Rainy Days

Rain, rain, go away.

That old nursery rhyme really has something going for it.  We have had SO much rain lately that one of my new plants died from it.  And, you would think my dog is going to die when it rains - she really stresses - ALOT!

First, on the plants...

Let me start by saying that I know NOTHING about gardening.  I have never cared for gardening and that has not changed in 63 years.  However, after getting the front porch added late last year, we had a large strip of dirt.  Yes, we could have just seeded it and let grass grow but we also had some almost dead bushes on the other side so we decided to get some landscaping done.  

I specifically asked for things that would take almost NO effort on our part.  And all things considered, the things that we picked, with the store's guidance, are fairly low/no maintenance.  But we got two Crimson Curls - that are just lovely - but about a week after they were planted, we started get some good rain and one of them just wilted away.  I checked with the store and apparently, they are short-rooted (huh?) and if they get too much water, they rot.  OK - good to know.  Although not much I can do about nature's rain.  (and right next to it is a Japanese Anemone that apparently needs lots of water.)  geez.  The 2nd Crimson Curl is about half dead - and with the way the rain keeps hitting us, I can see that it won't be long before it also succumbs to nature's fury.  Here's some pics of the before after...


On to the dog...
Any loud noise just freaks our girl out.  When we're downstairs, she runs behind the couch and pretty much stays there - which makes my life easy.  But now and then, when it is late, I do like to actually sleep in my bed.  And then the fun begins.  She scoots around constantly, panting heavily.  Her new trick, as of last night, was to wedge herself in between our pillow - at the top of the bed.  Nothing like panting in your face and slobber on your arm and shoulder.  (And at 100 lbs, that's a large "wedge".) 

I decided that at least one of us should get some sleep so I went with her to the guest room.  I left the light on, thinking it would diffuse the lightening (yes, that freaks her out too) and although it does help, there is really nothing I can do to get rid of the noise from the thunder.  Thunder that was, by the way, quite heavy last night...and the night before that...and the night before that...etc.  All I can really do at that point is just keep rubbing her and trying to calm her down until it ends.

The other half is asleep as he has to work tonight and I think that's just what I might do for an hour or two.  After all, I am retired so I can sleep all I want, right?  :)

Catch you later...