A MIRACLE IN MY GARDEN

Gardeners are a strange lot, I know.  Sometimes the littlest things get us so excited.

And I am no different.

Before leaving our home in Montana I spent some time digging up many of my bulb plants with the intention of replanting them at our new home by the sea in the spring. 

There was a variety of colors and types but many were lilies.

I placed them in a burlap bag with sawdust as filler to keep them safe. They seemed to rest comfortably in the bag as we did all our travels and they spent the 'winter' inside the bag in the shop to be away from the new elements.

At some point this early spring I placed them in the bag into a half whiskey barrel that was out in the yard. I covered the barrel with a tarp to keep all the rain water out until it was time to plant all the bulbs.

A few days ago I decided that it was time to cut open the burlap bag to find some bulbs to set into the flower bed.

As I lifted the tarp from the barrel I was so shocked to see that the whiskey barrel was completely filled with rain water. Apparently I had used a tarp that had small holes in it that I hadn't spotted earlier.

I didn't get a photo of the drowned bulb sack..I was just to upset about the whole thing.

I did turn the barrel on it's side to drain out all the water so I could dispose of the ruined bulbs and sack.  It took several days of sun and a light breeze to dry out everything.

As I picked up the bag to place it in the garbage can the bottom of the bag fell out of it. So I shook out the rest of the contents into the barrel and decided I would spread it on the garden to be worked in when we tilled it.

This is what the contents of my bulb bag looked like after it was removed from the burlap bag...

Of course I was heart broken to see that nothing had survived this terrible incident of all that rain water.

As I place my hands into the mixture to prepare it for the garden I felt something against my fingers.  I gently pulled and to my joy and amazement I brought up a plant!

I was so surprised and excited to see that something had actually survived a near drowning in the whiskey barrel.

Of course I have great hopes that is survivor could be one of my precious Tiger Lilies.

I carefully placed my little treasure into a pot and placed it back in the shop to protect it from the rain and cold evenings we are having for a few days.

We have named this little plant "Miracle" because it has to be one considering everything this little plant has been through.

I am hoping that this plant will be one of my Tiger Lilies because I have had this plant since I planted a seed in 1985 in my garden.  I had dug it up and replanted it every where I have lived ever since.

But considering the journey this little bulb has made, I will welcome any Lily into the garden and tend it well. And hopefully she will stay with us for many years to come.

I will post a photo of "Miracle" the moment she shows her true 'colors' to us!

Oh my, A miracle has happened in my garden!

A TYPICAL WALK WITH THE DOGS

When we take the dogs to the park or the beach this is usually the scene we see just after we have released the dogs from their leashes.

They are always so excited to start running as fast as they can in which ever direction we direct them.

And of course it is always little Maggie that is bringing up the rear.

But she does not give up and can often catch up to Mistaya while Mistaya is busy sticking her nose into some strange smell some where.

Maggie is the first one to slow down and wonder where we are.

And on the return trip she does an amazing job of keeping up with speedy Mistaya.

Often by the time the have run themselves out they have been seen walking like to young ladies back to us.

No, that doesn't happen often but once in awhile we spend enough time beach combing that they have lot's of time to explore the entire area of the bay area.  And of course this only happens when we are lucky enough to be the only people and dogs in the area.

Rain or shine we all have a wonderful time.

Even the dogs do not want to head back to our car on sunny days like this one.

But we know we have a long wonderful summer ahead of us with plenty of chances to visit this place again and find even more interesting treasures and time for miles and miles of excited dog running.

WE ARE BACK AT THE BEACH!

We went to go to the beach for M.O.M.'s birthday.

We noticed that there were a lot of shells on the sand from a storm during the night.

So while M.O.M. and M.O.D. were busy hunting for treasure the dogs took off exploring everywhere.

Of course Mistaya always runs so fast that little Maggie has a hard time keeping up with her.

But once in awhile Maggie manages to catch up with Mistaya and some times the results are not what Maggie expects!

Mistaya seems to enjoy a "drive by" attack to little Maggie.  She often spins her little body,growls like a mad dog then runs off at top speed.

And usually by the time Maggie recovers Mistaya is no where to be seen!

Maggie doesn't give up and looks every where for her.

And in no time at all she is hot on Mistaya's trail again.

This behavior goes on and on until Mistaya thinks she has covered enough ground at top speed and she returns to the water near us and our beach combing.

Because of Maggie's prior experience with the large waves she does stay away from the water...which we encourage her to do.

I can not go through another close call of little Maggie being swept out to sea.

The waves began to get very large after we had been here for a few hours and we decided not to take a chance so we headed back to the car for our return trip back home.

And as usual little Maggie is fast asleep in her dog bed about 2 minutes out of the parking lot.

And Mistaya is not far behind into her deep sleep.

What a wonderful Birthday it was with my wonderful husband and 2 delightful dogs to share the day with.

Life is so good

We took the pups to the ocean today so they could enjoy a great run and we could do some beach combing.

The weather was very pleasant with just a few people on the beach.

We had worked our way around the bay and came close to the rocks that start the edge of the jetty. 

 We purposely timed our adventure to be the same time as the low tide. The chance of finding some real shell treasures is much better at that time.

We hunted and strolled along the water line and planned to turn back when we reach the edge of the jetty.

The pups were running ahead of us having a wonderful time.  Maggie was doing her best to keep up with Mistaya and tried to go everywhere she did.

I was just about 20 feet from the jetty when I saw the two of them running in the sand at the edge of the large boulders of the jetty.  To my horror they were running along the jetty where it curved out into the sea.  At that moment a large waved caught me by surprise and I tried to climb up on the boulders to get away from it.  It was of course, to fast for me and the water rose up above my knees.

As I scrambled up a few feet I realized Mistaya and Maggie were no where to be seen.

Can you here me crying right now???

I screamed at JW and then screamed Mistaya's name knowing that Maggie would not be far behind her.

There appeared Mistaya just inches from the surf and no Maggie in site.

I yelled for Mistaya to climb up the boulders and she did.  Just then I saw Maggie struggling to get her footing at the edge of the large boulders. They were so much bigger and taller than she was.  She climbed up one, then another just as the waved washed up onto the boulder she was standing on.  I saw the water as it was rising above her belly line and thought I was going to loose her. We both called for her to keep climbing and with the help of all her precious Guardian Angels she did. The look of fear on her face was almost more than I could bare as I could not get to her.

That wise little pup some how knew to keep climbing as it was getting her away for the water.

As I found the safety of the dry sand Maggie came running down around the jetty boulders and I am not sure which of us was the happiest to see the other. I pulled her into my arms and told her how sorry I was and that if need be I would have jumped in to save her.

She gave me a few sweet licks then headed off to find Mistaya and they ran back down the beach to safer sand.

I shook all the way home from our adventure. And I suspect that Maggie will not find any reason to venture close to the water from now on. And that is okay with me..we will stay well above the water line from now on.

Thank god for puppy Angels

GUESS WHO GOT HER WAY TODAY!

Yes, Little Maggie has learned all her tricks from Miss Mistaya!

And she works them very well.

Maggie knows how to work those pretty little eyes and that very expressive face of hers.

We took a drive to the ocean on Monday to hunt for shells and to let the dogs play.

It didn't take Maggie long to make us realize she wanted to be off the leash just like Mistaya was.  Since we were lucky enough to be the only ones on this sun filled beach we turned her loose.

She and Mistaya raced up and down the beach, over the driftwood logs, into the waves...at least Mistaya tried to get her to follow her.  But Maggie just isn't ready to face the water and waves just yet.

Occasionally, Maggie had to make a rest stop to catch her breath.  Mistaya's legs are a bit longer than little Maggie's but she tries so hard to keep up.

Several times Mistaya finally realized that she had left Maggie behind and would come back to us to find her.  And Maggie was wonderful about returning to us when she felt left behind.

Finally they both seemed to run out of steam and wandered back to us.

We packed up our shell treasures and headed back to the car to fresh water for the pups and a soda for us.

Little Maggie was so tired she couldn't even make it all the way into her bed before she was deep into her sleep.

And Mistaya found herself a sunny spot to make herself comfortable as we headed back home after another wonderful play day at the Sea.

We feel so fortunate to have 2 such amazing little animals live with us and bring so much happiness into our lives.

Rescued dogs are the best.

MAGGIE'S FIRST TRIP TO THE BIG POND

It was a tough day for Maggie's first adventure to the sea.  There were high winds there when we arrived and decided to brave the weather to see how she liked it.

I really think that with all the wind and new world for Maggie that she was a bit intimidated about the whole experience.

I did begin to think that we had not choose a very good day for her first day at the sea.

But she did run a bit with Mistaya in the sand but always came running back to us to make sure we were still all together.

But all seemed right with the world again after we returned home.

We will return to the sea again soon but not until we can find a day that the winds are calm.  That way Maggie can get a chance to really explore her new world and still be able to hear us when we call her and Mistaya, and the sand will not be blowing in our faces!

NO!, NO! I DO NOT WANT TO BE A LABRADOR!

I DON'T LIKE THE WATER!!!

Now, that looks like  one determined little pup!

This may not be a rescued puppy but I can guess this is a puppy who really wants to be rescued!!!

THIS IS HOW TO SAY "HELLO".

Our weather is warming but we are having our winter rains. I don't mind the rain...I don't like the snow.

And of course the dog doesn't care if we have both..she just wants to go on her daily walk-abouts.

We encountered another Blue Heron not far from the house today.

As long as the dog keeps moving along the trail the bird doesn't move a feather. And because of his stillness, I don't believe that the dog is even aware of him.

Now, the ducks and the large Canadian Geese...that's another story. As soon as either of them see us coming along the path, they all launch into a loud chorus that half the city can hear.

And of course she is going to go running their way to see what all the commotion is about.

Dumb birds!

Smart dog!

I "borrowed" this post from my other blog..thought you might enjoy it.

WE ARE BUILDING A NEW KIND OF SNOWMAN

Yes, this is what our yard by the sea looks like at the moment.

Little Mistaya went outside to do her chores and somewhere along the way she found one of her well hidden rawhide chew bones under all this snow!

Of course she didn't even make it to the front door when she remembered that inside the house was her empty food bowl so she is staying outside to eat this treasure...no matter what the winter conditions.

But as you can see, a blizzard has hit our little home and she seems to be either disappearing or trying to pretend she is a new style snowman!

You see, Mistaya is on a diet and I am sure she decided she would rather take her chances with the stormy weather than give up this yummy, soggy, snow soaked rawhide chew for an empty food bowl.

Of course I became worried about her so I finally got her to come in the house before she froze like a snowman.

Oh, She came in because I let her bring in her rawhide snow soaked chew.  That was the only way she really wanted to come inside on this wintry night!

Of course the snowflakes that had accumulated on her back had frozen into one big black dogie hair ice cube.

ONE AWESOME WALK!

I heard M.O.M. putting on her walking shoes today so I got real excited hoping I was going to get to go with her.  Yes, I usually make sure I am at the door and ready to go when she gets to the front door!

Of course she always let's me go with her.

And I must say it was one of the best walks we have been on in a long time.

We headed down the street and I got real excited when I realized we were going to walk on the harbor trail.

As we approached the end of the street I realized that M.O.M. was letting me go on this walk without my leash!  Oh boy!  This is going to be the best walk ever!

We walked farther around the harbor on our trail than we had ever walked before.  And we saw many new sites too.  M.O.M. was real excited when 2 American Bald Eagles flew very close to us and she was able to get a few pictures of them before they flew on with their journey.

Of course I ran and ran exploring everything everywhere. So many new smells and sites. We came to a fork in the road and at first took the trail to the left. But several yards down the trail we came to a bridge. Unfortunately the bridge surface was made of a type of grating and it frightened me when I approached it.  And M.O.M. didn't want to have to carry me over this rather long bridge so we went back and took the trail to the right.

This new trail went on forever and ever!  But because we were on this new trail all by ourselves, M.O.M. decided that we should turn around and head back because we were already more than a half hour from our street. She said we will come back here when M.O.D. is with us and see where this long straight trails actually goes and see if it has an end.

So off I went running everywhere...as usual. 

I am sure M.O.M. noticed that as we approached the beginning of our street, that I wasn't running any more. But walking along the side of the street heading home.

So M.O.M. wasn't surprised to walk into the living room not long after we returned home to find me asleep in the middle of the room.  Just moments before this picture was taken I had been very busy chewing on the rawhide that you can see in the picture.

Yes, this is a embarrassing photo of myself as I didn't know I feel asleep with my little leg straight up in the air!!

But gosh, I am soooo tired!

2 FEET OF SNOW AT MY HOUSE!!!

WOW!!

I looked out our window today and I couldn't believe what I saw!

Right there...before my very eyes!!!

Actually 2 FEET OF SNOW!!

IN MY VERY OWN FRONT YARD!

HERE BY THE SEA!

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE???

OH, I see....  ;)

HA HA!!!

Just kidding!!

MERRY

CHRISTMAS

EVERYONE!!!

This cute scene took place near out driveway today.  I guess everything needs a bath now and then.

Notice the rest of the flock all waiting across the street for their turn at a bath.

This was a very large flock of birds that hang around our street most days.  They are quiet but are very noticealbe in their large numbers.

Four young Sitkablack-tailed bucks fell upon good luck Sunday as they were pulled from the icy waters of Stephens Passage, Alaska by a group of locals on Tom Satre's 62-foot charter vessel.

The four juvenile Sitka black-tailed deer swam directly toward the boat.

Once the deer reached the boat, the four began to circle the boat, looking directly at the humans on board.

Clearly, the bucks were distressed.

With help, the typically skittish and absolutely wild animals came willingly onto the boat.

Once onboard, they collapsed with exhaustion, shivering.

Here the rescued bucks rest on the back of Tom Satre's boat, the Alaska Quest.

All four deer were transported to Taku Harbour.

Once the group reached the dock, the first buck that had been pulled from the water hopped onto the dock, looked back, then leapt into the Harbour, swam to shore, and disappeared into the forest.

After a bit of prodding and assistance from the humans, two others followed suit, but one deer needed more help.

Here he is being transported by Tom Satre.

Tom, Anna and Tim Satre help the last of the "button" bucks to its feet. They did not know how long the deer had been in the icy waters or if there had been others who did not survive.

The good Samaritans (humans) describe their experience as "one of those defining moments in life."

I'm sure it was for the deer, as well.

ANOTHER THEME DAY

With all the unexpected snow we have been having here by the sea it made me think about our winters in Montana.

So I am posting some of my photos that I took near our home there during the winters we lived there. Some majestic mountains appear more than once because  each day...or each winter they always look so different.

  Sometimes if just depended on the time of the year. 

or the amount of  snow changes their entire look.

Some were taken off my front porch.

Some just because we just had a very heavy snow storm.

The picture below was taken in Montana but it is a odd shaped mountain across the great divide in the state of Idaho.

The following picture the hill just across our country road in Montana.

I thought the light cast of clouds on the mountain when we were experiencing some winds made a very pretty picture.

I do miss these views that were so close to our home in Montana but I don't miss the 21 degrees below zero temperatures!!

Enjoy all the beautiful scenes you will see during this winter.  There is beauty in all of Mother Nature and she is just waiting for you to capture many of them with your own camera.

A WONDERFUL DAY WITH FAMILY

We all ate way to much...

But it was so very good

during another wonderful

Thanksgiving day!

But we really did eat to much!!!

IT MUST BE TIME FOR A LONG SWEET NAP!!