Lovin’ Life at Chiot’s Run
Lucy is lovin’ life right now. She’s finally doing well enough that we don’t have to watch her like a hawk every minute of the day. (if you weren’t around when she got injured read this and this).
We’re having beautiful weather here in Ohio at the moment (mid 60’s and sunny). Lucy is really enjoying it because we’ve been chaining her to a tree in the yard. She’s still not able to run free as she used to, but she’s enjoying laying in the grass basking in the sun. The garden’s namesake can finally enjoy the gardens again.
She’s still doing therapy, which consists of many short walks around the yard increasing in distance every few days. But the nice weather makes these therapy sessions much more enjoyable both for her and us.
I’m enjoying this weather as well, the sun on my back, my fingers not being numb while working outside; I could get used to this.
What about you, are you having perfect gardening or basking in the sun weather?
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The Daffodils are Here
I’ve been watching the daffodils on my front hillside for the past couple weeks waiting for the blooms to emerge. This is what they looked like on March 9th.
Then on March 18th you could start seeing evidence of the blooms.
Finally a few days ago they were almost out.
It’s always nice to see these sunny flowers peeking out, it’s a sure sign that spring is here. I’m not sure what kind they are, I inherited these daffodils from the previous owners of the house. I suspect that they’re the wild ones that grow here in Ohio, they bloom at the same time and look very similar.
This fall I’m hoping to add more daffodils to my gardens. They’re a great bulb because they grow well in my soil and they’re deer & rodent proof. I’ll probably purchase mine from Old House Gardens, they specialize in heirloom bulbs.
Are there daffodils in your gardens? Any other spring bulbs blooming now?
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One Lonely Crocus
I have one lonely crocus in my gardens. It’s not that I don’t like them, 7 years ago when we first moved in I planted 300 crocus bulbs throughout the gardens and I only had one bloom the following year. Can you guess what happened?
Chipmunks, that’s what happened. They dug up every single bulb I planted except for this one, it’s been blooming ever since. I really want to plant more this fall because they’re a great early flower for the bees (notice all the pollen).
I’m going to have to plant them in wire cages to keep those varmints out. I had decent luck sprinkling my tulip bulbs with garlic to keep the squirrels & chipmunks from eating them.
Do you have critters eating your bulbs? Any tips & tricks to keep them away?
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Favorite Gardening Magazines
I love magazines. They’re the perfect reading material for those of us that like to read in bits and pieces throughout the day. I typically read one article while eating breakfast, one at lunch, one with my afternoon coffee and perhaps another in the evening. I only have one subscription to a garden magazine; Organic Gardening. It’s a great magazines filled with lots of good information, I love reading through this magazine and usually I finish the day I get it. I have all of my back issues saved and every so often I leaf through them.
I do check a lot of other magazines out of the library to read (I’m thrifty like that). Saturday when I went to the library they had a bunch in, so I filled my weekend with gardening magazines. I always get inspired by the photos I see and get excited about getting out and trying a few new things in my gardens.
I really love Mother Earth News (their website is equally informative), it’s packed full of great articles and ideas that I can incorporate here at Chiot’s Run. Better Homes and Gardens magazines are always lovely to look at, although with their professionally designed gardens they usually leave my gardens feeling a tad inadequate. I do love flipping through all of them learning about new plants and garden tools.
So will I be getting a subscription to any of these any time soon? Probably not, I don’t mind waiting to get them from the local library. Although I do hate it when I get one that someone has torn something out of – GRRRRRR.
Do you have a favorite garden magazine? Or another kind of magazine that you would recommend?
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Update on Lucy
I figured it’s been a while since I’ve let you all know how Lucy is doing since her injury back on January 6. She’s still on bed rest but she’s doing much better. She’s been putting some weight on her hurt leg for a few weeks now and seems to be slowly improving (which is what we want to see). We’re doing a kind of treatment called Conservative Management.
Basically, for 6-8 weeks we have to confine Lucy and keep her as still as possible, during this time she is developing scar tissue that will stabilize her knee since her ACL is no longer working. She only gets a few potty breaks a day outside and the rest of the time she’s in the office relaxing while we’re working. Even when she goes outside Mr Chiots is using a sling to help support her back legs so she doesn’t do any more damage.
In 3-4 weeks we will start introducing a few short walks and gradually increase the length of those walks to strengthen the scar tissue that has formed on her knee. We’re looking forward to this time because Lucy is a very active dog and is really missing walks, running and hiking. It will still be 6-8 months until she can resume normal walks and some of her previous activities.
Running around in the woods will be off limits forever, but going on walks with us in the afternoons should be possible. Lucy’s really looking forward to this, she still gets excited when we get ready to go for a walk.
So hopefully she continues to improve little by little so she can spend the mornings with me in the gardens this summer (I think she’s going to be super excited to go to grandma’s and play with her cousins again as well).
