Tag Archives: backyard

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Around the house fluff.

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We’ve had a lot of afternoon rain showers lately and with them comes rainbows.

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Too cloudy for a complete one, but with rainbows… half is just as sweet.

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Required photos of Lord Dudley Mountcatten.

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Seen here taking a bath with his blue whale.

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Round two of flowers for the new stone garden bed out back. Fingers crossed the woodchucks don’t like them.

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Family size my ever expanding *ss. These packages get smaller all the time. And if you haven’t tried the toffee flavor? Run to the store before I buy them all out from under you.

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Foreground – fox.

Background – duck.

They seem to be friends now.

🙂

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Momma chuck and Junior

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Junior chuck is still here and momma still tolerates his presence even though she has a new batch of children.

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This is surprising and has never happened before.

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She usually kicks the kids to the curb as soon as they can fend for themselves.

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But Junior persists. Though like every adult child who lives in the basement, I’m sure he gets on her nerves now and then.

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Garden fluff.

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It’s Japanese Iris season at Casa River and I couldn’t be happier.

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While I’ve never been a fan of the fleshy full size irises that always hump their monstrous rhizome roots out of the ground… I adore their smaller less arrogant cousins.

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Daintier, more delicate and frankly less look at me darling, aren’t I gawgous!… they’re a lovely pop of perennial purple.

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Number two rhododendron is now in full bloom though not nearly as full as it’s neighbor. Why this should be is a question that stumps gardeners everywhere. Same soil, same sun exposure yet one is always bigger and better. Personally I think Mother Nature just likes to keep us guessing.

And if you’re wondering what the woodchucks have been chewing this week ?

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The toothy little buggers are eating marigolds!.

Marigolds!

The plant so disgusting no one will eat them. I don’t even like the silly things but have been putting them in my pots on the barn porch simply for the woodchuck gag factor. I thought they’d be safe.

I was wrong.

Very wrong.

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If you leave the door open…

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My husband has a bad habit of leaving the little barn/shed doors open in the summer. He thinks he’s airing it out and cooling it off but in actuality all he’s doing is this:

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Giving momma and baby chucks another area to explore.

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And chew.

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They seem to enjoy it.

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Though if they start chewing tractor wires my husband may have to rethink this habit.

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Rainy day barn porch cocktails… with ducks.

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When there’s a summer thunderstorm on the horizon? We head for the barn porch.

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And if it’s cocktail hour?

We add an adult beverage.

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This particular storm was disappointing as all the good rumbling stayed to the north…

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But the gentle rain brought our old friends the ducks to the backyard and they’re always fun to watch.

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I don’t know how long mallard ducks live but we’ve had this visiting pair for close to 4 years now.

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When there’s rain and puddles? They plop right down and make themselves at home.

❤️

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It certainly doesn’t look like 3+ hours work.

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First, I weeded the garden bed.

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Which…. when you’re old adjacent at 59 and have a blown knee… isn’t as much fun as it used to be.

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Then I sprinkled a container of shake and feed bloom booster.

And worked it into the soil with a blister boosting rake.

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Then I watered the soil and planted the few flowers the woodchucks left me.

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Three hours plus for a few measly perennials.

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$200 worth of flowers barely made a dent. That’s just wrong.

🥴

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First baby chuck sighting.

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It was bound to happen. Momma woodchuck found a safe home under our barn and she’s going to raise all her children there from now on.

Yesterday I spotted the first baby nibbler.

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I know they eat all my flowers, but damn it. They’re so stinking cute!

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There are four children this year and they’re just starting to venture out in the open.

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As long as mom is around that is.

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My garden is doomed.

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Plants and pickles.

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It’s finally time to start planting some annuals around Casa River. It’s really only safe after Memorial Day as we had frosty nights right up until the end of May.

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A few geraniums.

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Some peachy begonias on the kitchen porch.

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A line of alternating marigolds.

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And it was back to the greenhouse for another trunkful. One can never have too many flowers.

My husband disagrees, but what does he know?

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A pizza. With pickles. And pickle flavored potato chips. Christ, it might as well have kale.

🤢

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I always thought I was one of those people who said – I’ll eat anything as long as it’s covered in chocolate.

Turns out I was wrong.

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