Four-footed family folk

24 Jan '07 8:23 pm

Was sorry about little Smoocher, such a fine companion. Snakes alive! So interesting...we have a gorgeous (wild) black snake I am privileged to see in summer...she(guess on my part) has a "motel" hole at the east end of the backdoor patio. I always know when she is there, as kitties walk on tippy toes. Also copperheads,nifty boa-marked grass snakes, gorgeous emerald green sorts, and a rattlesnake! They haven't been in residence in these parts for a long time I have been told. So. One uses great caution when walking down to the south creek! Wink

Am tolerant of all, so long as poisonous ones realize I am not trying to choke them to death with heel dust. And, yes.My subject line was four-footed folk and have written about sorts with none. We were most fortunate to have a Great Pyrenees, and I often lamented not being able to utilize Orion's impressive digging powers in establishing new flowerbeds.My plantsman kitty was Bear, a dear black fellow with green, green eyes. He was actually on the small side, but had a fine barrel chest. Anyway. He helped make all kinds of planterly decisions whilst I was potting up in my collection of terracotta animal planters, or flowerbeds. He felt it was most important to keep my footstool warm for me if I should have to leave it. Dear fellow, he. My apologies for boring you with any sadness, has been too grey here for too many days. Meanwhile, O'Keeffe, a wonderful, chatty, champion claimer of heart's eye has come in to chirr as to why am not in bed! This probably isn't the correct forum, but bless my lucky stars!! Somehow discovered this site three days ago, and am totally, totally enchanted. My garden. Definitely a work in progress!

Eggy!? Was that you who whewed my finally subject line? Just a wild guess on my part, but after correctly checking all of the kitties, does one get to choose a car? I'd like the zoomy red one, second box, first row....

Ah, yes, live near Grandview, Texas.

24 Jan '07 10:28 pm

Welcome, dear friend! I enjoyed so much your story telling , and it is not sad at all, since you warmed my heart so much with your humaneness! Please, stay with us!

25 Jan '07 3:30 am

I too enjoyed your amusing storytelling style. Stick around and post some pictures of your wildlife if you don't think your garden is up to snuff yet. I am trying to place Grandview on my limited mental Texas map. I have been to Austin and Houston several times and have thought I would love to live in Austin. I am guessing Grandview is more west Texas because of your talk of "heel dust". Where is Grandview in relation to these places in east Texas?

25 Jan '07 6:41 am

Faith S. Grandview is thirty +/- south of Fort Worth. When was the last time you were in Austin? It is a wonderful place, somewhat diminished in wonder by its rapid growth, traffic is a real Texas-size mess! Alas, Austin isn't the only one! Heel dust wouldn't apply for now, we are in the second wettest Jan. ever, thankfully this rain has elevated us to drouth vs. severe drouth. The worst one since the thirteen year one in the 50's, go figure how one manages thirteen years in a decade, but 'twas indeed bad.

Well. Am pleased. Puter skills rate somewhere south of extinction and am glad I added my location as I admire all of the info about the senders. And your id pics, ooooohhhhh. Smile

Have alerted hubby to problem and he, being my very own puter guru, is to help me select a pic! Next! Wouldn't begin to know how to include pics, but he can show me that magical maneuver, too.

All this thought about garden, mine, and Moosey's shining example, leads one to think back on why...garden gloweth not. Especially since 74% of what flows in veins is chlorophyll. Mowing. Before this place, mowed five acres, powered by me!
Mowed three acres, same power source, here. So. Took few pics of shorn grass expanses. Now my friend the backbone has howled enough! Which also means cannot fling dirt as much as used to either. Bleh. Thought would miss the mowing, surprise, not! The dirt flinging, sigh, I do miss. Must now discover helper person to do such. So! 'Tis time for nifty plantings of many more planties...all I need is a chair and whip to get health away from toboggoning down Mt. Everest! Miss B., black kit of satin fur, has come to lap to purr her approval.

26 Jan '07 2:28 am

Greetings, Riobrazos, and welcome to the forum! I too love your witty narrative style and hope to hear much from you in the future, including pics when you can - would love to see some of those snakes (so jealous you have such interesting ones over there! Wink

)

Bambi

26 Jan '07 2:56 am

Thanks, Riobrazos. Now I can place you mentally. The last time I was in Texas was last April in Houston. There for a conference with hubby so I had a chance to visit with some relatives who live there. The closest we got to Austin on that trip was Georgetown, where we went for the Red Poppy Festival and to see my favorite singer/songwriter, Rodney Crowell. We were in Austin about two years ago, but will be going back whenever we can swing it. We both loved it, especially the live music scene.

Since "the backbone has howled" maybe you should consider container gardening. There are lots of examples in the various pages on this forum site if you go poking around (check out posts by Gordonf and Christopher). You can have just as interesting a garden in raised beds and containers as anything you have to dig the ground for. An added benefit is you can control the water, which in drought conditions can be tough.

14 Feb '07 12:57 am

I live in south louisiana so we have a great many four and no footed visitors. I have a few of them that travel in and out of my yard...
Walked outside to four baby raccoons traversing under my patio..the chatter and the digging had me intrigued. They sorted thru everything under my patio. Found a whole nest of lil ground snakes...not sure what they were other than tiny lil blunt headed things. Non poisonus variety. They can stay or be prized by my 10 year old son that thinks that anything slimy,slick,scaly,furry,feathered...etc.etc...is aawesome!! I live not that far from a canal and have had a few scares of Allimagators sunning with in walking distance. Never know WHAT you might see around this area. I have a multitude of birds both tiny lil humming birds and huge Egrets that pass thru and glance over my gardens looking for an unlucky bug. They are welcome to them...as I dont spray for insects...have to many things that eat the bugs to poison them and not all bugs are bad...I also have a plethora of geckos that live under my garage and living in and amongst my brick house.

I found this fourm myself just lately and Im much pleased by what Ive read so far and the joy you all find in gardening and the creatures that god has blessed us all with...even the ones that we are not all that fond of have a place...just like the rest of us we just have to find where that is.

22 Feb '07 6:11 am

Hmm, have been reading over and about the gardens, and not looked at posts. Bambi, meant to ask, do you have corn snakes in the wild? Liza, am most envious of your thumbnails, always something beautiful and in season! Faith, do lots of container gardening, have always liked combining colors and textures. Am greatly fond of terracotta animal planters, most chagrined to find out company that makes them is going to stop. Even with ouchy spine, have too much backbone to quit. Planting that is, only do easy stuff now, hope to find someone else to do prep for beds. Have to, as made a superb discovery of Hodges Iris Gardens out of Covington (a small town 12-15 miles from here) on Easter Sunday, 2003. Am needing to start new beds, as I cruise Myrtle's irises very thoroughly each spring since, and now have sixty plus of the lovelies my very own self! Last year, Myrtle asked me to join the Johnson County Iris and Daylily Society, I was very honored to be asked. Of course, I think she knows I'm bonkers for irises, as we are the only ones there after everyone else has left.... Spring before last, hubband stopped for us to get ice cream cones, mine? Chocolate. Much to consternation ice cream flies off cone onto front of shirt when said hubby fails to perceive a miniature Grand Canyon in the road. "Should we go back?" he asks. No way. Moan over loss of perfectly divine Bluebell, but not that year's irises! Myrtle's daughter said she admired my courage to come anyway, to which I say I was too excited about the iris, and lucked out that no one jailed me for wasting Bluebell ice cream!

It's the housework I wish I could containerize, and ship off to parts unknown!

22 Feb '07 6:18 am

Forgot to say hello to Angela! Moosey's is GREAT, you can ooh and ahhh over loverly green and gorgeous flowers whilst it is winter here. Am a great fan of Africam.com, and kind of can sort out spring and summer for the southern hemisphere, well still working on it!

'Twas a great uproar in southern Dallas a couple of years ago, as an alligator was discovered at the end of a high school's football field in a marshy area. Just think going in after the ball!

Four-footed family folk

Four-footed family folk

Welcome Texas!

Hello, and thanks!

Texas

what a great story..

Hello to all!

Yikes!