Chase sniffs at the latest mound of gopher tailings beside the patio. Our dear departed pup Elke woulda had that gopher by the throat in no time, but I get the feeling that if the gopher popped up next to Chase, they'd shake hands and go on about their business! Looks like I'll have to put in hardware wire at the bottom of my next raised bed beside the patio where I want to grow roses!
Our patio has a pitiful 16" x 24" concrete step that I fell off of a couple of times. It was too narrow for a mat by about 4"..nothing fit, including my feet!
So Josh & Jerome built a nice 3' x 6.5' step and custom made it to fit right over the concrete step. The wood is composite so it won't rot out from being in contact with the concrete. It's my Mother's Day present from Mr. A.
We're surrounded by big trees but I wanted a small tree by the doorway...one that would like it in a pot and NOT grow up quickly and didn't drop leaves all over the front porch. I spotted this blue globosa spruce (picea pungens glauca globosa) (a type of bird's nest spruce) that was trained up to resemble a topiary at a fraction of the cost of a "real" topiary. I'll be able to deck it out with twinkle lights.
Our real estate agent showed up yesterday with an armful of tulips for us. She buys them from the Easter Seal Society and gives them to her clients. Nice idea! So we're all tuliped up for the season. Better than Easter lillies which give me an instant headache!
We're enjoying our first day of sun in a week...have had over 2.5" of rain so far in April, so expecting great May flowers!
One lone over-wintered geranium is blooming in a Gardener's Supply self-watering pot. We keep an eye on the weather temps and haul it inside when frost threatens. The plant stand is an old cast-off farrier's portable forge that I got at the metal recyclers in White city some years ago. The bellows has rotted but the wood pedal is still there. 
Someday the sun will come out and the beds will dry out enough to plant! The white flowered candytuff I brought from Grey Eagle likes it as well as the barberry that came with the place. I'm usually not a big fan of barberry (because it is deciduous and has thorns) but this one has a nice bright green spring color that I find encouraging in this dull, overcast weather. 
Our motto this week: "BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED!"
Here's Chase with his streamlined haircut...fresh from the groomers. When I picked him up, the groomer asked me if we knew his history. Other than being told that he was tied to a tree without food or water for a week in Fresno, we don't know a thing. She suspects he was with a larger dog. She said he was "in love" with the female Airedale terrier in the holding area with him!
So yes, today he seems to be pining away a bit.
Well, there's always Izzie! They like to nap together on the bed, making sure that they keep of the "pet blanket" that I put there for them! Nice!
Nothin' says lovin' like somethin' from the oven!
With miserable weather so far this year, I wanted a reminder of summer's goodness so I excavated in the back of the freezer and dug out the last package of peaches from Sept 2010. I served it up with Umpqua vanilla ice cream. Yummmm!
