Photography – Page 12 – Gardens For Goldens

Wild and Beautiful

I ordered Rudbeckia for a drift with grasses, variegated iris, purple aster, and ‘Purple Emperor’ sedum.
It was supposed to be a deep gold with full petals and a deep black center.

As I watch it unfold, it looks more like a wild child –

all gawky and skinny and twitchy.

And then it settles into this. Not the perfect flower I envisioned – but beautiful in its own right.

So it is with Jack – a dog that has been with us a very long time.

I featured him on a post a year ago. In a place full of golden retrievers, Jack was definitely not one. He’s a bit of a wild child himself around other dogs and while he has benefited greatly from training and the dedication of everyone here, he’s still pretty gawky and skinny and twitchy.

What Jack lacks in classic looks and dog-to-dog skills, he makes up for in people charm. And this weekend, he was finally recognized for his own special beauty.

I can’t bring you the pictures because the parents have not given permission to share, but I can tell you the story…so get out the tissues.

A young boy, adopted himself, picked Jack from all the other dogs on the website. He and his parents – former adopters – came out together to meet him. Flaws in all, the boy fell in love. He had been working and saving for his dog and had a hard-earned $10 in his pocket for the adoption fee. Now, Jack is a senior dog in need of a very special home. He’s been with us for almost three years waiting for that right opportunity. We would, of course, waive the fee for his chance at a fur-ever home. But this young man has been instilled with great values. He and his parents insisted. So the fee was reduced to $1.00. And do you know what he did? He paid the $1.00 for Jack – and donated the other $9.00 in support of the waiting dogs.

Jack is finally home. The family sent pictures of him playing with his very own boy in his very own backyard. I wish I could show them to you here, but parents’ privacy concerns for their children have to be respected. Suffice to say, there was not a dry eye in the rescue.

It was a very good weekend. (Thanks to my friend Rob for his wonderful photos of Jack.)

Welcome Relief

9:09 PM. 94-degrees.

Today is supposed to mark the end of a seven-day stretch of 100+ temperatures in the Sacramento Valley. By some miracle, we are supposed to get to a high of only 95 tomorrow. Someone, please grab my parka!

The flowers in the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden are more than ready for some relief.

Pups too. This is Bailey. She’s hot.

This lucky dog has found his relief; not just a shady spot, but a long-awaited home.

Tom came all the way from Taiwan and has been with us awhile. He’s another dog with sight impairments,

but he has no problem following his ball, does he?

He is going home with Kevin next week. A former adopter, a veteran, a man with an obvious passion for this well-deserving dog.

Kevin says he knew the minute he saw Tom that he was the one. He has visited with him constantly while waiting for a family commitment to conclude before Tom can go home.

They both obviously look forward to that day. We look forward to a breeze,

and a much-needed break from this sweltering heat!

Here’s hoping for our promised 95-degrees and a 12 mph breeze. Wind chill of 92 anyone? We’ll take it!

Wordless Wednesday: Elusive

Heat Wave

In case you missed the news, we’re having a heat wave out west. No wait…a heat storm. A solid week (at least) of triple digit temperatures is more than a wave.

The Dahlias are loving it…and now outpacing Maria’s sunflowers (ha!)

And while everything else in the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden has survived so far, everybody is looking as tired of this as we are!

The doggies get regular runs in the sprinklers or splashes in the pool…including this little boy that you may have seen on my post yesterday.

His “best” name is still being determined; in the meantime, we call him “Monster”.

What I didn’t mention is that he is blind. We’re hoping that his sight is fixable. We’ll certainly do our best to change it. But he has adapted very well so far as you can see…

and he certainly has no problem finding the treat pocket!

Think good thoughts for our power grid, and more importantly, prayers for our firefighter heroes please. It’s too hot for man or beast.

Stay cool.

I Like Dogs

“I like dogs

Big dogs

Little dogs

Fat dogs

Doggy dogs

Old dogs

Puppy dogs

I like dogs
A dog that is barking over the hill

A dog that is dreaming very still

A dog that is running wherever he will

I like dogs.”
― Margaret Wise Brown, The Friendly Book

Moon in hand

“The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand.” ~ Frederic Lawrence Knowles

The moon is full tonight and so is my mood. I don’t know if it is the gravitational pull of the “Supermoon” (scientists say ‘no’), or the loss of an important man that is finally sinking in.

Jackson and I ventured out last night to view it, knowing that it would be shielded by clouds this evening.

We enjoyed each other’s company as dark settled in to the field, and the moon did not disappoint.

So many eyes trained upon a single spectacle in one weekend; a reminder of just how small our world really is.

“Those are the same stars, and that is the same moon, that look down upon your brothers and sisters, and which they see as they look up to them, though they are ever so far away from us, and each other.” ~ Sojourner Truth

You see the marks on its surface from collisions made centuries ago. They are a reminder of just how fragile this planet of our is. It’s a pity that we can’t seem to find a way to appreciate its beauty in peaceful co-existence.

“There is nothing you can see that is not a flower;

there is nothing you can think that is not the moon.” ~ Matsuo Basho

Wordless Wednesday: White

Dog Days (Before Summer!)

Saturday, it was 111-degrees in the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden by 2PM. The birds were seeking water…

and shade.

The Coreopsis was wilting…

Even the flowers were sweating! Kidding…but they would if they could!

White looks magnificent and cooling when it’s hotter than hades.

Kondos had the right idea. He makes a kiddie pool look dignified and cool.

We keep these little pools in each yard exactly for days like Saturday. When it is even too hot to trek the dogs to the big swimming pool, we bring the water to them before returning them to the air conditioning to nap away the afternoon. The pools are dual purpose; they double Steve’s Scuba Training Center. He taught Scrubs how to scuba by slyly placing his cookies at the bottom of the pool. We think he’s a natural!

The Delta Breeze mercifully kicked in Saturday night, and today we enjoyed a cool breeze while we worked, letting out a collective….ahhh.

Have a great week all!

A June Night

At 9:42 pm, the thermometer reads 89-degrees.

I made a quick check-up on the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden tonight – when the thermometer still read 106.

I discovered Rob mowing despite his promise not to if it was too hot. He lied. Out of respect, I will not share a photo of him dripping sweat. The fresh cut looks lovely though.

It is too hot for man, woman, beast, or bunny.

“Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.” ~ Russel Baker

The plants and flowers surprised me; they have held up amazingly well.

In their second season, they are taller providing shade for their roots which are better mulched this year as well.

The dogs are tucked in. The only sounds are those of nature’s creatures scurrying to feed and drink before night blankets the garden.

“If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance.” ~ Bern Williams

Tomorrow’s forecast: 108. Sigh. I think it will be a good day to spend hosing down doggies.

Wordless Wednesday: First Sunflower of the Season

Bee-trayal

Until this weekend, the bees and I had an understanding.

I deadhead the flowers, which produces more for them to enjoy.

I leave them alone; they leave me alone.

Someone didn’t get the message.

A honeybee stung me, stuck in me and wouldn’t let go. I read later that honeybees sting only once, leaving their stinger and venon sac in the victim. This results in their own premature death. Bumblebees, yellow jackets and wasps on the other hand can sting multiple times. That’s just wrong.

The justice of a strike for a life seems fair.

Like the knats that have invaded the garden this year, the spiders have their revenge.

With temperatures already approaching the century mark, the bees, butterflies, dogs and dog walkers were moving slow – easy prey for my camera.

Even the killdeer is too hot to sit on her babies – so she shades them instead.

The pups took their walkers to their favorite shady spots. Lily has this down.

Jack too.

And Bobo.

Lucky pups. Not so lucky walkers and gardeners. Jody worked on sprinklers in the west yard, Maria fixed the drip in the Willow garden, and Rob mowed. I think I got the better end of the deal this weekend, except for the stinging bee.

If it is this hot in the spring, I think we’re in for a long summer. No complaints though, when surrounded by good dogs,

good friends and beautiful flowers…

with mostly well-behaved bees.

Discipulus invitus

Ina is our resident master gardener which means she actually got schooled in the art of cultivation, while the rest of us either learned through experience – or we fake it.