Gardens for Goldens – Gardens For Goldens

Time Passes

“Time passes too fast.

Like a hummingbird flying by,

it’s just a blur to my eyes.” ~ Amanda Leigh

Winter became spring and spring became summer since I last wrote. I don’t know where the time has gone.

Leaving my freelance work for something more secure seemed like a wise course during the pandemic – but it turns out to be a decision I regret and am trying to rectify.

I have lost not only my flexibility, but my personal time for the things I love. If the last year and a half has taught us anything, it is that life is too short to not find time for the things we love.

Since I last wrote…

Skye King has been through two successful surgeries to correct his severe hip dysplasia. After five months of fostering, we made him an official member of the family. It took 40+ fosters, but we are finally “foster failures.”

Skye’s proven skills at puppy fostering helped to seal the deal. For the past two months, he has helped us rehab little Aiden who was found by the side of the road with a broken leg at barely four months of age.

Aiden found his forever home yesterday. He was a very hard one to part with. Our home is quiet once again but not for long, I suspect.

Jody’s garden has been completely rehabilitated as well. The raised beds were cleared and planted – now overflowing with fresh vegetables. The weeds were tamed and the orchard has flourished and produced. The fruits are still small but show promise for future years.

The Memorial Garden has bloomed continuously with the change of seasons. First bloom was spectacular…

followed by vibrant summer colors, apricots, overloaded apple trees, and grapes.

Some very annoying Grackles have taken up residence.

I used to admire them for their beautiful iridescent feathers – but no more. They are aggressive bullies and have chased away all the sparrows, robins and hummingbirds to guard their multiple nests. I’ll have to figure out a way to roll out the “unwelcome” mat!

Our new “normal” is dry, hot, and filled with the threat of wildfire. We had our first scare earlier in the month with a grass fire marching right up to our gates.

It is mid-June and we are just shy of our 200^th dog of the year. The wave we anticipated has arrived and we are inundated in post-pandemic one-year-olds without training or socialization and seniors in need of medical attention. As people go back to work and the adventures they have missed, it seems that the companions who saw them through are now a burden. We are tracking at a +30% increase for the year.

Maize, meanwhile, was our 10,000^th dog. An adorable impulse purchase by a senior couple who had forgotten what it takes to raise a puppy right.

10,000 rescued dogs. A promise made; a promise kept. Jody is smiling from on high.

Wordless Wednesday: Pax

On a Wing and a Prayer

Small miracles surround us. Hummingbirds…

Baby Mourning Doves…

Honey bees…

and Love in a Mist (aptly named).

This collection of miracles flew in just a week ago on a wing (traveling from Taiwan – where it’s not so good to be a dog) and a prayer (of rescue and a forever home).

One – Mary – has already found her way there.

Abigail – another of the ten Reservoir Dogs rescued from a hoarding situation – has recovered from her ear surgery and also found her way home this weekend.

In a world that sometimes feels filled with bad news, these small miracles help to balance our corner of the universe.

Two seasons ago, all Maria had to do was plop a sunflower seed in the ground and it sprouted a stalk rising over our heads.

Last year was disappointing, and this year’s seeds and sprouts have either been swept away or served up to snails as appetizers (balancing out the snails’ universe, I guess). She is still putting her faith in another round of seedlings started at home; but she put her money on a few sunflowers from the nursery.

Sometimes, prayer just needs a little help.

“Grow flowers of gratitude in the soil of prayer.” ~ Terri Guillemets

Happy week, all.

Metamorphosis

“The butterfly is a flying flower,
The flower a tethered butterfly.” ~ Ponce Denis Écouchard Lebrun

Butterflies appear like flying petals flitting through the air. So beautiful – we forget the transformation required to achieve that beauty. From cocoon to caterpillar – their beginnings are far more humble.

“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.” ~ Richard Buckminster Fuller

We chuckle when people meet their perfect pup at Homeward Bound and think the dog was always so. Sometimes that is the case. But more often than not, a transformation is required – to deal with medical concerns –

or socialization needs, and sometimes, behavioral challenges in order for them to be their perfect selves.

This class is nearly ready for graduation. Test day is rapidly approaching and, from the looks of things, they should do just fine!

Gardens also require – as they say – equal measure of inspiration and perspiration. But we are reveling in our third season and the transformation that continues to unfold.

The Rose Garden.

The Cottage Garden.

The Fragrant Garden.

The Perennial Garden.

The Hummingbird Garden.

The Entry Arbor.

“Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine.” ~ Jeffrey Glassberg

Brought here, by you

“There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story. You never quite know where they’ll take you.” ~ Beatrix Potter

Gardens for Goldens passed a small milestone this week; 1,000+ followers. When I began this blog two years ago this month I envisioned a simple journal of our efforts to create a place of peace for Homeward Bound’s extended family while hoping to inspire a love of rescue. Through the process of chronicling the garden, I have been blessed to be joined by all of you.

You’ve shared in watching the garden grow from vision to reality…

and in the delight of seeing dogs go home. Yesterday, it was Shaggy Bao – a Old English Sheepdog masquerading as a Golden. He came all the way from Taiwan with his amazing two-colored eyes to find his forever home.

Sometimes, we share in sorrow. This week, it was Sarge, who passed unexpectedly and quietly without a hint to us that it was time to say ‘goodbye.’

Despite the sometimes difficult times, there is a tremendous sense of joy and purpose in what is accomplished here. From seeing new arrivals like Amber,

Oliver

and Maggie coaxed into trust,

to creating a place of quiet and contemplation.

Another blogger I follow described a garden as a relationship…between a person and a bed of soil. For me, the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden and Gardens for Goldens has been about a relationship with all of you. And I am better for it.

“The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it.” ~ John Ruskin

Thank you.