Hello Again

             It's been sooooooooo long, 'puter has been out of function. It felt like I was on vacation in Siberia, too bad I didn't get to bring home my favorite gemstone, Chrome Diopside for the troubles I went through! In July, my body went dead from the waist down, and I had to do IV Steroids for 5 days. First time they didn't work! So I've been using a cane and walker
                                                                                                                  ever since. The gardens have gotten so overgrown that I just gave up! Hopefully, this Spring I will have the power to start again. If not, I'm going to have a huge plant sale!!!!!! After paying for these perennials for 26 years, and nurturing them, and feeding, I am certainly not going to just GIVE them all away! I'll keep a few for the patio of my apartment I'll have to re-locate to. The trees and lilacs and fruit will stay for the new owners.Don't I sound like a grown-up with a grip on reality?????                                The drought we had this Spring and Summer made no Apples, plums, or other crops to pick. All I got was some blueberries and white raspberries.                                                                                               Hope to get final prep for the winter soon. I spent 4 hours getting the shed ready;Tools away, some got oiled and sharpened. They are all piled on top of my garden cart. Hose drained, rolled  up and hung on it's hanger.One more wacking of the lawns will do it. Then put snow shovel in the mud  room and dump 2 barrels of debris. DONE!                                                                                                 This winter I'm going to try to make jewelry to pass the time. I figure if I'm going to watch TV I might as well try to generate income at the same time! And I don't have to use my legs! I have a huge supply of stones just sitting there. My Mom had hundreds of findings (jewelry components) on hand . So all I need to furnish is creativity. And a pot of coffee. Thanks to brother The Silver Fox for getting my 'puter running, and Kathy P. (my Obie-Wan) for being it's surgeon. Feels good to be back! Now to the aforementioned tasks before me..........Toodles        Kathy.

Back In The Saddle Again

               Just came in from a few hours out weeding. Boy! Do those things grow well when you don't have $  for mulch!   New "gotta have" item........ mulch each and every bed this year! Well worth the investment--- No weeds, less watering, less diseases, less work! Gotta love that! I already filled a 5 gallon pail and I only moved about 10 feet! Funny thing happened when I tried to get up...... I had to crawl to the mudroom on my hands and knees to pull myself up by a grab bar! Boy have I gotten out of shape and legs are really weak! I have several plants still not planted yet, and they are all lined in the driveway waiting for me to get busy! I think I will let things rest this year. No breaking up or dividing. I actually like seeing big clumps of plants filling up the garden space. I have tons of seeds yet to start.They are all on a table with seedling trays- all I need is the energy to DO it.                                         I went  to the place where our town has designated to dump yard debris yesterday. I had four trash barrels to dump. A gentleman offered to help me, then wanted to know WHY I had so many barrels. I told him I had many gardens. My truck hasn't run since last July, and stuff did pile up. Now truck is back,  debris is under control, and  I won';t have to answer dumb questions again. I guess I'm just a cranky old lady! Working in the garden always makes me smile and I am sure it lowers my blood pressure too! Last year I bought some "ice cream " tulips. They look just like an ice cream cone! I highly recommend  them! Vanilla ice cream with strawberry sauce on top! All my lilacs are blooming right now. Smells great! My tree Peony is blooming right now too. It is way ahead of the regular Peony bushes. This year I have all the lumber ready to rebuild the grape arbor. Got two more red vines to plant. I have given up on my Kiwi vines, and now they seem to be going gangbusters! If something doesn't do well for me, in this case, Kiwi, I get rid of it and work in something else. After babying Kiwi for several years, each time I got blooms, they fell off after two days. I never had trouble with grapes. I have a Niagra vine, and it NEVER fails me! Which brings me to ask a question----does any one know if the rule that fruit is plentiful every other year is true???? I heard it somewhere, and I wondered if it was an old wives tale or truth. On that note, I will close for now. Keep digging!!!

Ode to Shovel

    Happy Mayday! If you are a digger like myself, your tools are all sharpened, oiled, and ready to go. It is hard to believe as I look over my varied selection, what odd things I have amassed through these years. There was the year everything HAD to be purple, then there are the many different cutting tools. I have four different pair of loppers; each have varied lengths on the handles. Three short cultivators, and one ancient one that has a long handle. I am embarrassed to list how many pair of hand clippers I posses: each one comes with the promise of doing a better job than the last one. Small spades, (dime a dozen) sharpening stones...DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT...many metal rakes, spools of wire and wire cutters, and shovels. On that point, I have one exception. As I said before, I'm an old farmer....well, when my parents had their farm, and I was a wee lass of four, my dad had one standard shovel. Somehow, through all these years (and we're talkin' 1950 to now....) I still have that one ol' shovel Dad bought!!  It was a classic, even has a split shank. I sharpen it, oil the handle, and it has gotten me through all these years. Hard to believe, I kept it for decades that I didn't even own my horses, lived in an apartment, got married, divorced, another dozen apartments, and now my home of 26 years. I never had a relationship ever! that lasted that long!! It's hard to think, I havn't named (him) yet. Isn't it the cars that get girls names? Then there's the very old 10 inch straight head screwdriver from my farm days as well. Great to get between rocks after those weeds with long roots. I think that is just as old, some things you just can't remember not having. I have recently  added cable ties to my arsenal, there are the scissors, pen and notepad, numerous pair of garden gloves, tape measure, tissues, chapstick, sunscreen,and of course, the cooler along side for my water bottles. I guess it does look like I'm moving in, but I have to plan only one trip out to the garden, so better make it good. My limited walking ability has taught me to plan wisely. hahaha                   Add to all this, the fact I need my four wheel walker to get to the garden in the first place, I must be quite a sight! Add my cane, and there's your entertainment for the afternoon, ladies and gents..... top it off with a funny garden hat,

Just Thinkin'

            Here I sit, waiting for the REAL spring to arrive. We had a few warm days, enough for my daffydills to have buds that are 3/4 open. All roses have greened up, the lilacs are leafing out, and other ferny looking perennials have big leaf clusters already and if I really looked hard, there would be buds formed at the base, ready to sprout up. So...... seeing how I had to shovel yesterday and today, my fingers are crossed I won't have frost damage this year. That is the problem with the early budding garden. There's always the risk of frost damage. The nursery catalogs sell covers and veggie growers use them regularly, but I have feeble funds, and my priorities lean towards mulch, compost, and flower packages. Case in point: the other day I was in Wal-Mart and leaped at a package of double-flowered Siberian Iris. Almost hurt myself. But they were a "must have" for 'ol Lynchie. I have a slight obsession with Siberians, want one of every color. They are idiot-proof. Plant once, they double each spring, and you get to have them all over your gardens for a tiny one time investment. In just a few years, you have enough to sell, share, or do whatever else you think of with them. They are hardy as a Sled Dog as well! I have scoured through dozens of catalogs to get different colors.                            I am a big fan of roadside adoptions as well. I keep a pail, jug of water, and a small shovel in my truck at all times, because you never know when something might appear, waiting for you to bring it to a better place (your garden, with mulch and primo care). I have even been at a yard sale, talking to the homeowner, and she has offered me a plant of hers! Be prepared at all times is my motto. You might spot a prospect while driving down a side road in the country- who knows??? In a week or so, I know I'm going to have to prune the apple and plum trees. Gardens still are a learning experience for me. After 60 odd years.... Last year I was exceptionally proud (be careful Kathy.... you know what the Bible says about Pride) to see an overabundance of plums on my tree. The very next day, I heard lots of chirping and squawking and as I looked, the entire harvest got consumed by birds  This year I have mesh to cover the trees and I won't wait so long to pick the fruit. I might even  have enough to do some canning. Last year I built a few trellises that my ever increasing Clematis collection will use nicely. They are painted a rose pink color. I am going to have to use tree limbs to make trellises for anything . else that needs support this year. Two years ago I built an enormous rose arbor. It took two days to make, and 2 people to get it in place. But I had wanted to do that for many years, and if I had bought it at a garden center, it would have cost several hundred dollars. Now four different colored roses can scramble all they want. One is a New Dawn rose I bought about 24 years ago. It would have covered the whole house if I did not prune. I  have a white, a yellow, and a Joseph's Coat that fill in the corners. There are also 2 Chocolate vines tucked in there. All I need is fertilizer and mulch to sit pretty and watch the flower show. Last year a couple were walking  by my house and admiring my gardens. The wife told her husband she wanted to do the exact thing with their yard. The husband laughed and looked at me. He said, "She did not do this in a week of work". I laughed, and shook my head. He asked how long (meaning years) it took me, and I said it was 26 and still going. I was happy that there are some people out there that realize it is a labor of love, but not an overnight wonder. Well now, diggers, I am going to close and watch a movie....Maybe a Harry Potter classic. Last week they were all on in a row so I got to tape them in order. I must admit, I never saw all of them and I am all for a good Fantasy!                                                                                                                                                      

Just a quick note

Here it is..... Spring(?) I have  a tiny thing to share before I tackle day #2 on garden  cart......Last year I spent an alarming amount of $ on beautiful bulbs. When I awaited the blooms, I found tiny holes in my soil in their place. The squirrels and chippies had dug them all up for a snack!!! This year I will be much wiser..... I bought some mesh plastic garden screening at WalMart. This time I am going to dig a trench, put fertilizer and leafs in, then my bulbs AND lay the screening on top of the whole mess, then proceed to put soil down.No more lunch for them! I work too hard to provide free dinner after the work is done .....HAHAHAHA!!!!!

Happy Spring!!!!

                            Boy am I glad this season is behind us! Maybe I'm jumping the gun, but I am SSOOOOOOO ready to get in my dirt! Took 2 days to pick up all the puppy poop that had been scattered in all my pathways. My back yard is all beds surrounded with chicken wire to keep dogs from digging or pooping there. It has to be 3 feet tall. I got bricks from all over and concrete slabs 12 X 12 for paving my paths. In the middle of one bed is a plum tree, another has an apple tree, a third has a mini peach and a BIG Rose of Sharon bush  Last year I had to cut it back 1/2  because things under it needed light. They are so pretty. Broke my heart. But when the blooms fall, what a glorious mess!!!    I already put snow shovels in the shed.  Some of the Bleeding Heart seeds have started to arrive, they come from Laos , and nothing is color coded. Guess I'll have to wait to see  what the colors are. I ordered Red, Purple, Pink, Blue, Yellow and Black!! They go in  my freezer as soon as I get them. They need a "cool" time, about 2 weeks.  Then I am off....... Lord Willing tomorrow I will start to put my garden cart together. Got a nice home for it in my shed. Gourd seeds have come. I got several "weird" ones to hopefully sell at the flea market .My yellow fernleaf Bleeding Heart will ship in a few days..Joy Joy... Okay, okay you must be thinking it so I'll just say it. I am a  plant whore!!!    
                         Lots of fallen branches to get, and this is where my new cart will do nicely. I do not own a wheelbarrow. Havn't in decades because my own balance is not good. I don't want to think of the  mess if we BOTH went down! Having MS does make you find easier and less tedious ways of doing things. Enter my cart! I just heard birds chirping yesterday, so filled my feeder. And have to srart other seeds I have purchased along the way. Last year I tried Birdhouse Gourds. I must have hundreds in a pouch ready to go. So, diggers, I have to get to bed early... Big day ahead of me tomorrow. If anyone would like seeds this season, just let me know and I will send them to you!   How's That!!!

I'm Sorry

Apologies for the double-play on my Valentine's day entries, but when I first hit "publish", nothing happened! I labored to make a second entry, and now I see they both ended up getting published! Well, at least you know I don't BS cuz they both were the same!  hahaha  Small town, small mind, I guess. I am stuck inside with zero temps. Pansy me with cold weather. Not just Benny. My truck never got fixed this week: mixed signals with the mechanic. So I guess I'm still grounded for a while. I feel like I'm 14 again and my Mom said those dreaded words to punish me......"You're Grounded" Hopefully Spring will get here soon, so will my garden cart, and plant orders, and I'll be Loopy once again!!

Happy Valentine's Day

   This is for all of you who get cards, or candy, or roses each year,. Go kiss and hug your sweetie. Then come back to me. .......OKAY?????.........Now. Business as usual. Since I got none of the aforementioned, it's just Benny and me this year. Hell, even the guy I've been chatting with for two months online has been a no-show for two days, I guess it's me and my shadow. I once had a dance recital solo done to that song. Me and my Tap Shoes. So here I go. I got a beautiful violet patterned dish from my friend Betsey. Thanks so much! It was exactly what I was talking about! Your card is in the mail. When I was a little girl, we lived on a dairy farm. I remember a few fond memories. Bringing eggs in from the chicken coop. Amazing, they were always warm from the hens laying on them. And there was all the times I was out in the fields, right next to our cows. Patting them and sitting down next to them in the fields. They weren't "just " cows, they were pets to our family. Maybe it was because we only had 12 or so. It wasn't a huge heard or anything. One day a small girl at the time, I ran in from the barn yelling, "Mom! Come quick!! One of our cows is sick!!!" It was the first time I had ever seen an animal giving birth. Lesson 101 in farm life. So with that out of the way, the real fond memories can begin. Because we had acreage, a company once came to harvest Which Hazel from our woods. Hell, does anyone still USE that stuff? Anyway, they left long roads in our woods. My Mom and I would go walking on them. There was a hollow where there was a small pond. My Mom got flat rocks from the area and we would sit on them. Each spring there were THOUSANDS of violets in there. Most were blue, but some were white. They would cross pollinate and a few would have blue and white on the SAME petal! Quite a memorable experience for a four year old! I highly recommend it for a child. Hell, you might give rise to another Euell Gibbons, or Peter Watson, ya never know...... That was where  my love of all things botanical sprung from. I got email confirmation on my garden cart, and yellow bleeding heart yesterday, Happy Happy Joy Joy.                                                                                                                                                                   
          Now my "gotta have it " list is done. But I think I might have to get a cherry tree. My Uncle Al had one. Each year he would devise ways to scare the birds away from the fruit. My thoughts are, if the tree is 25 feet high, let the birds have the ones on top anyhow if you can't reach them. But each year, he would hang pie plates and Christmas ornaments on the branches to try to keep those birds away. I never saw  any results, but it was fun to watch. I don't know what the big deal was; he didn't CAN or anything! Just didn't want the birds those get one of those cherries,   I guess. Well, guess I gotta get some work done around here, so Ta for now,,,

Happy Valentine's Day

           Well, I got no candy, or cards, or roses this year, and the one guy I've been chatting with for 3 months has dropped off the edge of the earth . So I guess it's just me and Benny for this year! All these Valentine's days have turned out to be let downs . If you are fortunate enough to have someone in your life, go give them a hug and kiss right now ....then come back to me.   OK? Now that that is out of the way, it's business as usual. Very cold today O degrees I think. Benny was out less than a minute. I bet he peed on my tires. He is the second dog I have adopted from down South and one thing is common. They both hate winter. Terrified of snow. Hate the cold. Despise rain. Pansies. Both, I say. I just got confirmation on my orders of my garden cart (JOY) and my yellow Bleeding Heart (JOY again) now my gotta have it list for this year is complete. Got the most adorable violet patterned dish from my friend Betsey. Your card is in the mail, dear. Thank you SSSOOO much. It is exactly what I was talking about!! When I was a small girl, we lived on a dairy farm. My mom and I would stroll down the paths that were created in our woods when a company came to harvest Witch Hazel  that grew in the back of our property. One place had a tiny pond. Frogs would lay eggs each spring and they would hatch into Tadpoles shortly after. Mom got flat rocks and put them around the pond so we could sit there. It was surrounded by literally THOUSANDS of violets. Most were violet, but there were some white in there. The flowers would cross pollinate, and some would have blue and white on the same petals! Amazing for a small child to see. That is where my love of all things botanical came from. I highly recommend this for any child. Hell. You might foster another Euel Gibbons, or Peter Watson. Who knows! Do they even sell Witch Hazel anymore?? I bought all the plastic netting they had at Wal Mart. This year, the birds are really going to have to WORK to get my raspberries, plums, and blueberries. The gloves are Off! When I get a cherry tree, I expect to have confrontations. My Uncle Al had one and every year he would try to keep all the cherries. I don't know why. He didn't can or anything! He would hang pie plates from the branches and Christmas ribbon and all sorts of bizarre things so the birds would not get any.  When your tree is 20 feet tall, I figure  the birds can have  the ones I can't reach .  And his creations didn't ever work anyhow!! But it was amusing to watch every year.  Well, I'm off to do some boring housework, soooo, this is LOOPY signing off for now.....Toodles Diggers
                                                                                                     

A big P.S.

              I just finished writing about MS and forgot to tell you about my 2 new purchases!! I ordered  my yellow bleeding heart, and JOY JOY also ordered a garden cart! I had a large one several years ago and had to sell it because it was HUGE. Well, I ordered one that is smaller yesterday. I can put it in my shed, carry all sorts of things with it, and I have wanted one for about 20 years now! Now I won't look like a bag lady going out to my gardens with my walker all loaded up with tools like shovels, rakes, etc. and plants. I can load everything in this and look normal(?) I found my bleeding heart for half the price it was anywhere else. It pays to get a lot of catalogs each spring. So that's it for now,,,  toodles

Nothing To Do with My Dirt

              Since I cannot play in my "dirt" because it's under a foot of snow right now, I'd thought  I'd go for a deeper topic du jour. Someone once suggested I blog about my life with MS in case someone else had any solutions. to share with me. So here goes.               In 1987 I went to Florida to visit my mom. She lived in Daytona. Before that time, for about a month, I had lost the sensation in my left side of my whole body. Hands were numb, legs were numb. But I didn't tell anyone. Not a soul. When you work in Graphic Arts, and have to handle RAZOR BLADES all day to cut film, it is not something you share with co-workers. Well, here we were, strolling along the beach, and I stepped in a hole. Because there was no feeling in my legs, I went down like a ton of bricks. I had to go to the hospital, and I broke my left foot in 2 places!!  Came home with a wheelchair from the plane! I thought it might be from smoking , so I thought about quitting. Then the sensation came back, and it was life as usual for a short time. And because of my job, I didn't tell anyone. And then I was driving home from work, (second shift) and I lost the sight in my left eye! Completely! I went to my Doctor, and he had me get an MRI. There it was in all my X rays. He said I had MS in my scans. Well, this was very upsetting to me because a few months earlier, I had visited an old friend that had MS and she had a crane over her bed, her husband had left her and her child, and she had to read large printed every thing!!! After my visit, I got word she had passed away. I asked my Doc if that was what I had to look forward to.  Hell, I never HEARD of MS before Mary had it. He told me every case was different. Joy joy. I went for PT and my counselor suggested I have hand controls put in my truck for the "bad days".                                                                                                                                                   I did and have used them every day since. I cannot lift my leg to step on the gas pedal. Or the brake. Wise man for sure. Thank you Alan Holden. Over these last 27 years or so, I guess I have had God's favor. Because I still only need a cane most days to get around. I have 4 of them over these years, and strange as it seems, I keep gong back to my first one every time. It just feels "right" I have 2 different  types of crutches, and 2 walkers. One is the standard aluminum kind, and one is my BEST! It has 4 wheels and a seat! Under the seat is a bag for your pocket book or other things when you go out. I use this one every time I go out to my gardens. I have all my hand tools in the bag, and cold drinks, and my ol trusty cane on top! Around my house I have installed grab bars for help, I did my bathroom over. I used to have a tub. One day, I was trying to get out of it, and....[picture this...fat lady wet and naked... stuck in her bathtub!!!] I had visions of EMT's coming to help me...  No friggin' way! I had the tub yanked out, and a shower stall installed  That ended that problem! I have a handicap entrance for my back door and it seems like my house is pretty well set up for me. I do not expect to go in a nursing home any time soon. hahaha  I have heard that attitude makes or breaks  you and I try to stay happy, sometimes silly to live by day to day. It works for me. A couple of years ago, I fell in my living room. and was on my floor way over an hour. I know because I fell facing the clock! When the EMT's came, I had already gotten over the anger. I was telling them I didn't want them to get hernias by picking me up. (there was the funny side of me again. ) Well one of them had left his sense of humor at home that day, cause   when he called to tell the ER when we would arrive he called me "inappropriately joyful and LOOPY !!!  Can you imagine that! I guess I should have been bitchy and hit him with my cane! That he would have understood!                                                                                                                                                  This has been my life so far, and I think so far I am doing okay. I went to the MS support group at my local hospital once, but left discouraged because every one was depressing and whining. I don't subscribe to that line of thinking. So here I am in my bubble of bliss and doing okay for now. Yes, I have bad days, and stressful moments. I had to go for a week without my injection because the grant money wasn't available. I had to make several phone calls, but I got it!! So as Martin Sheen used to say in THE  WEST WING....."what's next?"                                                                                               

A fly in my soup

Hope you all have seen my dawg, Benny. He's big, smart, beautiful, happy, and one thing (surprise to me ) is as much a THIEF  as I ever saw!!! His shoulders hit right at the level of my kitchen table! What does this mean, you ask. Well, I have learned not to even turn my back around to get a spoon from my counter!!!!! That appropriately positioned muzzle will snatch any thing not stapled to the tablecloth! And since that would be very impractical to do in a kitchen in the first place, and I do not even OWN a stapler at the present time, I'm screwed! Today a neighbor left some goodies at my door while I was away on errands, and by the time I got all my bundles accounted for and in the door, My Beloved had downed four single size pies!!!! When I got back to the room, he also had I/2 of my loaf of bread consumed!!This was, keep in mind, less than 30 seconds! I know he's not hungry,,,,,, he has soft breakfast in the am and crunchy at his disposal all day! He's just a compulsive thief!  Since I myself have an eating compulsion, just how angry can I get!! Should I put myself in HIS place, no I don't think so......I guess I'll just have to be diligent in counter measures. I should thank him, I guess, that the pies ended up on his thighs ,not mine.

Still crazy after all these years

                  Good day, mes amis! I wanted to do something fun before shoveling. I just wish there was a neighbor to take pity on the old lady on the corner! Hope you all are doing great. I will have pix of Benny shortly. I love the one with him yawning!! I am prejudiced, being a proud mom, but he's quite handsome. And to think, he was 24 hours away from being put down, if nobody adopted him! Some people should be put down, not these animals!! This winter is weird. ! I am SOOOOO ready to play outside. My one plant on my "gotta have it" list for this year is a fern leaf Bleeding Heart. The name is "sulphur heart" and it blooms yellow! The catalogs do not have it as a standard offer, you have to really search for it. The rest for this year will be just dividing what I already have. If I want to put in anything else, I am going to need more land!! I have 4 baby crabapple trees I started last year, from seeds I scoffed from a McDonald's parking lot. They are 14 inches tall already. I plan on canning this year, and have recipes waiting. I am ready with 4 kinds of raspberries, apples, and blueberries, rhubarb, and plums! Lord willing, I will have jars stored for future consumption. joy joy! When I was a younger lass, I used to can like a fiend. Pickles, jams, anything I could get my hands on. Alas I seem to have slowed down a tad. I made a relish with carrots once for a bake sale, and one fellow bought every jar! Well, kiddies, shovel awaits..... ta ta for now..

my new face.

                            Here I am again.....Picking up the "rant" torch from my brother......For the last week and a half, I have been chatting with a seemingly "nice" guy on line, hey, talk isn't the worst thing out there. I have become very fond of some of my readers. I feel very close to a few of you. Well a journey starts with a single step, right? So here I was, happily tooling along with my life, and WHAM! I get hit with another scammer..... Well, thanks to experiences past, ol' Lynchie, (and to you, my dear Henry, for my nickname), I am not such a pushover anymore. As IF I needed a refresher course on ON- LINE SCAMS......                                                                                                                                          Here I was, happily tooling along with my life, and get this seemingly dreamy guy to chat with. All went well for about 4 days. Then the alarms in my brain started buzzing. Girls, or guys if you are reading this, Nobody falls in love with anybody in 3 or 4 days...... It is like, maybe, or lust, probably, but not "till death do us part" love!!!! That takes time to build. It has to grow, be nurtured, and trust has to be earned. I have been in such a relationship. I know..      This new fellow, threw the "L" word around really quickly. When all the flowery phrases didn't work, because you are talking to someone not born last night, remember, he got nasty. For crying out loud, SCAMMER PEOPLE, at least change your script a little between scams!!!!! It is almost word for word!!! Well, thanks to a very dear past boyfriend, I have a very  keen sense when something isn't right.  I knew exactly where the talk was gong. Hell, I could have even joined in on the chorus! I knew exactly where to insert, "send me $500 to get this package to you for our future" went!!!! Can you imagine that!    And, of course, when these guys get outed,  they tend to get hostile. I guess because if you don't get hooked, they have lost precious   time they could have been working on someone else more gullible. Well I have been around 4 legged animals all my life,  and I am no Spring Chicken, so I will tell you one thing. Animals give us pure love. When you look in their eyes, there is no deceit. They do not lie, cheat or have ill intent. At least not our pets. If my dog stole off the kitchen table, I can see it on his face, immediately. And the mess beneath him on the floor doesn't help either. But animals give unconditional love. without requiring anything but the same in return. And the occasional treat, back scratch, or petting.  Snuggle with your pet on the bed in the morning, (cat people), or play fetch in the yard with a dog, You know exactly what you have!!!  True Love.. So here's to you, my dear Butchie....and my new face. At least now they can say,"Boy, Kathy is a real  dog!" and it will mean something.                             

happy new year

                             I would like to thank all who visited this little ditty during the year .I hope in this new year I can share more of my gardening tales and maybe answer some questions if any arise for you. I don't know everything, but I do have many gardening books at my fingertips from the years and years I have been playing in the dirt! God Bless and have a safe and prosperous 2016......kathy