Tweaking great ideas

I confess that I have great ideas (in my head) every nano-second or so. OK -- so that's not quite true, but every once in awhile I come up with a notion that has potential. And so it was a couple of days ago. I have a beautiful firestick plant in front which used to reach to the sky and displayed delicate yellows and reds. Well, the wind storms we've had lately decided to bend the tallest so it was in danger of falling over. I did what I had to do and cut it off. The top will be planted elsewhere and to all you animal lovers out there, I make sure they are not easily accessible to dogs.

Before:  

 After:

Well, you can see the problem right off. Now there's a big hole in that section of the garden. Aha, says I. I will fill it by putting one large (ugly) pot at the bottom and add a decorative pot that came to me with no bottom, put that one on top and plant the top pot with pretty stuff and the bottom pot with normal succulents and it will fill the space, reduce weeds in that area, and be a nice subtle focal point (if you crossed my yard to take a closer look).

The bottom pot is HUGE and took a great deal of dirt to fill and the top pot was not much smaller -- do you already see the problem? -- and took endless trips back and forth to get the right mix of dirt and potting soil. Wow, I said to anyone who would listen. That's looking great. Now to add a sprig of this and that and oh...whoops, there isn't much room in the bottom pot to plant anything. And even though the roots could grow down and out just fine, there's not room for the actual succulents to look full when they try to grow in.

So while I like the rustic look, guess what I'm going to do. Why yes, pull all that dirt out, take off the top pot, why not, and place another, smaller pot on top, that conveniently enough, also has no bottom. Did I mention that most of my garden pots are scrounged from neighbors who are getting rid of them, or are being put out for bulk pick up? I take them in almost any condition and figure out how to make them work - well at least in theory. So long story short, this is what it looks like today, and won't look like in a couple of days.

Chickens, lizards and pots, oh my.

So the saga of the chicken who has adopted my yard is not over. She apparently is a ninja chicken who quite happily shows up in unexpected places like my back yard that has a 6 foot fence. I know she can fly, but what is attracting her to the back yard? Thinking she's perhaps trying to ingratiate herself and do a meet and greet, I got some seed and went out 5 minutes after spotting her to find - nothing. She's not there. Nowhere. I didn't see her leave, heard nothing and yet poof. I can't even get a picture of her because between the time I spot her lovely self and grab my phone, she's disappeared. It's become a bit unnerving to know that this chicken, that I continue to worry about, apparently has no such concerns and likes to taunt me with sightings from time to time just to keep me guessing. Sigh.

We're also noticing a huge increase in the number of lizards around the place. After last year's and this year's good rains we had a lizard baby boom - and not just one kind of lizard either. I've detected at least 3 different ones. I happen to love lizards and get a real kick out of seeing them doing their pushups and scurry up the garden wall or out from under the lizard pots I have scattered around for their protection. They are really quite friendly and endearing, though my partner believes they are amassing an army to take over the world. I'm afraid he watches far too many episodes of Pinky and the Brain (hilarious mice) or reads too much SciFi. Though come to think of it, a lizard explosion and a random chicken all at the same time....

On a lighter note, I decided to try making one of those pot towers that tip -- well, see for yourself. What I'm going to try and nurture in them is another story. A note about why I would do such a crazy thing -- there was a piece of rebar stuck in the ground when we moved in and all attempts to remove it failed. I had numerous ways to try and keep it from impaling anyone or any critters who frequent my yard, and the results were always half-assed at best.

So being addicted to Pinterest and seeing said tippy towers around the neighborhood, I thought to give it a try. Turns out it's easy to make and not so easy to water, so I'm guessing succulents will be my best bet. Any other suggestions welcome.

I will note that the rebar still poked out just a teensy at the top, so I put a small bottle over it and then glued a glass glob to the top. It only makes a difference to me because you can't really see it from afar as a decorative device, but I didn't want to scratch my hands while planting or watering, which is exactly the thing I like to do.

And now, for the grand finale...our big bear looking very handsome and pensive in the place he spends a great deal of his time:

Excitement and drama all wrapped up in one little...chicken.

Yup. A pretty little white and gray chicken appeared in my critter area yesterday. First thoughts -- gotta catch her to keep her from being another hit and run statistic on the street we like to call killer alley. Grabbing my critter rescue towel, I gently eased the side door open and stepped out. Got about three steps off the stoop and saw a flash of white running away. She was fast. Reluctant to give chase, both because of the dangerous street and the fact that, let's face it, I'm no Usain Bolt at this point, I let her do her thing.

I belong to Nextdoor and having been a long-time gawker decided it was time to add my 2 cents on the site. What better post than an escaped chicken. I hoped a chicken whisperer would come along and coax the little beauty out. Or the chicken guardian would realize their darling had flown the coop. So I posted. First in lost and found. Then again, because why not spread the love?

Half hour later, I guess she decided she liked my yard better than the neighbor's, she comes strutting back. This time though she heads into what I fondly refer to as the thicket -- an area planted with everything sharp and pointy as possible: cactus, aloe, agave, and some jade plants to make it look less threatening. As I'm thinking of calling animal control for help, a woman walks up to the corner. "Have you seen a chicken?" I inquire. "Yes and I'm here to help you catch her" she replies. Just then a man jumps out of his car and strides purposely toward the thicket. I call to him, "Does that chicken belong to you?" The woman replies laughing, "No he's my boyfriend." It suddenly dawned on me that goodhearted neighbors were responding to my latest urgent post on Nextdoor. Because why post twice when you can make a total fool of yourself and Urgent post a third time in increasingly strident language. Which worked! While they're trying to figure out a way to flush out the bird, I'm on the phone to the humane society talking to an officer I swear is trying not to laugh. The upshot of the conversation was, quite understandably, but disappointingly, they couldn't spare an officer for what was basically an impossible task. Fair enough. 

My fabulous Nextdoor friends (because that's how I think of them now) and I realized the sheer futility of wrangling the chicken from the thicket, so the woman suggested I try using a dog crate with seed inside to lure the chicken in. Worth a shot, though it would mean I would have to be nearby to slam the door shut. So out came the crate and the seed and me sitting motionless to watch her scooting around into impossible places. She was far too smart for me -- which is saying something for a chicken -- and she was all too aware I was there and what my plan was. So as nighttime approached, I left, hoping she would seek the crate out as a safe roost for the night and we would have a happy ending. No joy. I didn't see her later that night when I took the big bear (my dog) for a walk. Sigh.

This morning first thing I sprang out of bed (that NEVER happens) and went to the thicket. Sure enough, she's strutting around. Catchable - no. But looking very perky. Ah, I thought, a water bowl near the crate will lure her closer. Nope. And then, when I went back to check later in the morning - no chicken anywhere! No spillage of feathers indicating an attack by a predator, but no chicken. No chicken this afternoon -- not a sign. Soooo, theories. The chicken's human had found her; persons unknown kidnapped her; she just decided to move on down the road. Your guess is as good as mine. I just hope she's OK and living her best chicken life.

Potted Plants Solve a Delicate Problem

Well, if you'll recall from 2 posts ago I mentioned, not without some pride, that after 5 years I finally planted some flowers in the iron bed in my side yard. Yup - well that lasted all of a month. Today I realized they weren't thriving and as with so many of my cunning plans, it had gone south. Now, I'm nothing if not flexible when it comes to my gardening faux pas, so I decided to pot them in an array of pots on my back steps.

Before you go thinking I've gone over to the twee side of cute, I will explain that the pots serve a very important purpose. My 16 year old Shih Tzu, Sassy, has trouble navigating the stairs to get to and from the yard. She's OK going down, but I noticed that she has a tendency to try and swan off the stairs when she comes up. One night she almost took a header and only swift action on my part saved her from landing on her head. To avoid future acrobatics, I took a bunch of flower pots and lined the stairs to guide her. Well they looked forlorn with nothing in them. So today I planted the lot with some of the marigolds that were struggling in the flower bed and hope to nurse them into full glory on the steps. And yes, before you say anything, one of these days I'll get around to tiling the steps. But give me a break -- it's only been 20 years since they were put in.

Now, just because puttering with pots is truly not my style, of course I had to do some ripping up of weeds and such. There is a corner of my front garden that I've made major changes to twice. Well, maybe the third time will be the charm. So halfway weeded:

And fully de-nuded and ready for ????. Well yes, of course I have an idea, but making my ideas work is often another story. I will say that it involves a Rose Parade float part and after that - who knows?

Now for something completely different. The worst part of the pandemic is STILL not being able to fuss over all my dog buddies going by and getting to meet all the new dogs being walked. How is one supposed to resist all the furry cuteness and not do an enthusiastic meet and greet?!

Pandemics and projects

I would be remiss in not mentioning the pandemic we're currently experiencing and everyone is trying to navigate in various ways. I am one of the fortunate ones who no longer have to rely on a workplace to do the right thing. I also have amazing neighbors who check on me frequently and one in particular who calls me any time she's in a store to ask me if we need anything. She has even braved Costco for us on a couple of occasions. And while the news keeps saying things are going to be opening in a measured way, my cranky self is very skeptical that things will be returning to any semblance of normal anytime soon.

With that in mind, I did do a couple of marathon sessions to make masks for us in view of the number of people who just plow through us when we're walking the big handsome Kuma fur-baby, or run up on us as we're trying to tame the overgrown weeds, bushes and jade plants along the foot path. We've even been to pharmacies and grocery stores where employees wore no protective gear whatsoever (that was before the decree that they are now required to). The masks aren't pretty in all their crumpled glory, but they are better than nothing. The problem is I'm running out of elastic and I realized I need to tweak the design a bit. I've wasted elastic by running it through a channel. I plan to take the elastic, cut it in half, and sew it on to the mask. While I do know how to sew, I'm really not that fond of doing it.

On a much brighter note, one of my gardening experiments took off amazingly this year. I took a few starts of this amazing ground cover (with permission of course) and stuck them in a pot about 2 years ago. I expected them to maybe fill the pot if I were lucky. Well, let's just say -- expectations were exceeded!

And my critter station is getting a real workout. If I were a hummingbird, dove, pigeon, crow, blue jay, and squirrel restaurateur, I'd be a bazillionaire by now. Of course, the second I walk around to the side to check on them, they scatter, but I did manage to get a fuzzy shot of a lone dove who refused to leave the seed pot. With everything blooming so beautifully, it's a cheery sight.

It's Official - I'm FREEEEEEE

So -- retirement is official and I've had time to start multiple projects. Mostly really boring stuff like cleaning out closets and drawers and cabinets (hard to believe how many are in a house!), but every now and then I take another shot at the garden. After installing a bed in the side yard 5 (count 'em 5) years ago, I decided to see how actually planting something in it might look. I don't know why I chose marigolds other than I really think they are very cheerful flowers, but here they are at last. I've already decided to dig some of them up and pot them and eventually plant either African daisies or mung beans or something, but for what it's worth, here's what it looks like now.

Also, as I was noodling around in the back yard, I noticed the irises made it into bloom. What amazes me is the color variation in them.

Mind you, the entire back garden needs to be re-vamped since our magnificent Chinese Elm had to be butchered back. What was once an oasis of shade and calm under a huge leafy canopy is now very sunny and hot. That meant taking out many plants and transferring them to nooks and crannies so they could thrive, and finding sun-loving plants to take their place. Yet another challenge (and I'm loving it).