What it's all about (at least in part...)

I don't raise vegetables, or fruit, or herbs. I have fun working in the yard trying to make it look attractive and peaceful. A welcoming and relaxing retreat.  Some days I work in downtown Washington DC (about 1 block from the US Capitol;) some days I drive 40 mileas each way through rush hour traffic; and some days I work from my home office.  So the back yard is a place apart from all three of these.

Last weekend we were able to share this retreat with a group of volunteers from the program that Gloria used to run.We spent weeks planning and getting ready to share our retreat with her friends.  We wanted to share the joy we find in relaxing out there and wanted to be sure we had plenty os seating.  We had invited about 40 people, so we needed seating.

So, I pulled out every folding chair and shade canopy we had in the shed and got to work.

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to invite these friends to our home. As you can see, the garden is a big part of our outdoor home. Being able to share the results of the work outside gave me a great feeling of satisfaction.  It felt so good to be able to set a welcoming space for our friends who had volunteered so many hours to Gloria's program.

For me, all this time in the yard, and researching the plants, shrubs, and trees is spent trying to craft a space to share.  I wouldn't do it just for myself, it has purpose when I can be a host and share it, especially when I can share it with the love of my life who has shared the last 22 years with me.

Of course we were also able to offer them the chance for a stroll up the garden path:

And did I mention food?

And here's fair warning to Jacob and Amanda - she's getting a baby fix!

New Fosters and Old Friends

The Dog Days of summer are over and the garden has finally been getting some heat and humidity, but I think the planst are off cycle and we haven't seem the rolling blooms as the season progresses like we have the last two years.  I did discover a hibuscus growing in the front yard.  I didn't think that hibuscus could grow outdoors here, but this one has.  It's been blooming in the front corner of the house and is over 8 ft. tall.  It's been growing with a nandina and is intertwined in the multiple stalks of the nandina.

Inside the house the Dog Days arrived a couple weeks late.  With the passing of Sadie and Austin within 2   months of each other this summer, we had a dog shaped hole in our home.  Truman was enjoying getting all the attention since Hardy is sleeping most of the time these days. But we were feeling a gap in our lives and our laps - Austin was a cuddlebug who soaked up all the lap time he could get.

A call came out from Oldies But Goodies Cocker Spaniel Rescue (OBG) for fosters to help with the end of summer holiday crunch.  Thanks to all the fosters, OBG has not closed to new intakes, but the foster homes are getting full.  Since Gloria is not working outside the house she has had time to help with some transports for new dogs and has met several of the new dogs as they are being taken into OBG's care.  When the call for fosters cam out, we knew that we had space and love to share with some of these new kids.

The middle of last week we brought Precious and Fallon into our home as temporary fosters who were scheduled to go to a long term foster on this coming Wednesday.  If you're paying attention you've noticed that I used the past tense for those plans. Yep.

Precious - I found my forever mommy!!

What are you looking at?

Truman was even enough of a gentleman to show Precious where the food is kept, they're watching Mommy in the pantry getting dinner dished up.

Precious looks so much like Sadie that we are thinking of her as a younger Sadie. Precious does have a new mannerism that we're having a lot of fun watching.  Whenever we go to the sliding glass door to let her out, she crouches down, like she's taking a starting position.  And as soon as we open the door she goes tearing out the door, across the patio towards the bird feeder.  She runs up into the garden a few paces, turns around and runs across the width of the yard.  We don't think she's caught any birds yet, but she's scared some of the ground feeders.

Precious has gotten along well with Truman and Simba and leaves Hardy alone, for the most part.  We've decided she is filling the hole in our home and we've decided she has found her forever home, we're going to adopt her.

At the same time that Precious came for her "temporary" stay, we also got Fallon for a week before she moved on.

Fallon hanging out looking pretty in the living room.

Gloria got an email from someone in VA. who was interested in adopting Fallon.  Yesterday we took Fallon about 1/2 way there and met the potential adopter at a Petsmart for a ""Meet and Greet" to see how Fallon did. 

Can I have a forever home too?

You've probably guessed - Fallon has an adoption pending, One of the other OBG volunteers is doing the home check tomorrow and we are making plans to get Fallon down there, assuming the home check passes (a good bet since the same person has adopted 3 other OBG dogs in the past.)

A couple days after Precious and Fallon arrived, we got two girls who were scheduled as long term fosters.  They are bonded sisters and one is blind.  Since we are experienced with blind dogs, and we had room for a pair, we were a good home for them to come into.  The girls are named Bella and Leyla.  Bella is a year or two younger, Leyla is the blind girl.

This is Bella chilling out on the loveseat.

Bella getting some Mommy time.

It's hard work being so cute.

Right now she is laying/sleeping in my lap and I need to reach over her to get to the keyboard.  She's not adapting too well and we need to keep her crated most of the time to keep her from attacking Leyla, Precious, or Truman.  We've had make the decision  that our home is not the right place for her, even though she is a cuddlebug. If she could get along with the others then she could stay; but we don't want to keep her in a crate 20 hours a day.

Bella's sister is Leyla, a slightly more mellow girl who doesn't let her blindness slow her down.

Leyla spending some time stretched out in Daddy's office.

Nap time

Is it time for the next photo shoot?

Leyla is another sweetie, but she's nor adapting well to all the other dogs.  She's been fighting and we've needed to keep her crated as well.  We really want to find them a long term home where they don't have to spend the majority of the day in a crate. But we know that that home is not here.

And along with the new fosters, Truman and Hardy have been great.

Truman is waiting his turn to go outside with Mommy.

We're trying to give them all attention and loving, but going from 2 to 6 in a couple days has decidedly made this into a labor day weekend.  It's a labor we chose, and we love, but a labor none the less.

By the way, I'm going to blame all the typos on Bella, she is still asleep in my lap.