It’s been since March when the temperatures reached the 80’s (I know, crazy right? I mean that’s still technically winter). Finally in the past couple days though, we started experiencing some of our gorgeous Rocky Mountain spring weather and the forecast for this week will be right back there. For the past 4 days, we’ve actually woken up to trademark glorious blue skies and I for one couldn’t be happier. Maybe finally we can get the complainers to shut up and quit fussing about grey skies and rain (in 6 weeks, those same folks will be grumbling about the dog days of summer and the whining mantra will be “it’s toooooo hot and dry” to which I can only say: please go back to wherever it was where you came from but that’s for a totally different rant post). While I didn’t mind the rain too much, the idea of having to keep the furnace running in May was not cool but thankfully here we are now…fabulous sunshine and…wait for it…glorious gardens.
Though just on the other side of all those lovely lupines lies the vast wasteland former grassy area I refer to as the not-so Great Plains (otherwise known as dirt). Said wasteland was removed late last Autumn and is slowly being replaced with ground cover and perennials. And to think all those lovelies came from only 2 plants–talk about prolific re-seeders! The bees have been very busy pollinating as this is the first year that I’ve ever seen a red lupine. Usually there’s just purple and pink.
Sam loves it when I garden; it allows him to spend time in the yard and welcome the passing world of strollers, dog-walkers and neighbors out and about. Here’s where Mr. Canine Concierge is in his total element. A master of social skills, no one is allowed to pass by without the Swiffer tail wagging or a bouncing dash along the fence line to check out who exactly is in that stroller. “Wait, that’s got to be my bestest buddy ever that I absolutely have to check out” (even though I’ve never seen them before). And if I don’t give him the amount of attention he thinks he deserves, he’ll come by, lick my face and pester me till I stop what I’m doing and dote on him. That dog can be very persuasive a pest at times. Needless to say, it always takes longer to do yard work with him around. 😉
So this weekend Sam decided to ‘help’ me even though he’s short on thumbs. Note the scratching out of a couple of nasty Sumac tree seeds. One of our neighbors has one of those bad-boys bastards that send those disgusting seeds EVERYWHERE all year long that if the tree doesn’t sucker, will sprout babies wherever they land (I’ve had one try to sprout between bricks at the corner of the house a few rows up from actual soil–and yes I’ll admit, I totally went nuclear with vinegar on that one and am delighted to report it is quite dead). Everyone despises those disgusting trees-they have a most foul scent plus the fact that they are so cotton pickin’ invasive puts them at the top of the short list for 99.99% of us who live around here (the .01% being that neighbor who considers that tree wonderful “because it’s very tall and has a lovely branching appearance and provides wonderful shade”). Blech, gag me-that tree is in league with the devil and I rip those seedlings out whenever I spy them and ash-can the seeds! For the record in case you couldn’t tell, I am very OCD when it comes to removing all traces of the nasty Sumac.
Sam’s way of helping out though consists of laying in the middle of wherever I’m working at which makes gardening a lot like trying to vacuum around him. He always manages to be right in the way but it gives him the perfect spot to check out the neighborhood goings-on and still be within paw’s reach of me. When I ask him what he thinks he’s doing he gives me either that ‘come hither” look with furious tail wagging or the ‘yeah, I’m in the way…so…you gonna make something out of it?’ look. Ironic how a New Jersey attitude is cute on a poodle even if incongruent and makes me smile. 🙂
I just wish he had thumbs and could rake or at the very least, pick up and haul off weeds, Sumac leaves and sproutlings, but apparently that’s asking for the moon. So I guess I’ll just be content with the benefit of his company and leave it at that which isn’t the worst thing when you’re gardening–finding Sumac seeds will fill that role. 🙂
Live, love, bark! <3
Love reading about your weather. It has been a crummy spring here in Texas, as well. For the past 5 days we have had sunny weather and it’s getting hot really fast. You are the first blogger that I’ve run across that uses “cotton-pickin” and vinegar. Cotton-pickin is my favorite slang as a substitute for a curse word. I also use vinegar on weeds and grass. It really works but you have to get the strong vinegar to do the job. 🙂
You”re so right on the cotton-pipkin substitute for cursing! Since starting the blog I’ve had to ‘clean up’ a tad. 😉
My sis lives near Austin, the weather down there has been so dreadful between the heat and flooding, I don’t know how you guys deal with it.
As for the vinegar, I’ve used both kinds-plain old table white (3% acidity) from Costco which works fine with repeated applications and the agricultural version with 20% acidity. Thanks for stopping by and reading about our silliness. Have a great weekend.
My goodness. My daughter is a mobile vet in Austin who is just now getting ready to resume her practice part time. Her illness (variant form of RA) is now in remission due to lots of work on her part to eat a restricted diet of no gluten, no sugar, organic all other foods and lots of special herbs. Still is taking Humeria but is off the Methotrexate.
She does not yet have her web site activated and is working on that. She has remained in touch with a former client who has relatives in Colorado.
All the best to her as she tackles her future, both physically and professionally. 🙂
Cannot garden with my sweet standard poodle Darcy. All he wants to do is play and if ignored he gallops around the garden like a pony (all 62 pounds of him). We have had to re seed the race track (alas). It is only 12 celcious here in Newfoundland. When the wind blows off the interior it is summer but when it blows off the Atlantic it is winter tas
here is a hundred kilometes of icebergs out there.
Ah yes, the bouncing poodle phenomena. 12 C seems a bit on the chilly side. Stay warm.
Sumac tree..goodness is that were the spice comes from i wonder ? as i use it all the time 🙂 as for the weather our start to winter is the coldest in 30 years..brrrrr so those pretty flowers warm our heart…keep up the gardening Sam 🙂 loves Fozziemum xxx
They stink so badly when they are in bloom, so I doubt your spice is related to any of these nasty trees. Stay warm, Bev! Hugs and puppy kisses.
Ha, finally something I DON’T miss about living in Denver … I’d forgotten about those nasty sumac sproutlings everywhere in our ‘hood. (Kill ’em all!) Must be lovely to finally see the sun. Same here and humidity hasn’t hit yet so I’m not complaining. Love the photos … more please! 🙂
Your a great helper, Beautiful flowers! Have to try me some vinegar on my weeds.
I swear by vinegar for herbicide control and don’t have to worry about polluting the environment or potential exposure to furry critters.
We don’t have sumacs but we make up for that deficit with any number of other nasty bushes and plants designed by Satan for the sole purpose of tormenting mankind and dogkind.
I love the phrase Canine Concierge. Yes, that is my dogs’ function in the neighborhood. When they are inside they bark most ferociously, but outside they are little social directors.
Things could be worse-they could be Poison Sumac which is just as bad as Poison Ivy. I don’t even like to perch on those.
Guess we all have our various crosses to bear. 🙂 How’s the nest building this week?
That lupine is beautiful! We have blue lupine here. I very much enjoy smelling the flowers that Dad grows. Like Sam, I’m not much help. I like to watch and do back wiggles in the dirt. As for the “weather complainers”. They will ALWAYS complain. At least that’s what my Mom says.
Your mom is very wise, Noodle! Here’s to a day with loads of sunshine and no complainers. 😉
Blue skies, beautiful garden, life is good. Minus a tree or two!
Lovely pic and I can picture every word you have written. Happy Summer🌞🌞
doh! I totally forgot what I wanted to say, about the thumbs. If Sam had them, what in the world makes you think he’d help out?! Don’t be ridiculous! He’s a poodle, he’d be busy making deals on his iphone, throwing his own frisbees, picking out the icky kibble from his food. LeeAnna
Ok, that made me laugh out loud! Everything except the frisbee throwing-Sam looks at me like why the heck did you throw that? I think he’d rather set his topknot on fire before retrieving anything. 😉
set his topknot on fire, hahahaha
ha, those feet look familiar. That’s where the comparison stops. Cole would be at the fence, but guarding without the wagging tail. I’d prefer Sam’s attitude toward passers-by. I had to go look up the sumac tree. Don’t know if we have them on the east coast. We have gum trees that send out meelions of spikey balls that are dangerous and annoying. The sumac looks brilliant in the fall. Your lupines are gorgeous! Congrats on the return of sun… it’s already hot hazy and humid here, and the bugs! We should move to your state if it’s dry, I wouldn’t be complaining!
LeeAnna and Cole, who can’t cool off because of the humidity
I refer to Sam as the ‘simple’ dog-too dumb to be protective. Trust me, Sumacs are super nasty-you don’t want ’em.
HI, Your lupins do make for a good display. A lupin is a plant I don’t seem to be able to grow, or more accurately I can grow it but the slugs and snails conspire against me. Enjoy the nice weather.
Thanks. I never had luck with them before but they seem to be quite happy. Thankfully we have little in the way of slugs/snails because of our low humidity.
I’m with you for the sumac tree… they are like gremlins what someone accidentally fed after midnight :o( our neighbor had 3 birch trees what are probably the cousins of your sumac tree… the seeds were everywhere and we had to remove more than 20 birchs from our back yard. Fortunately since the owner of the house came back to live there, she noticed the gremlin-birchs and her first official act was to cut them… howlelujah :o) Easy is a horrible garden helper…. whatever I want to do, I have to remove his nose first :o)
I wish my neighbor realized how much we all hate those nasty things. They are light as a feather and blow all over kingdom come. Maybe Easy is an agricultural inspector checking on everything? 😉