Lady in Waiting and Other April Musing

He's 18 months old now, and still very much a handful. For those of you who have not yet met Boone, let me introduce him. He is a rescue pup, adopted from a veterinary clinic in a tiny grasslands farming town Grant, Nebraska, about 3 hours from where we live. He was 4 months old when he brought home after the Head Gardener had picked him out from a photo online. His mother was a smaller weimaraner and his father was a German short haired pointer. We named him Boone Doggle, a rather catchy name for high powered pup that would require a firm hand and a lot of attention. With a very sweet personality, he is independent, strong willed, and a hunter by nature. While he does respond to some voice commands, he still requires his electronic collar so that he can be called back to the house when he is off on his daily reconnaissance looking for whatever trail scent his nose picks up.

And so little shocked was I when the Head Gardener came in with a baby rescue:

Tiny, wet, cold, covered in dog slobber, the poor baby cottontail surely was terrorized.

The HG had seen Boone chasing something, or rather he had seen something running away from Boone. By the time he got to Boone, he was at the back door with a wad of fur in his mouth. We have been working with Boone to Drop It on command, one command that he is not good at.

The grand kids were all here, of course, concerned, curious. Ellie thought we should keep it as a pet. No, I firmly said, reminding her that the bunny was wild creature and needed to be free. We wondered where to turn it lose, deciding out by the garden. The neighbors have a large windbreak with a variety of trees and bushes where cottontails live, so we thought that it would travel across the pasture to safety. However. With all the kids running around yelling and screaming, it only traveled a few feet. One of their defenses is to lay low, hunker down to the ground to hide. By day's end the bunny had spent all day in the rain soaked grass, so we decided to relocate it.

Hunkered down in the wet weeds, we feared that Boone, once on the run again, would find it. And sure enough, once he was let out of his kennel at the end of the day, he got back on the bunny's trail.

Out by the barn stuff collects--old fence railing and irrigation tubes--, the kind of stuff that makes goods hiding and burrowing places for little critters, especially the cottontails. So the HG placed the bunny underneath the pile of fence posts and irrigation pipes where he would be warm and safe from Boone's searching. Most often the bunnies can outrun Boone and are always on the lookout for the predators and the dog. Will he make it? Well, of course he will. 

April: Spring's Lady in Waiting

This week's mosaic that will be shared at Lavender Cottage shows just how fickle the Lady in Waiting can be. I came home Friday from town to a bit of snow on the ground. It had been raining since the day before, cold, windy--the way that most April ladies behave. Temperamental, provocative, whimsical, undependable, especially for gardeners wanting to get out get some yard work done, April has her own way. Not waiting to get my camera from the house, I parked the care and took a few shots with the iPhone.  

And while I should be out working in this center circle, I am working on the blogs today because it is just too cold and windy to be outside. We are supposed have a few days of this capricious weather. But you know the old saying, April showers bring May flowers.

So we all anxiously await for these beauties to reach full bloom:

Perfectly pink peonies 

the spring and summer perennials, including agapantha and iris

and the coral bells

and the lovely bright orange tiger lilies.

All are awake, craving April's showers.

Rose Report

The verdict is in on the roses in the front courtyard, for it looks like the new shoots are coming up from below the graft with means that the graft has died and the wild rose is taking over. I'll have not that. Next week end our favorite nursery in Longmont will have its annual Run for the Roses sale, so I plant to rouse the HG out of bed early to get down there before the rush. I hate to reinvest in roses again, but I love them and this is first time I have had such a colossal loss. 

In The Garden

Little is happening in the garden, but the garlic shows signs of life.

And I harvested the first of asparagus. Oh, my it was so sweet roasted in the oven with a medley of other vegetables.

Chickens

The little hens are now in the main coop still eating baby food.

We have decided that Pertelotte is nesting and will let her sit on her eggs to see if she can actually hatch any.

Chanticleer and Browny have been exiled, sent to live in the dog crate for excessive and aggressive behavior terrorizing the other older hen and Pertelotte. Browny continues to lay her one egg a day, now producing large green eggs with double yokes. 

The baby of the flock, Goldie lives along with a fake owl for her companion. She roosts on top it at night. Soon she will be able to join the rest of the flock.

Kitchen Remodel

I am still holding off on the grand reveal of the newly remodeled kitchen because the job is not done. The count top is in, the new sink and garbage disposal are working, the wiring for the under counter lights has been installed. Now we wait for the back splash tile work to be done the end of April. Then you shall see the final results.

A Shameless Commerical

The kitchen in the current dollhouse project nears completion. If you want to see more, visit my other blog Ann's Dollhouse Dreams.

I have a very busy week ahead with medical appointments. Won't bore you with the details. All general maintenance; none the less, tedious and not how I want to be spending my time. Cooler temperatures with rain, clouds, thunder, and maybe some light snow, so gardening looks to be perhaps at the bottom of the to-do-list.

And so my friends, here I am at the end of another long post. I hope you have enjoyed the photos and the narrative. I'll be visiting about Blog Land over the week. I hope I can keep up with all of you. Have great week. Thanks for stopping by.