Here’s Lookin’ At You, Kid

So, it’s been ten weeks since I developed a nasty respiratory infection… broke my ribs coughing… rebroke my ribs coughing… and more.

I’m better. Finally. Not back to status quo, but close enough.

Took this shot of James while I was feeling pretty punk. He didn’t even budge from his spot when I came up close enough to literally put the camera down near his nose and snap this shot.

I’m quite certain he’d decided that my worst-than-usual wheeze and nasty cough, added on top of my usual version of “walking” (Imagine a plump very lame duck waddling about while using crutches… got that image in your mind? Yeah. That’s what it looks like when I ‘walk.’ Except sillier.) meant I didn’t have enough breath to catch him even if he hopped away in slow motion.

Veeeeeeeery sloooooooow motion.

He was so right.

So, here’s how it went. James eyeballed me. I eyeballed him. I snapped his portrait. He swiveled an ear back and forth, making sure I knew that he was a very alert bunny even if he didn’t think I was any particular danger. After a long conversation covering how no, I wasn’t going to remove the fencing from those tasty-looking perennials and yes, I had noticed that the rugosas were growing up quite heartily in spite of having been gnawed to the ground but that didn’t make me any happier about having had them chewed to bits, we went our separate ways.

We’ve got a new visitor, one that I doubt I’ll get a shot of for you to see, Oh Best Beloved. She’s a singularly self-possessed raccoon, and quite large. She trots from behind our house around to the front, and then patters down our driveway and across the street to check out the pickin’s at the river. I’m very respectful of the raccoons, having seen an old male take on a huge farm dog I knew well (a rottweiler/shepherd mix) — and win. Raccoons are as cute as they come, but if it ever comes to a street fight? I’ll take a raccoon on my side, hands down, thank-you-very-much.

Got lots of new flower photos and more stuff to share over the next weeks.

It’s sure nice to be able to breathe again!

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet!

Wow – look at that bunny GO! I was outside enjoying the first real spring day on Monday whilst James was hopping about hither and yon, looking for anything yummy. And then…

BOOM!!!!! He went blasting past me at full speed because a dog came barreling through the neighbor’s yard right on the other side of our fence. Just look at those big ol’ hind feet – he is really hauling! I can’t believe I even got this shot. I had set the camera to its highest speed to try and catch a shot of the chippie running about, so when James startled and took off I focused on where I thought he would roar through and clicked the shutter just as he did!

James was quite safe, by the way — from the dog at least. The dog had no way to get into the yard, and never even saw James.

But James was very wise to run for cover, even if he was safe this time. We’ve had an enormous juvenile bald eagle hanging around — I saw it both yesterday and today. It even landed in the trees the next bock down, across the street.

Between our harsh winters, great horned owls, feral cats, bald eagles, loose dogs and the occasional coyote, a wild bunny’s life — even when he lives in our yard — isn’t easy.

Bunny Snooze

Guess who decided to take a snooze just beyond our fence line one cold winter day?

Yup – it’s James.

Although he’s soaking up the rays, James isn’t really out in the open. He’s carefully chosen his snoozing place, finding a spot in between our chain link fence on one side and the neighbor’s shed on the other. Overhead is a large maple tree. So (not surprisingly – he’s a very clevery bunny) James is reasonably protected from getting picked off by an airborne predator (as in one of our many bald eagles).

Note the carefully positioned ear, btw – a bunny’s equivalent of sleeping with one eye open!

And Now We Return To Our Regularly Scheduled Program

Sorry, Oh Best Beloved, for the span of silence. Sometimes things go even more south than usual – without warning, of course.

*sigh*

Hopefully, things will improve back to status quo. Rest assured that there are lots more flower photos to come, along with bunny updates.

And speaking of bunnies…

This shot of James, son of Stewart, was taken last fall as James was just entering his “tweens.” He’s currently thriving, in spite of an extremely bunny-unfriendly snow depth here, and numerous eagles and hawks daily patrolling our yard.

James, Stewart, Petunia, Big Sis, Juan and all the rest of the bunnies send their best long-eared whiskery wishes to our friend Kris, who is recovering from hip replacement surgery. Kris, when that hip heals, James wants the first dance. He can’t wait to see you bink!

Friday Flower – Rosa Rugosa aka The Original Rose

If you haven’t already noticed, Oh Best Beloved, I am not a regimented gardener. My tastes run more along the lines of “Zowie! I gotta try growin’ one of those!” which rather destroys any chance of a planned or formal design. When I first found a nursery that would mail-order organic shrubs and trees, what caught my eye was the page that had seedling rugosa roses. It said, “Rosa rugosa is the hardiest rose known, withstanding fifty below temperatures with no damage.” Hello! Now that’s my kind of rose! I bought six, colors “assorted – no choice – but will be pink, red or white.”

When they arrived, they did splendidly, even in our thick clay soil. I was estatic! They grew like gangbusters from spring until early fall. And then, one morning, I looked out the window and…

No bushes. Not one.

Someone, someone with big long furry ears, whiskers, and sizable chompers, had mowed every single rugosa bush flat down to the ground and eaten every scrap, every leaf, bud and cane and even consumed the thousands of tiny sharp sharp thorns.

That was the day I ordered industrial-strength rabbit fencing for my future plantings, something which my gardening friends said I shouldn’t use as it would “spoil” the looks of my garden beds.

Um, didn’t the bunny already do that?!

I also called the nursery, to order more rugosas. To my surprise, the owner laughed and said, “Don’t worry. You don’t need to replace them. They’ve had a chance to establish. You watch. Next spring you’ll have lots of healthy vigorous canes shoot up from the roots.”

He was right.

Each bush is now over three feet in width. If left untrimmed they grow to over six feet in height. They’re completely unfenced, have survived numerous assaults by the bunnies, and are absolutely beloved by the local bumblebees. To my surprise, none of the bushes turned out to have red blooms; two have white roses; one has roses that are a very pale pink, and the others have blooms that are a deep candy-lipstick pink. The rugosas bloom in early summer, with literally hundreds of blossoms on each shrub, and bloom again in successive waves throughout the summer.

If you ever consider growing rugosas, I highly recommend St. Lawrence Nurseries, the nursery that I bought these from, btw. They carry an amazing variety of northern climate fruit trees (apple, cherry, pear and plum) as well as nut and lumber trees, which they will ship bare-root anywhere in the continental United States. They even have disease-resistant American elms, and a variety of native horse chestnut that is hardy in northern climes.

They’re organic growers, but if you’ve shied away in the past from buying organic because of higher prices you needn’t worry. These folks have fantastically competitive prices that beat the socks off of the prices you’ll find at most conventional nurseries.

One warning, if you decide to add these shrubs to your garden and aren’t already an organic gardener. Don’t use a drop of any synthetic pesticide (including insecticides, herbicides and fungicides) of any sort on or near a Rosa Rugosa. Synthetic pesticides are absolutely deadly for these lovely plants!