Thursday, May 5, 2022

Gardens and puppies

What a busy week it's been. Work has been okay. Although we're still in limbo as far as who our next principal will be or what's going to happen, everything has been surprisingly quiet. Very few students or parents have even asked about what's going on. I'm very grateful for that. 

I got most of my garden planted last Sunday! The only things left are some peppers and cucumbers that are still too small to go out. I ended up with a dozen tomato plants, two each of the following varieties: Aunt Ruby's German Green, Brandywine, Classic Beefsteak, German Pink, Gold Medal, and Bonnie's Best. I put in four sugar snap pea plants, basil (between the tomatoes), and a row of green onions. Once the sweet banana, jalapeno, and cayenne peppers and the cucumbers are planted in a week or so, I'll be done. The carrots are almost ready, and I'm still getting lots of lettuce. I pulled up the last of the radishes on Sunday to make room for the snow peas.



Now for a Poppy update! (That's what you're all waiting on, isn't it?)

We're so pleased with her. Having such a young pup has been a new experience for us. She's so smart! And spunky. She annoys George half to death, though. He's fine with her until she jumps on him and nips at his ears and face with her puppy teeth, and then he snarls and runs away. We're doing our best to teach her to act a little calmer around him, but she's got that crazy puppy energy that she's just going to have to grow out of. We don't interfere when he corrects her, just like we didn't get involved when Ginger had to put him in his place back when he was the crazy new puppy in the house. In this case, payback is literally a bitch. :)

Today Princess Poppyseed lost her last baby tooth! Gregg saw it fall out and he picked it up and texted me a picture of it. (Maybe the tooth fairy will have to come see her tonight). She's growing really fast. On Saturday she goes back to the vet for a booster shot, and it will have been three weeks since we first took her. She weighed 24 pounds then; we're certain she's pushing 30 pounds by now. Everyone seems to think she'll be between 40-50 pounds when she's done growing. 

Her little canine teeth were the last to go. 


She always runs out to the fence to greet me when I get home from work, even if it's raining, like it was in this picture.


Here's a photo of her with all the sticks and pinecones and half-chewed up toys she assembled on the porch rug. Running in and out of the dog flap into the backyard and gathering stuff to drag back inside is one of her favorite things! See how long and lanky she's starting to look?


Last, I forced her to take some selfies with me this afternoon. She wasn't especially interested, but was a good sport about it.






32 comments:

Margaret said...

That puppy is growing up fast and is so endearing! I'm glad that the two dogs are adjusting to each other and that work was OK. I was concerned it would be total chaos.

Dave R said...

All of that puppy energy will be tiring to George, so make sure you give him extra special treatment.

Ms. Moon said...

Oh, my heart! Poppy has such a beautiful mommy! I can tell she's a smart girl. As you know, George will eventually come to love her. Just takes time and patience.

Joanne Noragon said...

So happy you have a puppy for George to bring up. And congrats on your garden!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Ha ha, those selfies! I hope the doggy tooth fairy brings her a treat or two for that last baby tooth!

Cro Magnon said...

I don't remember any of our pups losing teeth. She really is gorgeous.

I'm very envious of your veg' growing. This will be the first full year when I haven't grown anything (other than a few Toms maybe).

angryparsnip said...

Oh my goodness she is adorable ! George will be so happy that the puppy teeth are gone.

Mistress Maddie said...

Oh my goodness...my heart melted with these pictures.

Bonnie said...

I love how she runs to the fence to see you when you get home! And those pictures of you and Poppy together are precious!

Librarian said...

Two beautiful ladies!
Every time you show us pictures of your colourful radishes, I want to crunch my way through a whole plate of them. So fresh and healthy!

Frances said...

Lovely photos of Poppy...and you! My schnauzer had to have 2 of his last puppy teeth removed by the vet as the new ones grew behind and they didn't fall out! She looks so big in the pic of her lying down!

Moving with Mitchell said...

Oh my god, I’m even more in love.

Ellen D. said...

Your puppy and your garden are looking terrific!

yellowdoggranny said...

so cute..they have such energy...

Michael said...

I am so glad that things are working out with the new addition to your family! Puppies are like little kids in that they have lots and lots of energy!

Debby said...

Er...no...really...I came by to check and see how you were doing. It had nothing to do with Poppy the puppy pictures.

Much.

She's adorable. That look through the fence? Ugh. My heart melted.

Jennifer said...

She's really sweet, but also VERY bold. She'll jump right on George's back and demand to be played with!

Jennifer said...

I haven't been able to sleep in since she came! She's up and active starting at about 6am.

Jennifer said...

It's hard to keep up with her sometimes....I appreciate how irritating she can be to poor George! :)

Jennifer said...

You would love Poppy even more if you could visit. She'd cuddle you and sometimes she rubs against people's legs like a cat.

Jennifer said...

She went back to the vet for a booster shot this morning. Three weeks ago she weighed 24 pounds. Today she weighs 29.9!

Jennifer said...

I wish I could send you the last big bag of the radishes! There have been too many, and they're so spicy that I'm not liking them as much as I expected to!

Jennifer said...

I wanted to get a few shots of us together while she's still a puppy!

Jennifer said...

Thanks Maddie! Good to see you around, too.

Jennifer said...

We're ALL happy the puppy teeth are gone!

Jennifer said...

I've spent years following Haddock's and I'm sorry you won't be planting it this year. But your life in both Brighton and southern France sounds so wonderful and varied that sometimes I envy you right back!

Jennifer said...

The tooth fairy brought a previously unseen toy for Poppy to chew on!

Jennifer said...

George is really starting to come around. Sometimes--dare I say it--he seems to be having fun with her.

Jennifer said...

Thanks for the sweet words, Ms. Moon. She really IS a smart dog. We're amazed at how quickly she learns and figures things out. George is coming around, slowly but surely. They've taken to napping side by side, which is a VERY good sign!

Jennifer said...

We go out of our way to put George first, always. And on mornings when he doesn't have to work, Gregg takes him over to the park for some one on one guy time. :)

Jennifer said...

Work has been very weird and things are still very much up in the air, but we only have three weeks or so left in this school year. I haven't looked forward to summer break this much since my first one!

Ur-spo said...

I would sell my own grandmother for a Brandywine - your grandmother anyway.