Monday, August 06, 2007

Nature-y Stuff

Mother Nature seems to have appreciated me sacrificing my geranium to the purple finch posse. Look what I came home to after a weekend of camping:



Believe it or not this is the same plant that was a half-dead finch condo just a few weeks ago! After the finches moved out I stripped off all the dead leaves and deadheaded the poor thing until just two tiny buds were left. The leaves that remained, though sparse, were in great condition, so I soaked the whole plant and sat it out in a mostly sunny spot, watering daily. Now it's nice enough to hang up again! Oh, but don't look at the back side...



We'll just keep that big gaping dent to ourselves, thank you.

Also new: Is it just me, or does it seem early for cattails?



And, today's harvest from my micro-garden:



These were yummy.

Very little knitting got done this weekend as we were too busy enjoying some killer waves with good friends on the coast of Maine. Beer around the campfire also got in the way ;) But I did finish three more stripes=6 rows= 3 inches on the ripple afghan; 13 down, 35 to go! Pictures when I have more to show.

Note for dog lovers: Although we religiously treat Frisky for fleas/ticks every month, year round, he tested positive last summer for Lyme disease. We had him treated and he seemed well, until, at this year's checkup, the doctor recommended a re-test. This was an expensive add-on test that I was reluctant to do given that Frisky had only one tick bite all year, but the doctor was concerned so I went with her on it. Turns out his levels are dangerously high. We're staring a one-month course of antibiotics this week, and with luck he'll be okay. Please, please remember to treat your doggies year round (the tick that caused the first instance of Lyme was in February in New England) and be vigilant in checking their coats - this year seems to be a particularly bad one for ticks in the Northeast.

4 comments:

Kathy... said...

Oh Dear!! I certainly hope Frisky will be ok. You must have a very diligent vet - thankfully so! When will you know for sure that he is ok? (I know NOTHING about Lyme's disease.)

Thanks for reminding us all about protecting our dogs. I am religious about treating Sofee, but a reminder never hurts!

The A.D.D. Knitter said...

Hope Poochie responds well to the antibiotics:( And I would choose beers around the campfire over knitting any old time!

Meg said...

I love how geraniums seem to respond best to brutal treatment. Good wishes to Frisky on a speedy recovery!

Anonymous said...

I hope the antibiotics do the trick. Poor Mr. Frisky.

And the geraniums! This is why I love geraniums. They can go to the brink of death and rebound quite nicely. You can neglect them totally and they still continue to blossom.

Glad you had a good time in Maine. I cannot wait to go (2 weeks!)

See you Sunday?