Goodbye Roxy

The most beautiful ears

14 years ago, when we had just lost our beloved Great Dane Ezra's Sigmund Freud and we were not looking for another dog, Roxy sneaked into our hearts. My sister in law had found her loose on a major road and sent her to live with my ex-husband because while Lori tried to find her owner because Roxy was an escape artist and he had a better fence. After her owner was not found, and she was there looking at me every time I stopped by with our children Roxy ended up coming home with me. Our vet thought she was probably two years old.

She answered to Roxy, but we quickly dubbed her The Amazing Roxanne, Evil Wild Dog of the Prairie. She was a first class escape artist, not only running out of doors and pushing screens out of windows but also digging out from under fences and on one memorable occasion jumping off of a roof to run off. That trick ruptured her ACL, requiring surgery and a stint of rehab in our pool. The substantial bandage the surgery required did not keep her from digging out under the fence and running off on three legs. The knee healed well, but there was nothing to be done with the hip, and it bothered her in her later years whenever the weather changed. She went in and out through the neighbor's doggie door to eat her friend's food, crawled under another neighbor's garage door to eat the cat food June kept there to feed to local feral cats, and could run so fast no one could catch her to bring her home.

Luckily she was very food oriented. We could call her home from a great distance by rattling a jar of treats, and it was easy to teach her tricks with the right inducement. This interest in food also motivated her to jump up on the kitchen counter and eat anything going. After all - "it might be food - if not I'll just throw up". She tried pickles, lettuce, pecan pie (a big hit) and anything else she would get. She could also open cupboard doors and step on trash cans to get at whatever was inside. The bathroom trash can was her special disgusting favorite.

Although she was too small (about 20 pounds) to do major damage, she was resourceful. She managed to climb a book shelf to get and eat a pair of hearing aids. She was able to climb up between the wall and a dresser by bracing her back and feet against the opposing walls to gain access to the cat food we thought we had protected. She was very taken with some perfumes. I had received a box of Lush bath bombs as a treat, which she attacked and dragged around to roll in. Irish Spring was her favorite soap, which she loved take from my son's tub into the living room to roll around in. He had perennially hairy soap. She was a devoted huntress, plucking a blue jay out of the air, and capturing an opossum in the back yard.

When we got her she was very bad on a leash. lunging, barking and pulling. Once we put her on a special harness to train her it turned out she had known all along how to behave, and was thereafter nearly perfect on leash. She was good with other dogs with very few exceptions, and was an easy travel companion. She liked cats, although this affection was not generally reciprocated. She was not worried by new people, and liked visitors, including repairmen. My father in law was one of her favorites. She demonstrated her love by racking him every time he came through our door. She loved my son, and demonstrated her love by biting his friend Jesse on the behind every morning because he came every day to take her boy away. (they walked to school together)

In her last years she seemed to be a tractable and agreeable dog, but still liked to indulge her hunting instincts. We have been bothered by little creatures burrowing under our shed. She thought it might be her life's work to get under there and catch whatever was hiding there. Although pretty much blind and deaf, she enjoyed ranging around the yard following her nose wherever an interesting scent could be found. She proved her worth chasing geese off my in-laws yard with gusto.

Last week the blood tests needed to get her teeth cleaned revealed that she was far advanced in kidney failure, and we had her put down yesterday. Her response to treatment was not adequate to justify keeping her with us any longer. We will love and miss her always, but we are at peace with our decision. She was a grand dog, our Baby Angel and Roxanne Roxannadana, and we were lucky to have her on our lives for so long.

It's a Dogs Life

Dogs add so much to our lives. I've got two at the moment - one young and spry and the other an elderly lady. Old dogs and disabled dogs don't seem to spend a lot of time sulking about their condition; they just continue with life as it is.

Proof of my Very Bad Winter

NASA has a time lapse video of my actual winter right here, and you really should watch it to see how bad our winter really was. I had to resort to putting my finger on Cape Cod to remember where it is because it was so often obscured by winter storms. First World Problems I guess because we did not lose power, find ourselves unable to pay bills because of lost work days, or get in a winter accident. Still, we were not all that pleased with our winter wonderland.

My garden soil is thawed out enough for the chard to be coming up, and I have been able to dig up some carrots that overwintered in place. This week I think I may start planting peas and some lettuce to see what happens. I have lots of lettuce seed, so if I don't get an early crop I won't be too upset. I was supposed to have a yard clean up crew last week but SNOW. I am hoping for more action this week except for RAIN. I am patient, but some plants are breaking dormancy and need to be freed from debris. I've started clearing some of the leaves from the beds and piling them up for the yard crew to take away.  I did start a little pruning already to at least get the Montauk Daisies under control (or at least the illusion of control). They get rolling so early I don't like to wait. If I let them get tall they will flop over when they start to bloom in the fall. Besides they will take over the earth.

The dogs are bored stiff - I bought them little kongs today for a change of activity. Right after I gave Roxy hers she dropped it to be sure that Mitzi was not getting something better. She has realized that Mitzi is getting something every morning that she is not (a pill) and tries every morning to get to Mitzi's bowl to steal the "prize". As bad as her eyesight is I do not know how she always knows exactly where it is, but we have had some near misses. She's too clever by half.

While I wait for spring to get in gear I am still knitting with nothing finished to show for it even though lots of time is going into it. I'm reading garden magazines and websites, and every night I go to bed thinking and rethinking how my landscape project should progress. My latest crazy idea is to plant some asparagus. It may take a few years to get going but will need very little attention for a great payoff. Shana and I both love it. The only thing that makes me dubious is the depth of the trench asparagus requires. The place I want to plant it is really rocky and will be no fun at all to dig out. My other crazy idea is planting potatoes in a tub.

I am also hitting the thrift stores and junk shops with my favorites in mind: vintage craft books, pre 1972 Corning Ware cornflower pattern, vintage cast iron in usable condition, and vintage Pyrex. My latest find is probably from around 1974, a nice set of bowls in the Old Orchard pattern. I already have a set of brown Butterprint that I purchased new in the 70's plus a larger gold cinderella bowl in the Daisy pattern probably from the 60's; I got it for 50 cents at a garage sale around 2000. I've got my eye out for the square refrigerator bowls, but so far no luck in the shops. I'm counting on estate sales and garage sales during the summer to fill out some holes! I also pick up crocheted coasters when I find them because I am too lazy to make them myself. If I stick to just a few things I am looking for I can have a nice time digging around without filling the house to the rafters with junk. Shana thinks I already have enough junk. I suspect it's just not her style of junk because it seems there is always some kind of BBQ equipment we lack.

Some Dogs Like Snow

It's wonderful to see all these dogs enjoying a big snowfall. My girls are not so much into it. Mitzi loves it up to about 4 inches, but past that she objects to the snow up against her little stomach. Roxy has no interest on being cold and wet anymore. We clear a space in the yard for them so they can run out for "business" and come right back in. Cold weather will be back early next week  with snow coming in midweek. I have two conflicting hopes about this weather: I want very little snow because the dogs hate it and I don't care for driving in it. AND I want gobs of snow so that we will get to play with the new slowblower.

Today I took the girls to Happy Tails to get their nails cut. I don't mind bathing the girls and I have been known to do some grooming, but I do not do nails. It was NOT fun for all, but they put up with it.  Because Mitzi is still struggling with car sickness I try to both make the trips short and to include a special treat that makes her want to go in the car again. Today we took advantage of the continuing good weather to get in a walk in the woods after their manicures. Walking soothes Mitzi's anxiety and gives them something to think about for the rest of  the day. When we have gone for an interesting walk Roxy is less inclined to get into mischief. As they say: "A tired dog is a good dog".


I met a friend for lunch and hit a thrift store on the way home. Scores: a lime green pot just the right size to round up the dog items I keep on the kitchen counter (salmon oil for their coats, Mitzi's doggie Prozac, Rescue Remedy for stormy days, ear drops). I also found a really nice pashmina style scarf in a brown & gold paisley for $3.00. Shana has taken to wearing scarves to dress up her work looks so our scarves have been getting a lot of action around here. I don't dress up for work these days but for social occasions I like having pretty accessories. The thrifts around here are pretty decent, although like thrift stores everywhere it does not do to have too specific an idea about what you would like to find. I was really looking at books today but did not see anything that caught my eye on the book shelves. I always look at kitchen equipment to see if there are any nice green or cobalt blue items and I check out any teapots on offer.



Knitting this week has been a mixed exercise. At the moment I have a laceweight shawl, a pair of socks, a pair of colorwork mitts and a sweater on the needles. Startitis has set in. The sweater is moving along, with reservations. My problems have nothing to do with the fact that it is my first sweater; they have more to do with my wandering mind, a chart that I can't quite make friends with, and a selvage stitch that is not mentioned on the chart or in the written instructions. The last time I got off course and instead of stopping right away I knit three more rows of over 200 stitches each. Finally I came to my senses and tinked it all back. One stitch at a time because there are a bunch of twisted stitches in there that I did not want to mess up. The moral of the story is if it doesn't look right STOP. This is a hard lesson for me to learn.

This Year's Garden Project

Because I have a little more time these days to garden one of the criteria for selecting a house was that it should have plenty of room to play outside. I don't have an acreage that would give me enough space for a natural woodland garden or a formal arrangement of garden rooms, but I do have a quarter acre with a variety of exposures to play with. Last year I started a hydrangea and hosta bed in a shady corner which  should be beautiful in a few years with almost no  expenditure on my part because I was able to start it with offshoots and divisions. I have a shady bed that is nearly full and needs only light maintenance - weeding, some compost, and cleanup in the spring before the bulbs come up. A sunny corner is full of mature shrubs blooming from spring through fall. I added a shrub bed in the part shade front of my lot to block road noise and provide privacy in the fullness of time.

This year I added a few holly seedlings (thanks Wanda!) to the front bed. They will not provide privacy for several years, but when they are grown they will be a fuss free privacy hedge winter and summer. I want a shrub border on one side of my yard. Last year I was given two small blueberry bushes and two small hydrangeas to start me out (Thanks, Alison!) and this year I moved a rose of sharon that was being overwhelmed by my humongous forsythia, and took a sprout from that giant as well. I was able to get a couple of dogwood seedlings and additional hydrangea sprouts from my late mother-in-law's garden and a couple of offshoots of something of whose species I am not altogether sure - peegee hydrangea? doublefile viburnum?  After moving a pieris japonica across the yard to a more suitable location I have the start of a lovely border - in about ten years, when everything is grown. Gardening is a long game, especially when you must violate the first rule of gardening: Have Lots of Money!.

I did not bother to dig out a bed for the new shrubs; I will just get them mulched over the summer one at a time. As small as they are there is not great hurry, except to identify them to avoid running over them with the mower. I have access to as much free mulch as I want from the dump, the only provision being I have to take my own containers and fill them myself.

This year's big project is a combination veggie garden and sunny flower garden. For my birthday I got 36 big cinder blocks and four yards of loam to build my garden. The blocks will form a raised bed and short wall to keep erosion under control on the sloped area which is my most reliably sunny spot, all the more sunny because several trees have been removed on the east side of my property.  To get this project started I also cadged a few used cinder blocks from a friend (thanks Wanda!) and some newspapers from the in-laws to mulch over the grass inside the raised bed. After I moved all the cinder blocks into place I made a mulch path around the veggie bed for access. Then I dug out several inches of the sandy soil surrounding the raised bed for my flowers and replaced it with loam. I schlepped the sandy and rocky soil to the driveway to build up low spots that become little pools in rainy weather.  I also burned the rest of my brush pile and moved a shrub to a happier location before I started digging around in this area.

This weekend we will start planting in the raised bed - lettuces  and kale first, plus some of the more hardy flowers and herbs that will live in the surrounding cinder blocks. Later we will put in bush beans, pole beans, tomatoes and cucumbers. That seems ambitious enough for me. The veggie portion is meant to be Shana's project for the summer, with the flowers being my domain. Given the amount of weeding the veggies will need I suspect she will be happy to share. I have a few flowers "parked" around the yard waiting for a sunny bed to get my part started, and a friend who had perennials to divide and share will expand my selection so that need only pick up a few to fill it out this season. It look bit puny now, but considering that this area was completely bare when we bough the house I have high hopes. I am thankful that my job at A Major Retailer has provided me with the strength and endurance for this project! I have been doing all the heavy lifting myself without major discomfort. I have tired feet, tired hands, tired back, tired knees, tired shoulders and elbows, but nothing is injured. It has been strenuous. I am taking today off from digging and lifting. Tomorrow I will get the rest of the loam that I need for this project moved and move a shrub from my front bed to a happier location beside the shed  with a nice big loamy hole where it will get better sun and therefore reach its full potential. The birdbath in this area has a leak, so I also need some better duct tape! Roxy has been happy to supervise but so far has not done any of the work.

Meteorological Spring

The local TV weatherman announced on the first of March that we were beginning meteorological spring, that is to say that the coldest months were now behind us and we could look forward to steadily warming temperatures. Astrological spring, that is to say the Vernal Equinox, is still a few weeks ahead of us. On Cape Cod spring comes when the waters of the Atlantic Ocean say it comes. The Atlantic moderates our fall and winter temperatures as well, but it's hard to be fair when it seems that winter will never end. Although I think we are past the chance of significant snow I have not yet returned the shovels to the shed.

Today we are having yet another winter storm. The winter storms around here have come nearly every week and last at least two days. Here on the Cape we are having mostly rain with periods of snow. On the mainland it seems to be all snow. Here on the Cape we are buffeted yet again by high winds and destructive tides. With the number of storms that have lined up since the first of the year there are crazy numbers of trees down. I've lost a couple of fence panels, and I don't have the heart to go out in the yard yet to pick up all the small branches that have come down. I watched my neighbor's trees waving around all morning, but did not want to look at my own for fear I'll see one about to come down.



I have been working on my winter accessories, creating some of the extra warm and heavy duty items still lacking in my wardrobe. Another Eden Slouch hat of sturdy wool, knitted tightly for maximum warmth has joined its prettier but thinner brethren. I have also made up a pair of convertible mittens, the Juris Mittens featured in the Interweave Knits Accessories 2001 issue. I used Knitpicks Wool of the Andes for these mittens and the new hat. I had purchased a sweater quantity some time ago, and had instead made Jared Flood's Guernsey Wrap . That left me with a few spare balls to use in another project. For the very sensitive the yarn is a little scratchy in gloves, but quite tolerable for me. Long wear and durability are more important for this project, IMHO. The next pair will be from some navy blue Bernat Lana merino (a discontinued yarn) that has been lurking in deep stash for some time. I picked it up at half price (maybe lower?) about five years ago. There is enough there for a warm hat as well.

Repurpose!

When I moved from Oklahoma to Cape Cod one of the biggest changes in my weekly routine is trash disposal. In Oklahoma I had two gigantic roller bins that I could fill to the brim and have removed every single week with no additional charge and the monthly fee was billed with our water. Every few months there would be a large trash pickup when all kinds of bulky trash would be picked up. Oklahoma has lots of land available for landfills.

Here on Cape Cod trash is not such an easy process. Our town has no municipal trash hauling. You can arrange for a private trash service to pick it up for you, but almost everyone chooses the least expensive option takes their own trash to the "transfer station". We call it the dump. All of our trash is trucked off Cape, so towns are very interested in encouraging recycling to reduce this charge. Our transfer station is set up so that you pass the recycle area on your way to the trash building. We have single stream recycling - plastic, glass and paper go in the same bin, with separate bins provided for cardboard and hard plastic. There are barrels where you can put your plastic bags. You can purchaser recycling bins for a nominal fee and lots of people do, but since you are dropping it off yourself you can put in in anything you like. The Department of Public Works sells compost bins for about half of the usual retail price, which encourages composting instead of bringing compostables to the transfer station. Reasonable amounts of yard waste go in a separate area, where you can take as much compost and mulch as you want for free. The amount of compost and mulch I take from the dump pays for my yearly fee! I used to have a bin of yard waste and one of trash every week in Oklahoma. Here I have one 30 gallon trash can every other week.

Recycling alone does not help much if we do not make an effort to use less, to repurpose what we already have and select recycled products where appropriate. Years ago we would do this without question. Used clothing was passed down, cut down, and finally used for small projects and rags until it was used up. Now we send it by the bale to Africa, where is has just about killed local clothing manufacture.  Reuse and repurpose does not have to mean dreary - Look at what this metal artist is making from used bicycle parts:




The pictures have nothing to do with the text unless you consider that using less means less land has to be put under production and more can be saved for beauty and refreshment. These pictures were taken at the Ryder Conservation Area in Mashpee MA.

Dog Days Excitement

It's true. I have not been updating at my usual frequency. I think something about the Dog Days of late July and August is sapping my energy.  With the Summer Olympics following so close on to the Tour de France I have been glued to the TV. Today it's synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics for the most arcane pursuits known to man.

I'm reading like crazy - Mostly the Game of Thrones series, which I have nearly finished. If you find yourself with lots of extra time and want to read something massive I'd recommend something else. It's not really awful, but the HBO series is so much better. The lack of character development is ameliorated by the quality of the cast and the excellent set design fills out the world of Westeros so much better than the books. The books also suffer IMHO from having ultimately no sympathetic characters. It seems to be the author's fallback position in order to provide surprise is to have a sympathetic character suddenly do something vile and totally outside of his known character. If an unsympathetic character does something good it always seem to go horribly wrong. Therefore EVERYTHING that happens in the book is pretty much awful. I like giant works of dystopian fiction as much as the next person, but this one is just not much fun.

Outdoors everything is pretty much finished blooming or in the fading stage of it except for the Four o' Clocks and the Cosmos, and the Montauk Daisies are not budding yet. It's a quiet time in the garden which in future planting I will need to address. I'm hoping for another flush from the Obedient Plant and Shasta Daisy which I have cut back.There are several shrubs which bloom well at this time of year, so that may be my answer. I've got a guy removing a tree which will give my hydrangea and hosta corner bed a little more sun. It will not make a great deal of difference because the tree in question was dying back at the top and was not providing a lot of shade. Lucky for me the tree is not massive, because it is something of an emergency removal. I knew it was dying and I assumed root damage because of the dieback at the top, but closer examination revealed a huge crack nearly all the way across the  trunk which would surely have brought it down during the next powerful storm. There is so little holding the tree together that the upper part of the tree is basically just balanced on the lower part.

Our recent beach tours have taken us to Chatham Light Beach and Marconi Beach. Chatham Light has had some shark sightings, and Marconi is on the Atlantic side, so we had hopes of spotting a shark. We did see a few seals, but no sharks. No matter, the beaches are beautiful and I love to sit on the beach. This weekend I will not have any beach time because of my work schedule - maybe a quick trip to the Mashpee Town Beach today is in order!




I'm giving in to a longing for some spicy food today and making a South Asian style meal featuring potatoes, chick peas, and tomatoes. I am going so far as to experiment with making my own naan. I can get it at the grocery, but they want to charge as much for two small pieces as I am used to paying for about the same volume of a whole loaf of bread so I'm not willing to pay. If this works out maybe the next thing I try to make will be paratha.


And now for something completely different:

Garden Report July 17 2011

Giant Butterfly Bush

Hydrangea and Butterfly Bush

We're well into the hot weather here, and with little rain some things are struggling to survive. I have had to water all of the shrubs and beds to keep everything going. This is when you find out what is tough and what is not. Still, our temperatures have been a lot lower than they are in Boston and I am glad of it because except for a portable unit in our bedroom we do not have air conditioning. We watch TV in our basement lairs and I go to the beach in the afternoon to enjoy the sea breeze if I am not at work.

Shana and assign cars according to who is driving the farthest because the convertible does not have air conditioning. Although the Ford has the town beach sticker I can go the the State Park with my OPP without paying. When I am planning a ride I get the Ford no matter how hot it is (and ride no matter how hot it is!).

Echinacea

Hybrid Black Eyed Susan and Gailardia

Right now we have the summer bloomers going. The hostas and day lilies are well into bloom, but Stella D'oro is pausing before it's next flush. The evening primrose has subsided, leaving it to the threadleaf coreopsis to take up the yellow. Shasta daisies and obedient plant are in bloom, but the hot weather has made them a little sparse. The black-eyed Susans are holding their own, with the seedlings from last year's seeds growing but not yet ready to flower.  Monarda and echinacea are blooming alongside the cosmos. The most exciting blooms this week are the hydrangeas and butterfly bushes. They are fantastic, although this month they need frequent drinks to support their performance.

Beautiful sunbather

Unbridled Enthusiasm

Anyone who has had any close contact with The Amazing Roxanne knows that not only does she have a luxuriant coat, but she is also all too willing to share it with the rest of the world. She sheds like crazy. This is particularly noticeable on hardwood floors and on my white sofa. Over the years I have experimented with a variety of hair control options. Finally I have found one that is completely satisfactory:  the Gonzo (revolutionary) pet hair lifter. The packaging on mine sports all kinds of optimistic words and imagery like "works instantly!" and a magic lantern. For once I don't think this is an exaggeration. Each gentle swipe over the sofa lifts up a mat of hair that can be dropped harmlessly into the trash or compost bin. I am going to buy a second one for the car and you should too! Between the Gonzo Pet Hair Lifter and the Furminator, both conveniently available from Amazon, I feel like at last I have the hair war under control. The only remaining issues are how to wash the dog without filling my sink with hair, and how to avoid getting dog hair in my eyelashes.

The Amazing Roxanne had her yearly checkup and vaccination fiesta today at the Forestdale Veterinary Clinic. Everyone quite appropriately admired her beauty and sweet disposition, and then poked holes in her. We took a little spin in the Pickerel Cove Recreation Area, which accesses Wakeby Pond from the opposite shore from the Lowell Holly Reservation (one our favorite places to visit).

I'm still working on Vivian's afghan, and it is easily the pinkest thing I've ever seen. I'll post a picture of it later this week, although I doubt it will be finished by then. The other completed blankets will have left the premises after this weekend, then we'll be down to one to finish and one to start. I'm running a sweatshop with one struggling fiber enthusiast.