...and moving Abby out of the way...
...and moving everyone else out of the way...
...moving Abby's paw out of the way...
...moving Zsa Zsa's paw out of the way...
...moving Abby and Hokie out of the way...
...and cursing the supervisor.
"Topper only pawn in game of life."
Having worked over an hour and cleared out -- sort of -- enough area for one stinkin' tomato plant, I've decided 1) I need a soil sifter (i.e., the freezer basket from the old freezer in the House of Squalor); 2) I need to wait until the soil dries out a whole lot more; and 3) just like you can't rollerskate in a buffalo herd, you can't sift soil with your dogs in the yard.
8 comments:
uhmm, how about terraces, and adding organic matter? i spent my childhood picking up rocks. J
This is actually the first terrace. Just behind Abby are the railroad ties that will form the beds. We added a truck load of manure and peat in the fall, but because it's clay over shale, the shale works it's way up, which is the bad news. The good news is that the pieces are getting smaller, which is also bad news because now it's impossible to just pick them out.
What most people do is just build raised beds and then order the soil from somewhere else. But we're trying to work with what we've got, with a little added help. I'll be happy to get this one terrace done this year.
(Rocks are new to me. I was raised ten minutes from the ocean.)
Oh boy, talk about fun! You're right, you *do* have your work cut out for you. It should be interesting to follow the progress. Just keep thinking of all the lovely produce....I spent much of my childhood summer vacations helping my stepdad build a garden out of 1/4 acre of ex-rental home backyard. Lots of work, but it felt very rewarding!
Clara says to tell you that she's an *excellent* digger and will come and dig all the rocks out for you for free. That is, when she isn't too busy biting on and playing with fluffy doggies. Being a non-fluffy dog herself, she is quite fascinated with the fluffy ones.
But, yeah, she likes digging too, so she'll come help dig all the rocks out for you. She says if it's all nice and warmly 70 degrees, she's free to dig, and she gets to play with all the dogs she is *so* leaving us and our nasty rainy weather and wants to adopt you as her new mommy.
I told her she's too obnoxious, that you'd ship her right back, but she is seriously envious. So, yeah, if a little midget that looks like a ridgeless Rhodesian Ridgeback in 3/4 scale with one mutilated ear shows up at your door, ship her back to me, OK?
I love how dainty Zsa-Zsa's paw is. I mean, OF COURSE it is so very dainty so it isn't like I'm, you know, surprised or anything.
Meg: We should do a Fresh Air Fund for dogs. You can ship Clara here to play with the fuzzy dogs and dig rocks and I'll ship Topper there to play in the snow. Topper doesn't know he's supposed to herd. He's afraid of sheep, but loves to swim in plastic pools and loves to play in the snow (but is afraid of the ocean).
jane: Zsa Zsa has trained you well.
That would be cool, except we don't have snow anymore. :( It is 60 degrees, we have rain, high winds, and floods. I don't think Topper would like it much. Mack would like it, though. He likes being The Smart One (a feeling he hasn't had often since we got Doggy Genius Clara!) and Topper would make him feel brilliant.
Jeanne,
I love Linguini on the Ceiling. You’re a good writer. I can tell immediately that you are a good person. And to top it off, you’re a dog person too.
Keep up the good work.
I’m putting a link to your blog on my blogs:
http://fluffer-union.blogspot.com/
&
http://leftorama.blogspot.com/
Tommy K.
Absolutely gorgeous dogs!
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