What's Happening in Your neighborhood-visit with friends #15

M,

My cat is Smokey too. He's not a very big cat, just big attitude. This morning he went out for a bit & when DH went to get the paper, Smokey came barreling in like a bullet. Apparently the "killer" bunny that was in the front yard and had frightened him. This is the same cat that took down 2 magpies that were double his size.

Watch those Daturas, Marilynne. Very toxic to pets....I sound like a broken record don' t I ?

Yes, Daturas are toxic (hence the name Datura Inoxia!) so you don't want them near pets (but people grow pointsettias and they're very toxic too...).

They're not hard to grow at all (self seed, and don't plant 'em - I got 40 of 'em last year from one seed pod by just sprinking them around the ground).
They grow wild in arid parts of the States (texas, etc) and become a bush there.
Mine grow 3 1/2 ft tall in a season, but die with the cold. They don't like too hot for too long cuz they droop & pick up again come evening. Last year we had 30c+ and they drooped alot. Shank of the evening and they perked up again.
It's pretty dry in Calgary, so I water them a fair bit - more than you'd think, seeing as how they are perennials in the dry state of Texas, but maybe that's because they're perennials and their root system is very deep. As an annual I wouldn't expect it would be.
You can plant it in a pot outside, and bring it in to overwinter. I've seen very big plants where people have done that. Grow to 6 ft tall, and about 2 1/2 ft wide.
Mine were very prolific bloomers a couple of years ago.
Here's a collage of one of last year's plants - Datura Ballerina Metel

Susan

and here's a Black Current Swirl Datura Metel

and the first Daturas I ever grew - I was very successful with this plant! My neighbours were asking me if I were going to plant it again ! :-) This is a very difficult one to find in a plant (available in seeds - start growing 'em now, inside), and very expensive - I saw them costing $35!!
Datura Inoxia (only comes in white)

Our Smokey's nickname last year was "BUNNY BELLY" .. need I say more .. we have NO Magpies , but , he is not a great fan of the WHOOSH of the Raven's wings as they fly overhead ..

I had heard 'Datura' is a drug ? Illegal of course .. still and all it's a beauteous plant ..

18 deer for dinner tonight .. am SO ripped the camera is STILL copping an attitude .. pics with the cellphone camera just do NOT cut it !! May be looking at either a card upgrade ... OR .. a new camera !!

One more Lilly stroll (it's still light here) .. then bedtime .. VCARS shift tomorrow ..

~M~

Dat's are lovely indeed. Have grown them in the past too, before the "incident". Won't have Poinsettias inside either. We are fortunate enough to be in Arizona at Christmas time and I can set them on a table outside the Patio
Window.

If any pet owners are interested, here is a link to 17 common poisonous plants. Some might surprise you...

www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/17-common-poisonous-plants.html

http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=1831491325801&source=jl999

^_^

~M~

Just had Lilly out in her compound .. she was HELPING me hang clothes out .... LoL

2 pics .. hopefully by Monday those snowbanks will be GONE !!!!!


~M~

Last one ...

These are taken with my cell phone .. ergo .. kinda dark :-(

~M~

cute doggy

There are still some snowbanks around the edges of the yard and ,inexplicably , the dogs always want to go pee and poop on the snow! Which is of course on the flower beds!
Should be all gone by the weekend

Wow Don - quite the array of poisonous plants, and most of them I wouldn't have thought about........ but they didn't mention Pointsettias. I suppose because it's so commonly known that they're poisonous.

Thanks again for the heads up.

Yes, Datura has been used as an illegal drug, one which can cause coma & death in humans as well as pets. We have a few feral cats in the neighbourhood, but otherwise, people either keep their pets indoors, or on a leash when walking them.
We have very responsible pet owners in the area, and quite a few senior pets (to go along with the senior owners! lol)

Susan

LoL .. Carol ... Lilly is light enough to get UP on those banks .. and we are VERY fussy about 'poo pickin' .. so .. I have had to devise a 'poo gatherer' for when she does her duty well into the middle of the bank ..

I wonder if the Datura would affect deer and bear ? I would imagine it would. Think I'll just be happy looking at picks of yours :-)

Have the submersible pump running again outside to try a run off the water from the melt down .. it's going fast now ..
Got some yard raking done .. can't say as my ribs liked that too much, but, I did ..

Off to make a culinary miracle .....

~M~

I didn't grow Datura until last year - making sure my DGTwins were old enough not to eat stuff. This year I've started some yellow Datura seeds which I got from Vesey's. Last year I had some lovely lavender ones I got through DG and some white ones from seeds I pinched the previous fall. But with our cool and rainy summer last year, I didn't get any seeds off last year's plants.

Ann

I still have snow here in Sudbury...however we are suppose to get a week of sun...hoping it will be gone in the next few days..............

Happy Easter everyone .. here's a card for you .. from me ^_^

~M~





http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=1831491325801...

Marilynne - thanks for the card - but I'm getting an error message -

Ann .. your vacuum and my new dishwasher should meet LoL ... I am not happy with the dishwasher .. and my 18 year old one is clicking right along at my friends sons home .. !!!

Lets try the card again .. hope it works ^_^

~M~

http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=1840150345801&source=jl999

The card works well now. Thank you. Here are some spring flowers for you.

And a few more

VERY pretty, Ann ^_^

Wishing everyone a Very...

Such beautiful flowers Viola! Spring has sprung!

Today was beautiful and sunny but a bit on the cool side. I still got to putter around outside for a while though. The sunshine just feels so good!

Happy Easter everyone!

Here's an upper for you. Happy Easter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UE3CNu_rtY

Very cool, Ann ^_^

Loks like another nice day here. All kinds of little things popping up and blooming - some Iris reticulata yesterday.

This morning when I stepped out to get paper noticed a large yellow lab loose down the street. Didnt recognize him. 2 hours later, walking Trouper , guy across street with his pup and there is the laab again. Got hold of collar, no city tag, tage with dog name and number. Guy phones, no answer. I take dog home, call city - no by law officers on today, told to take dog to nearest 24 hr clinic. ( one not to far away) Call number again ( something I dont normally do - let them pay the fines) guy answers, lives way aways from me, friend looking after dog, calls friend, friend calls me. Turns out he is just across the street! Assures me the gates were closed but he was certainly big enough to jump the fence- tried it at my place too before I put a line on him.. So I was very annoyed with him and told him I saved his friend 350.00 in fines and he better get the dog licensed soon!
He walked out with the dog and left my gate wide open!

Hello all ..

A GLORIOUS day here .. BUT .. we still have a significant wind .. luckily we can sit in the sun with the house as a buffer.

Carol .. how frustrating re the gate .. nevermind the WHOLE scenario with the lab ..you were kind to take him and go the extra mile.

Lots budding and blooming here .. and the snow it melting away at a great rate .. WOOO HOOO ..

Enjoy

~M~

Marilyn I probably pick up a couple dogs a year roaming loose. I generally bring them home and call animal control to pick up even if I know the dog - figure maybe paying the fines might make you a bit less careless with your dog!

This message was edited Apr 12, 2009 6:08 PM

I'm with you Carol. I think it's far too dangerous for loose puppys in Calgary. Pet owners need to be cognizant of Crazy drivers; not to mention exposure in the winter. I phoned in a dog that was left outside 24/7 with no shelter a couple of winters ago. I have no guilt.

I guess not. You did that dog a great service. Where are these people's brains????

I am a 'Dog Catcher' .. being facetious here .. I mean .. if I see a FRIENDLY dog, off leash and running out this way .. I will call him in .. if there are tags, BONUS, if not .. the police come get'em (in the evening ) or the By-Law officer in the daytime .. and the dog is taken into town until the owner comes to get it ($75.00)
Running at large here in the country is a HUGE no no !!! So much can happen to an animal .

Watched CBC news this morning .. there were over 30,000 people at the Easter Egg Roll on the White House Lawn today .. Betty was there .. she must have been in quite a gridlock if she was driving !!! Driving in Washington is HAIR RAISING at the best of times.
As well .. I was disheartened to see and hear that the Obamas were gifted with a Portuguese (sp) water dog by Sen. Ted Kennedy .. I had heard that they were seriously considering a Westie as one of the Obama girls has some allergy problems.
The puppy, Bo, is quite cute .. kind of a weird lil tail on him though :-)

First cloudy day in a while here .. may be rain on the way ..

Take care

~M~

I like Porties - a number of agility people here have them. I think they are low shedders also so should be OK for somebody with allergies.

Oh I meant to do an Easter Egg Roll with the dogs this morning. A friend on Sheltie Mania started it - give each dog an egg , in the shell, raw,and see what they do with it. Outside of course!

It was very busy at Lougheed House yesterday, I think I toured about 20 people all together - on my feet for about 3 hours. A bit confusing because people kept being added on and sometimes I had to ask who had seen which part of the house to know who was finished and who was not. I dont like doing it that way - gets me out of sequence!

Cloudy and a bit cooler and very windy today but I still managed to get a couple of big bags of leaves raked off the flower beds. Lots of things popping up underneath - I have a lot of bulbs and spring flowering perennials.

Don't rake up all your ladybugs Carol. Mine aren't all awake yet so I left the leaves in piles. They are starting to move so hopefully I can bag this coming weekend.

I leave the bags open so they can get out! I have seen quite a few crawling around already.

Hi folks,

Haven't been here for awhile. Just spent some time on Google Maps and Google Earth mapping out directions from here to West Baden Springs for a trip with our vintage Porsche in September. I think we'll take three days to do the drive each way although we'll detour by some friends on the way home. The car is 44 years old; so we also don't want to overload it.

Did I tell you that we heard a wonderful viola recital on Saturday evening? A grad student at the University of Ottawa and she was playing the wonderful viola that I played for 20 years and gifted to the University when I got a smaller one a few years ago. Wonderful to hear it being played so well. That instrument will always have a soft spot in my heart.

Picked up my vacuum cleaner which died on Saturday. That was a quick fix. I guess a new motor and a complete clean-up made it look and act like a new machine. I hadn't expected to have it back so soon though.

Also made the appointment to replace the turbo in my 1997 Audi. Car is still in great condition; so we decided to put the $$$$ into it. I like it a lot and hope to keep it running a few more years. I'm NOT the type that helps out the new car industry very much.

Hope you salvage all your lady bugs. I haven't really been out in the garden except to look at the crocuses. They will likely be pretty well done by tomorrow and I plan to dig an move a few clumps of them that are getting crowded. That's how I end up with a real blanket of them.

Love the little purple flowers above. What are they?

Have a good evening.

Ann

Thats a Hepatica Ann - usually the first perennial to bloom around here - I have another in full bloom and the ones in the shadier spots are just starting to bud.

Oh my! It is white outside this morning!

Uh oh...

DAWG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We're in the sun again with a temp of +11C .. little breezy .. but .. I am deriving a GREAT amount of pleasure from watching the snow melt .. hmmmmmmmm .. wonder if that's in the same class as watching bread go stale LoL

Did the pedicure thing today .. AWESOME !!! Totally painless and the young woman who did it was just an incredible young lady .. just starting out in her new business .. in fact .. I was her 30th client in a week of being open.

Must go and have a wee 'boo' at our weather forecast to see if that 'white stuff' is headed this a way !!!!

~M~