Compostable brown grocery bag full of: rotten apple lots of banana peels cauliflower leaves and stems leek tops tangerine peels grody potatoes garlic shoot roots butternut squash peel Tomorrow one bin will get some pee-soaked shredded junk mail and another topping of rotting leaves. They all settle down so fast it's amazing. Also picked up two bags of other people's leaves today but I'm out of room in the bins so they're going in the leaf-mold pile by the brush pile where the sprinklers get them nice and damp and melt down. They will go on top of a pile of herbaceous plant cuttings from the front yard. Yay compost!

Good afternoon, lass. Yes, days are getting longer by one or two minutes each day. Soon it will be work, work, work. Sun on our faces, dirt on our hands. Sitting on the back porch with the tea tray again, can't wait. Just got back from grocery shopping, had to go to three stores to get all the ingredients I needed for some recipes. I hate doing that. There were three bags of stuff to put away in the cupboard, but first my little dog needed to go out. She was crossing her legs by the time I got home! Meanwhile I found a message on my answering machine from Mom. She and my stepdad had their little Peke put to sleep this morning, the animal clinic had sent them a beautiful planter with carnations and she wanted my opinion on the wording of a thank you card. She said they both had a good cry and so far this afternoon are doing ok. It's such a hard thing to go through. :( Anyway, here is my new "Wind in The Willow" cup/saucer and dessert plate! It's one in the series and is called "The Picnic" - my favorite thing, picnics. Only I'm having a sandwich instead of a pastry as I'm just now getting some lunch. Probably won't eat supper. I'm waiting for the kettle to whistle.

I bought the first radio fence years ago and at the time the wireless ones were more expensive. I dangle the yellow wire on top of the ground. The area I gave the dogs at first was too large for me to bury the wire. I also didn't train the dogs like they say to do. All I did was put the collar on so it only beeps no shock for a while. Then I put it on shock after the dog knew where it would beep. Beau and Honey don't like beeps that is why it is hard to get pictures. My camera makes a dangerous beep noise. The fence works very well for Honey. It didn't work for Blackie. It worked for Beau until Blackie trained him to run through it. Honey is afraid of the yellow wire and sometimes barks at it even the part that wasn't working. He got out because the yellow wire was so buried in weeds that he didn't see it. Glenda you could let the dog ride in the truck to go over the wire. You take the collar off so the dog isn't shocked or I guess you could unplug the transmitter. The dog won't cross it unless you give it stewed chicken and talk in a high pitched voice. Come on Beau its OK. Get down on your knees dog level and inch across the area with food a few inches from the dogs head etc. Your neighbors may have a solution I didn't. Beau used to go out but couldn't cross the wire to come home. I never could figure out where to put a permanent fence because of the well, utility poles, need to get through the yard to the field and ditch that has water when it rains a lot. The radio fence is better than no fence. Blackie was hit and killed at age 14 because he wouldn't stay home. At least I can tell myself he wouldn't have lived much longer anyway and he had fun on his trips. I can not bear to think of Honey fighting coyotes and bobcats and crossing the road.

What a neat bunch of pics! I couldn't find the 4th garter snake in the top pic. How long do snakes typically use this kind of den? Is it just for wintertime, or do they linger when the weather warms up? I like snakes, too, and have done my best to gently educate folks to live-and-let-live. My interest in snakes started when I found myself ID'ing and catch/releasing snakes to protect them from my ex, who thought they were evil (silly man). I remember one year, in a drought, watching 2 black racers slither into the yard to soak under the sprinkler. Luckily I was able to redirect my ex into the front yard, so the snakes could get a bit of moisture. Admittedly, if I were to find a venomous snake on my property, I would have to relocate it (2 dogs & my bare feet), but otherwise snakes are welcome. I've considered setting my pet corn snake loose in the house to catch the mice. Wouldn't that be a surprise ... reach under the sink for some soap, pull out a snake. (It's happened with a mouse.) Leslie