Moanday

What is it about this day..??  Years and years of getting up for school, then work..??  The start of a new week should be...what...invigorating, energizing, exciting..??  Why isn't Monday any of those things..??  Or maybe it's just me.  I have never, ever liked Mondays; the rest of the days don't bother me at all, though late on a Sunday afternoon the "oh crap tomorrow is Monday" mindset kicks in, which makes part of Sunday tainted by that nasty Monday.  I do think it's sort of weird, now that I don't have to go to school, or work for that matter, that Monday is still my least favorite of the seven.  Conditioned response, I'm sure.  I mean really, years upon years of school and work will pretty much ruin a Monday for all time.

The guys are here, bright and early this morning, raking and digging and doing who knows what.  I will be soooo glad to see their trucks drive away down the mountain for the last time.  They are really nice, hardworking guys, but enough already.  Once the landscaping is over, I'm taking a good long breather from workmen, projects and chaos.  I hope.

Here's something to occupy a minute or two of your time this morning.  Can you spot the kitty..??  I swear, I almost lost my eyesight trying to find it.  I enlarged the photo, shrunk the photo, stuck my nose nearly into my laptop screen...and still couldn't figure out where the cat could possibly be.  When you do spot it, it suddenly just jumps out at you, and you wonder how you couldn't see it.  Really cool...

Via Arbroath

Inexplicable Sign for the day.  This is a great, though scary, photo.  It took me a second to get it.  Then I wanted to pull my feet up onto my chair while I cringed in horror..!!   Move to the side of the road..??  I'd rather take my chances with a speeding vehicle.  And seriously people, would you really be walking along this bit of highway in the first place..??
 

On that note--and since it's fairly early in the day and I don't have anything noteworthy to post so far--I'm going to get on with things around the homestead.  Have a good Moanday folks...

Cinema Sunday

Well, I say Cinema Sunday, though what I'm really going to do is post some videos I found throughout the week that I haven't had time to put on the blog, rather than a feature film/movie.

Mostly these are funny dog vids--my favorite--though there is also a beautiful rendition of Swan Lake...the music, not the ballet.  So, settle back on this quiet Sunday afternoon, and watch a few short films.

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First up is this hilarious vid of Poncho, the Dachshund stuck in a sweatshirt sleeve.  It's really funny, especially every time he wags his tail, though I think the best part is how clueless the guy is in getting the dog out of the shirt (don't yank from the top, pull up from the bottom), and the "mom" isn't any help as she's laughing and filming.

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Snuggles, the Chihuahua apparently has a deep aversion to the remote.  The best part of the video is towards the end when she starts talking about how much she hates that thing...

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I loved this one.  It's a video from some kind of Japanese TV show.  And I can only wonder how the dog was trained to do this most clever thing.
 

Dog barks quieter brought to you by Funny Videos

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And last, but truly not least, here's the Swan Lake video, played by Robert Tiso, with wine glasses and water.  It's really stunning, and eerily beautiful.

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Okay.  That about covers it for our Sunday movie viewing.  Tomorrow should be the last week of the landscaping, so by Friday, I should be able to do a video of the "After".  At some point, either late Jan or early Feb, I did the "Before" video; I'll have to look in the archives for it.  It would be interesting to see them both together.  I'm having a hard time remembering how things used to look, before mud and chaos.

In any case.  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday...

Bonsai Boys...

Those of you who have followed my adventures over the past few years will remember Bob, my most beloved and beautiful bonsai.

No doubt you will also remember how hard I tried to get Bob special dispensation to accompany me to America--to no avail, of course.  So, you know I ended up giving him a good home with my ex-neighbors in Edinburgh, Lorna and Derek; Derek being a bonsai man in his own right.

A day or two before leaving Scotland, Lorna and Derek gave me a going away gift:  Money to buy a new Bob when we got settled in America--money I have hoarded for the day I find his replacement.  Naturally, there are no bonsai to be found out here in the wilderness.  However, I was talking to Matthew the other day, one thing led to another, and he told me about this little nursery, about ten miles from Roseburg, that might actually have bonsai trees.

This afternoon, after walking the dogs, we drove to the nursery, and **jump up and down with glee** they had a wonderful selection of just amazing bonsai.  Of course, some of them were very old and way too expensive, but I managed to find this little gem...

He doesn't have Bob's stature, or class, but Bob is nearly a decade old, while this guy is a mere sproutling.  It will take some time for me to get him in the proper shape, though he will never have that excellent twisted trunk that Bob does.  Still.  I finally got to spend my "replace Bob" money, and now have another--though very different--bonsai tree.

So, I want to thank Lorna and Derek for two things.  One...for taking Bob in the first place (and he is very much alive and doing well); and second...for giving me the wherewithal to replace him.  Really cool.  Old Bob, New Bob, and I thank you both...

Slow Down Saturday

I jumped from Thursday to Saturday, and left out Friday entirely.  Too much going on yesterday, plus it was a beautiful day and we were out and about for a change doing some fun things.  I meant to take photos of the landscape progress once the guys left, but they were so determined to finish the drip irrigation system, they stayed and stayed, then it was dinner, walk the dogs up the road, blah, blah...and the blog was forgotten.

So, just now I was outside, not only surveying the dried mud damage, but the irrigation system, which on a scorching hot Summer's day in Roseburg, will work beautifully.  We won't lose water to evaporation, the plants will get a constant, steady supply of water from the ground where it will do them the most good, and we won't have an enormous water bill.  Good all around then.

Our very pretty and dainty Weeping Cherry.  Several of the neighbors have stopped to admire it.  As you drive down the road, it just stands out perfectly in that corner.  Once the dirt is raked, and the bark in place, things should look ever so much better...I hope.

My woodland area under the Birch trees, filled with ferns, baby blue Iris, Day lilies, Oregon grape, Mexican Feather grass--it will be a wonderful little space, and totally shaded in the hot sun by the trees.

A different angle, coming off the front deck steps...

One of my new favorite plants: Heavenly Bamboo, which as it turns out is not bamboo at all, but looks like it.  The variegated leaf colors and the bamboo-like stalks are just totally cool.  I love bamboo, just not their invasive qualities.  With this plant, I get the look without the aggro.

My least favorite area of the whole entire property.  Barry's house looms over this side of our yard and house, plus the ground is just awful; it's virtually bedrock, and slopes very sharply.  We have planted two staggered rows of eleven brilliant red Rhododendrons, then covered the dirt below with 25 little ground cover plants.  I can't think of their name at the moment, though they will grow into a hillside of tiny yellow flowers...at some point anyway.  It took lots of tubing to get the irrigation everywhere along here.

One of the two trees planted in the backyard.  This is the Weeping Twisted Birch, the other is a deep purple Lilac further up the slope.  I love this tree, it's so elegant and interesting, isn't it, with the weeping, and the twisted trunk..??

That about takes care of the landscaping for this week.  It's been a grueling, miserable time, but from now on, it should all be downhill.  Next week is the fine-tuning, the bark, the grass, and the clean-up.  So, wow, that means by next Saturday...We're Done...!!!!  Oh, most definitely we will have to break out the Prosecco for that event..!!

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After boring everyone into a coma with the garden stuff, I have a couple of things to post that are not related to me, mud or meltdowns.  Actually I have a ton of things I haven't posted this week, but I'll settle for just these two for today...

I love this.  To me, I don't think it's so much the power of the words, but more having the ability to use them to create their power...

Via Presurfer

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And for once, I will finish a post, not with an animal, but with this absolutely adorable little girl.  I want to be her.  Seriously.

We do not stop playing because we grow old.  We grow old because we stop playing.

-- Anon

Via Amo

Have a great weekend everyone...

Snow Day

Seriously.  Can you believe that..??  Woke up this morning to snow.  Now, granted, though everything was covered in white, it wasn't much more than an inch.  Still, I was pretty stunned when I got out of bed and opened the blinds.  This is April, right..??  Isn't that supposed to mean mild Spring rains, flowers, and all that stuff..??

By lunch time I had finished my assigned tasks outside: where to put the last of the plantings.  It was pretty grueling towards the end as I was running out of plants, and still had too much bare ground showing, but after I added a pile of rocks to a large bare area and placed plants between the gaps, that helped.  Besides, over time I will find other plants, rocks, things to fill in the bare ground spaces.

I think we are finally getting to the end of this whole landscaping ordeal project...and man, am I glad.  What was supposed to be about a six-week project has grown into ten and possibly eleven once it's all said and done.  I'm just tired of the mud and the dirt everywhere, the chaos and mayhem.  

In fact, I'm pretty much tired of everything these days.  It's been a very long, convoluted period if you go back to this time last year when we were just getting started on the whole relocation from the UK to the US, packing, moving, new house, etc., etc., blah, blah.  I need a vacation.  Somewhere there are no people, no workmen, no changes, upheavals, egocentric partners, bossy dogs, arguments, decisions, courthouses or jury duties.

This would work nicely...

Boulders and Bad Weather

Today was one of the worst weather days we've had, as far as the landscaping goes.  Of course, it was the very day I had to be outside nearly the whole time.  Pouring rain, and about 15 degrees cooler than normal, it was just a dreadful day.

Except for my three boulders.

I have a thing for rocks, stones, boulders, and have collected pebbles from all over the world, for most of my life.  So, when I wanted some natural art for the front yard, the only thing that would do was a boulder or rock.  Matthew told us to check out the Co-op, so last week Alan and I drove about 10 miles outside Roseburg to the quarry/stone/rock yard to look over the available stock.

Naturally, the first boulder I see--and want desperately--is just a mere 2,700 lbs.  I know that's pretty much out of the realm of possibility, so I move on to two smaller-sized ones.  Later, I tell Matthew I have selected the two and Monday he drives out to see if he can get them in his truck.  I also mention in passing the Goliath boulder, and wax poetic about what a truly amazing thing it is, yada yada.  So, he gets out to the Co-op place, takes a look at what I've set aside, then calls me.  Wants to know if I really want Goliath because he agrees it's a great stone and understands perfectly why I love it.  One thing leads to another and we end up getting all three, though now he can't possibly get them in his truck because of the weight factor, so they have to be delivered by the Co-op.  Today is delivery day.  Totally cool.

The stones arrive, as the rain pours and the mud runs...

Goliath is first off the truck...

There was lots of digging and positioning and repositioning to get this gigantic thing in just the right place as it will never be moved again--unless the entire ridge falls into the abyss...

It took nearly an hour to get to this point.  Seriously.  It was grueling, beyond muddy and miserable, but oh, so worth it when Goliath was in just the right spot...

Here's the finished area, about two hours later with the planting done.  And really, is this a cool piece of natural art, or what..??  Use your imagination here and disregard the frigging mud, picture a beautiful Summer's day with the plants bigger, bark around the boulder, and the unique beauty of this bit of Nature, looking for all the world as if it always lived right in this spot...

Now, back to the two smaller stones, though smaller is a bit misleading.  They were also very heavy, just not so bad as Goliath.  Here's the area cleared for their placement.  Have I mentioned that it rained in buckets, and we were working all day in sloppy, slippery mud..??  I did..??  Well, too bad, I was out in it for hours, so I've earned the right to mention it again--and maybe one or two more times for good measure...

Bad photo taken just after both stones had been maneuvered into place.  It took quite awhile to get them to this point, plus two tractors, a few shovels, and some smaller rocks for balance.  It was very dicey a couple of times, too.  Still.  Perseverance and back-breaking toil can accomplish much...

Couple hours later and again, use your imagination and fast-forward about three months...

The view from the back of the two stones, though I have to say (yes, again), it was absolutely lashing rain when I took this shot and everything--from the driveway to the rocks to the mud puddles--just looks like crap.

Tomorrow we should finish the rest of the planting, then the drip irrigation system will go in on Friday, though I'm finding myself questioning drip irrigation while shivering with cold and soaked from head to totally mud-laden boots.

It's been a very tiring, totally crap weather, hard slog of a day.  But wow, how happy am I to have my boulders...??  Very...

No Time for Coffee Break Tuesday

The day started off with a leap out of bed to hit the deck running.  We needed a bit more dirt for the front before the plants arrived at 10:00am, so the dirt guy was called yesterday and expected around 8:00 this morning.  He showed up early.  After doing his "blow dirt everywhere" thing, Matthew and Rusty headed out to the stone quarry to get an idea what my three large boulders look like.  And no, in case you're wondering: you haven't missed a post; I just haven't mentioned them before now, but they will become an integral feature of the landscape in the front.  I'll tell that tale tomorrow when I can take photos.

Alan and I decided it would be a good time to go grocery shopping while the day was young and before the plants arrived.  As we drove off, I took these "before" photos, just in case the plantings were delivered while we were gone.  The blank canvas of the front yard...

 

So.  We drive down to the gate, and what do we see but all our plants and trees, with Matthew and Rusty loading everything into one of their trailers.  Guess the plant supply guy was early today, too.  (His truck/trailer wouldn't have been able to turn around on our small mountain road so he had to unload on the outside of the gate).

 

I quickly snapped some photos, then off we dashed to the store.  When we got back an hour later, the front was nearly transformed with dozens of pots filled with plants, trees and shrubs.  Though, I think we will still need more before all is said and done.  Turns out, it's a really big front yard.

Now comes the hard part:  Deciding where to plant everything.  It's not easy, especially as I have to try to picture how things will look in a few months, and next year, then five years in the future.  About halfway through driving the guys nuts ("no, no, two feet to the left" and "nope, don't like that there at all"), I realized we will probably need more plants.  But, for now, we will build the bones of the garden, then figure out the rest as we go along.

Putting in the rhododendrons...

Still working on what goes in this small side corner...though the orange cones will be planted somewhere else.

I'm up on the top of our bank now...and see what I mean about how big the front suddenly appears to be..??  WAY too much blank space between everything.  I'm a French Intensive gardener...I don't want to see this much wasted space and/or dirt.  (And these two photos are really the side of the house, not the front at all...)

After the guys planted all the rhodies, the most gorgeous Weeping Cherry, a Magnolia tree, and a Japanese Maple, they moved on to planting the pines along the back fence--mainly because I was losing the plot and couldn't decide what needed to be planted next.  They had saved these six bushes from the front yard when the initial demolition went down, and now it was time to transplant them.  A back-breaking couple of hours later...

And, at last...all planted.  With any luck, they will adjust to being wrapped in burlap balls for the past two months and will now grow big and lush and be a perfect barrier along that portion of the fence to discourage the deer. Who knows..??  If the plan works, I might actually get some flowers in the backyard after all.

It's been pretty much a non-stop sort of day.  Of course, in between all the plants and plans, we had to do the dog walkies, though that wasn't a hardship today as it's been very warm and pleasant.  Perfect to be outside digging in the dirt.

Tomorrow we have to get majorly serious about what goes where.  After I post this, I'm going outside to wander amongst the pots and try to visualize things.  Once the boulders are delivered--first thing in the morning--I'll have a better idea where some things will go as the boulders are truly a feature of the front yard and I have plants specifically in mind to plant around them.  

[**Jumping up and down with excitement here...and just wait until you get a look at these babies...mwahhhahaha...**].

It's another busy day tomorrow, and I'm supposed to be ready to point, direct the flow and know what the hell I'm doing, so I'd better get on with things.  More photos tomorrow...

April and Stuff...

Daisies are the flowers of April, so whilst walking the dogs at the park yesterday, and with camera in hand, I took the new Meandering photo for the month of this lovely little clump growing under an oak tree.  

Though the weather vacillates between torrential downpour and tropical heatwave, we have managed some great walks with our critters lately, sometimes getting home just in the nick of time before the latest storm sweeps across the Valley.  April is definitely an interesting weather month... 

"April cold with dropping rain
Willows and lilacs brings again,
The whistle of returning birds
And trumpet-lowing of the herds."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson 

"April is the cruelest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain."

- T. S. Eliot

"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything."

- William Shakespeare 

"A gush of bird song, a patter of dew

A cloud and a rainbow's warning;

Suddenly sunshine and perfect blue

An April day in the morning!"

- Harriet Prescott Spofford

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Today is a busy day outside as the guys get everything prepared for tomorrow's big delivery of all the plants, trees and shrubs.  I'm just a bit nervous as I don't want a structured, uniform, too-planned kind of garden; I'm looking for a rugged, blending in, wow-how-cool kind of landscape.  I sure hope that's how it turns out.

Regardless--and nerves aside--I am very excited.  April seems like the perfect month to have this happen, doesn't it..??  Many photos will be taken, starting tomorrow, and no doubt continuing on through the week as things unfold.  I have crossed fingers that we've chosen wisely enough to avoid a "come and get it" smorgasbord for the deer.

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I have some cool stuff to post, but I'm going to save it for tomorrow's Coffee Break.  I will leave you with this however, and hope it brings a smile to your Monday...

Cinema Sunday

Here's a good short animation film for Sunday.  Enjoy it, and your day...

Saturday Trivia...

Yesterday's trials and tribulations didn't happen after all.  I was not selected for jury duty as there is apparently nothing noteworthy in Douglas County requiring jurors--so far.  I am also off the hook for Monday, though for the rest of April, I have to call the Juror Hotline every night at 6:00pm to find out if I'm needed the following morning.  At least I don't have to go to the courthouse every day, which is a slight reprieve from my angst-ridden expectations.

After a long, convoluted conversation with Matthew, we also decided it wasn't necessary to go with him to the nursery supply place today.  He had a complete inventory of plants/trees/shrubs from the nursery, so we just walked around our garden areas and working from his diagrams, could pretty much decide what would work, and where, and how many.  If all goes well, the stuff will be delivered on Tuesday, and planting will begin..!!  I can't wait.  It's been nothing but mud and dirt and barren ground for over two months now--I want to see some life, and green growing things.

Three heavenly days of sunshine and totally warm weather have evaporated into rainy, windy April showers today.  Yesterday it got into the mid-70s, which was almost too amazing to believe.  We had every door and window in the house open in an effort to dissipate the unexpected heat, and it was nearly 10:00pm last night before it felt cool enough to close things up again.  I know, I know.  I'm sure those of you still in the cold, chilly throes of early Spring are probably wishing I would shut up; if it's any consolation, today is just as miserable as April should be.

It's sort of an agonizing teaser to have these spectacular glimmers of sun, and warmth, and an early Summer-like feel to things, then have it abruptly snatched away in a flurry of rain and storms and cold.  Mother Nature has a strange sense of humor, I think.

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I've got a selection of things I fished from the Internet Sea over the past few days, so fill that coffee cup and sit back on this Saturday morning for a bit of trivia...

First up is this very cute video of the quickest way to get down a flight of stairs...

Via Arbroath

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Next are two bored, elderly ladies playing pranks on passing motorists.  I really laughed at this one...

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Last video is very cool.  It's called "water painting" and wow, it's amazing.  This is also an advert for the plight of millions of people around the world who don't have clean water.  Though it's in French, for a written English translation, follow this link then scroll to read the message under the video.

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And to finish the post today, let me share this mind-boggling link to the most stunning bookstore on the planet.  It was originally a theatre, but is now the Ateneo Grand Splendid Bookstore in Buenos Aires.  (I love it...not only Grand, but Splendid as well...)

I live in this small town in the wilderness--(yes, I really do; any town that doesn't have a bookstore is a bloody wilderness in my book...pun intended)--so to see the magnitude of this place just kills me.  Not only the sheer volume of books, but the beauty of it, too. Sigh...

Via DRB

Have a great weekend all...