happy gotcha day, frankles!
frank came barreling into my and pippin's lives 3 years ago today. it feels like he's been here forever! they bonded at their very first meeting and have been inseparable ever since.
the day they met...
every day is a joy with these big hooligans. 💖
Comments (16)
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#466 - The Twelve Days Idyll
Comments (101)I'll give this thread another jab to make sure it's done, LOL -- Ei - love the nails and color (& the salad sounds major yummy!). 'bug and Chelone - Im sorry to report that the Giant food stores apparently dont know about the shelf life of cranberries - they can be found in neither fresh nor frozen form (luckily I have some of the latter in the freezer) -- I am not going to go on the NoVA quest to find the durned things today - I did however, decide, that an FB recommended ale could welcome in the new year - so Blue Moon it is... Kathy - I had hard time stopping laughing at the "need to finish the Xmas cheese" -- I said tht w/ the fig/goat cheese appetizer -- until I discovered it seemed 5 lbs had hit the scales somehow.... so into the trash the last slurps went; and the ham to the freezer for travel to PA, etc.... Already hit the book store and stocked up on some mags (not enuf garden ones out right now, bummer); a couple of net flix, a pizza for later, and ta ta... I hope someone can start the New Year/ New Decade Idyll.... Jab, jab -- happy new year to all (Im happy to grow 4 Inches upward also if someone will supply the diet..). --Cindy...See MoreHow many days chili plant can survive in wet soil!
Comments (17)you have to understand, tomato cages are not used where i live (croatia), you can't buy them, and making them would cost loads. and honestly, i don't see the point, except for tomatoes grown in containers (which is very very rare here). there are a myriad of simpler solutions, people here sometimes emulate the greenhouse system of tying, by putting in the ground two concrete poles on the opposite sides of the tomato row (we use them in vineyards to attach wire too) and string the wire between them at about 2 m high. then attach a single lead for each plant to that wire and the ground beside the plant. then as the tomato grows just wrap it around the lead, it ends up supporting itself no matter how big or heavy it gets. the thing is, i plant more of them so if a couple die, or get diseased i just don't care. also, i plant a lot of varieties and am not OCD about taking care of them. as i said, some just sprawl around, and i'm happy even if i pick a bit less fruit from them than if i was fussing over every detail and stressing out ( i have chillies for that lol ). i was just explaining this to my mother the other day, she was freaked out by some of the sprawling ones touching the ground : "oooomg why are they down there, you know they'll get diseased! and you didn't prune them, birds will fall from the sky when they fly over your tomatoes! no they won't, over the years i've realized tomatoes are much stronger than we give them credit for, leaving them the hell alone to do their thing is the best fertilizer in the world (as a member on another pepper forum said when i posted the above chilli pictures haha). to get back to tying them up, there is also this tunnel system used here occasionally, which may or may not have netting put over the top of that center line, again relatively simple and effective. about selling produce, i don't sell, would you believe? i cook a LOT of paste and sauces, and interestingly how ever much i make i always run out before the next season's harvest. relatives and friends have gotten used to the "tasty paste" and snag it all away haha. the thing is, here most people are still growing oxhearts (if they are growing anything at all, the "grow your own food" movement hasn't really caught on yet, especially among my generation - under 30), and simple red cherries were considered exotic not that long ago. so when i cook or give away a rainbow of colors from my 30ish varieties it makes quite a bang. about space, i have what would translate to 3.7 acres of land around my house, most of it just empty with some fruit trees and stuff. but planting all that in tomatoes would be insane of course, so i think of it as unlimited space but limited gardener time and energy :D anyhow, to sum this way longer than needed post up, i think one has to decide where their priorities are, and cross reference that with available nerve and happiness amounts. in the middle is what you do to your plants :)...See MoreMy squash babies look happy! (I think!)
Comments (33)That's a female flower with a baby squash--waiting to be fertilized! If it doesn't get pollinated when it blooms, the "cute little squash" will shrivel up and fall off! If it gets pollinated---you've got squash!!! Sometimes female flowers get going before the boys show up, so there's nothing to pollinate them with, so don't be too disappointed if your first flowers don't get pollinated. Blame it on the guys!!! The male flowers don't have the tiny baby squash at the bottom, so if you have any males when the females open, you can take a little paint brush and pollinate them yourself, just to be sure. Happy watching, Skybird P.S. Remember your idea to use tomato cages on them? What do you think about trying that NOW??? ;-) They look just a little bit different than your squash from last year! :-)...See MoreNew Pool Build in Northeast. Need Advice
Comments (15)Boy the economy is really helping you. We had Andrews do a pool in 2008, and we spent about 75K by the time it was done with no spa! The pool they built is beautiful, but it was a bit of a stressful time during the build, although, I think Andrews may be the best of the bunch when it comes to the whole process. A neighbor used Environmental and they plumbed the spa wrong and they are stuck with it. We also got a quote from South Shore, and just didn't like the salesman. Ferrari would have built a nice pool for us too, but the seemed handle their subs differently. Andrews said they use no subs, but they really do, they just report to Andrews, and Andrews keeps a close eye on what they do. Turns out their subs were great. The big worry for us was how much extra $ we could spend if they hit ledge. You don't know what is under your lawn. We totally lucked out, we just knew there was going to be ledge, but when they hit it, we just decided to flip the design of the pool - deep end to the shallow end, and they kept digging, No extra $ for dynamite or rock splitting. We got exposed aggregate decking which we love. We also did the Pebble tec, and love it. We have a little waterfall. We have the salt generating system, and a Polaris. Jerrith fencing surrounds the pool. We have an electric heater. Things I would change if I could: 1. Add a pool filling jet from our well, rather than dragging the hose over when the water level drops due to summer evaporation. 2. Deeper and wider deep end with a diving rock. Even though they tell you not to do this because of safety/insurance issues, guests and kids just assume the pool is deep enough for diving, and they dive off the side. 3. LED color changing lights. It would look so great at night. 4. Even though we paid extra for a significantly larger deck surround, I wish it was even bigger. You spend a lot of time there, and it feels smaller than it is. I can't think of more now. I don't know how to post pictures, but I could email you one. Good Luck!...See More- 24 days ago
thanks, all! this is one of my favorite photos of them. unlike all but 3 of my 11 danes over the years came from a couple of great dane rescues. frank, pippin and eden came from show breeders. all of them had/have wonderful personalities.
eden, i lost her to bone cancer 3 years ago. that left me with only pippin. she took eden's death hard and was sad for such a long time, and after watching her mourn for 2 months i finally decided it was time for a companion for her and that's when frank was offered to me. best decision ever!
- 24 days ago
@KW PNW Z8 i'm glad you enjoy the pictures! i've had other bonded pairs over the years but pip and frank take it to a whole new level. while they both love attention from me and seek me out multiple times all day long, neither will let the other get out of sight. if one goes outside, the other follows. they often start evenings off sleeping separately but always end up together in a pile. pippin loves to take sun baths outside on the deck even on the hottest days. frank doesn't like the heat any more than i do so he will nap in front of the sliding glass door where he can be close to her but stay cool at the same time. 😂
upside down, sound asleep.
they are the only 2 that i have puppy pictures of. this is pip's litter, she is on the far right. they were about 8 weeks old when this was taken.
frank's litter, that's him on the far right. the puppy second from the left recently starred in a movie called "the friend" with naomi watts and bill murray. bing was the star of the show! knowing how much you love dogs, i highly recommend it! it recently became available on amazon prime for rent. i won't spoil it for you but i'll tell you it has a very happy and poignant ending.
- 24 days ago
- 23 days ago
@chisue "clumsy" is my middle name so i can relate! i don't know about you but even the slightest bump on my arms/hands leave those bright red spots that make it look like they've been through a meat grinder. they don't hurt in the least but are so unsightly!
acupuncture has truly been miraculous for me. i've even had him do treatments a couple of times on my lower back when i thought i could lift something i should not have lifted.
😂oh yes, teenagers! pippin just turned 5 in may but she has what is commonly known as "brindle brain" when it comes to danes. she is still very, very playful and every once in a while she will have a spurt of all out zoomies in the house when she runs full speed through the house from one end to the other. that's when i paste myself against a wall until it passes!
frank will be 7 on 5/31 which is considered "senior" in giant dogs. you would never know it because he's every bit as playful as pip. when they get too rowdy in the house i tell them to "take it outside" at which point they go flying out the dog door and the songbirds scatter.
pippin came to me at just 11 months old, the youngest dane i've ever had. even though she had been a show dog for several months prior, i had a challenge or two with her and her puppy brain. thankfully, she's always been very obedient (thanks to her previous owner) so those challenges were minor and easily corrected.
because she wasn't "all that" in the show ring and her breeder was also showing one of her litter mates, she decided to place pip in a companion home. this is the photo she sent to me to give me first choice. we had known each other for 10+ years through our mutual love of the breed. when i saw the photo, i couldn't wait to get my hands on her! hailey has told me many times that pip is the best puppy placement she has ever done.
"bitey face" is a favorite game and many times it can make watching tv problematic.
if you didn't know these two, this would probably be concerning. lol
NinapearlOriginal Author