Charlie had a lot of fun this afternoon. I needed some hummingbird poles for the feeders, already had plenty of fuel for them, but was short on a few feeders. They take a beating over time, so I threw the groady ones away. Charlie began by chasing me around the yard, leaping to the air, and gently brushing my left hand. I found a beat-up ball from the neighbor and tossed it. She grabbed it and ran full speed in circles.
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| Joe Pye Weed is great for birds and butterflies. Pokeweed is even more generous toward birds. |
Part of her routine is to lose the precious object and make me guess where it is, among six other balls deep in her hideouts. I have found her stash with three balls, different colors, at the base of the meanest rose one could imagine. Her buddies at Doggie Day Care had a similar bunch of three balls, also near the fence in a cluster.
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| Clethra or Summer Sweet or Sweet Spice is a small shrub that can grow big with tiny flowers reserved for hummers and butterflies. |
Charlie supervised me while I spread some red wiggler worms on the David Austin roses. They are producing a bouquet a day, so I like to help out their quiet earthmovers. My rainwater expert always suggests distributing the best source of fertilizer for the roses - rainwater (you guessed?). Early in the spring there is not so much need, but I like to keep the skeeters from having luxury breeding grounds.
Charlie looked over each handful of worms - not too excited about them. The moles are the true worm farmers. They not only eat them but sometimes also store them in a bank. That is another example of Creation at work. Earthworms are vital and moles are great at chasing them and feeding on them. Those who hate moles would rather have them than Charlie, a ferocious hole-digger and menace to moles. The vet (who never heard of Patterdale dogs) laughed at my description of Charlie digging at fuel speed and sniffing carefully for an extra meal of mole.
Porchie is probably too warm to chase around on days like this, but little Dustbin loves the word "RACE!" He loves to chase a ball thrown on our side, but he is now quite happy to initiate and dare Charlie to run along the fence with him. That lasted a short time, but Charlie had to energy to jump at me from behind and grin at her fun.
One hummingbird feeder is completely set up. Tomorrow I hope to get three more going. The four are parallel to the Doggie Day Care Fence and surrounded by roses, hosta, crepe myrtle, and clethra. Hummers especially love crepe myrtle, hosta, and clethra. Poke weed and Joe Pye Weed are already six feet tall, so they will welcome all kinds of birds, front and backyard the rest of the summer.
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| Dustmop loves to race with Charlie. He is about half of her size but has great ambitions. |
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| Charlie is always smiling outdoors. This is a rare, serious look. |
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| Hostas are already blooming with flowers few would notice, but they are loved by hummers. My initial hostas have spread in the shade and in the sun. They are fun to watch grow and leave a new plant when I try to dig them out of the front yard. Nope, they reproduce by the roots, even a root fragment longing to grow. I may put more in the far backyard, even if they look finished off after a hot dry summer. |
