Bessie May Loves Carrots, and So Do We

Who can resist that look? My sweet Bessie May loves carrots...and strawberries, green beans, apricots, etc. There's nothing unusual about that. The amazing thing is, she knows them by name, and she knows where they are growing in the garden. Someday I'll take a video as proof, but let me just say that if the back door is open, and I say that we should go get some carrots, my dog will bolt out to the garden and wait by the correct gate.  

Here she is waiting for me to catch up. I told her we needed to get some green beans. 

It took me a couple of minutes to grab my camera after I said that. She waited there for me. 

She rarely goes into the garden until she is invited. I didn't teach her to wait, she is just intuitive.

She also rarely sneaks things or nibbles on things when I'm around. Now when I'm gone, that's another story. Apricots are seldom found on our lower branches. Anything that is not fenced in is fair game in her mind. 

Who can blame her? All she gets is kibble, when we can have this...

Fresh carrot juice!

My New Obsession, aka My New Camera

One of my goals when I started this blog was to become a better photographer. For years I have been using a small Canon Powershot camera but I've longed for a better camera. I know nothing about cameras so I relied on the salesperson to educate me. My husband understands more about them, so with their help, I chose a Sony a6000. It's a mirrorless camera (which I am embarrassed to admit I had never heard about). It is amazing. Oh boy, do I have lots to learn!

I have never taken a photography class (aperture? exposure compensation? ISO?) so I started watching online tutorials for this specific camera and have already learned so much. I am obsessed with it. I can't get enough. Luckily my garden is in that phase where everything is growing and the upkeep is minimal so I have extra time to play with my new toy.

These are unedited photos I took today. The one of the bee and the borage shows the bees wing without it being a blur! That would never have been possible with my old camera.

Bessie May is my incredible labrador. Her eyes are orange. Her heart is gold.

Being a novice means being forgiven if the composition or exposure are not perfect. The camera is capable of amazing photos, now the photographer must continue to practice, so goodbye for now. I'm off to experiment with ISO.

Simple Garden Gate

This little garden gate came together easily. It's made of one panel of light-weight fencing I bought at Home Depot for $13. 

The panels are designed to connect together to make a fence and they have little hooks on one side that I used to make the hinges. 

I used two 4 ft garden stakes, two eye bolts with nuts and washers. 

The garden stakes already have holes, but I needed to drill the second hole because the hooks did not line up with the pre-drilled holes.

Bottom hole I drilled.

Attach the eye bolts to the stakes.

Pound the stakes into the ground and the gate hooks easily slip into the eye hooks making simple hinges. To keep the gate closed, I attached a zip tie to the gate which slips over the second pole.

Because the fence panel is light-weight and small, it seems to work well. This panel is about 32 inches high and 23 inches wide.  I ended up adding a wooden dowel across the bottom because the gap was too big to keep the dogs out. You can see it going horizontally across the bottom. It is spray painted black and held on by wire. 

My fences are made of rabbit fencing, and they are designed to be easily removed to allow access to the garden beds from all sides. You can read about how I made them here. When I put up the fence, I made several small gates out of the rabbit fencing and they have worked very well, but they are a bit of a hassle to close and they are starting to lose their shape. Here is the gate today before it was replaced.

Before

After

This fence is not sturdy enough to keep out a determined dog, but it is enough to keep my sweet Bessie May out of the garden. She is a well-behaved dog and this little gate will keep her out.

Bless her heart, she waits outside the gate until she is invited in. I didn't train her to do that, she is just intuitive that way. She walks on the paths, and only eats things that are offered by me. Oh, how she loves her carrots, peas and strawberries!

One little gate finished, two to go.

Unwinding in the Garden with the Birds and My Pal

Traffic. Rude drivers. Slow drivers. Pot holes. Did I say traffic? Living in the Los Angeles area can take its toll especially when your job entails driving around all day. I'm a patient person, except around 4 pm when driving home through LA traffic. I don't go all road rage and honk (unless it's necessary). I don't yell (usually). I definitely don't flip people off (I'm not crazy). Luckily I have my garden and my dog to help me unwind.

When I get home, my dog has a plan. It's ball time. Bessie is my dog, my friend and enthusiastic ball catcher.

Unfortunately she has a knee problem so she can't play ball the way she would like...leaping and catching the ball high in the air is her favorite thing in the world. Trying to throw the ball lower so she won't jump is my tactic but the problem is, she has only one speed. She goes all out as fast as she can and if she misses the ball she scrambles after it, often skidding sideways. Not great for her knees either, so ball time is short. And her smile says it all. A little catch is better than no catch.

Only after I have satisfied her ball obsession can I sit and relax. Ten minutes sitting in the shade listening to the birds and looking at the garden is all I need to let go of that traffic stress. I can just feel it melt away. Managing my stress is something I take seriously. And reconnecting with nature is my quick fix.

Who needs fancy candles and perfumes when you have roses, gardenias and plumeria in the garden? Often I will pick a flower and just sit and sniff it.

Aroma therapy in its simplest form.

Breathe in the fragrance, breathe out the stress. Works for me.

Sweet Bessie May

Bessie May Mucho - named after the song "Beseme Mucho" which means 'kiss me a lot' in Spanish.

She is my friend, sweet Bessie May. She's my hiking buddy, my ball-obsessed, enthusiastic partner in life. Just look at that happy dog.

This one is special. She understands everything I say. Never have I had a dog with such comprehension of our language.

When her dinner time draws near, she comes to me, begging like any dog. If she is early I will tell her, "It's not time yet." She walks away. When we are working together in the front yard and it's time to leave, she knows if we're going in the front door or around the side gate. She knows because I tell her, and she understands. Seriously, she gets it. All of it.

Sweet Bessie May even thanks us for dinner. After she eats she searches throughout the house to find the person who fed her. She seeks us out and comes right up and says thank you - every time. This girl touches my heart.

She's rarely destructive. How many young labs do you know who could be trusted to walk through the garden and stay on the pathways? When I open one of the little garden gates, she waits to be invited into the garden. I never taught her to wait, she just does.

Now if there's a lizard around, all bets are off. If you're a lizard, you have to be chased. No manners will ever interrupt that impulse.

Smart, athletic, sensitive, intuitive. If only I could get her to be calm when people visit, that would be something.

We all love our dogs. For those of us who have furry friends, it needs no description, this friendship we share.

Happy is the labrador who plays with the hose.

Bessie came into our lives as our children went to college. My worry was that I would be lonely, a little lost after years of being busy with them and my volunteer work at their schools. So I decided to get a dog, someone to take on hikes; a friendly distraction, a companion. A local football coach was having a litter of labs. I chose Bessie.

She is priceless, a true friend who is with me every step as I find my way.