My dogs and I love "their" yards. There is always something unexpected encountered and something new to explore. It would be nice if occasionally they would just sit quietly. LOL! Clicking on photos will enlarge them.
Sir Watson is lord and master of all he surveys. He is without any doubt the most affectionate Icy I have even had. He loves to snuggle - perhaps he learned that from my cat Violet? I love my shorter coated Icies. They are just easier to care for, fur wise. I've heard that breed ring folks often seem to like the longer haired dogs - perhaps they hide small defects. I don't know and don't care. There are no perfect dogs (or people).
The ferns are beginning to take over parts of my north garden. They like the sun dappled shade. The soil in that part of the yard here used to be horrible - hard packed clay. I recycle all my plants so a decade worth of leaves, grass, sticks, dog poo, et cetera has made the soil quite different. wait a while. It will only get better.
Sam has fit in very well here. He's been taking obedience classes and is the best dog in every class he goes to, of course. Icies are very smart, tractable, responsive; they love learning. His coat is amazing, a very thick undercoat which is fantastic in the winter, and a silky gray overcoat. Yes. he's a longer coated dog but that's OK.
I found this Baptisia a few years ago. I love the almost purple-black flower buds and the contrast with the yellow flowers is great when they open in June. A member of the legume (pea and bean) family, it has done amazingly well in the thick clayey soil. And, as a legume, its roots have enriched the soil adding nitrogen while each autumn its season's growth is added to the developing loamy new soil.
Kit, Sam, Tryggur in a rare calm moment on the north porch overlooking the north garden. Tryggur is the happiest Icelandic Sheepdog I have ever had. I've been told he gets that temperament from his dad. Although I suspect his mother Kit contributed to his personality; she is also a very happy dog. He is always wagging his beautiful tail. He never gets mad at anyone or any dog.
Kit in the shade of a magnolia. I am so glad she came back to me. We've been having a fantastic time together. Like her progeny, she loves training and is extremely smart and tractable. Agility is really her thing. She loves it. We train but I'm perhaps too old to enter shows.
A few years ago I planted a wisteria. I fully realize that they can become invasive spreading by underground stems and branching into neighboring trees. But their heavenly, hanging flower panicles are worth it, imo. And I will be able to keep ahead of its spreading habits. (Apres moi, le deluge!)
about 40 years ago I found an amazing gardener in Southfield, Michigan. He had hundreds of different Hemerocallis and I adopted several of them. But he also had many unusual and rare perennials that I was unable to resist!! The last day he was open I found this species iris in a one gallon plastic pot. He was unable to remember its name. (That was very unusual.) The leaves are grass-like, the flowers small, the size of a fifty cent piece (are any of those still around?), and inconspicuous but, imo, absolutely lovely. It's a bit choosy about where it does well. I had forgotten about this plant, the last one I have. I will have to divide it and move the three or four divisions around the north garden. Hopefully they will find a spot like this one that they will thrive in.
ABBA, Sam, Tryggur, Pila
I leave my dead trees standing. (I often have the upper branches removed so they don't fall on me and the dogs while we're out and about. I realize that some people think I'm crazy. That's fine with me. Happily, many of the trees serve as nest homes for a wide variety of native woodpeckers. This new hole, made last winter, is for a flicker couple. I expect babies soon. They never use the same hole twice but other birds move into the abandoned sites. I've had several seasons in different dead trees of flicker families. Maybe it's the same couple? And the dead trees serve as food and shelter for many kinds of insects which the birds are happy about.
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