Rhododendron Madame Masson

This is a rhododendron that is tucked into my back border. It has too much shade and too much competition from the big Norway maple. I keep wondering if I should move it a bit.

I looked up the variety. It is this one. Description: Beautiful old hybrid, dating from 1849. Forms an open upright shrub. Unusual almost flat flowers, white with a large yellow blotch, are produced in tall conical trusses. Highly recommended for cold gardens. Parentage: catawbiense x ponticum. Utimate Height: 3.0 meters after 10 years

skippy's check up

Skippy had his annual check up today. He really did not like the shots, but got a very good report on is health from his veterinarian. He is up to 55 pounds! A great weight. (Skippy has been working on putting on a few pounds.) The only issue is that he has been Lyme positive for about a year now. It stays at a low level and I don't notice any symptoms (lameness, lethargy, loss of appetite), but these symptoms are fairly vague and its hard to tell. So the vet did a quantitative test, which came out in the positive range. She said we should go ahead and treat with 30 days of antibiotics (amoxicillin). Skippy's good a taking the pills and after a day or two seems very chipper and comfortable. Who knows, maybe he had some low level symptoms. I think its good to go ahead and get him treated.

more agility practice

Skippy and his trainer are working hard on jumps and leg placement. To help build awareness of rear leg placement. Skippy runs along a ladder. He also balances and turns on a fairly unstable over turned bucket. Since Skippy is over 2 years old (26 mo) and over 22" tall, he can do fairly high jumps. In competition, he would be doing 24" or 26" jumps. For practice, we are using jumps of about 16" so he doesn't risk injury.

Memorial Day

therapy work

Today we visited a nursing home in Somerville. A real nice visit. Everyone wanted Skippy's calling cards and I totally ran out. Time to print out more! Skippy showed off his obedience skills and his long fluffy fur. It was my third visit as a team leader. I've lost track of how many total visits Skippy has done now. A lot, since we've gone nearly once a week for the past four months.

Skippy's tips on how to get really dirty

Skippy has experimented with a lot of methods for getting dirty. This one worked great. First, he found a nice cool pond and got good and wet. Then he found a freshly plowed field and ran over the ridges.

Then - the best part - find a newly harrowed field and roll in the dirt. AAaahhhh!
Dog heaven!




Callahan State Park, Framingham MA

wild turkey

Wild turkeys in suburbia?!! We were having a quiet, early evening dinner party on the patio with my parents visiting and my dad says "Oh look, a turkey." At first we thought he was talking about our neighbor. Then we thought it was the heat (or the wine) getting to him. But no, a wild turkey just strolled on by along our fence, across the street and into another yard. Since our neighborhood is heavily populated with 1/8th acre lots, this seemed remarkable. Skippy thought so too. He's hoping to get a closer look next time.

late spring backyard

Seems like summer on this Memorial day weekend. We have a new giant patio umbrella and the grass is long and green.

backyard objects

Another collection of mine - garden objects. These are scattered around my backyard gardens.

agility class

At Skippy's agility class, they add new equipment every week. This is our course this week. Skippy is really good at it! He's too fast for me to get a picture of him jumping. I'll keep trying.

flower pots

I've potted up 15 pots for my patio this year.

tree peony

Pink blossoms in the early morning sunlight.

skippy in the flowers

Skippy is such a good sport - he sat in the middle of the wildflowers so I could take this picture.

therapy visit

Skippy and I are going to visit the kids at Spaulding Pediatric Rehab Hospital tomorrow. Skippy just had his bath and he's puffy-fluffy. I'll post a photo of the hospital in downtown Boston.

(Oops, my camera battery was dead. Maybe next time.)

house wrens

The house wrens were back again today, after being away for a day or two. They seem to like the little wren house, but the sparrows, who already have chicks in their house about 40 ft away, are not pleased with them as neighbors. The wrens have brought many nest materials into the wren house. I do have to say that for such tiny birds, those wrens sure are LOUD! We'll see if they end up nesting in our backyard.

backyard birds

I like to keep a list of all of the birds I see in my backyard. From top left these are a Nashville warbler, house sparrow, American robin, house wren, black and white warbler, and a chipping sparrow. Other birds I've seen recently in the backyard are chickadees, cardinals, mourning doves, grackles, and blue jays.

sleeping puppy

I got Skippy this nice big bed and he still sleeps with his head off the side of it. This is what he did all morning! What a life!

willards woods

grape hyacinths

tubers

Today I planted my dahlia, elephant ear, and caladium tubers.

agility practice

Go Skip!!! Skippy and his new trainer (my 14 year old son) have been practicing their agility work in the backyard. This is some beginner stuff to work with Skippy on knowing where his back paws are. He walks along a ladder and around a pot. He's also doing some jumping. Since we waited 'til he's 2 years old to start agility, he can do the high jumps as a beginner. All the teachers warn us not to do high jumping with a dog who is too young.