Bogieblog

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday

Cop Car!

Weekend Warmth

The woodstove has officially been retired for the season. I removed what little wood was left in the indoor and outdoor woodracks, and returned it to the lean-to. This also means that the deck and the living room have been placed into their non-winter configurations.

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Also, hearalding the season, is that I actually used the clothesline out back to dry clothes instead of hanging them downstairs. This is doubly unusual for several reasons:

1. It wasn't raining, the officials are already worrying about a drought. We've already experienced some small wildfires because we haven't had rain for a couple of weeks (the small bit of snow last week doesn't count).
2. It was super warm and the air was dry enough that I was able to pull in the clothes after only 6-8 hours.
3. I could actually get back to the clothesline without sinking hip deep in mud.

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Some of my tomato "seedlings" have already outgrown their grow center. At about 18" (above the pots), they have grown way faster than I am used to. The peppers haven't outpaced themselves, compared to previous years, so I am at a loss as to what is going on.

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I went out and worked in the garden ( most years, it would be a morass of mud at this point). I got the shredded leaves from last fall spread over most of the garden area for use as mulch. Some of it it still frozen solid, so I will have to wait  to finish spreading it. I'll be using the upper end of the garden this year (rotational planting) so I am paying special attention to that area. while I am covering it in mulch to keep weeds from growing.

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And that is it for the weekend update - where we are loving the sunny and warm weather (except at night when it is still in the 20's - and not sunny), but wish for rain to help ease the spring leafs and blooms into being.

I am the Website

Which Website are You?

Thanks to Jay for pointing the way.

Money Laudering

On Saturdays, the routine is that I start the first load of WS's laundry, we gather the garbage for the dump transfer station run, then as WS is taking all that out to the truck, I fill out the deposit slip to take WS's check to the bank.

WS usually leaves his check on the stereo cbinet when he empties his pockets on Friday evening. Yesterday, I asked if he had brought his check home since I didn't see it up there (he has left it at work before). After a moments thought, he said it was still in his jeans from the day before.

Sure enough, of the two pairs of jeans I had put in the washer, that particular pair was one of them. Let's just say that paychecks aren't as tough as dollar bills are.

The company owner should get a chuckle out of it when WS asks for a replacement check next week!

Survivor

I have, so far, survived the massive slobber and baying that greets me as I go to feed the pack of dogs I'm pet-sitting. Their owner called me last night to make sure that everyone had behaved for me - I assured her they had.

"You didn't have any problem with Zeus when you came in the door?" she queried.

"Uh, no. Was I supposed too?"

"Well sometimes he can act really scary, like he won't let you in" she replied.

No lady, scary is watching three 1,000 pound horses come at you at a full gallop, while you are holding what they really crave; grain! A 150 pound Newfie is nothing compare to that. Oh sure, he could bite me, but usually if you go passive, they'll lose interest. A horse can bite then turn around and kick you, and then mash you to a pulp with their front hooves (they don't stop until you are a pile of nothing recognizable). Pfft, a big dog is nothing.

My reply was actually, "Both the big guys [Zues and Oden, the Newfies] stood at the door barking. I told them firmly to get back, and they did. Then everyone crowded in for pets and some loving before I shooed them out the back door while I made up their food. I didn't have any problems at all."

I was actually more worried about Paulie, the Shiba Inu. She hung back and growled a whole lot - even growling as she went out the back door. But actually I think it was more because she was a little peeved over the excitement than anything. Anyway, she was happier than heck to see the food!

The two Bassets, Wrinkles and Madeline, were just loves. I did have to keep Madeline from stealing Wrinkles' food. Wrinkles is 17 years old, and eats so slow that everyone was eyeballing her bowl as she slowly made her way through it.

The Chesie, Monica, is the most reserved. She is low dog on the totem pole, so hangs back a bit while all the petting is going on. She is funny to watch eating though, as she growls the whole time, while lifting her lips to show her teeth - making sure that no other dog even thinks about coming over to steal her food.

Nope, no problems, just a whole lot of noise and action in that house.

Crazy Client

Some people think we are crazy because we have 2 dogs, 3 cats and 2 birds. Those people would be wrong; one of my new pet-sitting customers is nuts. She has 6 dogs: 2 Newfies, 2 Basset Hounds, 1 Chesapeak Bay Retriever and 1 Shiba Inu mix (so she claims - it looks more like a Finnish Spitz mix to me).

I got home last night to a desperate phone call, a woman and her husband were supposed to be on the way to their son's wedding, but their neighbor, who was supposed to pet-sit, became ill.

Shorts

I was cleaning out a couple of flower beds below the fence yesterday and found two sets of crucus blooming. hmm, crocus, in the flower bed that has no bulbs, and also below that, where only creeping phlox is planted. I think chipmunks have been transplanting stuff for me!

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I finished a book last weekend that was just fantastic (if you like Fantasy). It was by an author that I have never read before, nor would I ever had read her if I hadn't gotten a "mystery book for $1.99 with the order of any other book" from the Science Fiction Book Club. I was ordering a book anyway, so what the heck, I threw in an extra $2 for a book. Paladin of Souls, by Lois McMaster Bujold, was what I received and it was worth way more than I spent on it!

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Last weekend, when WS took me out to dinner for my birthday, we looked at the desert menu and I knew instantly that I had to save some room. Featured on the menu was Fried Cheesecake. The only words to describe it are: Totally Awesome! (decadent and fattening are also words that can describe it - LOL).

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There are plenty of goldfinches, chipping sparrows, red-winged blackbirds and others back from their winter grounds. Thursday when I got home, the woods were so noisy with bird sounds that it was very rare for me to be able to pick out one type of bird call. The feeders have to be filled every 3 days instead of just once a week now. Even the thistle feeder is getting a huge workout.

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That is it for today from Bogieland.

Cool Weather Gardening

It was another beautiful day in Bogieland. It got up to the 50's and was sunny so I did what the day demanded of me - I repotted plants and started some seeds.

First, I went to Agway to pick up some potting soil and a larger pot an existing plant. When I got home, I started off repotting the pepper seedlings into larger containers. This, I did indoors in the kitchen; I didn't want the seedlings catching cold at their tender age. Then I repotted a coleus which was in dire need of a larger planter.

The planter I got for it is technically a strawberry planter. The planter looks something like this, although it is made of glazed clay (glazed with various shades of blue, of course) and only has 4 smaller planter spouts on the side. I placed the coleus in the larger opening, then I planted begonia seeds in the smaller areas. If the seeds don't come up, then I will take some babies off my spider plant to fill in the voids. The coleus is a plant that lives on the deck during the summer, then is brought inside during colder weather. For now it resides in the living room bay window.

Walking the Dogs

We have had some beautiful weather the last couple of days. It has actually made it up to the 60's (70's further south in the state) and it is definitely starting to feel like spring.

With the warmer weather, I have been cutting down on the dogs' food; I give them extra during the cold months. They no longer need the layer of insulating fat they had thru the winter, so I am trying to work it off of them by taking them for walks.

Our first walk was Wednesday evening. It was probably pretty funny watching me try to keep the leashes sorted out while at the same time trying to keep them from either jerking my shoulders out of their sockets or taking me for a run down the driveway.

Once we got to the road, I turned them to walk uphill. They work off their excess energy by traversing the grade plus they help pull me up the hill. After a couple of minutes, they settled down and they pulled me steadily uphill - with a few sniff and pee breaks along the way.

Iditarod Watching

We have been watching Cabella's documentary of the 2005 Iditarod on OLN (Outdoor Life Network). We have been watching it since Saturday (we did miss Sunday's episode since we were out to dinner), and are sorry that tonight will be the last night. We will still have to watch Sunday's (which we taped), as that is the night that we find out how their helicopter crashed.

There is great scenery, some really good humor (especially the first night where they cover the ceremonial start), and plenty of dogs in action to watch. It is truly amazing watching a dog team come into a checkpoint, after a 50 mile or so run, to see how eager they are to keep going.

If you have missed this show, but want to see it, don't worry as they are re-running it later this month. Just check Cabela's website for the dates/times.