A while back one of you wanted a picture of my backyard before I get everything fixed (although the deck and everything are on hold now for obvious reasons), but I am still bringing in some dirt to level things out. At any rate, here you go:
Here’s another picture. As Tams said, “I spy with my little eye four pets. Can you find them?”
I’ll give you the easy one:
Re: the backyard, on the left you can see the honeycrisp and mcintosh apple trees (the mcintosh is a pollinator) the chestnut tree in the middle of the yard, and in the back you can see the compost bins (“we” built the new one for 68 bucks, the “we” of course being royal, because Gerald built it as I am not allowed to use power tools). All around the compost bin are blackberry shrubs, blueberry bushes, and two fig trees. In between the chestnut tree and the compost bins is where I am going to put the pollinator garden for bees and butterflies. On the right are the raised bed gardens, two of which were salvaged from the old property. The big green house is my parent’s house, where I lived from age two on.
I think I might actually put some peas and broccoli in today, maybe the maters and other stuff next week. I think we might finally be out of the woods regarding winter and freezes. I think I am just going to let the cucumbers and watermelon and what not roam free on the other side of the fence, because it’s pointless to try and put them in a raised bed and just a waste of space- they go wherever the hell they want, anyway.
Got off the phone with the pet hospital about an hour ago, and Lily is doing well, her weight is holding steady, her vitals are good, she has not demonstrated any negative side effects of the chemo yet (it’s only been 16 hours), and the nurse says she has a pep in her step, is eating, pooping and drinking and her tail was up and she pranced around when they took her outside. The fact that she used the word “pranced” brought a wave of relief to me, because Lily has never “walked,” she was always a little prancer, and the nurse using that unsolicited by me means that her essential nature is the same.
We’re going to head up so we can be there around noonish for a consult and maybe to bring our girl home (fingers crossed). Once again, I want to thank you all for your kind words and support. I’m really lucky that have a lot of IRL friends, but the kind words and overwhelming generosity you all have displayed, well, I’m at a loss for words.
Thanks for having my back:
Peter
That’s a great looking garden. Spending time working in mine really helps as an antidote to the horrors of the world, and I hope this one has the same effect on you. Also, I covet that shed. It’s the one thing I didn’t think to put in mine.
jacy
So happy to hear Lily is pepping up — here’s to some smooth sailing with her treatment!
kindness
Nice. They don’t sell Mcintosh apples out here in N. Cal. 10 different varieties but never Mcintosh. I miss them. I wish you well John. It’ll be good to have Lily around the house again, no doubt.
Luthe
Probably wise.
As for pet-finding, I see Rosie in the raised beds and a dog of some sort taking a shit in the middle of the lawn. No idea where the last pet is.
realbtl
A WA apple farmer turned me on to Cameos. Hard to find but definitely kicks Macs to the curb.
Gelfling 545
So happy to have this hopeful news about Lily.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@realbtl: I grew up in apple country in NY. The local Cortland from that area is still my favorite. And fresh-pressed cider, from the fall crop of apples, mmmmm…
Anyway Macs might be a close second. Either those or the Stayman’s which are a popular apple here in PA where I live now.
(Sometimes you see Stayman Winesap. I’ve never figured out if that is the full name of Stayman or a hybrid)
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: Frigging iPhone thinks apple must refer to its parent company, doesn’t appear to know there’s a fruit by that name WHICH DOESN’T GET CAPITALIZED, YOU STUPID PIECE OF TIN!
WaterGirl
Another good Lily report! Grateful for the good news.
Love the last photo of the bunch with everybody standing at the railing looking out!
Mary G
Big beautiful back yard. Love the last picture with the three centuries spaced out on the porch.
Glad to hear Lily is prancing, let us know when she’s home!
Steeplejack
@Luthe:
There’s a black dog (Thurston, I presume) at the left end of the first of the four raised beds in full view. Hiding in the shadow.
I love that last picture.
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
“I know, right?”
“The nerve!”
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: Well done!
satby
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: happens on Android too.
@John, great to hear Lily is back to feeling well enough to prance! Hope she has a happy homecoming today. The yard looks good and the deck looks perfectly serviceable for this summer. Is the shaggy little dog Tammy’s?
WaterGirl
Who is the feral bobcat in your backyard? Steve?
satby
@Luthe: Thurston is on the other side of the raised bed Rosie is at, apparently barking at her.
Edit: beaten by Steep
Amir Khalid
Great to hear that Lily’s improving. Figers crossed for her.
satby
@WaterGirl: yeah, I bet that’s supposed to be Steve.
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
I had to zoom the picture up to the max (300%), and, unlike every cop show on TV, the resolution didn’t stay razor sharp. Huh. I must have a lousy monitor.
satby
And I’m off… We’re doing a cleanup day at the Farmers market. I thought it started later today, but it’s starting just about now.
Sis
Who’s the fur baby on the right?
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Steeplejack: Try using the Satellite Of Infinite Resolution from the spy movies, which is also always overhead no matter where you are on earth, and able to track both good guys and bad guys through walls (while not ever showing neutral civilians).
John Cole
@Sis: That’s Tammy’s dog Sam. She’s a morkie.
debit
Beautiful view from your deck. And wonderful news about Lily!
MelissaM
I like that the dogs each have their own section of deck railing to peer out of. Good that they know their places.
Daniel'sBob
Great news about Lily, John, but are those raised beds going to get enough sun in the spring and fall when they need it most? Sorry, but I notice those things.
Steeplejack
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
I’m not cleared at that level.
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: I always laugh at that, too!
Oh, and the previous well done washout the doggie dialogue swell as the dog spotting.
Elizabelle
Lily! Be well. Come home!
Love your backyard, and so do the petz.
Skepticat
Happy news about Lily–please continue with that. Your yard is really great and perfect for the critters.
Steeplejack
@John Cole:
What’s the m in “morkie”?
Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ
John your blog, particularly the personal posts, bring a lot of joy to me and I assume most of the other jackals. Supporting you when you go thru such difficult times is the least we can do. On that note, I’m very glad to hear that dear Lily has pep in her step once again.
HRA
“Pep in step” for Lily is very encouraging news and I hope it will continue.
Your back yard reminds me of what I was thinking of doing in my back yard a few days ago. It does sound a tad weird and yet it was a very true thought.
Hope
Catherine D.
My favorite apple is the Macoun. It’s only available briefly in late September around here.
Steeplejack
Random lines you hear in soccer matches on TV in the background: “He’s got a wonderful left foot!”
After a hard-fought battle most of the way, West Ham United have given up three goals to Arsenal in the last 10 minutes of the match. If this was boxing the ref would be stopping the bloodshed.
Final: Arsenal 4-1. A nice sendoff for Arsène Wenger, manager of 22 years whose “retirement” was announced a few days ago.
Pogonip
Cole, I wish to re-marry and have fallen in love with your apple trees. How soon can you move out? (If that one lady can marry a building, I can marry Cole’s trees.)
I am glad Lily’s improving.
Dog Mom
John – I am keeping fingers crossed that you will be bringing Lily home today too. I am assuming that she is still on the steroids for now. I have been ‘managing’ a pack with an Addison’s dog requiring prednisone every day and 2 Cushing’s dogs with an overabundance of their own steroids (that is what Cushing’s is). Anyhow, the steroid stimulates the appetite, will make her excessively thirsty and increase the need to pee causing accidents – My best warning is be prepared.
You may want to isolate her when feeding – even a sweetie may turn in to a ravenous beast ready destroy any creature that glances with curiosity at her bowl. You may need to give multiple smaller meals to her.
Don’t limit her water, but get her out more frequently. Pee happens – have patience – Just have a mop and cleaning supplies ready – maybe even pee pads.
I hope you don’t have to think about my advice – but I gave it up anyways.
MomSense
So happy to hear Lily is having a good day. Days can be up and down with chemo so we have to make the best of the ones that are good.
wvng
Great news on Lilly! Also, don’t ever plant the sensitive stuff till May 15th in this region. Ever.
imonlylurking
Awesome news on Lily. We have a 19-yo kitty that will have to take the final sleep at some point. Not looking forward to that.
Regarding cucumbers-no need to let them run. Buy those tall tomato towers that are crap for tomatoes-two or three of them-and some mesh fencing. Line the towers up, cover with fencing, and plant the cukes on the end. You’ll have to secure the fencing to the towers-and don’t do more than two wide, or they’re hard to reach under. (Well, hard for me, cuz I’m short.)
Then you have cukes that are mostly contained, easily harvested, and a possibly-shady space underneath for other stuff.
CliosFanBoyNeeWoodrowfan
Hoping there is more and more good news on Lily…
Miss Bianca
Meanwhile, in less hopeful pet news…my poor old girl Stella is, I think, finally on her last legs. She’s been weak in the back end for quite some time – I’ve had to use a beach-towel sling to get her up and down the stairs – and for the last several days and nights she has been afflicted with diarrhea that’s just not getting better despite a vet-prescribed diet of white rice, baby food, and probiotics. She’s now outside in the shade with her water bowl. Of course, it’s Sunday, and my local clinic is closed. There is a vet here who will come to the house and administer the last rites here, but he’s not my regular vet and I feel a little weird about asking him to come and administer the chemical coup de grace on a dog he’s never met. Feeling sad, inadequate, and a bit helpless at the moment.
Hug that little Lily for me, JC. So rooting for you to be able to bring her home,
schrodingers_cat
Your deck or is it a porch, looks good. Is that the same deck that you fell through? I was raking oak leaves under and around my rose bushes. It is a very thorny variety of roses. Off to has a shower.
May Lily continue to feel better.
NotMax
@John Cole
Nanu, nanu.
Cermet
No matter what you think, that is a nice back yard. Why level it using dirt? The drainage looks fine as does the overall yard.
Nicole
It was me! Thank you for posting a picture. I think your backyard looks nice, honestly, but then, not having lived in a place with a backyard since I was 18, I have enormous backyard envy. I still look forward to the after pictures.
Thanks also for the update on Lily. I hadn’t realized how much the anxiety over her had reached into my own existence until last night, when my a-bit-younger-than-Lily dog started whining and acting incredibly anxious and refused to eat. I took her out five times, where she flinched any time a stranger approached her (which is NOT like her at all) and hid behind me, and wouldn’t play fetch, and blah blah blah. I was in almost in tears by the end of the night, trying to figure out what was going wrong, if she’d eaten something poisonous, if she was sick with something I’d missed, etc. I just lost another pet a few weeks ago, and was preparing myself for a trip to the vet.
And then my husband discovered I’d forgotten to unlock her crate when I locked it earlier in the day (so she couldn’t hide in it when it was time for a bath). She was wailing and freaking out all night because she couldn’t get into her room.
I felt so bad I even offered to let her sleep on the bed with us, but once back in HER room she wasn’t leaving it. I think she’d have flipped me a middle finger if she had fingers.
MazeDancer
@Miss Bianca:
If you feel it is time, call the vet who will come to the house. A peaceful good-bye in familiar surroundings is a good way to go. If you think another day and night will be good for your Stella, wait.
Worry not about unknown vet. They usually charge big emergency fee and know how to do big sleep well. They migjt not even be able come today. You could call and discuss.
There is no right or wrong choice. You love your Stella, she knows it.
So very sorry your sweet girl is so ill.
19 years is a great run.
Planetpundit
Great Lily report! Here’s hoping she comes home today. Steve, as always, is magnificent.
Cermet
@Miss Bianca: Very sorry for your pending loss; I too had to do that a number of times. Our long life compared to dogs makes that inevitable – but the joy we obtain is so well worth that issue.
I note people tend to follow Vet’s statements and details are lacking. I’ve always wondered about the use of pro-biotics with dogs. Since dog’s stomach acids are extremely powerful compared to ours it is highly unlikely human probiotics will survive. As such, pro-biotics from human sources are highly unlikely to get through; further, and more problematic, such human food-based pro-biotics that do work for humans are not likely (even if they get through) to help dogs. Apparently, there are some suggested ones that “might” be helpful “IF” they manage to get through (the research is still pending on that question.)
Dr. Coates reports that the following probiotic strains have some scientific evidence to support their safety and efficacy in dogs: So I read up on the subject so you and other BJ’ser can approach dog health with more information in the future.
– Enterococcus faecium
– Lactobacillus acidophilus
– Lactobacillus casei
– Lactobacillus plantarum
– Bifidobacterium bifidum
– Bifidobacterium animalis
– VSL#3
So, look for these if you want to try and address that issue at some point if you run into this issue again. If your Vet isn’t aware of this issue, then they need to be made aware so they do not waste people’s time. If they are aware, then they should mention this to owners so they can get the right stuff.
No One You Know
I’m so glad Lily is better and hopeful that she comes home to patrol the yard!
Your feral bobcat is magnificent, as usual.
Miss Bianca
@Cermet: thanks for the info. these are doggie brand probiotics. i will have to look and see what kind they are when i am not feeling so listless i can barely move off the couch. it has been a hard couple days on all of us.
HinTN
@NotMax: Irrespective of Cole’s great news, that made me smile.
Nicole
@Miss Bianca: Miss Bianca, I’m so sorry. When time comes, I think the pet doesn’t care who the vet is; the chance to go out at home is a gift. I wish that we could all be so lucky.
Beautifulplumage
Wait, what! You intentionally planted blackberries!! To a Seattlite that’s just crazy talk!!!
Glad to hear better news for Lily; may you have more quality time with her and peace of mind when she has to go.
Beautifulplumage
@Miss Bianca: so sorry to read this. Sending thoughts of peace & serenity for you and Stella. And trust in yourself that you’ll make good decisions for her.
rikyrah
Thanks for the update, Cole. You have a beautiful backyard.
Prayers for Lily.
Danielle
We know if he is at a loss for words, then he is really . . . the John underneath all the stuff we usually see. Hope you get to take the girl home!!!
Dog Mom
@Miss Bianca: So sorry for you and your Stella – We are not there yet, but with my 15+ year old, we just don’t know when. Our go to for bad tummy issues is a spoonful or two of plain, canned pumpkin – if she will try it, it does seem to firm it all up and can be continued. Another herbal recommendation, (though mostly for vomiting) is Slippery Elm powder mixed with a bit of water and something tasty. It is a slightly sweet, mostly bland goo that gently coats the digestive tract. Good wishes, strength and peace to you and your sweet pup as you face the future.
Shell
Damn, that Steve is one big hunka cat!
Hope things keep going smooth for Lily.
burnspbesq
@kindness:
I can get them at my local upscale market in OC, but the quality is not up to what I remember from growing up in Upstate and Jersey. I mostly stick to Granny Smiths, which ship better.
Mingobat (f/k/a Karen in GA)
Beautiful backyard. Looking forward to knowing Lily is prancing around in it again.
@Miss Bianca: I’m so sorry about your Stella.
Miss Bianca
Thanks all for the kind words. I don’t know where else to vent my feelings over the Cole-esque horror comedy of it all.
For example, here are the circumstances currently influencing my decision-making process:
“If I have the vet come up here, I have to try to bury her up here. (Stella is a large dog – 90 lbs when she was in full fighting trim). It’s April in the high country, which means the ground is still frozen, so the only way to dig a hole deep enough is to use a backhoe. However, my friend D’s skid steer, which is what we have to hand to perform this operation, has a broken pin, so no backhoe. Besides. as he pointed out, “Stella hates being outdoors. She’d much rather be cremated and live in a nice urn inside.”
I find myself agreeing, and then wondering what to do with her body till I can get it to a pet cremation place. Can I possibly stash her body in the freezer, I wonder wildly. Go to the back room freezer, open it up, ponder. Conclusion: she would actually probably fit, if I moved all the food and shelves out of the way, but then…oh, Lord, Getting her body in and out would be a nightmare.
I am punchy from sleepless nights, so apologies, dear jackals, if I’m just sounding unbelievably callous and/or tacky. It’s just that y’all are theones I can think of when I think, “who can laugh and cry with me at the same time over something like this?”
StringOnAStick
@Miss Bianca: The in-home service we used too care of getting our kitty to the pet crematorium, and I bet he can help you with that as well. Most of these in-home services are busier on the weekend (so the whole family is home to say goodbye), so I suspect he can help you with this. These services tend to be busy too, so you might want to call just to check his availability.
Avalie
@Miss Bianca: When I had to do the same thing with my 80 lb Lucky, the vet who came to the house was not only unbelievably supportive and caring, but she also arranged the cremation and transportation. Might be worth asking if the vet can do the same here. It was a little more expensive, but not having to deal with the logistics on top of losing my friend of 14+ years was a godsend.
WaterGirl
@Miss Bianca: Oh Miss Bianca. I have no words, just hugs. Peace to you as you figure out what to do, and beyond.
MazeDancer
@Miss Bianca:
Yes, you can freeze the body of a pet. For months if needed.
Lady at pet creamatorum has said so. (Been there too many times, but she is so kind and reverential to the bodies.) She also told me just to keep body on ice if it is only for a few days. So I did.
Yes, come-to-your house vets usually can arrange to take body away for cremation.
m.j.
ummm…Maybe next year’s calendar could be pictures of Lily, if it’s not too indelicate to ask for such a thing.
Ruckus
@Miss Bianca:
We all can and we all do.
Hopefully all goes as best as can be expected. Try not to do the human thing and believe it will be as bad as possible. Take comfort in that you are doing what’s best for your friend.
Best of luck and life to you.
Miss Bianca
@Ruckus: aww, thanks. well, the vet just called and said he is on his way out here. we will see what we will see.
Damned at Random
What a turnaround for Miss Lily! Looking forward to reading that she is prancing and pooping in her own backyard
Baquist
Lily! Lily! Lily! Thanks for the update, John. After all your years of sharing your life and your pets, she/you/you all belong to us as well.
Citizen Alan
So I read the headline and immediately wondered why the hell Laura Ingraham was visiting you at your home.
satby
@Miss Bianca: So sorry Miss Bianca. Stella has had a good long life with you whatever the vet says the next step is. Peace to you both.
Ruckus
@Miss Bianca:
No worries, good luck for you and Stella.
toschek
John – I know your vet says it’s lymphoma but wanted you to know that when my dog got sick they said that too — and it turned out to be Lyme disease. Unfortunately by the time we got the right diagnosis her body had been too damaged by the treatment for lymphoma that she died anyway. Apparently lymphoma and Lyme disease have a lot of similarities in how they present in some cases so it might be worth checking.
WaterGirl
@toschek: Maybe you can post that on Cole’s twitter account? Or get some who is on twitter to do so? He will surely see it there and may not see it here.
MazeDancer
@toschek:
That is very good information. And so sorry you lost your pup.
But Lily has a tumor in her neck. That is cancer of some kind.