Update on the garden

Having 4 dogs pottering around the garden does create a challenge in itself. For various reasons, the main ones being:

 

Odd things grow in Irish Gardens

 

Ellie, loves to dig, and hide tennis balls. We believe she does this as a – in case of accidents policy. (In other words some kid accidentally enter the garden and they do not have a tennis or football with them.) She buries them in the ground in odd places, hides them in the hawthorne hedge and even carefully places them in the branches of a thick shrub at the far corner of the garden.

All-focus

Doug; loves to ramble and eat. He will eat, nasturtiums, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, courgette and any fruit. He is currently eyeing up the apple tree.

Brook – energetic greyhound will lie down on any part of the garden or just anywhere.

 

Bell will eat her way through any tall shrub or plant just to create a short cut.

So all in all I think we are doing ok.

This is the new wildflower area of the garden, seeds and weeds flourish as do ocassional children who decide to be a gardener for a while.

How about you guys and ladies and your gardening exploits during the past few months, any success stories?

Progress

I am rearranging my garden, out of necessity and because of these bothersome days where we are confined to close quarters. And I decided to post this brief post specifically to let Maxwellthedog know that we are working to get it done and some tomatoes growing asap! But as you may notice I have some help (there is four of us living in the house) so all is not lost.

Digging up Bob’s beloved strawberry and blackcurrant patch was tough work,

I had taken cuttings of the blackcurrant bush last year, so it will be replanted in a suitable spot.

As you can see the canine help were their usual supportive selves, Belle and Brook had retired to the yard to get the most sun.

I am interested in learning if anyone has a green house and what they recommend I plant in it, remembering that Ireland is not the hotest place on the planet.

Take care.

Gardening friends

People who don’t garden think it is tiresome, a never-ending job. A little like exterior housework I suppose.

However, I find it therapeutic and I am never alone.

We have a new visitor but he is a pretty young and scrawny looking Robin, we will have to feed him up.

High and low..

The garden is full of promise. I look high for Apple blossoms. When I find loads I think a little like Mr Homer Simpson,

…hmmm apple tarts. Bob, he looks low on the ground and finds  …strawberries and I know he adores ice cream, so he thinks of them.

Everyone is different but food does feature a lot in our lives, don’t you agree?

Fun with dogs

Sometimes a break in a working routine for Ellie, and me, works wonders.

Please note the snazzy jumps.

 Bob had a more gentle workout.

It took twenty minutes before she called time out.

Odd things you find growing in the garden.

Irish weather is always a hot topic (excuse the pun) but when one day you wake up to a dark sky and thundering cold wind. The next day it is beaming sunshine and heat. It is no wonder Irish people are so besotted with the weather.

However I am discovering that there is another hot topic in our house – strange things that pop up in the garden.

See for yourself. I look forward to the many varied comments that will follow the pictures below.

I was weeding and discovered this gorgeous plant, weed??

Then this odd looking object.  I wonder who or what planted it?

 

How to make hours disappear……

Never listen to an elderly academic when he says: I know I put the pipe down here..but the yard keeps flooding so I need to find the pipe it must be blocked”

Given that the man in question is 84 we decided to help our a heart attack was imminent.

This is where our weekend went: “The drainage pipe that I am looking for is to the right of that water meter”

Sounds simple. But it wasn’t.

 

By Sunday evening we had located three different pipes and some were leading to the back garden. We were exhausted aching but a discovery had been made. Academics should never, ever do anything practical around the house. Or you end up with this:

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Best day ever of 2016 for Bob

Bob woke the house early on Friday morning. At first I thought he must be unwell, as it wasn’t his usual, get up and make my breakfast call.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the back door was the look of disbelief on his face.

It had snowed. And we all know Bob loves snow.

But it is becoming clear that old age is catching up with him as he spent the next half an hour simply pottering about.

While Ellie was all about moving:

He, I believe, was remembering

Real snow! And saving his energy for its return.

Bob’s Diary: What Ellie did.

Ellie is thorough if nothing else. I discovered her payment of biscuits was for collecting odd socks.

Proof is in the following pictures

Happy Days, Cold weather is back.

I enjoyed Christmas, the Turkey was awesome but something even better happened this morning. Jack frost is back….

 

Though some dogs do get a little excited about it

 

 

But not this cool dog.

Because I know where the day is always heading…..

But using me as a cushion is a tad too much, don’t you agree?

Have a great New Year see you all in 2015,