in the garden’s history, have we had such a long, cool, wet winter. While its spread is, so far, limited, I wonder: remove the offenders now – or prepare to do battle as the seasons change?

This is a simple, inconsequential thing to ponder in the scheme of things. The decision for our new arrival, Eddie was a little harder.

A recent transport from a rescue group we work with in China, he had been hit by a car and his little leg – left untreated – was growing in crooked. With one growth plate progressing and the other halted, the leg would eventually adopt a 90-degree angle ensuring a painful break in his future. Our Doc decided it was best to say goodbye to the leg now – while he was young enough and resilient enough to recover fully.

It’s hard to see him go through this trauma at such a young age and so soon after his arrival, but we know that putting the worst behind quickly means a better and happier future ahead.

Ina suggests patience with the roses; so they will remain for now. Which is just as well. It is TOO HOT for another chore.

We opt instead for lounging on the grass.

A dip in the pool.

And lazing in the shade.

It is May. And the dog days of summer are upon us.

Wordless Wednesday: Hummer

Some Bunny To Watch Over You

Some of the bunnies at the dog rescue don’t stand much of a chance (yes…this is a toy!).

But these little ones are strictly off limits. 🙂

“Some bunny” is watching over our newest additions.

Whoever Makes A Garden

To my wayward gardeners (one excused for her good work with the dogs)…

I understand your spring fever, but while you are away, the weeds grow wild and tall.

The garden and I carry on without you – because a garden doesn’t make itself.

The roses have been fed their poo tea and the narcissus tied back.

The paths have been freshly laid. The weeds ~~have been~~ are being pulled and the beds mulched.

And the new entry has been planted while the lilies and lilac begin to bloom.

But be warned – you leave me alone at your own peril –
lest the Dahlias find a new home…

and the poppies multiply…

and the new bed is planted too tight and too tall…

while that hideous shrub that you love is allowed to wither and die.

Don’t worry about me alone…I am in good company.

But be warned: it shall all be mine if you stay away too long.
Possession is, after all, nine-tenths of the law.

“Whoever makes a garden
Has never worked alone;
the rain has always found it,
The sun has always known;
The wind has blown across it
And helped to scatter seeds;
Whoever makes a garden
Has all the help he needs.”
~Author Unknown

Wordless Wednesday: The Pickings are Fine

At the Water’s Edge

I returned to the river Thursday after the rain finally subsided.

It had been a week of almost non-stop soaking in three waves of powerful downpours and winds. Go here for a bird’s-eye view.

The Sacramento River is at its highest point since 1997. At the water’s edge, I usually find all sorts of wildlife and birds of different feathers –

most were still burrowing someplace warm and dry. And there was very little edge!

The crows, however, are opportunists;

the ducks are in their element;

and the dogs were just happy to finally get out.

For the first time that I can ever remember, Homeward Bound’s president – who lives on site – closed the rescue to all but the feeders, twice. On the worst night of all, she told even the feeders to stay home. She fed the dogs by herself and took them out for potty one quick run at a time. Leasing the property to the rescue means that she and her husband rarely get private time. Something tells me that even in the downpour, she was enjoying having the place to herself for one dark and stormy night.

The rivers have overflown all of their banks, and weirs that have not been opened in over a decade were lifted – releasing swelling waters into fields to keep cities safe. Thanks to work done over the past few years, the levees held for the most part. There have been a few breaches in rural communities, and another one currently threatened – but an amazing effort by emergency teams that worked around the clock for days to keep us out of harm’s way.

In the Sierra, rain turned snow to slush before the temperatures dropped. Then the skies dropped 10+ feet of snow – more than we have seen in years. This series of monster storms managed to lift Northern California out of five years of drought – and there is more on the way. Mid next week, another atmospheric river will add to our swollen rivers.

We get a few days to let some of the water soak in – and to wash some of the mud off.

Our Cup Runneth Over

They call it a Pineapple Express. An atmospheric river. A once in twenty-five year event. We call it water. And lots of it. This was the river just a year ago:

This year, Winter announced itself, first with a hard frost,

and now, rain. Lots and lots of rain.

After five years of drought, the water is welcome – but the height of our rivers and streams is downright scary. This is a warm storm off the Pacific, so the water melts the snow in the Sierra, and just when you think you’ve been through the thick of it, the rivers swell further with runoff. Sacramento is second only to New Orleans in flood risk. I was here in 1986 as the the water rose so high it brushed the bottom of bridges and the levees failed. If you have any sway with the rain gods, would you kindly ask them to go easy on us this time? Our cup runneth over.

There will be no gardening even if we wanted to: the garden looks like a lake with floating islands.

And there will be no dog walking today. The wind and rain make it unsafe to drive, so all but our feeders have been banned during the worst of it. Today, the dogs won’t mind. With the yards full of ankle-height water, and the relentless shooting of nearby duck hunters, even our water-loving pups prefer to be under cover!

But even these storms bring their own joys: birds.

Some are with us all year,

but much easier to see when the trees are barren.

Others – like the Snow Geese, make their way to our valley only in winter.

And what a sight they are!

Tens of thousands of them.

I have been stalking them for a couple weeks. They are skittish; even the sound of a shutter click sends them flying off.

But they have found food – and sanctuary from the hunters – in the flooded rice fields that surround us.

I usually love the sound of rain, but this rain is worrisome. I should be grateful for it after so long a drought – and I will be – when this storm has safely passed.

In Its Season

I have reclaimed my refrigerator. As any West Coast gardener knows – this is not about household tips. It’s about spring bulb planting.

Daffodil bulbs can safely go into the ground in November at the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden. Many even return when left to “over-summer.” But tulips, hyacinths, and others require special treatment. In our warm Valley, there is no such thing as cold storage. So the bulbs are lifted in very late spring and stored in the refrigerator – much to my husband’s disgust. New additions join them for about six weeks of pre-chilling before planting (which means very little room for Thanksgiving leftovers!). Then, in December, as the nights approach freezing, they finally make their way out of the fridge and into the ground. Actually, pots above the ground.

We learned the hard way just how yummy tender tulip bulbs are to burrowing bunnies.

More than 500 Daffodils, Tulips, Iris, Hyacinth, Muscari, Iris, Chionodoxa, and Scilla – some gifted (thank you Lynn and Greg!); some saved – are now safely in their winter garden spots – leaving ample room in the fridge for Christmas cookie dough. A mission accomplished over a couple of beautiful Fall days.

As rain is (hurrah!) on the horizon, I accomplished most of the annual raising of the beds this weekend, as well.

Water is graded away from the kennels and toward the garden at Homeward Bound. Best for the dogs – but not so good for our drought tolerant plantings.

To keep them from drowning, the beds – which have been well dog-trampled throughout the season – get raised each Fall with a mixture of compost and soil before they settle into winter slumber under the untrimmed remnants of Fall blossoms and fallen leaves. Nourishment for a bountiful spring.