Deer repellent?

The other day, these mysterious hanging pots appeared in one of the vineyard parcels out back. The little pots are small, just a few inches tall, and they hang from the guide wires in every other row. They only hang at the edge of the vineyard parcel closest to the woods. My theory is that they contain some kind of chemical substance that is intended to keep deer out of the vines.

The little pink pots have no effect on dogs, it appears.

The growers around us employ several strategies to keep deer from munching on new leaves and grape flowers. Some of them string up red and white tape where deer paths exit the woods. I guess that the tape acts as a sort of visual barrier, especially when it flaps in the breeze, that frightens the deer. Other growers electrify fences along certain sections of the woods to keep the deer from crossing. One grower out back has a speaker that emits wild animal sounds to scare the deer away from a recently planted parcel. Now we see these pots. I wonder how effective each of these methods is?

Persian speedwells

These little blue flowers grow close to the ground. They're blooming fantastically right now all through our lawn. I cut the grass on Friday, so a lot of the blooms are gone, cut away, but before I mowed, I took a couple of photos. The flowers will more than likely come back soon. They're called véroniques (veronicas) in French, and the British call them speedwells.

Our "lawn" is less grass and more little green plants, including these veronicas.

It started raining at some point in the night and it's expected to rain most of the day. Ugh. I have to decide if I'm going to brave the outdoor market this morning for strawberries.

Is that all there is?

Tasha just finished her lunch. She looked at me like Oliver Twist might have. Please, sir, may I have some more? That may not be the exact quote, but it's close enough. Lest you think me mean, she gets plenty. If you know dogs, you know they always want more.

No more kibble. Just boring water.

I finally did the thinning and replanting of tomato plants. It will be a few weeks before they go out into the garden. Tasha helped me by being underfoot in the greenhouse the whole time. I enjoyed it.

Callie time

Callie still gets her two walks a day, alone with one of us. Tasha is too small to do the kind of walks we do with Callie, at least for now. And that's a good thing, at least for now. The daily walks are important and are a part of Callie's routine that she doesn't have to share with the new puppy. At least for now.

A morning walk under threatening skies. Callie (on the left) waits for me to take the picture.

We had rain off and on for most of the day on Wednesday. We were lucky on our walk to be in a lull. I usually don't take the camera out if it's going to rain, but I needed some new photos!

Wavy

Things are going along. We have our ups and downs, although the downs are few and not very serious. Tasha has been with us now for a week and she's learning very quickly how the house runs. We're establishing patterns for her; dogs love routine and predictable patterns. I think she's beginning to realize that after the night's sleep, we go outside for "business," so she waits. She made her first attempt at going down the stairs on Tuesday (she mastered going up the stairs a few days ago), but she's still too little to manage it safely. That will change.

Part of the Artsy Organized Neighbor's collection.

Meal times and play times and nap times are getting settled. Ken and I have our learning to do, too. I'm getting better at recognizing when she has to go out during the day. She and Callie are learning to play, or at least hang out, together. Tasha gets along fine with Bert, and they spend time in the house together in the mornings. Now it's a matter of reinforcing patterns. We did this ten years ago with Callie, but we didn't have another dog or a cat to help occupy the puppy and absorb some of its energy. Then, it was all on me and Ken. Now, Callie is a welcome help!

Stormy weather

A series of weather systems, what they call perturbations in France, is bringing us alternating wind, rain, and some periods of sun. Monday turned out nice after Sunday's afternoon rain event, but the northerly wind made it feel cold. We had rain most of the night last night, but it seems to be done now.*

Don't know why there's no sun up in the sky...

I woke up just before 05h00 and noticed that Tasha was not asleep but moving about. That could only mean one thing: poopies. So I got up, got dressed, and got her down to the back yard. Fortunately, the rain had stopped, so there I stood in the dark (except for the light in the greenhouse) waiting for Tasha to find a spot. After about five long minutes she finally did her business. And there were no little "accidents" upstairs. Good dog!

* It's not. It started raining again.

Tasha and Bert

They were just outside together. Then I brought Tasha back into the house. She stayed by the door watching Bert, so I got the camera. I'm sorry for the state of the windows, but I haven't done the spring cleaning yet. Still, I think it's a nice shot.

Bert wonders why the newcomer can be in the house but he can't. Poor kitty-kat.

The rain and wind came as predicted on Sunday afternoon. We've been inside, playing with socks and ropes and bones and balls. Tasha's not fazed.