From Sunshine to Hail in One Day!

I think I'm going to stop getting excited and writing posts about warmish sunny days from now on, since it seems that every time I do, we get slammed with a nasty bout of weather the next day! Actually, it's not as if the big cool down was not expected ... in fact light rain was forecast for today and we knew the warm weather would not last, but honestly! Hail in February? I've been trying to remember if we've experienced that since we've lived here, and I can't come up with a single instance where we have gotten hail this early in the year. As storm systems go, this was quite a colorful one on radar ... stretching from South Dakota across Minnesota and down into Iowa in lovely (threatening) shades ranging from blue, magenta, red, yellow and green ... for storm afficionados, there was a little bit of everything in this system! All morning it was dreary and gray, but early this afternoon the skies turned extremely dark and downright spooky (e.g. it was a dark and stormy afternoon) and right about the time I had to dial into a weekly conference call for work, the sky really opened up and let loose with all sorts of nastiness ... first loud thunder and lightning, then torrential rain and hail, all pouring down at the same time for the next 45 minutes or so. Out the window of my "office" I could tell it was hailing, but little did I suspect what was really going on down there until my call ended ... it seemed like there was a lull in the rain, so I decided to take Hanna out in between storms ... we got as far as the back door, I opened it, she looked out at the pouring rain and came right back in. She was having none of that weather! So I went to the front of the house to get a better look and from the porch steps, this is what I saw.... (click to enlarge all photos)
Regular readers will probably recall that our particular intersection is prone to flooding during heavy rains in spring and summer, but this has to be a first for February as well ... we're used to heavy snows, but flooding? Nope. But of course, as always every year, there are those fools who think they can just charge right through our flooded intersection with no problems, something they usually find out (too late) is exactly the wrong thing to do! By the time I went out, the car in the first photo had flooded out and had been abandoned, right there in the middle of the intersection ... it was removed later but still!

Over the years people have said that I "don't suffer fools gladly (or in any other fashion)" so I felt little to no sympathy for this person who thought s/he could drive right through a good three feet or more of standing water at the bottom of a hill where it flows rapidly from both the east and west sides of the road! Back in the day when we first lived here, we used to go out to help push out drivers from the intersection, but this happens so frequently in summer that we just shake our heads now and wish them luck for being so foolish.... Everyone who lives in the neighborhood knows this flooding happens during heavy rains and avoids the intersection, as do those who actually use their good judgment when driving in the area. I know that sounds really harsh, but honestly, some people just seem to refuse the watery world of evidence in front of them and think they're invincible ... so to the hubris filled go the spoils of the car's engine, interior and who knows what else.
The preceding two shots show how far the water made it up over the curb and to the base of the steps leading up to our house ... there was really no place for it to go, since the ground is still mostly frozen (and wet from melted snow) and the storm drains are so often overwhelmed that I had a view of what usually happens in June or July during heavy rains. The big difference, as you can see, is that instead of rain, this particular lake contains not snow, but hail! Yep, what Fernymoss said looked like "pond scum" when he saw these photos is the rest of the hail that had covered the street before the flooding started. And when he got home this evening, there were still quite a few piles of hail all around the place hours later, and for all I know, they're probably still there since the temperature quickly plunged down into the 20s at sunset (as if there was any real sun today).
Here's an example of how quickly the hail piled up ... this is the primrose bed next to the front steps, and as you can see, they're valiantly trying to revive themselves after being buried until just the past few days ... they're looking pretty bedraggled, but that's actually normal, and as soon as the weather moderates, they'll likely spring right back into action. At least it's the first sign of green we've seen in this particular bed! I just hope they don't get too enthusiastic too soon though because here's the most recent forecast for tomorrow:

*Sigh*

Hanna's Sunny Gallery

After our recent snowy and chilly spell last week, It was very nearly an almost maybe Spring day here today! The sun was out, there was melting galore going on and the temperature made it up into the upper 50s, so can the spring bulbs be far behind? As I keep saying, we'll see because this evening it has cooled down considerably and it may only make it into the upper 30s Thursday, with a 90% chance of rain, sleet, snow or whatever happens to come along, thanks to the temperature. And with no flowers just yet, our favorite subject remains Hanna for the moment!
With the abundant sun coming in to warm and delight the houseplants, Hanna clearly decided that it was time to stop and smell the schefflera plant at the base of the stairs and take a little advantage of the sun streaming in. It's hard to believe she's only been here for a little over a month because she has totally taken possession of the house and now has her favorite lounging spots all figured out ... couch, bed, chair, futon couch, sunny stairs ... I think it's an embarrassment of riches for a pup her age (now 10 months)!
On sunny days while I'm working, she spends her time divided between the sunny spots she tracks along the stairs and up in my office. In fact we must have some really sunny-attractive spots for a dog, since Hanna haunts many of the same places Pepa and Rolly used to love on sunny days ... she may just be getting some tips from them on the best spots to lounge...
Both Fernymoss and I thought that this photo catches her in a "mysterious" moment when she'll give us one of these looks that we can't tell if it's just curiosity or if there's something even more devious going on inside her little head ... whatever the case may be, she already knows full well how to strike a pose for the camera, whether she likes it or not! (I think it's safe to say the camera is in love with her though....)
Finally, here's where Hanna spends much of the afternoon (on sunny days) while I'm at work in my office just around the corner at the top of the stairs ... she moves across the stair and landing as the sun progresses throughout the day, and generally, when it disappears she comes back into my office again and perches on the futon couch where she can look out the window across the street. That is, of course, until it's time for her late afternoon 'out' which is immediately followed by dinner and a treat, then it's back to her perch again until Fernymoss gets home and takes her out for her evening "walkies." AH ... to live a dog's life!

But maybe the fabled "dog's life" might not be all we imagine it to be, as this short film demonstrates ... it's narrated from the perspective of a dog named Speck as he reflects on his life in his seventh year with his owner in the UK. I've posted this video before, and if you've seen it, it deserves another look, whereas if you haven't, you're in for a touching and humorous treat that will make you recast your own relationship with your dog (if you have one). Take a look, and let me know what you think!

Photos taken on 25 February, 2009. Fernymoss took the first three, and I caught Hanna sunning later in the day.... Oh yeah, I've also been playing around with some of the frame effects in my photo editing program just for fun ... what do you think?

Happy Fat Tuesday -- Mardi Gras

So here we are, crashing up against the elusive date of Mardi Gras again this year as usual! Today I got the idea of rounding up some spare Mardi Gras beads and dressing Hanna up for a photo in party regalia, but we couldn't find any of the ones we no doubt have around here in the house somewhere, so whether or not she realized it, she was spared from sporting any tacky bling tonight, with only this frame I added!

Back in the day, we used to make an occasion of Mardi Gras with the traditional meals and of course a King Cake, but over the years due to busy and conflicting schedules even this has fallen a bit by the wayside, though we always do like to acknowledge the beginning of Lent signaled by the grande fête, even if neither of us are practicing Catholics. For us, it's mainly been an excuse to have a few extra drinks to get us through the rest of the winter and on course for spring. Perhaps selfish motives, yes, but hey -- if thousands of people can stop for a day to party in New Orleans (and certainly much wilder than we are capable of!), so can we!

For those more deeply steeped in classic New Orleans culture, there are a lot of traditions celebrated on this day other than a King Cake and bean based meals ... one of its greatest musicians: Dr. John. If you're not familiar with Dr. John, he's been around for decades weaving his own special brand of blues and is still going strong well into his 70's now. In fact, his most recently released disc was in June, 2008 ... City that Care Forgot, which as you might guess has a Hurricane Katrina theme. It's fine work, as always, from Dr. John, so if you're of a mind to spend a little time listening to some of his new album (courtesy of NPR), you could find many less satisfying ways of spending 50 minutes than listening to Dr. John! Just click on the photo below, go to the NPR page and click on "Hear the complete show" and you'll be good to go! You'll be glad you did, even if you don't stick around here the whole time! (Just open it in a new window.)
Finally, one of the traditional mainstays of a proper Mardi Gras celebration is to have a King Cake on hand, and much like the Epiphany, 12th Night and Kings's Day celebrations held in Europe, where the person who finds the fève (traditionally a dried bean, but now usually a plastic baby representing Jesus) is crowned for a day and gets to wear a crown. Given what goes on in New Orleans these days, it has obviously morphed considerably from its historical origins, but King Cakes are tasty! They're a simple leavened bread with cinnamon flavoring with a lemon based green-purple-gold colored sugar heavy frosting ... not something you want to indulge in every day, but when Lent is knocking at the door, I'm sure it's a great farewell treat to the sober season leading up to Easter.

I did a little looking around tonight and found an easy and workable recipe (even if it's geared to toward bread makers which I loathe ... a KitchenAid will do just fine!) that you can try if you're so inclined. If you're familiar with basic bread making technique, this recipe will be a snap, even if you don't make it in time for the "big day." It is a bread that gets stale pretty fast, so if you make it, make sure to indulge in plenty of leavened delight and use it for toast the next day if it's starting to get a bit stale. Tasty stuff! Maybe if I have time this weekend, I may make one even though I'll be late!

Personal note: in case you hadn't guessed, lately I've been smashing into yet more deadlines for work projects so that has affected my abilities to post here ... still, while we're waiting for the first signs of Spring to arrive here and work continues to be busy, I'll just have to offer my apologies in advance this time! But as soon as the bulbs get blooming and other signs of life start emerging, I'll be back to posting again more regularly. Every year I hate those winter doldrums! Maybe we can turn the corner with Mardi Gras this year! Here's to hoping....

Our Cheatin' Blooms ...

Well, both of us have apparently been so bloom-starved that we had the same idea of giving each other blooming gifts for Valentine's Day last weekend! And even though one could say that we're technically "cheating on Nature," I will say that it's really nice to have something blooming in the house right now, especially after the recent snows and cold. At least we can justify the purchases somewhat by intending to plant these out once it's spring, so the plant material won't go to waste. Though they may not thrive again for a year or so, everything depicted in these photos is hardy to our garden, so we'll just be patient for them to get their second wind at blooming.

The bulb basket in the first photo is a gift mix of spring flowers that I ordered from Van Bourgondien, thanks to a clever reminder email they sent me early last week, guaranteeing Valentine's Day delivery ....It's called the "Dutch Garden" gift basket and has a great assortment of bulbs in it ... 5 red tulips, 5 yellow Narcissus, 5 'Pickwick' giant crocus, a Hyacinth and 5 White Siberian Squill (something we don't have). Since they arrived on Friday, they have been practically flying out of the pot once they got some sun, water and warmer temperatures, and since I took this photo late this afternoon, 2 more of the Narcissus have started to emerge, and the crocus are beginning to open up a bit ... the hyacinth has opened its 'alien pod' and we can see the bloom developing inside ... so it's not going to be much longer before this basket will be quite colorful!

In the past I've generally had a dim view of forcing bulbs because it does tend to sap the plant's energies, but since then I've read that as long as one tends to their basic cycle, keeps them watered and deadheaded until they die back, that they can be successfully planted in the garden, even though they might take a year off from blooming, they will eventually return to their original glory. I think what I'll do is just give them some bulb food after they're done blooming, let them die back naturally and then plant this whole arrangement in a spot out front. Maybe we'll get more blooms next year, maybe not, but even if they don't, they'll be back at some future point. At least for now, I'm getting my purple crocus fix! I just love this variety, 'Pickwick,' and we just put in a bunch more of these last fall, so you'll be seeing them again if the ground ever warms up! When I was browsing my archives last week for that one post, I was a bit dismayed to see that last year's crocus were in their heyday in April! I sure hope it doesn't take that long this year, but last year was a pretty nasty winter ... time will tell....
Fernymoss shares my passion for Primroses, and he even managed to find a nice, blooming specimen for his gift to me ... this yellow cultivar is one of my favorites because it has such a lovely scent and is such a cheery shade of yellow. It had quite a few more blooms on it when I got it on Saturday, but before I took this photo, I had to pinch several spent ones off today so the remaining buds will develop and open ...no matter, because I love just about everything about Primula polyanthus, the lush textures of the foliage as well as the delightful yellow and sweet aroma the blooms have. I'm pretty confident this will do just fine in our Primrose Patch out front by the entrance steps. (If you'd like to see those, just click on the labels below this post for last year's blooms.) It took us a few years to find success with Primroses, and not all designated as hardy are truly hardy to our climate, but since I planted a mix of Polyanthus several years ago, we've finally found a spot they like and thrive in, and since then, they have been happily spreading into a nice clump. I'll be really interested to see how much bigger it is this year, because in the 3 years they've been there, they've already doubled in number, so I'm hoping for even more this spring!

Come on,Spring! We're getting a bit antsy here, but at least we have some beautiful harbingers blooming now inside, so let's hope they can tide us over till it finally arrives....

What? No Hanna pictures? Ok, here's one I haven't posted yet ... from 18 January, her first evening here at Casa IVG when she was just getting acquainted with us, and really pouring on the charm....

I think you guys will make really good daddies for me ... can I stay here furever?

How could anyone say no to this sweet little charmer? We sure couldn't! We're still delighting in all of her (well, most all) crazy puppy antics, the newest of which is playing "ice hockey" with an ice cube. She was cracking both of us up before I came up to work on this post ... chasing it around the room, knocking it about with her paws and nipping at it before she finally decided to eat it. Who says dog toys have to be expensive? And we don't even mind that she eventually destroys these particular ones! So here you go, Janet ... she's got the makings of a hockey dog somehow ... at least she knows what to do with an ice puck!

Happy (Snowy) Valentine's Day!!

Image courtesy of Vintage Valentine Museum

I'd like to extend my warmest Valentine greetings to all my blogging (and other) friends who stop by here at Urban Oasis ... over the last few years, and despite the distances and lack of truly personal contact, I've become quite fond of many of you folks, so here's my feeble Valentine tribute to you! Though this is a holiday that we once considered much more important and fun (when we were kids and actually got to have parties in grade school!), I have to admit that over the years it has lost a lot of its impact and appeal --a pity, I feel-- but both of us still try to surprise each other with some sort of small gift, and of course some chocolate! Sometimes we will go out for a meal ... or just stay in and watch a movie ... or just do nothing at all! Lordy, do I feel like we are such an old married couple sometimes!

Anyway, no matter what you have planned (or not!) for the day, I hope it is a pleasant and enjoyable one for you! My gift to myself is my steadfast vow NOT TO WORK this weekend, as I have had to do so much in the past few months ... after putting in over 65 hours this week and cranking out yet another tight deadline report, I'm gifting myself with some rest and time away from work. So even if we don't have solid plans other than to run some errands at Target and a few other stores, we just want to take it easy and stay warm this snowy weekend.... Besides, Hanna is still new to the house and we have to make sure we set aside play time and walkies time for her!

Actually if we get the time, I'd like to get out to see Slumdog Millionaire before it wins every other conceivable award on earth ... I've read nothing but good reviews and heard positive comments from people, so I'm really curious about this film. Besides, I haven't seen anything else nominated for an Academy Award (not even the new Woody Allen film with Penelope Cruz and Javier 'hubba hubba' Bardem, shame on me!), but what else is new? I think the last time I actually "had a dog in the contest" was in 2005 when Brokeback Mountain was robbed by that lacrymose and overrated piece of crapola, Crash. Yeah, I'm still bitter about that, and if the Academy had had their brains in gear, they would have given Heath Ledger the award he deserved for that film, rather than doing the usual and waiting for someone to die before giving the posthumous award. (Anyone remember Peter Finch finally getting his Oscar back in 1976 for Network after he died???) Ok, better get out of film rant territory ... but one parting shot: of course my favorite film released in 2008 (though completed in 2006), The Fall didn't even get a mention, but then again I expected that.... I'm used to being in the dark about most commercial films ... you know, the kind that get recognized and make money ... so just let me simmer in my Luddite Filmic juices ... and though we still haven't seen Batman The Dark Knight, sometime we will, because I do have to admit we both loved Batman Begins. Just not a high priority around here, and if I have my way tonight we'll finally be watching No Country For Old Men, which I got for Christmas but still haven't seen ... yep, I'm that behind the times that the Cohen brothers have already made another film that I'd like to see, but until now have missed the previous one.

Just in case anyone might be wondering what a good selection for Valentine's Day would be, I'll recommend the one I used to watch every year (back when I was single), and one I might still pull out tonight just for fun, because it always makes me laugh and cry: the 1977 Best Picture, Director, Actress and Screenplay winner ... none other than Woody Allen's Annie Hall. If by chance (shame on you!) you've never seen it before, now's the time ... and if you've seen it before, it's time to revisit it one more time just for fun ... I mean, who can resist laughing when Woody suggests putting out "a small dish of drawn butter" to try to lure an escaped lobster back into the pot? Sheer brilliance. But then, what do I know? I'm one of those pointy headed elitist liberals who voted for Obama!

Ok, I've ranted and raved enough about films... Please permit me one last whine about the snow storm we got on Friday ... though it was slow to actually move in in the morning, once it got going, it kept up at a pretty steady pace (about 1 inch/hour) until about 8:00 p.m. ... Fernymoss and Hanna (who actually ventured out twice last night) estimate that here at Casa IVG we got about 8 inches before it was all over. Luckily for us, our neighbor two doors down who has the snow blower graciously did our walks and driveway, so we're going to owe him BIG time ... we'll be inquiring this weekend what his favorite beer is, then getting him some, because this is not the first time he's done us such a favor this winter! So we lucked out ....

Anyway, I wish this video I took today was viewable at larger resolution, because it really does show how hard and fast the snow was coming down at around 4:30 p.m. ... but at least this should give you an impression of what it was like. Just remember that the angle from which I took this (on the front steps facing north across the boulder bed) was until just yesterday, mostly clear of snow from our recent meltdown. Not anymore! Everything is once again buried ... so here we go paying our penance for that evil groundhog's prediction back on Februrary 2.

Thanks a lot, you jerk of a marmot. I was looking forward to snowdrop s and crocus, until you had to go and muck it all up! I hope someone throws a toaster into the bathtub next time you decide to take a bath! And that you go out tortured by Sonny and Cher.....

A Blast From February Past ...

In honor(?) of the impending snow storm headed our way today (Friday the 13th no less!), I headed back into the 2004 archives on the XP box I use as a file server, because I recalled one of those February blasts that was particularly memorable ... so here it is, the great snow of February 5, 2004. I originally titled this first shot "NOT A Wonderland," no doubt due to my disgust with that particularly harsh winter when we had had our fill of the white stuff at that point. And, if I recall correctly, that was also the year that we had the surprise St. Patrick's Day blizzard that graced us (and buried emerging bulbs) with a mere 17 inches of snow ... it was a long winter that year.... So, let's head around back and see what Pepa and Rolly thought of the whole thing....
Pepa was definitely in deep and up to her elbows here, but not unhappy about the situation ... she and Rolly always loved frolicking in the snow, at least until they got too cold and were ready to come back inside. But on this particular day, they were quite content to take advantage of the snow accumulation to romp in the back yard while it was still coming down fast and furious....
Ever the snow dog with his heavy coat, Rolly was undaunted by the falling snow and given his height advantage over Pepa, had no problems tromping happily through the drifts on his way to a play session with his dear companion Queen Pepa....
Ah, these were the great old play days Pepa and Rolly so enjoyed in their younger years, when they would chase and wrestle each other around for what seemed like hours on end ... Pepa would start by nipping Rolly's ankles to get things going and then they were off! Who cared that day if there were already about 8 inches of snow on the ground and more on the way? They were having waaay too much fun!
But even as much fun as playing in the snow could be, Pepa usually was the first to have her fill and head for the warmth inside to find a nice blankie to nest in for a wee nap after playing ... Rolly, ever the oblivious one, hadn't quite figured out the cue yet and was intently watching something that caught his interest elsewhere. I don't exactly recall what got his attention prompting him to come in (probably one of those short, curt and bossy barks from Pepa signaling the end of play time?) but eventually he made his way back toward the house....
Ok, I'll admit it, I was mostly likely the one who first had had enough of the cold and snow and was really ready to go back in, though both Pepa and Rolly didn't mind that idea either at this point. So, as the snow was still falling, we all headed back into the house to warm up, dry off and settle down for a nice nap after a snowy playtime ... and the snow just kept on coming. If I recall correctly, we ended up with about 10-12 inches from this storm, more than enough for us to grumble enough already! But no, there was more still to come in March before it was all over for the year.... One last shot of Queen Pepa, who wanted to get up close and personal with the camera with her snowy nose before we went in ... In retrospect, I really wish the camera I was using at the time (the faithful Fuji Finepix 2250) had had the video capabilities that my new S700 has, but no matter, it did a fine job of capturing our two beloved furry loves for posterity, and that's what ultimately counts for us, now that they're gone physically, but still keeping watch over Jardín and Casa IVG! And once again, I think we have to give them great thanks for sending us our wonderful new pup, Hanna, who's not quite a snow pup yet because this year was her first time experiencing snow and since we've had her it's been wickedly cold and snowy, but maybe next year she'll be frolicking happily in the snow like her noble predecessors did for so many years here. Time will tell, but we'll see how she reacts to this next snow on the way, so stay tuned for more details....

Fickle is February!

It's not every day that one sees a traffic warning sign like this one out on the streets! You may have seen this photo, as it's been making the rounds the past couple of weeks, but the back story is that some enterprising and clever hacker managed to get into the traffic sign system down in Austin, TX a few weeks back and changed the signs to this rather ominous warning. I have to say this would have definitely gotten my attention had I seen it driving around the city ... and we'd have been eagerly peering around each corner hoping to spot one or two ... but remember, we're big fans of zombie movies, especially the "zomedies" such as Fido and Shaun of the Dead. I have the sneaking suspicion that the perpetrator of this humorous mischief just might have similar tastes as well, but I'm just sayin' ...
Ah, winter in Iowa, you just gotta love it! It certainly can keep you on your toes for sudden changes, so today's secret word (scream real loud!!!) is Fickle. Just the other night I was waxing lyrical about our recent meltdown and balmy temperatures in the low 60's (it was a glorious 64 here on Tuesday!) We were just finally being able to see the brown grass underneath the disappearing snow pack the past few days and then the Weather Underground had to come out with this forecast tonight ... (if you're here) read it and weep! They've also issued a Winter Storm Watch for Friday and Friday night that mentions the possibility of 6-10 inches of the ubiquitous white stuff, so here we go again...!
Of course, this is nothing unusual for February, and I half expected as much, but after what has seemed like an interminably cold and snowy winter, allow me a brief whine (the cheese is over on the table, help yourselves) to say that I'm deeply discouraged, especially after getting my hopes up to be bulb spotting soon ... that will have to wait for another day. I did venture out front briefly late this afternoon to look for signs of bulbs coming up, but aside from the ratty looking foliage of the muscari which usually lasts through the winter anyway and some pretty bedraggled and melted looking primroses, there's not a lot of green to be seen.

Even the hollyhocks behind the house are looking melted and still dormant, and in the north Woodland Garden, there's still too much snow there to even begin to see if the Hellebores are still green. Of course, just about the only green out there is from the Hollies who provide us with our only winter interest in that part of the garden. Maybe I'll finally get some photos of snow frosted hollies this weekend if this storm turns out as predicted ... we've been meaning to do that all winter, but frankly, it's been too snowy and way too cold to even contemplate it thus far, but they do look really pretty with a nice covering of snow, so we'll see what I can come up with. I may just take some shots of the winter garden to show how depressing it looks at this point in winter with its dead foliage still standing (at least the birds got some food from the coneflowers), just waiting to be cut back in those first few warm days of spring as we prepare the beds for another growing season. But again, that's for another day when the snows have finally subsided and signs of green are definitely appearing!

As we gardeners well know, there are a lot of "waiting games" we have to endure over the seasons (awaiting the first blooms, the first ripe tomato, the first hibiscus blooms, the list goes on and on), but the period between late winter and the arrival of early spring is, at least for me, one of the most frustrating because it seems just so interminable!

I guess that if I don't have to work again this weekend, I'll just spend some time perusing some of the catalogues we've been receiving en masse since January ... I did look at one the other day that had a great deal on some blue irises that we may want to order at a substantial discount, though with the financial situation as it is currently, we're trying to restrain ourselves this year on new purchases ... but knowing us, we'll probably break down and get some new things anyway! We do, however, plan to restrain our planting instincts somewhat this year, and limit ourselves to mostly vegetables and a few new perennials (I've vowed not to get any more hibiscus this year!) so we can concentrate on what we already have in abundance. Besides, we do have our new puppy to train in garden etiquette and plan on spending a lot of time working with her on that ... further, we've decided that Hanna is a prime candidate for learning some agility type activities, so we want to work on those as well ... if for no other reason than to help her work off that inexhaustible puppy energy! She loves jumping and running, so we figure she's ready to do some hoop jumping and hurdle type activities if nothing else. So much we have planned for warmer weather ... it's just the waiting for it to arrive that is driving us all a bit stir crazy here right now ... I suppose it's just a case of the late winter "antsies" affecting us all, so the sooner we have nicer weather, the happier (and more active) we'll all be!

How many of you are feeling similar at this point of the winter? It can't just be us!

Meltdowns Make Me Long For Crocus!

Finally, at long last, we're getting a much needed respite from winter's cold and snow the past few days ... Today we even had some light rain (though thunderstorms were predicted) and the temperature made it all the way up to 60F ... I even opened the window in my office to let in the cool, fresh air! Just what I needed after this bout with the flu over the past two weeks, and when the sun actually came out this afternoon, it had an even more salutory effect on my winter weary mood, and set me to anticipating the imminent arrival of the spring bulbs! Though only the hardiest of the hardy might dare show themselves this early (Snowdrops, where are you?), it won't be that long before life starts stirring again in the beds and parking out front as the crocus and other early spring bloomers awaken from their long winter's nap under the snow pack, which, happily is receding more and more with each warmish day we experience....
Though we both have our favorites among the early bloomers, I have to admit that I've always had a real soft spot for crocus ever since I was a child when I marveled at seeing these bright messengers of spring pop up in various places in my parents' yard and garden. When we first started planting bulbs back in fall 1999, a nice assortment of Snow Crocus was among our first purchases (along with Siberian Squill and Snowdrops), and we've continued to plant hundreds more over the past ten years, and last year we added yet another 300 or so to our already burgeoning collection, so I'm eagerly awaiting their appearance this Spring. Since I didn't actually help with last fall's planting (Fernymoss did all the work this time), I'm not quite sure where exactly they will pop up, so that will add even more to the surprise and delight of seeing these cheerful little gems emerge from their winter hibernation....

Though these photos are from last spring (April alas, due to the very late malingering winter we had last year), they are just a few of the representatives of the dozens of varieties we have planted, and the one in the first photo is one of our "Giant Dutch" varieties, the name of which escapes me at the moment, but it's a lovely one I always enjoy seeing bloom!
These diminutive beauties are from a particularly delightful Snow Crocus mix we originally got from Van Bourgondien Bulbs, and we liked this mix so much that we ordered yet another collection of 100 of exactly the same last fall, so there will be even more of them coming up soon. Another thing I love so much about these Snow Crocus (in particular) is that they naturalize quite quickly and it's not unusual for them to double or triple in number in the first 2-3 years after planting, so much so that eventually we hope to achieve large drifts of them around the beds and parking where we have them planted ... can you imagine anything more delightful than that? Well, Fernymoss might differ with me and say he'd rather see huge drifts of Siberian Squill, but they're doing well enough on their own that they're already on their way to achieving that goal!
Being fortunate enough to capture the sun permeating the petals of these lovelies can produce a really beautiful effect, as the previous photo demonstrates quite well (I think!), revealing the rich depths and variations of color that you can find within a single bloom ... and with the many variations of color available in Crocus, painting a veritable rainbow across the garden is something easily within the reach of any gardener so inclined and willing to take the time to purchase and plant them. And, as far as planting bulbs is concerned, Crocus are among the easiest: they are small (about the size of a penny or dime) so they don't have to go down very deep and the motivated gardener can easily plant quite a few in one session, just using the ubiquitous garden trowel. The work is richly rewarded when one has reached the breaking point with wintery weather doldrums and the first few truly sunny and warm days of Spring arrive, they start springing from the ground almost in bloom even before the foliage is fully developed!
By now, I'm sure you've noticed the particular color theme in these photos revealing my penchant for the purple varieties, though I'm almost as fond of the astonishing range of brilliant yellows Crocus also offer and it won't be long before you'll be seeing them on these pages as well. I guess I was just in a purple mood tonight as I perused my archives looking for representative photos.... As the weather moderates more, I'll be outside looking for signs of their emergence, though the forecast for the rest of the week has us experiencing one more nice day (today), then we'll be back to more seasonal norms in the 30's. After all, it is just the beginning of February and we may still have more snows in store, but even if the Crocus do emerge, they can take a fair amount of cold and snowy abuse, so we'll see what the next few weeks bring!

At this point I'm sure some of you are wondering where Hanna is and why she hasn't appeared in this post (something she's probably asking herself as well!) so here's a bonus puppy picture for the dog inclined among you ... so here she is from a couple of weeks back, when I caught her posing and staring intently into the dining room where Fernymoss was undoubtedly doing something absolutely fascinating ... but then just about anything seems fascinating to Hanna at this point, which is one of the joys of puppyhood I had long forgotten, but am enjoying so much again since her arrival at Casa IVG.
There's something truly rejuvenating about sharing in the puppy's experience of a new environment and world ... for me, as cheesy as it might seem to say, it has helped reawaken my inner child's sense of wonder and opened up new perspectives for me yet again, thanks to Hanna's perpetual discovery of yet another new thing in her world. For example, just this past weekend while I was working away in my office, I had the window open and she heard a plane go over and really sat up to attention wondering what that might be ... I realized that what passes as totally banal for me, was yet another source of wonder for her as she explores the new world she's living in. And when I took her out several times today, I think she's just as (or more) relieved to see the snow recede ... now she doesn't have to worry about getting lost (literally) up to her elbows in the drifts of snow! I think she really appreciates that, but to know for sure, you'd have to ask her yourself!

Nurse Hanna

Well folks, it happened yet again this winter ... another nasty bug came to town to knock me down for the better part of a week, only this time it was the "Big I" Influenza virus that got me last weekend. I'm not talking about those annoying intestinal viruses we often refer to as "flu," this was the real thing, complete with a high fever (it peaked at about 104 for a couple of days), intense headache, dry cough, chills, aches, the whole complement of nasties as Woody Allen once said. All last Friday I didn't feel quite right ... a vague malaise, tiredness, feverish ... foreboding what would hit me full force on Saturday when I realized that I was well and truly sick!

Great timing as always with these things ... I was planning on working on a project for work Saturday (another tight reporting deadline looms again), but of course that didn't happen, since I was laid up, first in bed, then in my recliner buried in blankets where I passed most of the day shivering, aching, and dozing on and off while absorbing some comfort from non-stop Food Network programming (Ina Garten and Tyler Florence always make me feel better!).

I did, however, take great comfort from the constant nursing companionship of dear little Hanna, who barely strayed from my side (or lap) the entire day ... Dogs know when we're sick. They want to do whatever they can to make us feel better, and our new little one is no exception! Pepa always was an exemplary nurse pup whenever I was sick and never let me out of her sight when I was ailing, and it looks like Hanna already has the instincts as well! Not only did she help keep me warm while I was chilling (not in a good way!), but she gave me plenty of concerned looks and puppy kisses to make me feel better, barely leaving my side, even when Fernymoss came home from work and took her out for "walkies." Once she returned, she was right back with me, as in this photo ... though it looks like she is lying on something covered by a blanket, that "something" was my legs stretched out in the recliner and on the ottoman! She spent a good deal of time there over the weekend when she wasn't in my lap or curled up on my chest in the chair. She's a comfort pup for sure, and it's not all about her comfort, because she obviously wanted to make me feel better as well.
I ended up having to miss a day and a half of work early in the week, where I was laid out in bed with the fever until it broke sometime on Monday, and the entire time Hanna spent as close to me as she could get, not even asking to go out or be fed until I was able to get up and tend to her needs. That's why a good dog is such a treasure to behold: they exhibit a remarkable capacity to put their needs aside when one of their humans has a greater need, and this occasion was her first chance to prove herself, which she did more than admirably! And, as if we didn't know it already, this pup is a keeper! Which brings me to the fact that last weekend was the end of her "trial home visit period" ... her former foster mom called us Monday night to check in to make sure we wanted to finalize the adoption, and you can well imagine what our response was! All of us were in agreement that she landed in her forever home here, where she will now stay to bloom, play, flourish and otherwise enjoy being a part of our pack. I can't emphasize enough how fortunate we were to find this exceptional pup when we did, but then, every day I am more and more convinced that Coco and Pepa played a role in the whole process, aided by Hanna's wonderful foster mom and a great rescue organization that saved her from the city pound from which she originally came! I don't think we did anything particularly heroic by adopting a rescue dog (after all that's where the best dogs come from anyway), but rather than us giving her a "second lease on life," she gave us the new lease on life we needed at a particularly difficult time in our lives. We're just so glad it worked out so well for all of us, and we are all looking forward to the happy days ahead (even in these gloomy times) we'll all have together!

Jedi Doggie Magic indeed. And just when we needed it the most! And, dear Coco, Pepa and Rolly, our everlasting thanks for the role your erstwhile paws played in this whole transitional episode of our lives! You, the elder dogs who have gone before, still watch over us and the house and we hope you are enjoying Hanna's antics as well. You guys sent us a real treasure!

Gratuitous Hanna Pictures

As promised previously, here's Hanna in her new jacket we got for her "walkies," and we think she looks quite fetching, though what exactly she thinks about it in this photo is anyone's guess! It was a bit difficult to get her to sit still for these photos since she had just returned from her jaunt with Fernymoss ... tonight was quick (again, it was cold!) and just around a couple of blocks, but she got to meet some people who made over her, so she was quite happy to oblige them by playing happy puppy....
This shot gives a better view of the whole jacket, which to us looks like a jogging suit, and though it has a hoodie, she's having none of that, so we just let it hang behind her head ... I've yet to meet a dog who really likes having anything on her head, and though Pepa used to tolerate the Devil horns at Halloween, it was clear she was no fan of them! Shortly after taking this picture, the jacket came off for the night so she could play freely, bouncing around the room with her Kongs and squeaking the evil mouse madly until we could take it no more and put it up! I do agree with the yawn though, and need to be heading to bed myself very soon! It's all quiet downstairs, so I know what that means ... there's a snoozing couple in one of the recliners who needs to be revived and trundled off to bed!

Sunday Hanna will be officially ours, so we're going to have to plan for extra walkies and treats that day to celebrate ... by all indications, she has chosen us and our house and plans to stay. We couldn't be happier about it, and when we asked her tonight if she wants this to be her "forever home," she just wagged madly and jumped into the air a few times to give us her answer....

The Tinkering Continues ...

Hanna says: My computer dude daddy is way too obsessed with this blog thing, but he says that I'm going to be a star, so I guess I should cut him some slack for now, even if I don't understand just yet what it's all about. He says that I'll be appearing regularly in something called "posts" so as long as I'm part of it, I'm okay with that!

As you can see, I've been tinkering with more templates again tonight, and have tentatively settled on this one for now ... at least it is not cropping my photos or breaking margins (that I don't know yet how to control), so I'm somewhat pleased with where I ended up tonight. I do like the expanded flexibility to play around with fonts and colors the new templates offer, though not being able to center or alter the header photo still perturbs me. So if any of you more Blogger savvy folks have suggestions on how to do that, please let me know in the comments! And general suggestions or thoughts about the design are always appreciated as well.

I really wish I had the time to truly learn HTML and create something even more flashy, but given my coding limitations and general lack of free time, I'd rather focus my energies on what I think I do best, which is garden chronicling, the original intent of the blog after all. But any tips folks may want to pass along will definitely be welcomed!

I'm really getting antsy for winter to just move on, but we're only about to start the beginning of February, which historically can be a brutal month snow wise, so I think I should head to the archives for some previously un-posted shots to get us all in the mood for the warmer months to come! Though work continues in crazy busy mode, I'm going to be making a better effort to keep up with posting around here ... after all, this activity has always been my sanity refuge, so I owe it to myself to keep it up!

I really need to get some flowers back up here, so I don't risk turning this into a total "dog blog!" But for the moment, forgive me the new puppy infatuation and just enjoy (tolerate?) the puppy pictures! The evil side of me sees this as a bit of revenge for all the baby pictures I've had to endure over the years ... you know the ones ...Oh yes, that's lovely drool, what a cute smile (I bet the kid just crapped the diaper!) ... why doesn't that kid have any hair? Ok, time for this old curmudgeon to commune with the puppy and call it a day at the newly reconstituted blog. I hope you regulars are liking the changes you're seeing!

I'd like to offer a special shout out to Botanical Interests, who I noticed added me as a followed blog today! They're a great family based company that provides a lot of really great organic seeds ... flowers, veggies and herbs. Whenever we're looking for particular seeds, if we can find the Botanical Interests label for what we want, we always buy theirs, even if they might be a bit more expensive than the run of the mill Burpee or other companies. We've always had great success with their seeds, and it's nice to support a family owned business that isn't some overly commercialized operation. And did I mention? Their seeds are organic. Nuff said.

Thanks for all the fish,
IVG

Redecorating: Pardon the Mess!

Regular readers may have already noticed that there's a bit of redecorating going on here around the Oasis ... for quite a while, I've felt that my old "design" was looking really tired and tattered and needed an updating, so I finally screwed up my courage to the sticking point, and made the scary transition to the new Blogger templates. Now I'm glad I did, though it did scramble up quite a few things in the process, but now that I've restored some semblance of its original order, I think the ole Oasis has a lot of room to grow in the coming months. I hope you'll continue to like what you see, especially when the snows recede and venturing outside isn't dangerous anymore (as it has been frequently of late!) ... the promise of the bulbs and spring flowers is already making me impatient!

Au salon de la rue des moulins, Toulouse Lautrec, 1894

Now, some of you may be wondering what Toulouse Lautrec has to do with all this ... trust me, it does go with the redecorating theme. This piece was a placement we made back in August when we had a major rearrangement and decorating of the living room, and it somehow didn't make the cut at the time. When we watched Moulin Rouge again on New Year's Eve, I was reminded that I'd never posted this Lautrec lithograph and decided it was about time to do so! This lithograph is from a series of numbered and stamped editions from the Musée Toulouse Lautrec in Albi, France ... though it's not one of his more famous works, the subject matter is well known in his work. Yes, these are filles de joie from a maison privée on Rue des moulins in Paris, where he was reputed to have spent some time living around this time period. I know little else about this particular work, but, as a long time Lautrec admirer, I'm really glad it's part of my collection.

I came by this print rather by accident ... one of the former owners of the company where I work had bought this for the office and it arrived damaged (broken glass and frame), and no one really wanted to put it up in the office. Quite frankly, I was the only admirer (other than the purchaser) who liked it and it wandered about the office before ending up in my cube. When our office went 'virtual' a year ago, all of the artwork was divvied up among the employees, and this, the ugly duckling was unwanted ... except by me! So I got to bring it home in its ramshackle frame to await better treatment, which took a few months but finally happened. Since Fernymoss is a professional framer (he's the frame shop manager for a local retail big box craft store), he was delighted to take it on as a project. Believe me, the framing work wasn't cheap, but the results more than made up for the expense! This photo doesn't do justice to it really, because it looks like it should be hanging in a museum ... well in a sense it is, the museum of our eclectic delights ... thus the inclusion in this post devoted to spiffing up the familial spaces, such as this blog.
Of course you must have guessed that more puppy pictures were inevitable, didn't you? Here are a couple of candids of Hanna playing with her new squeaky puppy Kong earlier tonight ... we've just about decided that Kongs are the only way to go for her in terms of toys right now, because she manages to destroy just about anything else (even apparently durable) at this point. And boy, do the Kong toys keep her entertained and busy! Just what a growing puppy needs to slake that chewing instinct. One of our dear friends from the neighborhood dropped by last night with a welcome bag of toys and treats for her, only to see her destroy two of them in minutes ... I felt so bad about that, but at least a few of the things she gave Hanna seem like they may survive to play another day. As responsive and obedient as she is already, I have to keep reminding myself that she is still a puppy and any kind of insane idiosyncratic behavior is indeed possible ... but isn't that part of why we love pups? Their in the moment way of living and their downright funny-crazy antics ... honestly, I'd forgotten about a lot of that, since Pepa was a bit older when I got her, but still wild and crazy ... but that was 13 years ago and many things have changed since then. Anyway, here's Hanna chewing away on her Kong and reveling in the squeakitude!
Here's the happy pup taking a break and holding one of her new favorite toys securely in her paws. I set her loose earlier tonight with the evil alien squeaky mouse for a while and she went wild, bounding across the room squeaking and growling at it as she lept about ... despite the noise (I was trying to watch Countdown and The Rachel Maddow Show at the time, with varying degrees of success), she was having such a great time entertaining herself (and me) after being such a good girl while I worked today. Now in our second week, we sort of have a routine established now ... out in the morning, breakfast, lounging on the futon in my office for most of the day (with regular outs) and then romping at night. And, despite the cold, she even looks forward to "walkies" with Fernymoss when he gets home from work ... and for that, he's declared that she is going to get boots very soon to protect those puppy paws that aren't quite tough enough yet for the snow and cold. We'll see how that works out, but she does get chilly quickly outside with her short coat, so anything we can do to ease that, we'll do (though I've always thought doggie boots silly ... curmudgeonly me).

So, tonight at Casa IVG, the new doggie era continues to evolve, and we couldn't be happier with our new little girl ... I'm glad that my previous dogs Coco and Pepa had a paw in her being here ... before we got Hanna I had a series of dreams about them, and in retrospect, I feel they were messages to seek Hanna out and make her a member of the extended family, but that's a post to come when I can do them justice. Suffice to say, Coco the corgi tipped me off about her and Pepa gave her approval ... you'll have to wait for the rest at some future point.

So ... please let me know what you think of the new look around the place (I've even posted a poll, lol), and make any suggestions you think would improve the overall look! I believe in evolution in blogs as well! It's about time this one had a bit of a shake up!

Hanna's Grand Day Out (UPDATED)

So here we are, at the end of Hanna's first week in residence here at Casa IVG ... and so far, she's been settling in remarkably well, though there have been a few missteps on her and our parts, but nothing truly dramatic or game changing (meaning, she's here to stay if it's all up to us), mostly just puppy blunders, which are bound to happen with any young dog. After all, Hanna is probably just barely 9 months old and is still a total pup, despite her oh so adult demeanor ... Personally, I think she's just exhilarated with how she's been living large the past week, and she has developed a quick taste for it! Sure, there will have to be some rules and boundaries laid down and enforced, but that's what she needs ... and the pack is just getting itself organized at this point.

Hanna's had a couple of piddling accidents in the house, which I attribute to us not all communicating on the same signals just yet, but that will come quickly in time, I think. In any case, it's just all a part of puppyhood ... she's still learning and has had an awful lot to take in and process in the last week! Overall, if I had to grade her, it would be a close A-. Now, there was the toilet paper incident on Thursday when I had to be away (her first time alone) for several hours for meetings ... when I returned after her having spent about 4 hours alone, I found that she had found the extra rolls of toilet paper we had stored on a marble shelf in the bathroom ... think of that commercial with the terrier who drags the toilet paper from the bathroom all over the house, and that was pretty much the scene I found when I got home. Part of me had to laugh, while the other took on the role of the stern daddy who expressed his deep disappointment with the errant child ... no physical retribution, but stern words of dissatisfaction, mixed with reassurances that this little incident by no means jeopardized her status here, just that she had to learn boundaries. Having raised terriers previously, I know we'll be reinforcing that for many years, but they do respond and learn their manners. And where Hanna's concerned, she's way beyond most pups her age, so we have no reason to believe she won't be a star very soon!

So, in celebration of her first week and incipient Star status, Hanna got to experience her first dogsumer shopping experience at Petco today! We had a lot of things on the list, most importantly durable rubber squeaky toys that she couldn't destroy in about 20 minutes, like those previously given ones we started out with (they've since gone to the trash). Hanna had a blast at Petco, meeting other dogs and playing in the squeaky aisle, even if the ones we got her weren't her first choices, but the two we did choose for her have been real hits since we got home. She's now the proud owner of a Puppy Squeaky Kong (practically indestructible) and a bizarre heavy rubber bug eyed mouse. So far, she hasn't been able to leave as much as a scratch on either one, despite the heavy play ... whew, one issue resolved.

Here's about a minute of video I took tonight as she retrieved, and then proceeded to attack the squeaky mouse toy at length ... pardon the darkish exposure, we've got to work on the lighting still for indoors video! Anyway, check it out as she brings forth some downright eerie cries from her new squeaky mouse....

And here she is working on her squeaky puppy Kong, almost as popular as the mouse, but less strident in its squeakiness, but apparently no less fun for her ... even though she'd already been playing with both for several hours ... I think she came out well from her excursion with two great new toys that will last her quite a while. Whew. We were worried she'd wipe us out with her appetite for destroying the cheap squeakies, so we raised the bar quite a bit, and she seems even more pleased with the results so far. So here's fun with Squeaky Puppy Kong!

After we picked up some new dog necessities --which probably weren't as exciting for Hanna-- including her own new bowl, a stylin' jogging jacket (for those increasingly chilly walks around the neighborhood here lately), a new collar, new food and treats (Science Diet Puppy Food and treats), we headed to the checkout, where one of the cashiers gave her a treat.... She got to leave the store in a joyous mood. She was soo good on her visit, I think we'll be taking her back when we need more supplies, but after today (and all we spent) that may be a while, but a dog can dream, eh? In any case, her visit to Petco was certainly sensory overload for her ... all the great smells, the presence of other dogs and people to make over her (and there were several!), I'm sure she's eager to go back as soon as she can!

Once home, she got to play --incessantly-- with her new squeaky toys, had a quick walk around the neighborhood she's just getting to know, (it had to be quick because of the cold, even with her jacket), she started winding down (as much as terriers ever do), and for the first time since she's been here, she took possession of Pepa's old cushy bed. This was a big step for me, because it most surely smells of Pepa and she has avoided it until today ... Somehow, she felt the proper permission to use it today and I'm glad to see that happen. Most of this week though, she has spent the day lounging on the futon couch in my office that Pepa used to frequent ... and what's more, in almost the same spot on the blanket Pepa favored. Make of that what you will. No matter what the case, she obviously had a Grand Day Out, and as you can see in this last (very typical tonight) shot, she ended the day quite contented. So ends Hanna's first week here ... where she has witenessed the inauguration of a new president, gotten acquainted with the sights, smells and stimulations of a new home ... no wonder she was exhausted with all this processing!

It looks like living large agrees with her here ... and we're certainly remaining thrilled to have her along for the ride ... there's a lot of good things to look forward to in the future, not to mention spring! We're betting she's really going to enjoy spring and summer here as the new garden mascot! So stay tuned, and be ready to indulge our currently endless puppy love!

Sunday night Pupdate at 11:10 PM.

Hanna's foster mom called us tonight to see how Hanna was doing, and of course we gave her a glowing report about how great she's working out with us. She was very happy and gratified to hear how thrilled we are to have her, and appreciated hearing the squeaky Kong in the background, lol. She thought that Hanna's expedition to Petco sounded like lots of fun and was glad to hear she's getting to go places with us (she's great in the car!), so there will be lots more of that, especially as the weather gets warmer. Anyway, we have the last "official" paperwork to take care of next weekend, but that should just be pro forma at this point, as neither she nor we have any reservations about her staying here for good. At this point, I think she's as good as ours for her "forever" home ... and she sure seems to be loving it here living in the lap of doggie luxury!

--end puppy gushing--

Please Let the Door Hit You in the Ass!

I know, I know, I generally try to keep this a g-rated blog and my political rants are relatively infrequent, but sometimes I just can't resist a good swift kick in the (choose your body part) for certain people who poison the world around us. This. Worst. President. Ever. Has been a terrifying thorn in our nation's heart for eight long, dark years now and it's finally time to shovel the ample execrement he has made of our Constitution out the door of the White House and turn a new, more hopeful --though risky-- page in our history. I say risky, not because I fear Obama (quite the contrary, I was an avid supporter after he beat out John Edwards in the caucuses a year ago), it's because of all of the messes this Shrub, this Constitution shredding, spoiled rich kid leaves behind for others to clean up.

Way back in the 90's, the prescient (now, alas departed) Molly Ivins tried to warn the nation about SHRUB as he prepared to run for the presidency. She correctly predicted, that if given the chance to "govern" (using that term very loosely), he would leave the country in smoldering ruins, just like every business he had attempted to run up to that point in his life ... a failed oil company, a failed baseball team, you name it, he managed to muck up everything he attempted with his reverse Midas touch. Now we've seen the results of the vaunted "CEO Presidency" and the Nation has finally woken up to the disaster the Supreme Court wrought with its meddling in the Florida recount in 2000. When you appoint idiots to run the country, nothing good can come from it! And now, our long national nightmare is over... though when Gerald Ford uttered those words in 1974, I doubt he realized what an understatement it was, given what followed from Nixon's famous "Southern Strategy" that laid the groundwork for the coup of 2000. Having lived through the Nixon years from ages 10-16 and having thoroughly loathed him as evil, in retrospect, Nixon was a veritable bleeding heart liberal! Back in those days, I would have never believed that one day I would look back at Nixon somewhat positively, but that's one of those ironies that history sometimes cruelly makes us realize as we experience more of the world as we get older....

In any case, it will all be over in a matter of hours, and President Obama will assume the burden of power and enter the White House, thus ending what has to be the darkest political period of my adult life. Obama won't be perfect. He'll make mistakes, to be sure. But at his core, Barack Obama has a kind heart and a conscience, something the SHRUB never figured out in all the years of his pampered nepotistic existence. Let's all give Obama the chance he deserves to try to get things back on track! After all, look at the latitude that other one had for eight disastrous years and where that got us....

We'll be celebrating the Inauguration after work today with a few toasts and blessings for Barack and catch up with what we missed during the day (yeah, there's that thing called work), along with our new little bouncing bundle of joy who's going to get lots of treats so she can celebrate the new era with us!

So on to the fun stuff, and enough political rants. I feel better now that the calendar (which seemed so fat and interminable a year ago) only has one more page to tear off....

Here's a fun shot of Hanna I took tonight as Fernymoss had her pose for a treat ... she's quite good at sitting on her hind legs (as well as walking around that way), and doesn't the camera just love her?
I took this second shot last night as I was making dinner (French potage and fresh baguettes) and she was asking permission to enter the kitchen. I can already see that Hanna, just like Rolly and Pepa is going to be haunting the kitchen when I cook, and after all, what doggie can resist the room of good smells? Not to mention, it's where they eat their food and get their water, so it's a natural. In fact, I'd be wondering what was wrong with Hanna if she hadn't so quickly figured that one out!
Hanna's settling in remarkably well so far and when I took her out first thing this morning (it was about 12F) she headed straight for the back door, waited for me to put the leash on and then charged outside and got right down to her business. Once done (oh, maybe in a couple of minutes) she headed right back to the door and inside, where it was warm and cozy, to eat her breakfast. She spent some more quality time with Fernymoss before he went to work, then joined me in my office for the rest of the day as I worked, spending much of the time curled up by my feet under the desk. I think she's already liking it here at Casa IVG and is getting good coaching from Pepa and Rolly on the fine arts of being a good dog. Yeah, there are those little "manners" things we have to teach her, but so far she's so way ahead of most dogs her age. But then, I'm not exactly an objective observer, but what new parent is? So cut me some slack, at least for a little while, as we all enter the post-SHRUB era as a newly reconstituted family!

Meet the New Member of the IVG Pack!

As you regular readers know all too well by now, we lost our beloved Pepa and Rolly back in early December, and ever since, the house has seemed so empty, lifeless and devoid of energy or much joy ... at first we vowed we'd wait until at least Spring before we thought about adopting another dog, but we were sure we wanted her to be at least part terrier. A couple of weeks ago, just out of curiosity I started looking at adoptable dogs on the Petfinder website, The local Animal Rescue league, and a few other sites ... then I stumbled one night upon Hanna's web page, sponsored by T.A.R.A, a Kansas City based rescue organization. It was love at first sight, at least for me ... so I rounded up Fernymoss and had him come up and take a look at her ... He liked her immediately, just based on her web page and we talked a bit about maybe asking for more information about her. He went to bed early that night, and I thought to myself, I'm smitten enough by this little girl, I should at least fill out an application to adopt her and see what happens.
I didn't have to wait long, as it turned out ... the following day, Fernymoss called me from work and asked me: "You know that little dog we were looking at last night? How serious are you about seeing if we can adopt her?" I laughed and replied: "Serious enough to have spent the time filling out the adoption application last night!" Sometimes even our sporadically great minds think alike!

A little later I was contacted by Hanna's foster mom (and rescuer from the pound), with whom I had a very nice conversation about possibly adopting her. I explained our circumstances and said that we hadn't really intended to adopt so soon, but that she had already stolen our hearts, or at least attention! I said we were quite serious about at least giving her their standard "2 week trial home stay" and if she was willing, we'd love to meet her as soon as possible. As it turned out, little Hanna was suffering with a mild case of kennel cough (that seems to be going around all over in the kennels right now) and that she still had a week to complete her course of antibiotics, but she would likely be ready to come up January 18. I talked to her a few more times in between now and then, as we worked out more of the details and questions ... I tell you, the waiting between January 7 (our first contact) and today was excruciatingly interminable! I think it was even worse for Fernymoss than I (though I was exceedingly antsy!), but I was more than willing for the right time for her to come and see if she'd like living at Casa IVG ... she's such a unique little girl (part Corgi-Jack Russell Terrier), she was more than worth the wait!

The wait finally ended late this afternoon, as Hanna and her foster mom rolled into the drive, provoking cries from Fernymoss of "She's Here! She's HERE!!!" While everyone got acquainted (her foster mom is a lovely person, btw!), Hanna quickly discovered our somewhat limited supply of squeaky toys and set about playing, jumping up and down and generally making herself quite at home! After we took care of all the necessary paperwork, her foster mom took off back to Kansas City, and we began to get to know our new little girl, and boy, is she a honey! Lots of puppy kisses, playing and exploring the various rooms of the house, all totally new and intriguing territory for her, obviously....
She definitely loves her squeaky toys, and I can see that she's going to keep us busy finding her new ones ... here she is positively demolishing one of Pepa's old toys, the evil stuffed squirrel, and after a while we decided we should take the plushie squeakies away from her, because we are afraid she'll ingest some of the stuffing, but I remembered some old rubber squeakies people had given us in the past (Pepa and Rolly appreciated the gifts, but never quite got into them) that were stored away down in the basement ... so I pulled all the good ones and gave them a try, then brought them upstairs. Fernymoss said that she had heard me squeaking them downstairs and was checking out all the registers trying to figure out where the noise was coming from, lol. So, when I returned, I regaled her with a veritable bonanza of toys which kept her quite busy and active for a good amount of time ... enough that she seems to have forgotten the plushies and is having fun playing with these rubber ones.
Though she's only been here a little over six hours, she's already brought such a positive and energetic change to our lives and household ... we're honored to have her here and are sure she will make a wonderful new addition to our pack (even the ones who are now gone, but who watch over the house).
I have to admit, I expected her to be bigger than she turned out to be, but no matter what size, she is positively adorable and very bright ... and for a puppy of about 8 months old, she's remarkably obedient and polite ... at least so far! She clearly wants to please and have fun, and we're right on board with that, even though we're going to need to work with her on a few puppy issues (boundaries mostly), she's astonishingly mature for a dog her age. Though she clearly has the Corgi body, she really favors the Jack Russell Terrier more, and she's got the terrier vim and vigor and big dog attitude nailed down already. Just the thing to warm any terrier lover's heart and bring a great sense of pride and joy to have such an inquisitive, energetic and sweet pup in the house!

So, a new pup era begins here at Casa IVG, and though we still miss Pepa and Rolly very much, Hanna is not intended to be a replacement for them, no ... she is a follower in their very big paw prints, and with time, we already think she's going to fill them admirably and spend many good years here with us. We're hoping she enjoys them as much as we think we are going to! She's already been on a walk around the neighborhood tonight to get acquainted with the smells and sights and sounds ... and she's clearly fascinated by the different sounds around the house (the furnace kicking in, the refrigerator running, etc.), so it's going to take a little time for her to adjust to her new surroundings, but she already seems very comfortable here and is, as I write, napping with Fernymoss on the couch downstairs. It's so quiet that I know that's where she is (as she was a bit earlier before I began this post) ... She had a very big day! After a 3+ hour drive up here, and all the stimulation and playing she had earlier, even she, the terrier, seems ready to settle down and recharge! And boy, will she recharge, I'm sure! As active as Pepa was (even toward the end), it's been a while since we've had such energy loose in the house ... and we're loving every minute of it!

Aaron, Fernymoss' brother (the vet) told me when I first discovered her and sent her link to him, that he thought it was probably a good idea for us to adopt now, to ease the pain of our losses and refocus our energies ... therapy, if you will. He referred to the "Jedi doggie magic" another pup can exert on grieving people, and if tonight's been any indication, she's really working the magic well! This is a very happy day here at our house, and as we hurtle toward the Obama inauguration, we feel so privileged to have such a positive little honey ushering in the new era with us! It truly does seem like we've turned the page definitively on a very sad 2008 and we are advancing into the challenges of a better 2009, and she'll be along for every joyous step of the ride.

So, regular, faithful readers who have offered us so much consolation and very kind thoughts since we lost our precious pair of devoted friends, what do you think? She's definitely got "Queen" potential (if Pepa is willing to relinquish her crown ... as I think she would), don't you think?