Adding Width to the Footpath

Now that tearing out the lawn is completed, the next step in the front yard project of a thousand years (it certainly feels like it's taking that long), is to widen the existing footpath. The jades which were planted too close to the path overhang it by quite a bit and constantly cutting them back actually does pretty much nothing to gain space. So before the architectural piece I keep mentioning but never seem to get to, is installed, a wider walkway needs to be created out of bits and bobs of leftover rock and bricks. If nothing else, we need to be able to get the yard waste bin out to the street and back without damaging too much greenery.

I believe I mentioned in a previous post that a neighbor who was moving out was happy to give me the broken concrete from his driveway and I still have bricks left over from another free neighbor score. Whether they will be enough for what I need is the big question mark in all this, though even if not, there is so much stuff about the place in various piles, there's bound to be something that is both practical for the purpose, and whimsical in the application.

The trick is to somehow link these otherwise different materials into a cohesive looking whole - patchworking them so they look like a plan and not merely a hodgepodge. The plan will ultimately involve some sort of steppable ground cover, but that kind of planting is best done in January/February and not what Southern Californians consider the depths of a brutal winter (all of 41°F at night). I know - we're total wimps. 

Speaking of ground covers, the Dymondia is still hanging in there and though the cold certainly isn't helping things, if it hasn't gone totally belly up by now, there may be a remote chance it will grow and be prosperous. On this score I am keeping both fingers and toes crossed. The squirrels appear to have lost interest in it as well, which certainly improves the chance of survival. Not finding little excavations for nut storage is a good thing. 

Flying Dog Hair and Other Tales of Horror

Imagine, if you will, a fluffy Shih Tzu with a deceptively cute face. Imagine also that in the grief of having lost a beloved four-legged member of the family, you decide to adopt another canine to share love and life with. In fact, you go one step further and adopt the fluffy Shih Tzu's bosom buddy at the rescue group, a Lhasa Apso. The Lhasa was severely abused, so you know to be calm and gentle around him; the Shih Tzu seems calm to the point of lethargy. She has pneumonia you soon realize. Three vet trips later, she's cured and is ready to show you her true personality. And thus we realized that demon spawn in dog suits had managed to insinuate themselves into our home.

Even with my experience with animals of all kinds, I felt an expert was necessary to sort out the myriad behavior problems these two beasties managed to bundle into their little bodies. We hired an animal behaviorist/trainer to work with us and then spent almost 8 months undoing the trauma of that. And now, 9 years later, we STILL have 2 unruly dogs that seduce people with cuteness and drive us to distraction. Today was no different.

We try to keep up with their grooming at home because the idea of a lawsuit from a professional groomer doesn't appeal. So today was the foray into Phase 1 of the let's-get-the-worst-of-the-muck-and-matted-hair-off process. This involves taking one reluctant critter to the outdoor sink area and hoping you both come back alive. My little ones have absolutely mastered the art of passive resistance. Gandhi, if he were still around, could take lessons from them. The first maneuver is to lie down like a boulder and not budge. This doesn't have quite the effect they desire in that you can still get to trim the face, neck and ears and the top. So far so good. There is squirming, sure, but manageable.  But now comes the hard part. You need to get the hind end. You coax her up. You start to lift the tail. The bottom drops to the table. She does a double twist which somehow has the wrong end in your direction. How did that even happen? You try to roll her over. Again a double twist and she's flat on the table again. Out come the cookies to cajole her into cooperating. She snags the cookie and wiggles out of position before you can even get the scissors ready. This goes on for about 10 minutes with a sneak snip here and there, until the big handsome Akita (whom you've met), comes bounding out to tell some hapless dog off for having the temerity to pass by his yard. Since Ms. Shih Tzu is the big guy's sworn enemy, she takes umbrage and immediately and suicidally wants to jump from the high sink and go after him. Meanwhile, hair is flying, scissors go skittering so you can grab her from her own foolhardiness, and you realize the better part of valor is to call it quits for now. Round 2 will have to wait until after lunch and a nap. 

Finished at Last, Finished at Last - Almost

I thought the last corner of the front yard was going to defeat me. It certainly set out to. The thatch was a snarled tangle of devilish tendrils deeper than any other patch. I got enough rocks out of the soil to cover a 2 square foot area an inch deep (finished off the top dressing of a Bird of Paradise nicely). The ground was harder than any other section and for some reason the slight breeze wafted the dust up into my eyes - no matter which side I chose to attack from. With hips and legs creaking and aching, all I wanted to do was hang up the tools for the day and walk away. I was also determined to finish before the reported rain for today. Rain was part of the grand scheme to get the soil workable for the next step. If that last pesky section wasn't done, then the next phase would be held up. So kneeling and pounding away, just as the last rays of the sun dimmed, I stood in triumph. Done at last! Well...except for the little bit I missed in the middle. But the little bit is not essential to the grand scheme for the architectural piece, so I'm calling it done. Yes, I'll go back to the the other one of these days. 

Information sheet on the ground cover - click to enlarge

Now lest one think this past week of no posting has been idle, I will report that a generous neighbor, who was taking out big sections of her ground cover, Dymondia margaretae, offered what she dug up. The last time she offered, I dutifully planted (about a week later) and the squirrels liked it for nut storage. Not surprisingly, it didn't take kindly to being left in a bag too long, planted in large clumps and then being harassed by squirrels. Yes, it died off. So this time, pick-up was prompt, the next afternoon spent on hands and knees made a nice border around the bottle border and a rock grouping along the walkway to the front door, and all was well. Neighbors and dog walkers commented - nicely - on the new addition. And for one entire day, it did look fah-bu-lous dahling. And then the temperature dropped. And some critter (I'm gonna go with squirrel) found a section in a corner to dig up. I refuse to give up hope, however. Though this is NOT the right time of year to plant, and my squirrels are a rowdy bunch, I will continue to plead and cajole to make it grow. Frankly, as of today, it looks a bit like a pig's breakfast, but if it can just hold on for the next two months, the temperatures will return to balmy in the evenings, and some of it may take off, be fruitful and multiply.