Finally had the garden plowed. Our tiller is broken, so a neighbor did it and it looks like the soil is pretty rich underneath, so I’m excited about that. Had a good dirt color, no sand and clay, and lots of worms. I hope to spend some time getting the big clumps of sod and any roots and rocks out tomorrow, and get everything planted on Friday. That will be an effort because there were two forsythia bushes there and the roots for those are unbelievable.
Since this is the first time this area has been used as a garden, my plan is to plant everything and then either mulch it with grass clippings to keep the weeds down or drop some landscape fabric before planting. I’ll have to think about it. Eventually I want to frame this plot and build it up so that it is a raised plot. Decisions.
BTW- learned quite a bit about Ginny and Guesly while dogsitting the last 48 hours. For one, I learned that EVERYTHING is a crisis. The slightest sound and the dogs go racing outside to ward off any potential intruder. Second, they watch television. Not only do they bark at any animal on tv, but they get confused by things that look at animals. There is one commercial for Bush’s baked beans with a dog wearing sunglasses and a mustache, and they look at it quizzically, because they are not sure what it is. I guess the disguise works.
Finally, Ginny watched Wheel of Fortune. And I’m not kidding. I’m going to video tape it for you all some time. As soon as she hears the “beep beep beep beep” as the words is presented, she runs into the room and sits down in front of the tv. Her head then turns from side to side, and if someone calls out a letter that is not there and the buzzer goes off, she barks like a lunatic. I’m not making this up.
The good news is that Jack Russell terriers are only this energetic for the first ten years or so.
jeffreyw
Mulch first, then plant.
Paddy
Miracle Gro is your friend.
Audio/Video- Rand Paul On Voting Against 1964 Civil Rights Act, Americans With Disabilities Act, more
cat48
@jeffreyw:
Have you used the new landscape fabric? What was your assessment. We have a very long growing season here and weeding is my most hated job. Pinestraw is used here a lot, but I don’t like it a lot. Weeds grow thru about every mulch here.
cat48
One of Rand Paul’s managers had a old picture of a black person hanging from a tree on his facebook page. He fired him, but I wonder……….
Cain
Man, has anybody surfed http://www.opencongress.org? Damn, that is one awesome site. Luv it.
Cats: well I think I’ve resolved the cat pee problem finally. I switched snickers to all wet cat food with occasional dry. I’ve been putting apple cider vinegar regularly in her cube and I haven’t had an accident in a month. Peeing now seems pretty small, but you always wonder if they found some other place that you haven’t seen. I still reflexively do a walk around the place to make sure. But I’m gettting less and less paranoid. Her attitude has changed a little, much more energetic and less afraid.
of course, some grey cat gave her a big bite and she had to go on antibiotics. Bleah. She had to wear an Elizabethan collar. She looks sooo cute in it though, she looks like a walking blue petal’d flower. We’ve started calling her petal cat. Good times, good times.
cain
chopper
@Paddy:
miracle gro is terrible shit.
mulch, compost and green manure are your friends.
if you’re looking to build up a bed, a hugelbeet would be a nice place to start. sheet composting/mulching is easier on the back tho.
Mike Kay
I got a kick reading the Emo Pout-bloggers celebrate last night’s election results, considering it countered their months long intentional or unintentional efforts to foment a depressed turnout.
lamh32
@Paddy:
I heard Tweety talking about that, WTF!!!
jeffreyw
@cat48: We used some once and were not too happy with it. Maybe we just did it wrong. We spread mulch atop it.
Mark S.
The dogs watching TV is the cutest thing I’ve seen in a while.
One of my cats used to seem interested when there’d be animals (especially other cats) on TV, but I guess he grew out of it.
Kirk Spencer
Ummm, no. They’re this energetic till they get so old they can’t — and for all the ones I’ve known, “can’t” is when you cry tears at their deaths. Fortunately that’s usually longer than ten years.
Derek
Hilarious!
andy
Suggest you mulch with the cloth. Grass mulch is a great environment for slugs.
Citizen_X
An Arizona utility commissioner is threatening to cut off power to LA, which gets 25% of its power from Arizona. LA officials, though, point out that they actually partly own the power plants in question.
Isn’t present-day America fun and exciting?
SIA
The photo and comments about G&G watching TV have absolutely MADE MY DAY.
@cat48: Didn’t something kind of similar come up with Ron Paul during the GOP primary – some newsletter that was started by him had some real racist shit in it?
I have real hopes the Randle Paul is going to implode himself by November, and Mr Manly Man JACK CONWAY (sounds like an action figure) will win in KY.
lamh32
I’m sure ya’ll have already talked about the kid who asked the First Lady a question about immigration, but I’ve been out, and I just saw it.
Big question, was it staged. If it was staged, I don’t think it was staged by the WH (the WH like to keep the First Lady’s phot-op pretty quaint and non-controversial) but that kid seems really young, I don’t necessarily see her just randomly having that question in her head. I can see some adult (friend, relative or other) finding out she was gonna be there when the First Lady was gonna be there, and telling the kid to ask the question.
Or maybe I’m too cynical.
Also, if it was not staged, what’s to stop someone from reporting the mother to immigration. That poor kid would have signed her mother deportation papers.
wrb
I hate weeding & have found satisfaction w fabric first, then planting into holes punched in it. Also, the black fabric warms the soil and makes crops like tomatoes and melons more possible here.
Violet
This story made my day. The photo is awesome. They look so involved in what’s happening on the TV. You must post video of the Wheel of Fortune watching.
Chat Noir
Cute Jack Russell Terrier story. My bro-in-law (an equine surgeon) used to work at the veterinary clinic adjacent to Belmont Park in NY. His boss had a JRT named Skippy who loved to go to the track and be around the horses. One day, my bro-in-law left Skippy at the clinic instead of taking him to the track. Skippy, needless to say, was not happy and demonstrated his displeasure at being left behind by peeing in one of my bro-in-law’s boots.
That little dog was adorable.
The Moar You Know
I cannot recommend the landscape cloth enough – all my planting beds are done with it.
It’s not quite perfect – weeds will grown in any mulch or wood chips (my favorite cover) that you put on top of it, but the weeds are a lot easier to remove than they would be otherwise. Do it. You will not regret it.
cat48
@SIA:
Yeah, Ron Paul’s newsletter. The New Republic did an article on it. He said it was merely the person writing the articles which was not him of course, but it was his newsletter.
Very suspicious that the 2 just happened to be associated with individuals. The both treated it like hoocodanode??
SIA
@cat48: Popcorn, please?
sputnikgayle
Mr. Cole–we use hay to control weeds and retain moisture in our kitchen garden. It will also aerate the soil when you prepare next season’s garden–just plow it under if/when your grow season ends. If you do put the garden at rest for the winter, you can plant winter rye grass to fix nitrogen in the soil over the dormant period.
Bad Horse's Filly
@Cain: How are you getting her to do the apple cider vinegar, because I would love to do that for my cats.
My big female dane loved watching elephants, you could not turn the channel if they were on. And somehow she also knew that Dino the Dinosaur on the Flintstones was a ‘dog’ and would bark at him. I always thought that was impressive until I read that Ginny was practicing to win a trip for 2 to Paris. You go girl.
cat48
@lamh32: Not a lot. I read the article in the Post and the press was already trying to get the child’s name from the press which the school refused to release. Kitchen counter time maybe??
D-Chance.
Deer… Olympics…
You don’t need mascots.
Signed,
The World
DougJ
@Paddy:
Thanks. I will post on this later if John doesn’t get to it. It’s interesting.
LT
Dog I work with every day and sit for now and then – a Portuguese Water Dog, first time we’re watching TV and an animal comes on – might have been a lion, and the dog runs to the TV and tries to bite the screen. Cracked me up. Does this with every animal he sees on the screen. (And he seems smart enough to know he can’t actually bite them; he does this kind of stylized opening of the mouth, moves it back and forth just against the screen. Very cool. That doggy very old now going away slowly. Insert sad face.)
Roger Moore
@Citizen_X:
The best part:
Because they wanted to make it absolutely clear that they’re a bunch of wingnuts.
jeffreyw
Read him his rights, Tobe.
RandyH
@lamh32:
I saw the story on TV earlier today and had to wonder how long it will be before some jerk (like Anchor Baby Michelle Malkin) hunts down the little girl, inspects her countertops and has her mommy deported.
Cain
@Bad Horse’s Filly:
My cat is one of those cats that eats food like it is her last meal or something. At first she was a little skittish but she did eat it because she just loves wet cat food. I’ve progressively made it stronger, but I had to dial it back because my other cat started doing some nasty projectile vomits.
What I did was put half a capful in with the empty cat can, added water maybe less than half way to dilute it. Then made a slurry with the cat food. The vet said she needed a lot of water so it doubly helps.
My other cat eats it too cuz he’s a good boy and my rock star. Neither one of them are particularly picky eaters. If you’re having trouble, I suggest you try trace amounts, and then slowly up the dosage. Once you get them to get used to the taste they’ll eat more of it I think. I was lucky they ate it on the first go.
cain
D-Chance.
Finally, Ginny watched Wheel of Fortune. And I’m not kidding. I’m going to video tape it for you all some time. As soon as she hears the “beep beep beep beep” as the words is presented, she runs into the room and sits down in front of the tv. Her head then turns from side to side, and if someone calls out a letter that is not there and the buzzer goes off, she barks like a lunatic. I’m not making this up.
This could make you some money on AFV…
KyCole
Wow this puppy thing is so exhausting. Willie and I were two happy old ladies and our lives are now in turmoil. Puppy in the cone of shame is a trip- bumping into everything! Willie spends most of her time moving away from the puppy and snarling at her. Can’t wait until they get used to each other. Puppy school is definitely in our future. Old cat is spending a lot of time in the basement these days.
Bad Horse's Filly
@Cain: Oh, thanks. I’ll try it.
I had a similar situation to yours. My beloved cat BJ (if only Balloon-Juice existed 20 years ago, I could say I named her after the blog), was borderline diabetic. As soon as I got her off dry food she’d be fine and any inappropriate urinating stopped. But if she got into the dry food, man, we were in for it for days, until her system calmed down. We managed to keep her off any insulin, though still lost her too young, imo, at 15.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Chat Noir: Oh lawd my mum had a JRT named Skipper, who was a refugee from a pub, his owner died and Mum took him. He was the most insane dog I have ever known. I miss him still.
frankdawg
Our cats pretty much ignore the TV unless there are kittens mewling then they go nuts. Years ago the ancient one noticed a flock of birds on a wildlife show we were watching – the flock wondered off screen to the left & the cat tore off to the left side of the TV. I assume she thought she was going to hit the birdy jackpot
Mnemosyne
@Cain:
When Charlotte got spayed, they put an e-collar on her and she was absolutely miserable. At one point, she had all four feet braced against it trying to push it off.
She was so pitiful that we ended up taking the collar off. I put her in my lap and she happily slept off the rest of the anesthesia. Most restful time we’ve had with her — she’s a very energetic kitteh. :-)
Mnemosyne
Annie loves the TV for some reason. She really likes TCM (especially the black-and-white movies) and watched most of Miller’s Crossing with us. She once sat down and attentively watched a whole episode of “Cats 101,” only getting up when the credits started to roll.
fucen tarmal
how do people with multiple pets have carpets that embarrass mine with their high falootin cleanness, am i wrong to envy?
jeffreyw
@fucen tarmal: Just cleaned some doggie vomit from a corner of ours. There is a reason we chose a beige/brown carpet.
Fern
@Citizen_X: Ha. Of course that will also cut off a revenue source for Arizona – and I understand that the state is having some teeny fiscal issues?
SIA
@Bad Horse’s Filly: @Cain:
I use the canned food also – use about half a cap of Braggs organic apple cider vinegar and mix it up with the wet food. If I put too much in, the princess won’t eat it, or she’ll eat it and do the projectile vomiting you mentioned.
Also, Angel is such a big cat, we ditched the “XL” cat box and got him a big plastic bin.
Been no passive-aggressive peeing on the dog beds since. I really think getting him the right size cat box with no cover was what really did it. But ACV works wonders for all creatures – I drink a glass with local honey daily. :)
Zuzu's Petals
I have a picture somewhere of a group of Tibetan Buddhist monks sitting on my friend’s living room floor, intently watching Wheel of Fortune.
I speculated that maybe they were interested in the whole idea of the mandala translated through western tv culture, etc. etc.
My friend just said, “I think it helps them learn English.”
Comrade Luke
That phrase.
You keep saying it.
I do not think it means what you think it means.
SteveinSC
Rand Paul right now on Maddow. Wins primary election, promptly commits November political suicide defending the right to discriminate.
fucen tarmal
@SteveinSC:
i can’t even intellectualize the creeping ick i felt listening to rand paul.
BlueMonkey
@SteveinSC: OMG…that was astounding. And clumsy. Made him look very, very bad. Did I read somewhere that he also refused to take a concession call from his opponent? Kind of a dick.
Jager
Amazing what dogs can learn from TV, read “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein, gives you an entirely new perspective on your dog.
Ari
Our dog clearly and unambiguously recognizes animals on TV. My mom has to watch the new years day dog show on the upstairs TV with the door closed or she’ll have the dog constantly jumping up at the TV screen. Which he does anyway any time any animal appears on screen or barks off camera. God only knows how my parents are planning on getting a flatscreen unless it’s 10 feet off the ground or encased in kevlar.
I’ve never heard of a dog actually *watching* a TV show, though. So cute :)
moja31
@SteveinSC: if only that were so. instead, in the bizarro universe we live in, that kind of “maverick” thinking makes him a breath of fresh air/ outside the beltway real american hero. the villagers won’t be able to get enough of this idiot.
trollhattan
@Fern:
It’s not as though the state of Arizona owns power plants. And I’d love to see what the various power generators (including IIRC the federal government) think of the idea of breaking their contracts. That’ll show em!
Arizona is becoming the west’s Tennessee. (Or is it North Carolina. Or Alabama. Or…) I’ll bet Utah is happy to surrender the crown.
Original Lee
Try them out on the movie Babe. One of our border collies basically ignored everything except the bit in the pig factory farm at the beginning, and the sheepherding trials at the end. He used to love the Coke polar bear commercials, a lot of the Nature channel offerings, and of course the BBC coverage of sheepherding trials. He hated cartoons and Wheel of Fortune but liked Jeopardy.
Michael D.
Rand Paul, on Rachel Maddow, just basically said, “Forcing bar owners to let black guys into their private bars is kinda like forcing them to allow guns.” I have no words…
comrade scott's agenda of rage
Whatever video you try to get will have a hard time topping that photo.
JCT
@Michael D.:
Apparently on NPR today they couldn’t get a straight answer out of him regarding the Civil Rights Act. Bobbing and weaving like a tailback. Husband said it was excruciating. He should be a scream in a debate.
joe from Lowell
I may have found the greatest comment in the history of the internet on this thread.
It’s…hauntingly beautiful.
donnah
My aunt had a Boston terrier who loved to watch tv. Back in the stone age, we had console tv sets, just a few inches off the floor. (wink) That dog would stand directly in front of the screen, watching all the action. If I got up and stood in front of him to block the screen, he would move to the side. If I kept moving in front of him, he would finally get exasperated and bark at me.
BarbF
@cat48:
Having had a huge veggie garden, let me tell you what we mulched with.
We laid newspaper down around the plants, several pages worth, not one sheet, and then covered with hay. Worked a charm, and nothing grew through.
Or, if you’ve got lots and lots of grass clippings, a six inch layer around the plants will do. We had several acres of lawn and one of those carts (or whatever they’re called) that collected the clippings. Also worked a charm
WereBear
@Cain: So glad to hear things are going better!
While I was hearing about the puppies and their day, I kept thinking, “Well, they are Jacks…”
sloan
Oooh, open thread!
Some most excellent breakdancing from 1984: NYC Breakerz Vs Rock Steady Crew
Anne Laurie
On the suggestion of a friend that does this professionally, we mulched our last reclaimed bed with sheets of newspaper. Chopped the worst of the weeds short, covered everything with paper, added a few inches of soil on top of the paper to plant daylilies & irises. Worked at least as well as the expensive landscape fabric, and had rotted away discretely by the time I dug in to plant more stuff the following season.
Comrade Darkness
Look into Preem, if you’ve never used it. We’re gone a lot and the garden must tend to itself or forgetaboutit.
I find landscaping fabric to be mucho expensive. I’ve been saving up the brown paper that has suddenly shown up in bulk in shipping boxes arriving the last few weeks and I’m going to use that instead, weighted down with rocks.
BethanyAnne
@lamh32: I saw that, and it’s very very sad. But why is having a cute kid an excuse? I want more immigration. I think Arizona’s law is racist. But, um, if her mom came here illegally, then she’s here illegally, and subject to deportation. Being cute and tragic really doesn’t change the basic facts, does it? I’m fairly certain I’m going to be called an asshole, but I guess I am one about this.
I *want* there to be a guest worker program, and her mom to qualify, assuming she crossed the border illegally. Until that’s the case, we do actually have immigration laws, and she’s breaking them. I don’t really think having your cute child ask the First Lady about it should absolve you.
jaxtra
comment 64 probably will get over looked but i would suggest reading ‘square foot gardening’ by mel bartholomew. you would be surprised by his common sense tips. peace
BethanyAnne
I also saw the segment about Arizona thinking about fighting back with the power generation. I’m not sure how that’s different than the LA boycott? I know Arizona’s law is awful and racist and wrong. But if economic means are good for LA do to against Arizona, why aren’t they good against LA?
SiubhanDuinne
I swear to god, any veterinarian reading this would think you were describing a dog’s stool.
russell
EVIL GHOST DOG! It’s flat and it has no smell!!
Bark at it!! BARK BARK BARK!!!
CynDee
@BethanyAnne: It’s a Health and Life issue. Making ordinary people account for themselves if they have skin a shade darker than some is discriminatory and interferes with the basic rights of selected individuals.
Depriving a targeted population of power is directly health-threatening, and individuals who are very young, elderly, or ill will pay with their health or life.
Boycotting the Arizona economy makes a general statement across the entire population to get them to influence their state representatives and senators to end discriminatory and dangerous actions.
CynDee
@ John Cole:
Don’t count on it.
Kerry Reid
My sister’s toy Manchester terrier also watches television and barks at the other dogs, shakes his toy at them, etc. We were putting up the Christmas tree a couple years ago and watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and he was barking at Snoopy. Yes, he even recognizes a cartoon dog. Scary.
Jerry
My border collie (RIP) used to watch tv as well. Oddly, she really got upset at billiards which normally wouldn’t be a big deal since I don’t really watch it aside from passing through on ESPN7 but EVERY SINGLE SHOW with a bar scene has someone playing pool in the background.
She also was opposed to any animal on tv and essentially every prescription drug ad on tv has a dog or cat jumping around.
For a few months after she died we’d all get involuntarily nervous when an animal showed up on tv. Man I miss that dog.
Paul in KY
@D-Chance.: Jeezus! They look like aliens from planet Glortron.
Dog is My Copilot
@fucen tarmal: I can assure you that our carpets are not clean. Despite regular vacuuming, the dog hair really gets out of hand with four dogs. And we have a rescued Pomeranian who thinks she needs to pee on the carpet every once in awhile, just to show us she can I suppose.
Mary
Ah, the Jack Russel Terror. The only thing scarier is the ill-conceived Border Collie/JRT mix that was all the rage among some dogsports enthusiasts a little while back. Talk about neurotic.
lightly
I work at a kennel on the weekends. I’ve watched a Jack Russell have to be restrained to keep him from attacking a German Shepard five times his size. Crazy dogs.
atlliberal
I’d highly recommend building up your beds first. I can understand you wanting to get stuff into the ground, but patience will be worth it. Getting the beds right the first time will save you heartache later.
Don’t ask me how I know this… ; )
Smudgemo
If you like crusty, old-guy advice like I do, I’d suggest Gardening When it Counts by Steve Solomon. It’s fascinating, and he dispenses with all the gadgets, tillers and gimmicks focusing on mounds, simple (and sharp) hand tools and decades of experience.
I’d also throw out there the idea of a worm compost bin. Food scraps go in, top-notch fertilizer comes out. Just make sure you get the correct variety.
mac
Be careful with the grass clippings. You might be surprised how many seeds you are adding to your soil.