two soft-spoken men

I wait for Evgenii. My phone says he arrived at 8:03. It is now 9:15 and he is not here. Did he creep up from the back? Millie would have barked. And Millie is definitely at peace, on the front porch waiting with me.

I'm about to give up. It's going to be a scorcher -- 97F/36C. If that is the temperature of our bodies (on the low side to be sure), why do we feel so hot outside? 

I'm about to give up on Evgenii, when I see a car pull up and a young man -- can't be more than 25 -- gets out, nimbly, quickly. You must be Evgenii... you're late. He gives the slightest nod, but says nothing. He's standing there with a shoulder bag and a tablet. Finally he says -- I follow you. In those few words, I here the Russian accent. I want to ask him -- why are you so young? Why did you leave Russia? But I can tell my questions would not be welcome. Evgenii is a man of few words. And when he speaks, you can hardly hear him.

Millie, on the other hand, is barking inside, furious that I did not set her loose on this newcomer. She does not recognize enemy nation states. She would have made friends! I ask him -- can I go in now? Again, a quick nod.

I snuggle with Millie. It's okay puppy, it's okay. 

I'm wondering if Evgenii ever killed anyone. War is war. You do as you're told, no? Hold on, do I detect the return of my childhood distrust of neighbors to the east and west of Poland? As for Evgenii, he's clearly a skilled computer guy. Would he be at the Ukrainian front were he still in Russia? I think so. But he is here, and he is using his skills to service the internet cable that we'd dug out yesterday. And he does service it, and he comes back to my front door, says -- "done," and then he leaves. No eye contact, no nod to the mesmerized by him Millie. 

Evgenii would make a good spy. Or assassin. Or, have I been reading to many crime novels? 

 

Millie's latest game? Undoing the velcro to the snuggle pup and taking out the little beating heart that's inside. She used to sleep with that pup. Now? Just a dismemberment challenge.

 

 

 

It's time for my pup to return to doggie daycare. Oh, is she happy to be let loose again! Julie writes me that she is super excited to see everyone, and especially her! I do a little tattling: before you say what a good girl she is, know that she opened up the zipper on my reading chair cushion and chewed up the insides. I have a feeling Julie just laughed. Millie makes people laugh. 

 

Dump compostables at the farmette, pick up a few lilies for my pitcher at home.

 

 

 

I come back and water the plants in the back. I'm not even sure all of them need to be watered. What they need is for it not to be 97F/36C outside.

 

In the afternoon I have an appointment with the endodontist. His first name is Andrew -- nothing Russian about the name nor the person. I remember him well from my previous visit: it was in the thick of Covid. I was sure he or his assistant would pass on the virus to me. Nonetheless, I had to check on a tooth. In the end he said it could wait. I was relieved, but at the same time, I found the visit to be so, I dont know -- meaningful maybe? Probably because we never went out, never saw anyone and especially not strangers, close up. Andrew (I do not call him that to his face) had worked for a children's fund that provided dental services in places that have a dire need for such care. He'd worked in Mozambique, India, Haiti. I could have listened and asked questions for a long time, but of course, that wasn't the purpose of my visit to the clinic. But now here I am again, having survived Covid, having moved three times, taken care of three dogs, having planted now coming close to 250 plants. 

There are people who have traveled far, maybe even worked in very impoverished countries and who would not hesitate to share their insights, to answer your questions. Andrew is not like that. He's a quiet guy who now takes care of his kids and a bunch of rescue dogs and really, though I was in that chair for 90 minutes, that is all I know about him. A quiet, thoughtful guy, who laughed when I said "we meet again, no more epidemic, but same president."

I have to say, dentistry has gone far away from the postwar Poland business model of "no pain, no gain."  Sitting comfortably, with N2O streaming up my nostrils, I thought -- this is a heck of a lot more comfortable than carrying buckets of stones, ripping up sod, or even watering plants in 97F/36C weather.

 

Millie comes home, for once tired and I'm sure well exercised. I missed you, little one! She responds with a lick and a smile. What, you don't think dogs can smile? You're so wrong on that.

with so much love... 

 

luxury

Would you like to play a game? Okay. List five things that you would enjoy tremendously, that you consider to be utterly luxurious, that you perhaps have done occasionally but maybe never at all. Got it? Now look at your list. Are you sure of it? Did it change over time?

Merriam-Webster  defines luxury this way: 1. a condition of abundance or great ease and comfort; 2. something adding to pleasure or comfort but not absolutely necessary; 3. an indulgence in something that provides pleasure, satisfaction or ease.

But isn't luxury like happiness? You often don't recognize it when it's there. You imagine it to be something that is fleeting and perhaps unattainable. It's that stage that you aspire to, that you work for, but with that fear that it's all in vain, because luxury belongs to those born to wealth and to power over your life. 

And isn't it true that luxury can be something that you once had but lost? Freedom to a jailed person. A home to one who is homeless. Democracy for those kept under the thumb of a despot. Time to a stressed working parent.

When I feel I'm in a state of total bliss, I believe that I've suddenly touched on luxury. There are the times of unusual creature comforts: an upgrade to a lie-down seat during an overnight flight. A massage with perhaps scents of rose and lavender. A room with a lovely view. Someone to clean the house once a month (more often, but that would be a state of guilt inducing ultra-luxury). But truly, near the top of my list would be sitting comfortably in a place with abundant flowers all around me, in good weather (broadly defined), with a milky coffee (a latte really), and a good book. Add a dog who is sweet and loving to the scene, with gentle music in the background, and I am in a state of bliss. 

So... sort of like this:

(she likes to join me at the table)

 

 

I love my young families, I love Ed. I love Millie! I'm thrilled that we're all reasonably healthy, that we have roofs over our heads and that the kids are being well schooled (in academics and in kindness). I'm happy when they're happy. On the other hand, if you ask me -- why work so damn hard at planting and tending all those flowers, at preparing what I regard to be a breakfast of the gods (granola, a rich yogurt, a bowl of freshly cut up fruits, honey, and of course -- milky coffee), why get up each morning with a bounce and a grin, well, it's because there are days that start like this. And when I sit down on that front porch and look out over the roses, lilies and dozens of other plants (to say nothing of the pots and a pitcher of famette flowers)...

 

 

... I really feel I've reached the summit. This is it: luxury.  Not a yacht (ugh, I hate boats anyway), not a villa with ten bedrooms and an equal number of bathrooms, not a Rolls Royce with a chauffeur (can't trust random drivers), not a stay at the George Cinq (I love Le Baume!). Not a loaded investment portfolio (earned on the backs of the poor), not jewels -- never jewels or designer anything. Not a swimming pool in the backyard (though a sauna would be fun I think), not fine art hanging on the walls (does that make anyone really happy? Happier than less expensive art?).  Just me in my shorts and t-shirt (that has a patina born of years of gardening) and flip-flops, with a small Ukrainian painting leaning on the mantle, sitting here on Steffi's cottage porch, looking over my (almost fully) planted garden, with time to read a book (Kate Atkinson's at the moment) and sip my warm coffee.

Total luxury. 

It is also a form of luxury to be able to call your sweetie and ask for digging help when it is 91F/33C outside and humid. Bliss it is not. I carry buckets of stone and clay out, Ed wields the pick-axe. But without his help, I would have tortured my way through this. And I would not have him look down and say -- I see the wire that runs here. You better call Spectrum. It's a coaxial cable.

But this wasn't marked! Or was it? I check my photos. It's off a few inches, but in the vicinity. Well, we didn't break it, but still, you cant just throw dirt over it -- it needs an inspection. Here's a lucky break -- it's the last hole I expect to dig in Millie's yard this year (where lines seem to crisscross under the soil).  Next spring, if inspiration strikes me to plant something else, I'll have the diggers hotline people come out again and I've learned to give the markings a wide berth.

(my roses in the back)

In the evening the young family is here for dinner. 

It used to be that I could cook up a storm, nurse a glass of wine, talk to my daughter, listen to the kids' stories, take photos left and right -- without batting an eye. These days I dont even think about the camera until we sit down to dinner.

 

 

I'm laser-focused  on getting the food on the table all at the same time. A simple meal, but there are 4 pots on the stovetop and one pan of food inside the oven. Oh, and Snowdrop's vegetarian dish in the microwave. So, no photos, despite the fact that everyone is awfully cute and yes, there's a large black dog under the table and Millie is climbing over him to see if anyone dropped some food. Photographic gems. But not for me. That Stoneman's corn cannot be overdone and some noodles need to have no tomato sauce over them and the chicken should be juicy but certainly not pink. 

When the young family leaves, Ed lingers. We were to watch our show, but I walked Millie past a very dry set of flowers outside, so I took out the hose for one last watering for the day. 

I deem Millie to be fit and safe for doggie daycare tomorrow. The funny thing is -- I'll miss having her always by my side, looking into my eyes to see where my thoughts are heading,. It's been a very beautiful set of Millie days.

with so much love... 

 

sheep blanket

If you live in Wisconsin, chances are you have a throw blanket for your couch. Nothing feels better in the dead of winter than a wrap thrown over your legs for that added warmth. It took me a while to find a good one. I find wool to be itchy. Fake fabrics in my opinion aren't warm enough. Cotton blankets are thin. Ed uses an old discarded comforter and when I lived in the farmhouse, I shared that with him. And eventually I found one that I like for solo snuggles: a heavy cotton one with sheep on it. The sheep are a visual bonus: they tell me "this is a warm blanket, even if you do reject our wool."

It's been a hot and dry summer, so of course, the blanket remained tucked away for future use. But this morning, I needed it. The temps dipped down to around 60f/15c and though that's quite nice for a summer night, we also got a significant cloud cover (but no rain), so that breakfast outside was... cold. I mean, not if I were to be clothed in sweatpants and warm socks. But no -- I was  dressed for how it's going to be in several hours (hot!). In shorts. 

I ate...

And snuggled and rocked my pup...

And then quickly retreated inside, digging out my sheep blanket to hurry up the warming process.

And Millie said -- what's that?? Can I play with it? Can I carry it around the house like all the other doggie blankets that I leave scattered hither and yon?

We didn't stay long arguing about whose blanket it is and what purpose it serves. Millie was morning-sleepy and I took this opportunity to put her in the crate so that I could do a quick errand run. First, to pick up Ed, then to dump cardboard, next to pick up a replacement flower (for one that was so puny it may as well be dead), and then the most important of all (which is why Ed came along) -- to visit Stoneman farms and pick up their first corn of the season.

Stoneman corn has a bit of a cult following. Yes, it is very good. Reliably so. Sweet, tender, delicious. But there's more to it: it's a family operation and (as I've written in previous years) the family is just adorable. Three generations, working together to give us a month and a half of delicious corn. 

They only sell directly from their farm and sometimes at out local market. They communicate and post adorable pictures via Facebook and it reminds you how nice Facebook can be if it doesn't go down that vile path of ads, and thoughtless garbage, and screaming slogans, and fake postings. I love their updates (and I love updates from other places and people too) and when I heard they were opening their stand this weekend, well, I was there. With Ed.

At the farmette again, he and I take a walk to assess my unseeded this year, overgrown meadows. The one in the peach orchard can be mowed down. The grasses took over. But the older one, the one in the new orchard, is reliably there still. It looks lovely next to the apple and pear trees.

 

 

 

Ed and I had scheduled a lunch at Tati's as well, and I took Millie out for that one. 

 

 

 

And then I juggled. My pup, my garden, my pup, my garden. I'm right here Millie. Just a second old girl, I'll be there shortly, yes, I'm right where you can see me, Millie, quiet! An ongoing conversation.

I got a lot done despite the Millie patrol. It would have even been a pleasant way to spend the day if I hadn't gotten some dirt in my eye and nothing, nothing helped get it out. Funny how a tiny speck of sand can drive you nuts for hours!

Millie and I make a good team. In her way, she helps move things along. And of course, the snuggles are wonderful. She still has that delicate puppy smell. I bury my face in her fur, she gives a tiny lick and we are content.

with so much love... 

days of dogs and roses...

An unbroken string of gorgeous days (though no rain means I spend a lot of time holding a hose), of garden plants, of Millie.

Ed asks -- when is she going to be like, you know, a normal dog that you leave at home and go about your day? I reply -- a little more each day. You can't rush a dog who just last week howled every time I stepped outside.

At the same time, I think I was overconfident about her transition to "normal dog that you leave at home..." Millie was charming this morning. We had a lovely hour (or more?) on the porch over breakfast.

She enjoyed a long snuggle on my lap...

Outside in her yard, I dug out a failed idea and transplanted it elsewhere. To a shadier spot. She was patient. Maybe a bit too lively! But overall a good girl!

I tried her in a tank top onsie for the hotter days. 

 

 

Cute, but not comfortable. Too easy to pull off. We resumed the regular onesies. 

She napped, I worked on some more plantings. All smooth. I took it a step further. I watered. The entire front garden. And I switched out some of the potted plants -- from rear to front and front to rear. Millie is not howling inside. She's reached a new level of maturity! I come back inside, satisfied. Until I find her on the reading chair. She has managed to open the zipper to the main arm rest cushion (never to be fully closed again) and is chomping away at the insides. Classic stuff you'd find in a video clip of a naughty dog. Millie!!! 

Dogs! I still haven't fixed the car seatbelt that Henry chewed up. Sadey was less of a chewer, nor was she an imp, she just shed like crazy. Millie? Prankster supreme. Next time she stays in the crate.

And from Ed again -- when will you be done planting? Actually by the end of the month. I'm waiting on a handful of roses. Everything else is in place for this season. But of course, there's ongoing maintenance. Of the pleasant kind. Today I cut off all spent blooms in the front yard. Deeply rewarding to be snipping again!  But mostly, my July days are a blur of Millie antics and of rose cultivation. I should have renamed my pup when I first got her. She should have been Rosie to match my big dive into that pool of flowers.

 

And tomorrow? Still on Millie patrol. Still planting, watering, weeding. Waiting for the last three roses to arrive.

with so much love... 

 

 

and then...

My puppy woke on the other side of the bed today. Well, in truth she woke from under the bed, but figuratively speaking, she definitely tried out a new path forward for this day. (If you wonder why she slept under the bed -- she is an interesting snoozer. Sometimes she sleeps in bed with me. Sometimes she sleeps on her lovely doggie bed. Sometimes she sleeps in her crate, door open. And sometimes she chooses to be under the bed. Talk about trying out different strategies for tackling the night!)

She waited patiently while I showered. 

She was very efficient during her morning walk.

Her breakfast was a little late. She did not complain.

Completely angelic during my breakfast.

After, we went to her yard. I needed to tackle that lilac. (We will omit that part where I struck a wire digging a big hole for it. No, I did not die. Yes, the digger's hotline had been called a couple of months back. No, I did not remember there being a wire in that spot. Yes, it is quite possible that I did not correctly remember the line placements. What, am I supposed to call the digger's hotline every time I get a new plant?) Millie did one or two runs, then settled to watch me from a shady spot. 

The lilac went in, I watered it. Millie did not bite the hose. 

Inside, she took a nice nap. I left her to it and went out to plant a few perennials at the side of the house -- a blind spot for her. She cannot see me there either from the porch or from her yard. I was out for maybe 45 minutes. Inside, she was awake, playing, not destructively. 

In the afternoon, I put her in the car, we picked up Ed and went to our local farmers market. Unlike the other ones around town, this one does not seem to object to dogs. People did the usual "she's so cute" thing. Millie did not shy away from the crowds. Just stood there and took it in.

Come evening, she barked to go outside. Of course, I did not catch that signal since she barks for about a thousand different reasons, but I should have -- she never barks face pointed to me. This time she did. So maybe?

Now, you'd think that surely my day had something significant in it. That Millie would not have been my sole focus the entire time from sunrise to bedtime. Yes, you'd think. But the fact is, I am stuck with her at home these days and though it has been a chore to limit myself so much, nonetheless, I think it's been good for us. She studies me, I study her. We are a team. A household. A family. A good one at that! We'll see what tomorrow will bring.

(porch flowers)

 

 

with so much love... 

seventh day

Okay Ms Millie, something has to give: I can take you outside to your little yard and I can work there while you gently play. But you cannot run like a dog possessed, and you cannot bark continuously every time a grass blade moves or a butterfly goes by. Or, you can stay in your crate for three hours, like you used to do, and I can get stuff done then, but that means no howling as if I was torturing you to death so that the neighbors would surely call Animal Rescue to, well, rescue you. Or, we can stay mostly inside (such gorgeous weather we're having this week!), but after I've given you your puzzle toy and you finished fishing out all the treats in it, you really have to amuse yourself in ways other than going upstairs to see what damage you could do there, behind my back. Or, you can decide that being 8 months old now, you are are going to act like a fully grown dog and not like an adolescent out to conquer the world with her newly acquired wisdom (which, may I remind you, isn't fully there yet, but you could try harder to reach for it this week when it's just you and me here at Steffi's House).

While we're on the subject of wisdom, let me remind you of the things you cannot do. You once knew all this quite well. Am I to assume you've forgotten? That the anesthesia brought about amnesia? Well now, here's my gentle reminder: no scratching madly at the couch cushions or the reading chair cushions. No nibbling on the rug edges. No going upstairs to relieve yourself. No taking off all the tags you can find -- pillows, cushions, anything. They're not digestible. And anyway, I dont want to find shreds of "100% cotton" around the house. No pulling at the threads of the brand new bath mat. The hole you made in it? Highly unattractive. When you're outside, do not look for wood chips. I know you're capable of finding them. I know that. But chewing on them is a real no-no. And dont dig little holes all over the yard. Dont eat the dirt that has fish emulsion sprinkled on it. And if I am using the hose, for darn's sake, do not bite on it because once you spring a leak, I may as well toss it out.

Should I continue?

Basically, Millie either needs to return to doggie day care or have her play at the dog park. (Which she cannot do or else dire things may happen in her abdomen.) She is a wildly energetic girl and doubling the Trazadone did nothing to calm her down. She wants to play, she needs to play. Or go for long runs. Or something.

We did have a lovely breakfast outside. It was so cool this morning that I wore a sweatshirt!

 

 

Immediately after I went out to Millie's yard to put in two roses and to remove all those pebbles I had put down around the plants. I had intended to also plant some perennials in the nearby fields, but Millie was so vocal this morning that I gave up on that idea. I dont yet have a neighbor on the other side of the fence to disturb, but I got very tired of saying "Millie, quiet. Good girl, quiet girl. No, don't bark at my sweatshirt, quiet! Good girl, quiet girl. No, dont sound off at the child on the bicycle five blocks away..." etc. 

Because I knew she needed a nap, we went inside and I crated her. I needed to go to the dumpster again and to pick up dirt at the farmette. Which, by the way, is in full bloom.

 

 

 

(I cleaned up a few of the spent lilies... couldn't help myself...)

 

 

(I pull out a few lily stems for Steffi's kitchen.)

 

 

I also picked up a lilac bush at K&A. This makes little sense as my focus has been on roses and finding a grand place for this "New Age" lilac (it's not going to be huge) is going to take some landscaping ingenuity. And a new hole will have to be dug out for it. Having labored over digging one out just this morning, I do not look forward to a repetition of whacking away at clay and stone. Still, the lilac went into my car, only adding to my stress about time that I do not have for planting. It will be beautiful next string and it is powdery mildew resistant (hence the "new agedness"), but still, when will I have a day for planting?

I have to wonder what working folks do. Millie has me housebound. Inconvenient but doable. Most people dont have that luxury. 

In the afternoon, I open the front door to the porch and try to do some work just outside, where she can see me. 

And then I pick up this child, who is pretty much my height, so calling her a child seems so... wrong. And yet...

                  

("what are you reading?")

 

And then I return to my adolescent Millie, who certainly is behaving like a child these days. She's allowed. She's cycling through the canine growth stages. I'll probably survive!

with so much love... 

 

don't tell any one but...

My dog is not following doctor's orders.

I made a mistake in the way I planted several of the roses.

The cake I baked today was so delicious and so easy that I am going to give it my highest recommendation, but if you bake it, dont tell anyone how easy it is. You may as well get credit for being a fine baker.

I scotch-taped a piece of original art to a frame. 

I asked AI about the ending to Dear Child and had a conversation about every new development so that I would know what to expect with each gruesome episode. 

I'm sure I can add to this list as the day progresses, because the reality is that we all stumble along doing things that others may find to be horribly impulsive, careless, silly, perhaps not in the best interest of humanity (or your dog). That's just the way it is. You try your best and adjust as you go along.

 

This morning, my breakfast friends are to come to Steffi's House. I am eager to have them here. So far only family and Ed's friends have stepped inside (hard to believe, but I've only lived here for 2.5 weeks). Oh, and the Russian repair person. And I've done a ton of work here, especially outside. My friends are always appreciative of my efforts and though I really don't look for compliments, I do love it when people notice. That's all. Just notice. 

However, given my planting mania and Millie's stay-at-home week, I did not have the energy nor time to do any advance prep for the meal. We set 9 a.m. for their arrival and I have done nothing except think about what to serve and order a nice pot on Amazon last night that is to be delivered this morning between 5 and 7 a.m. And it is delivered, and it is beautiful -- an enameled cast iron pan that is an upgrade over the inexpensive Lodge cast iron pans that we all have, the ones that love to rust and cant ever be seasoned enough.

I shower, walk and feed Millie, water my back yard roses, and tomatoes, and planter, and get to work.

The point is -- I dont have that much time. On the menu? A frittata with seasonal veggies and a cake.

And you know what? It all gets done, no problem.  Well, it's thanks to the cake. I decided to do the recipe that perhaps you read about in the NYTimes this week -- their "Original Plum Torte" by Marian Burros. There is a whole backstory behind it, but the upshot is that they have been printing this recipe every year in the summer since 1983. And it consistently gets 5 stars. Why not, I thought. Reading through it I saw that it was incredibly easy. And though there's no way I will find cute little purple plums in my grocery store and especially in mid-July, I picked up a combo of cherry red plums and the bigger so called black plums and they work beautifully!

And the frittata? For this I used my beautiful new pan. Eggs, cheese, and a mixture of sauteed mushrooms, peas, and spinach. Oh, and I threw in some little tomatoes from my bushes. The peas gave it a thoroughly summer taste. Honestly, it was lovely and good and I take no credit for it because again, it's just not that hard to make an exceptionally good frittata.

Millie decided to be calm for the visit. And it was one of our longer "breakfasts."

Lots to review, to update, to speculate about.

 

 

 

 

 

This means that when my friends left, Millie had plenty of energy. I went out to water some of the roses and though I told her to stay calm and I had her on Trazadone, the pup went hog wild with the joy of being outside. Definiteyl NOT what the doctor ordered. I had to call the clinic and ask -- how do I keep my dog from being exuberant and they told me to up her meds! Well okay, but I'll do that reluctantly. I love her feeling of joy.

As for the roses -- one of them died and I sent a photo of it tot he company. They give refunds. But I also got a comment from their horticulturist. Something to the effect -- "pebbles at the base may look pretty but they are wrong for roses. They trap heat and may seep stuff into the soil." But inside the fenced area, I do not use them because they look pretty! Indeed, I rather dislike them because grass pushes through and unlike with bark, it's hard to pull out. But I use them because Millie loves to eat bark mulch and I honestly do not think it's good for her. A real choking hazard for one thing. (She tried eating the pebbles too but gave up after one or two attempts. Thank goodness!) But, I care about my roses, so my next task is to remove all the pebbles and use their recommended Mint Compost. Maybe Millie will reject it and in any case, it wont kill her. Some people even recommend it as a breath freshener (not that my pup has bad breath...).

I water the front garden as Millie sits and watches from the porch. 

 

 

 

That worked! 

 

 

 

Planting is more difficult. I'll figure that one out tomorrow. This afternoon, I'm scheduled to pick up this girl!

Her dream realized! Purple hair. What, you can't tell? This photo is clearer:

 

 

 

Very purple. Well, she deserves it. She patiently waited until after the Poland trip and she really was a star (as they all were) during that momentous adventure.

Later, I pick up a package that came to my front door. With this on it:

 

 

 Inside, a sheet with a lot of text in Cyrillic script. And this (I added the frame):

 

 

It's small. Painted on a piece of cardboard. By a woman living in the war torn country of the Ukraine. It traveled in this way: from Kyiv to Lviv. From Lviv to Warsaw. From Warsaw to New York. From New York to New Jersey. From New Jersey to Illinois. From Illinois finally to Wisconsin. All in 10 days. I can't even imagine how the first legs of its journey took place. Seems so frivolous, doesn't it? To buy a small painting from a war zone. And yet, the woman who painted it depends on income from her art. I'm sure she cannot sell it in her own home country right now.

 

In the evening, Ed comes over for a piece of frittata and plum cake.

And so passes another beautiful day, with better air quality, cooler temperatures and, importantly, so much good feeling and warmth, of the inside-your-stomach kind.

with so much love... 

 

wild

This isn't specific to Millie. I've seen it in other dogs. At around 8 months, just when spayed, instead of nicely settling into adulthood, your pup goes hog wild with a burst of energy you think properly belongs to sheep herding canines. Say what? -- you're thinking. What ever possessed you to go upstairs and start chewing on a kid book behind my back? Downstairs again, you hear a carpet being moved about. Millie? Is that you? -- as you look over and see her picking up the edges of your Turkish rug to see if little pup teeth could possibly undo the complicated weave.

Millie is on meds to keep her calm in this post-operative period. They're not working. She wants to be outside running. She wants to go up to other dogs and sniff their butts. She wants active play! Zoomie time! Over the couch and around the corner and away she goes! And she finds ways to get my attention. Negative attention to be sure, but anything is fine to spark up her day. My once velcro pup has discovered that she can keep an eye on me through the stair rails from upstairs.

I follow her up. She looks at me expectantly. Haha! You know I always go upstairs if I want to have "an accident!" Oh Millie... 

Whatever happened to that quiet, morning nap?? 

Breakfast. Mine, inside. Air is unhealthy.  Millie, you already ate!

 

 

I tell her to follow a treat into the crate.  Which, to her credit, she does. But when I close her door and step outside to do some planting, I hear her unhappy cries and barks. I give it half an hour. She doesn't let up. I put down the shovel and go back in.

But here's a great gift for me: Ed agrees that the air is "good enough" to do some work outside. He offers to come over with his pick-axe and dig out some holes for a few roses (the soil is that bad!). This is superbly helpful. I take Millie out with us and tie her down (to the hose). Ed breaks up the soil, I carry buckets of it out toward the vacant lot. (How would have I planted my garden without that lot? I've offloaded hundreds of bucketfuls of clay and rock there.) We then move inside the fenced area. More holes. And while we're at it, he does a big one for my potted lilac (which will be much happier in the ground).

Definitely my hero today! It would have taken me many days to work a shovel into that hard clay. I put in just one rose -- the rest are still sitting somewhere waiting for transport.

Yes, I am a complete rose enthusiast this year. I've planted a few before, but it was always in an off-hand manner. Not only where they completely wrong for farmette fields, too, I'd always held that prevailing belief that roses require too much intervention. Disease, pests, beetles -- all of it. I don't want fussy flowers. I have enough work with unfussy ones. But of course, the world of roses has changed dramatically in recent decades. Much of the change we owe to David Austin -- the British rose guy who successfully bred the goldendoodle of roses. One after another. (Just like the goldendoodle or other poodle combos give us smart, affectionate dogs, which is what most people want at home, so too David Austin roses bring together what gardeners love: bushes that are disease resistant and importantly -- that offer a repeat bloom all summer long. Some never stop, some come in waves. But they do promise flowers way past the typical June rose season. (Very sorry to hear that the next generation head -- David Austin's son, died today. David senior had lived til he was 92. His son was not so lucky. Happy to hear that the family -- he had three children -- will keep the business running anyway. Such a legacy the Austin Davids have left for all of us!)

I've read a lot about these roses -- the floribundas, the climbers, and I've looked at hundreds of photos from greenhouses. There are flower shapes (for example "cupped") that are nothing short of enchanting. I have studied the colors too -- initially drawn to the vibrant ones, I am now convinced that the most beautiful are the pastels. Soft tones of pink and orange. 

Roses do require patience in that they really need time to develop their full potential. Years of time. I splurged on a couple of three year old ones, but I haven't the budget for more of those. No matter. I'm old but not that old. I'll probably live to see all of them bloom their heads off! Gardeners are by nature optimistic. We always believe that the result of our efforts will be stunning and will improve the landscape considerably -- for us, for others too. 

In the evening I leave Millie for just a few minutes. Ed is out and he needs my help to put away the chickens. At this sunset hour, the flowers are always at their finest. 

 

 

 

That's true in Steffi's House as well, only Steffi's flowers are still babies. 

 

 

 We'll see how this all comes together by summer's end (here's that hopeful optimism again).

with so much love...

it's like being stuck at home with the flu

Yes, the air quality deteriorated and we are back at Very Unhealthy. Between that and Millie's continued anxiety if I step out of the house, I tell you, life has become very indoorsy for me. At the same time that I have ideas for the outside! Work to do! Flowers to move! Holes to dig! 

("why cant we go out??")

Well no matter. People have it worse. Try living in hot Cuba without much electricity right now. Or for that matter, closer to home -- in Ontario or any number of places in the US where fires are threatening homes. 

I eat a very lovely breakfast on the couch.

 

 

 

I do test the girl (to see if she will protest my exit) while she is settling for a nap. I want to take out that monstrous hibiscus from the front garden. (After that, only one more true lily to take out and give away and I will have basically cleaned out all that my sod remover planted in the corner. Well, except for the couple of day lilies, salvias and irises which were put in as per my request. And the creeping phlox at the edge which is never a bad idea only I wish it were strawberry and cream. Fussy? Well yes: if you care about gardens as much as I do, you're going to be very fussy.)  

The plan is for me to put in another rose bush in the place of the hibiscus (and donate the hibiscus to my daughter who likes "warm" flowers). I think about what to put at the feet of that rose. You can feed AI anything these days, including what ideas it may have for comparability with an orange pink blush rose. It's crazy how much you can ask that non-human fake brain. Just now I typed in "when will this putrid air finally move out of Madison Wisconsin." AI is always cheerful and positive and it responded -- "a cold front and incoming thunderstorms late Monday afternoon to bring the much-needed clearing, ushering in fresher and cooler air." Then it mildly scolded me for using the word putrid (putting it in italics as if to mock me), and reminded me that I should be interested in Fitchburg and perhaps not just Madison. (It hints that it damn well knows where I live so I needn't pretend I'm from Madison.)

I venture out again (very briefly!) in the late afternoon -- to get some rose fertilizer and blue plants (nepetas, a lavender -- stuff like that) which, to my mind, are the best match for a rose. I choose to ignore all those YouTubers who push the idea of Lady's Mantle, which I always thought was a shade plant and obviously roses do not like shade. But perhaps I'm providing too much detail here. Most of you aren't going to grow roses. This is what happens when you are housebound and get carried away with a project.

 

 

 

In the evening Ed and the young family come to dinner. No pickle ball for Ed. And not much summer play for the kids either. The heat typically gives them the local pool. This air means stay inside and read a book. It very much reminds me of a winter without snow, only you wear a mask and not a cap and gloves.

 

 

The kids have been warned not to engage Millie in lively play. Of course, Millie is no wilting flower right now, but I fed her a nice dose of trazodone, so she is reasonably placid. And so were they.

Let's hope they have some solid rains up north in the next days. And while they're at it, maybe they could send us a sprinkle or two. A drought, hazy air -- I suppose when I was a kid and lived in New York City, the air was always heavy and the skies were never brilliantly blue. And we did not wear masks. And the AC was loud and it rattled the apartment and you could fry an egg on the sidewalk. Such easier times for us now. Still, let's hope for rain and better air.

with so much love... 

a break

South central Wisconsin gets a break from "very unhealthy," and even "unhealthy" air. By mid morning, we put "unhealthy for sensitive groups," and then "moderate" behind us, and hit "good!" I realize that this may change as destructive fires are still burning up north, but Millie and I are grateful for the break. Our breakfast out he porch? It lasts well over an hour.

(a few minutes of lap time)

 

 

 (what's blooming on the Steffi porch...)

 

 

Millie's incision is still bothering her -- she whimpers initially this morning. But then her meds kick in and she is like her old self. Indeed, too much so. I'm to walk her only for quick bathroom breaks. When I dropped the leash to turn off the hose -- something that is usually risk free as she always stays by my side, not being a squirrel chaser or especially outgoing toward strangers or their dogs -- this time she does a mad zoomie run around me, clearly enjoying her leash-free existence. (I discuss this with the clinic -- they suggest calming meds, as the girl really needs to abandon her friskiness for the next ten days.) 

I dont have the heart to leave her alone quite yet (except briefly, say to put in a plant!) but at the same time, I do believe she is feeling a little housebound. There's only so much excitement her raggedy or chewy toys can bring her. I schedule a lunch with Ed at Tati's. It requires of her a quietness and stillness, but at the same time it offers visual stimulation. (It's a shame she's indifferent to the TV set -- I could see us binge watching suspense series, or even canine movies. Unfortunately, she gives the set a glance and moves on to see what else in life is interesting and perhaps a bit more challenging, not realizing that there's wonder in doing nothing more than staring at the screen.)

(a tilted selfie)

On the way home, we stop by the farmette -- I have more compost to dump there. And of course, the lilies are breathtakingly beautiful. I snip off a few spent flowers, trying to hold back that feeling of wanting to fix something that just isn't under my care anymore. 

 

(nymphs and shepherds...) 

 

Now that the smog has lifted (at least temporarily), I'm itching to go outside at Steffi's House and Garden.  I have some more ideas -- endless ideas, because, well, this place has so much potential still!

It was a welcome reprieve. I know people who are dealing with the fires on a more personal level (instead of just the residual smoke) have so much more to worry about, still it was tough to go through a day of such smoke. Today, the skies looked beautiful again.

 

with so much love...