California Spring is here

Guess the good thing about a small urban garden is no gophers.......BUT, I cannot say the same about those darn squirrels - they can't stay away from my cherries, nectarines, apricots, and persimmons. They do leave the lemons alone.

I agree that we all have our purpose on this earth. Part of my space includes a spot (not a very large one, mind you) to grow my vegetables. When the gophers choose to invade my little personal space, it's time to move them. Unfortunately they don't speak English and I don't speak gopher.

Soils - are those tree squirrels? We have ground squirrels here, so they are not getting into the trees, but they do undermine fully grown trees. They seem to stay away from directly near the house because of dog activity. But have see full size pines die in neighbor's part of the yard where dogs do not go.

Another neighbor tried that "underground exterminator" and was not successful. In fact he gave it to me. I will have to try it. The neighbor said he believes it did not work because of how the gophers close the entry with a dirt plug. The gophers do not seem to be satisfied with the open area behind us the Ortega Foothills.

Our ground squirrels have stripped our apple trees (also citrus in pots) and also undermine them. :-(

I've really been enjoying lately, the way the light hits this little Oshio beni Japanese maple in the morning around 9 a.m.

I'm not arguing that ground squirrels and gophers won't do damage. They will. I just wanted to answer someones question about their importance to the ecosystem. Completely eliminating them from the planet would be disasterous, too.

What I have are the regular ground squirrels. They don't damage the trees themselves. But I noticed that they are getting more brazen in taking the fruit - don't pay me any mind at all when I try to shoo them away. I have accepted the fact that I will have to share my bounty with the squirrels and birds so I don't do anything drastic - except to use netting if there is a small patch that I really, really want to keep for myself. Mostly the birds get the top pickings, and the squirrels and I share the lower ones. Good thing is that after about 10 years, the trees produce enough for all of us.

KC - I don't remember if you have a dog? Don't think the birds would scare those critters away. No so Darling step son has moved with his motor home to what we used to have as pasture. He has 3 dogs out there all day, so guess they will keep squirrels at bay there. I used to worry about the squirrel holes and the horses tripping on the holes, but no worries now as the horses are confined to their corrals that had to be moved to our backyard.

Very nice maple. I think they would fry up here.

I live in town and we still have gophers. We do not have the ground squirrels in our yard, though. The regular tree squirrels eat our tangerines and oranges sometimes, but it isn't a big deal. I can see how they would be a big problem if you had the easier to eat thin-skinned fruits. DH kind of wanted to get an English walnut at one time, but I told him it would be an exercise in futility with all of the squirrels around here. Mockingbirds can be a real pain.

No, no dogs, yet. DH wants a golden lab when he retires, but he/she will probably be a watchdog underneath his hammock.

Now isn't that funny, the mockingbirds never bothered anything here except the hawks, which I think our birds appreciate. :-)
Choose your poison, folks, we've got it all! LOL

Maybe they know that I am not from the South. ;-)

Hi Kelli. Yes, this maple, and a coral bark maple I have would indeed fry if I didn't have them under a solid, north-facing patio cover. They get a tiny bit of morning sun and that's it. Even so, they start getting a little crispy around August/September.

Lovely maple Surfcity. The lighting was beautiful.

I have tried twice to grow a Japanese Maple in my courtyard. Both times they were absolutely beautiful in the spring and then fried. I finally gave up.

SW, when I was a kid growing up in Pioche, I played with Tarantulas every time I had a chance. There was large group of them on this one mountain near our home I used to climb every weekend. I wonder if they are still there. The mountain is still there but I doubt if I could make it up it. Energy would be OK but balance is gone.

Up in the wee hours because we are having high winds. Have a great day.

Hey guys, here is a photo of my white Lady Banks rose that I took this AM. Full of buds, none quite opened yet, but I noticed some yellow leaves scattered about on the vines. Some are older and some are newer leaves. Does it need something? Don't roses need iron? Too much, too little water? Advice please. Thanks

Lynda

Something is missing, sweet thing.

QG: Don't fret over the scattered yellow rose foliage. Mine always do that when they're leafing out and it doesn't bother them one bit. It's normal for them to do that.

Kathleen: I say GO for the Lab !!! We always had Labs. You can easily train them to leave the garden alone. Just make sure you close the bathroom door if you're filling up the bathtub...they LOVE water !

Uh oh...forgot about the POND...!!!

Sheepish grin. Hard to see the yellow leaves?

Here we go

And another.

Squirrels are a necessary part of the ecosystem. They plant seeds. Actually they cache them, and often forget where. They are also food for other critters.
We don't have so many native trees, and I don't recall ever seeing a squirrel in a tree. However, we do have ground squirrels. At least until our dog, Daisy hears them. Daisy is half lab and half dalmation. She hates their chirping, and will track them down and kill them. It's a good thing for them that she is getting old and deaf.
DP, my friend Casey said she'll be happy to rent out her cat "Nimbus". She is really mad at Nimbus for catching and killing a bunch of rabbits, some squirrels, (doesn't mind the mice or rats), but she really gets unhappy about the lizards.
KC, did I miss something? Are you thinking about getting a dog? Small yappy dogs are the best alarm dogs, and would work well in your yard. Casey's dog Lilly is a case in point. Smart as a whip, but sort of neurotic, she has separation issues. Once Casey is out of sight she is fine. She alerts on every one, while my four footed kids will lick you to death. Well, Spirit might sit on top of you, if you cluck like a chicken. LOL!
It's really truly Spring! Happy Equinox too! (Yea, I know it was on the 20th, but I was outside enjoying it!)
Enjoy the green while it lasts!
WIB!
SW

Jules, DH wants a lab when he retires, but the recent event made several people suggest pushing up the schedule.

Dogs are great to have around. We had a black royal standard poodle who loved to keep me company whenever I was out in the yard. He loves to trot out and greet all the walkers though, and he inadvertently scares them because he is so big - but he was a sweetheart of a dog and just wanted to say hello.

My Stella cherry tree is in bloom. And the good news is, no rain in the forecast!!! When the nectarine tree bloomed three weeks ago, it was clobbered by rain. Keeping my fingers crossed that I will have a good cherry crop this year.

You wouldn't be able to have a small dog KC. The coyotes would have it for a snack in days if not hours.

Ditto DP's thought, unless you were well and high and deep fenced. Our small dogs are house dogs and one of us is typically outside when they are. When we leave now we put the min pin in a small dog pen we put up for the rabbit's turn outside. DD lined under the dirt and up 18 in. of the chain link with chicken wire and there is horse fencing across the top to protect the critters from getting out or others, like hawks, getting in. We are generally, well fenced with a car gate that is mostly kept closed. The gate is manual, so it is a pain to have to get out and in twice to come or go, but is worth it for the animals. Suppose a big dog 'could' wreak havoc in the garden, especially a pup.

Oh, I know that, DP! Our friends bring their Maltese over for visits and she stays on a leash for short walks outside and then is whooshed back into the house. Besides, we have an owl box waiting for residents :-) and DH would not want a small dog; he wants to be able to take it for walks/hikes. If we had the room, $, etc., I'd probably have a standard poodle, great dane, or wolfhound - plus a little cuddle bunch for my lap! LOL We always had dogs growing up, but when DH was traveling for work years ago I wanted company and opted for birds because we didn't have ANY yard for a dog. Not sorry, but now we have room!

I'm not fond of my neighbor's standard poodles that cannot be kept on her property, always getting out and running off. They're sweet dogs otherwise. Love Danes, but they're so short lived that that would be hard for me. I ADORE Wolfhounds. Preferably Irish.

Irish Wolfhounds are also short-lived, unfortunately. My nephew and his wife have one named Fiona - just love that name - and she is gorgeous.

I wondered about that...and I love them so. I suppose most large dogs must be short-lived? Labs are good, are they not? Live to 12-13 years or so? I know the neighbor's dog that barks incessantly hour after hour when they're gone at night is a lab and is 14...I've been counting the years......

There is a great new breed Labadoddle. Part Lab, Part Standard Poodle. They are gorgeous, smart and quiet. There are three in our neighborhood. However, I would hate to think what they cost. We have two miniature schnauzers. 11 years old. The last two lived to be 16. They are yappy but very loving and very smart. The pigeons do not like them but the other birds and doves just ignore them.

As soon as I saw a Labradoodle I pointed that out to DH. LOL We will adopt from a rescue, so only time will tell.

For our last dog, we went to the shelter with this list:
not too big
not too small
not a puppy
housebroken
less than 5 years old
short hair
likes our kid (he was 8 at the time)
doesn't hate cats

We ended up with Penny---a 1 yr-old shepherd/dobie/?? mix who was an absolutely fantastic family member for the next 17 years.

On the cable show, Dogs 101, they covered the
Designer Dogs (labradoodle, chiweenie, etc) last week. That is a 1 hour show and they give a lot of info on each breed and close with the basic health, intelligence, suitable for what kind of family, etc. information. Maybe they have a website.

Good show, Lynda. http://animal.discovery.com/videos/dogs-101-designer-dogs/
Now, if I can just get him to go for a labradoodle and then find one!