Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Spring is near

As the calendar goes. The weather is teasing us right now with very mild days and lots of sunshine. The sunshine part ends today, however, as another weather system moves through. No real rain predicted, just clouds. And very mild temperatures. The bulbs are up and beginning to open all around.

Hyacinths in a planter box on the deck beginning to bloom.

I've got to do some research and figure out why I have so many bulbs that don't flower. Some of them may be very old, but they haven't reproduced and they've just stopped flowering. The leaves come up every year, no flowers.

As you may know, Callie had her first professional grooming experience yesterday. All went very well. She didn't freak out when I left her at the shop, and the groomer told me she behaved very well. One small thing that I didn't like was that the groomer fed her. Not a little treat here and there to win her confidence, but like a huge meal. I only know because Callie threw it all up when we got home.

After we got out of the car and I was closing the gate, I noticed Callie chowing down on grass, as dogs do. Then, during our walk she regurgitated nearly one and a half times the amount of kibble that I usually give her in the morning. I could tell she had just eaten it within the past hour or so (If you live with animals or small children you will know what I mean).

But she wasn't any the worse for wear. No ill effects. And she enjoyed her walk and gobbled up her treats when we got back to the house. I took some photos, but I don't like them, so I'll take some more soon and post one here.

13 comments:

  1. Spring is coming fast for you. France is way ahead of us here in States. Fred reminds me of that everyday. ha!
    And don't worry about those old bulbs. I mean, I stopped flowering years ago but I'm still useful. Although I've never reproduced. But it's not from trying.
    Your Friend, m.

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  2. Lulu's hairdresser gives her chocolate biscuits, which I'm not too keen on - sweet stuff isn't good for her teeth and chocolate is bad for dogs, I believe. Still, it gets the job done and I know she's hard work to groom.

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  3. Can hardly wait for our flowers to start blooming.

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  4. That photo is wonderful,really
    brings out the waxiness of
    the blooms. I can almost
    catch their scent. Believe
    bulbs like a good feed
    after blooming...bone meal
    is a favorite also when
    planting. Try heavy
    fertilizing (in US you can
    buy specific bulb food) on
    the ones that haven't bloomed.

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  5. I think Callie's a good-looking dog, groomed or not, but still I am very interested in seeing what the groomer did with her.

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  6. Beautiful photo, Walt.

    I know what you mean about people feeding others' dogs. I've had to tell my good friends, who love my dog, that I won't be able to bring him to their house when we visit if they continue to give him people food as treats. They just don't get it.

    BettyAnn

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  7. So SWEET, those flowers are......I love them. They will always remind me of church at Easter time.

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  8. Our dog groomers may give a treat to the dogs if they cooperate, but never a meal. They'd be in big trouble if they did, because the dogs have allergies and are on special foods.

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  9. I think a word to the wise to the groomer next time. It's a bit of a no-no feeding her a meal. A treat is to be expected as a reward for patiently being groomed but not a 5 course meal!

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  10. Walt, if the bulbs are not in at the correct depth, or if they are too crowded, or if they are "leaf tidied" too early, they will stop flowering and just put out leafy growth.
    Try digging up a marked clump when the leaves have gone over and splitting them up and replanting 2.5 times as deep as the height of the bulb... that should give you a better show next year.

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  11. I looked at the fabulous Callie slide show recently and have been meaning to post a comment on what a gorgeous, happy- and healthy-looking dog she is! She looks fine 'au naturel' so yes, it will be fun to see her looking a little more 'a la francaise'! (Sorry to purists about lack of accents, just got an iMac and haven't worked out how to do them!)
    She's a lucky dog to have been chosen by you and Ken, Walt.

    Best wishes
    Catherine

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  12. We have blooming fruit trees all over town. The magnolia stellata (star magnolia) was in full bloom yesterday outside my dentist's window which I enjoyed as my teeth were cleaned.

    As for keeping the blooms coming on your bulbs, I always leave the green leaves alone after the bulbs have bloomed for a long time, actually until they really start to look untidy. I also clip the faded blooms away right down to the ground so all the plant energy will be stored for the future year.

    Bulb meal might also help (mentioned earlier).

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  13. Thanks, everyone, for the comments and suggestions about the bulbs. I'll let you know what I end up doing, I'm sure.

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