Newyorkrita said:Poor little pup. Now she finially has a wonderful home. Do you know how old she is?
I was told Itty Bitty was 6 months old. I'm going to wait for her vet visit in two weeks to have another vet confirm. I hope she puts on some weight by then. I don't want the vet to think that I am the one that has been starving her. Now that her nails are trim, I don't have to worry about hearing a lecture about how important nail care is. I just don't see how anyone can have a dog with nails as long as hers were.
I was planning a short fence around the squash and melon patch. That was one of Treasure's favorite digging places, but I was going to make her a private digging place. I am trying to decide whether or not to go ahead with the fence. Itty Bitty hasn't shown any interest in digging or bugs. I think that fence would be easier to put up, so I could do it this weekend. Itty Bitty likes to lay in the thick straw in there. I only want the fence to deter her from going in unsupervised. She is always allowed in all the beds when I am with her. The rest of the yard is pretty well puppy/dog proof, if Itty Bitty decides she wants to run around when off leash, instead of sticking close to me.
When I get new flowers, I like to take Itty Bitty to the flower so she can smell it. I even do that on walks. The part of our walks I enjoy the most is looking at what other people are growing, but I also like to see if Itty Bitty has reactions to any flowers or plants. In my yard, she seems to like the salvia. I want to put climbing roses in my herb bed, so yesterday I let her sniff different roses and she had no reaction to any of them. I don't yet have enough things blooming in my yard for her to smell, but maybe she will when I have other things blooming.
I let Treasure sniff all the plants so she would know by smell what was off limits. I want my dogs to use their keen sense of smell more than their sight and fences. I haven't let Itty Bitty smell the sunflowers yet, maybe she will like smelling those. They just started blooming this week. They were off limits even for me yesterday while a beautiful bumble bee was spending a lot of time on all the flowers. But I have sunflowers popping up all over the yard that should start blooming in the next couple weeks. I let them grow for the birds and bees and to have a few spots of shade here and there. I pull them out if they might disturb tender roots, but sometimes, I just watch to see if some plants will grow around them. There is a big sunflower growing in the squash, but the squash plants are quickly growing faster than the sunflower now. They seem about 3-4 inches taller every other day I look at them.
My dog Reba thought the garden was a wonderful adventure, with all the bugs and the birds visiting the bird feeders and bird baths. Here, there aren't enough trees for cover, so there are few birds. I am sure that will change when the garden is thriving and my berry bushes and taller plants give them places to perch. I probably should have a bird bath already, but eventually I will, because I enjoy early mornings and evenings watching the birds. But I think that without some cover, the birds are too exposed and the yard will become a feeding ground for predators. I have noticed some predators circling the neighborhood looking for a meal to swoop down and snatch.
For now, the garden is all about the edibles, herbs, and the pollinators. Itty Bitty and I get to make it happen and later we will have time to watch the show.
