Lu and Me in the Garden

Meet my garden companion, Lu. Isn't he a handsome fellow?
























Dave and I adopted Lu three years and two months ago from a rescue program. He's a wonderful dog. Unfortunately, someone treated him very poorly before he came to live with us. He has a lot of fear. He doesn't warm up to strangers and is leary even with our neighbors and friends. Lu is a mix of Boxer and German Shorthair---he's so dashing he often garners compliments when people see him. He loves to be in the gardens when I'm outside. More often than not, he stands guard while I dig or plant. He takes protecting me very seriously. However, he can be distracted by the lure of a discarded plastic pot. I think that as soon as I remove the plant and lay the pot on the ground, the pot begins to call his name in a voice only he can hear. Sneaking up on my blind side, Lu will then ease the pot up off the ground until he has a sure grip with his teeth. And that's when he explodes into a frenetic mass of churning muscle. Round and round the yard he runs, turning and twisting, leaping and lurching, the pot dancing on the end of his nose. We've given him all kinds of store-bought toys but nothing is as much fun as the discarded plastic pot.

Yesterday, we planted the bulbs I got at Ace hardware last weekend. They were beautiful and solid and much to my delight, I found that the ground was still dig-ible. Into the ground went 10 Anemone Blanda, 4 Nectaroscordum Allium, 20 Dick Wilden Double Narcissi, and 7 Mount Everest Giant Allium. Much to Lu's delight, he found the remnants of a flower pot and after running with it until he tired himself out, he settled in for some shredding. He's also very proficient at making plastic confetti.

While I was planting the bulbs, I remembered reading a helpful planting tip about bulbs that I wanted to pass on. Sometimes it's hard to tell, especially for beginning gardeners, which is the top and which is the bottom of the bulb for placement in the ground. Almost always the top is pointy. But, if you can't figure it out, plant the bulb on its side and the bulb will take care of itself. Nice.

Today, we are expecting snow. Not a lot, maybe an inch. But Lu and I don't care for the gray skies and the bitter way the wind has turned on us from the northwest. Maybe that's why I'm sitting here jabbering about dogs and bulbs and Lu is chasing rabbits from the comfort of his recliner.