My garage figs are in the greenhouse now since we've been getting down to around freezing the last few nights. They too are getting little leaves and starting to wake up. I haven't unwrapped the ground fig yet but need to do that before long or it won't have a long enough season to do anything if it decided to die back to the ground or if a critter got under the wrapping and chewed it over the winter. I have the ability to get a commercial hoop house but nowhere to go with it. If I had a flat spot on the place large enough I would like to pack it full of various fig varieties to leave in ground year round.

I haven't planted my babies yet - temps this week rival January.  I was hoping to surprise hubby with them- he really loves figs. But. Last week, opening the new bag of dried California figs, he asked if "they" had developed any figs that would grow in our climate. I couldn't help myself... Walked over to the closet where the 2 plants were stored, retrieved them, handed them to him and said "funny you should ask..."

Oh, and I thought summer might be here ... or maybe just a good start.  We've been in the 90's for the past several days and I woke up this AM and it was 40 something with a projected high in the mid 70's.  Got the heater on to warm the house up ... again.

I went into Alpine yesterday and while there stopped to get a couple of tomato and a pepper plant.  Don't dare put the in the ground yet though.  Oh, not because of the temperature but because of the WINDS!  We've been getting 30 and 40mph winds blowing through here.  I can't see the further mountains because of the dust in the air and even the close ones are 'shaded'.

I have enough projects that need to get done that I'd be busy all through the summer ... now if I could just find the energy to get any of them done (well, okay, how about even started!)

Al, do you have enough vegetation to worry about wildfires? We've been hearing about Texas wildfires, in the central region(?) But I didn't know wildfires were a thing in Texas.

We're back to warm weather again here for a few days, 65°forecast. But lots of rain and wind so will still be indoor work. I got detoured in my seeding this week: colonoscopy. And I found out first hand you don't do anything else during the prep but set up shop in the loo

We have a lot of desert scrub and grass --- where I am there probably isn't enough to start a real fire but it could wander through the patches. At the moment we have a fire in the Davis Mountains north of us - far enough away that it'll never reach here but still a consideration as we move around out of the immediate area.

We were talking in one of the local groups about *our* fire danger - there have been a few small fires in the Parks, one that took our firefighters and the Mexicans to put out that ran for several days but again it was in the grass and scrub along the river.

We do have a lot of fires during the year but none to compare with the fires in the west - thank the gods for that! Most are easy enough to get to but take a long time to put out when they get into the ravines.

NY has an outside burn ban from March 15 to May 15 every year. Right now, as in every spring, the field containing our fire pit is so soggy, we don't really there without rubber boots. In fact, unless I'm only in the driveway, I swear boots for everything. We have exceedingly soggy soil here, useless for anything from mid October to end of May. September is iffy - if a lot of rainy weather, forget that month as well. So not sure why the burn ban is all about.

Pouring today as I post.

Pouring what?  You making concrete or mud pies?  Oh, you mean pouring water ... like rain???

It's been so long since I've seen rain that I've forgotten what it is ....  Bundle some of that up and send it our way, would you please.  You send me some rain, I'll send you some heat ... on second thought I won't you're somewhere in the 60's today, a heat wave for y'all, no?

Burn bans are almost a constant here ... like the rain, I can't remember when we didn't have a burn ban in place. Kinda irritates some of the tourists though, they aren't allowed to build the humongous "campfires" they want. Small contained cooking fires are allowed but if one of those gets too big and / or smoky someone will be out to check it out. I've lived down here for 11 years and we haven't had a local fire in that time ... don't want one either!

Yep. Spring weather in the finger lakes.64° yesterday. A dusting of snow tonight, 25° and both wood stoves cranking. So tonight, instead of Mr. Muddy Paws, it's Mr. Clackety Clack the Ice Ball Toes.

On Monday and Tuesday we were at a beautiful 85+ yesterday it dropped to 78 and today we're going to be lucky to break 75 then it's supposed to start warming up again!  Don't know about elsewhere but most of us down here are tired of this up and down weather!

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Plants are doing well, fig is nicely leafed out, maple is as well, the two oaks that made lunch for the rabbits last fall are coming back but I'm wondering what they're going to look like this fall, rather than growing up, they're branching out from the stick the rabbits left ... could be interesting.  Strawberries are in bloom but I still haven't transplanted them since I can't get this damn cast iron tub over to where I want it (not the clawed version, it was designed to be built in but it's still to heavy for two (old) adults to manhandle!)

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Well, my perpetual puppy isn't so much a puppy anymore.  I'm not sure whether the problem is DC who won't leave the dogs alone or if he's just getting old.  He was born in Oct 2010 and I brought him home from the shelter a year later.  This is the only dog I've gotten from a shelter that had complete health records to include a birth date ... I've often wondered why they turned him in.
He's out on the porch - to get away from the cat who's now crashed behind my recliner.  Both Sky and Avalanche seem comfortable out there... at least it gives him first chance to say "Hi!" to anyone who pulls in.
These two are about to crive me nuts!  They decided that they were going to stop eating a while back  so for about a month now they eat when they get hungry.  Stopped at TSC and picked up a bag of 4health Chicken & Rice for adults - Avalanche say it's okay and he's eating normally, sky turns her nose up at it ... she's eating some, sometimes.  'Course if I top it off with a can of something she'll eat the canned stuff and still leave the pellets.
Avalanche goes in for a checkup next week, think I'll ask Mary to schedule a mouth / dental exam for Sky while I'm there. ARGH!!!!!

Now for a follow up on the previous post.

Besides not eating right Avalanche has been "yiping" as they play and then standing back. I've had my hands and a fair amount of pressure on all the likely spots - I thought - but couldn't provoke a reaction. Zack (Mary's son and also a vet) said that when he extended A's back legs there was no problem with the back left but he resisted when it came to the right leg. Didn't complain, his tail just stopped wagging ... queried about an x-ray, since we've never had reason to take any of A, something as a baseline. Zack took one - on a not particularly helpful dog - and there's some apparent inflammation around the back right joint. No apparent damage to either the head or the socket but something has to be causing the inflammation. That's now on hold till October when we go back in for annuals - not a pressing issue, yet. ;(

It's been a long day for this old man and I'm tired ...

If you mix water with the food does that seem to make any difference in interest toward it?

Kye managed to pull one of his legs coming up the stairs this morning and is limping now so I'm curious if that will work itself out by the time I get home or not. With his HD he can have issues easily.

We are expecting storms tonight and tomorrow. It was 84 Sunday it was miserable. We dislike the ups and downs too. It doesn't give us a chance to acclimate to the heat. We did a bike ride Saturday and when we left it was in the 30s. We've gotten used to cold riding so when it jumps so fast to hot weather we just don't make the adjustment well.

I haven't tried mixing water since they both have a habit of nibbling, eating, and then back to nibbling.  I can't see that becoming anything but a globby mess!  Might give it a try this evening and see what happens.

I'm back to looking at a replacement food.  I put some of the Dog Chow out back and the coyotes didn't even eat it.  Even though Purina claims there are no notices on this lot I'm more than mildly skeptical. Diamond makes TSC's store brand dog food and of course Diamond brand themselves even though Diamond hasn't had a recall in 10 years their history makes me leery ... and since the dogs aren't overly impressed, I'm still looking. Tried to call Fromm (which I fed Sasha) to see if I could get a sample of their "Mature Adult" and "Reduced Activity Gold" ... but damn they're pricey!

Apparently there's no constant pain with Avalanche, just when he twists it wrong.  While at the vet, I put A in the Jeep after a potty break and noticed the he missed the Jeep with his back right leg ... just figured he'd mis-stepped, but then again maybe not.  Have him on gabapentin (at Zak's suggestion)

We just went through that with the girls but it seams like the weather changes make their eating habits change but i am having to mix like 4 freezedried meaty rox over squirts food or she wont eat. And we did a few new things that she ate once and then turned her nose at. If i give her the oc raw or canned food she is very happy but with raw its about cost and canned is actually more expensive then raw. If the cost wasnt so much of an issue id say try essence. Pets global sends samples but its more expensive then fromm where i shop by about $20 a bag.

We had a bag of totw that even the coyotes wouldnt eat. Eventually the ants did though.

Whatever ends up happening please dont consider vegan/vegetarian dog food. I saw it at tsc the other day. My vet says it will, in the long term, kill your dog.

I was bored today so I went looking at vegetarian dog foods.  Talk about Sticker Shock, I wouldn't feed my dogs vegetarian since I'm definitely an omnivore ... I couldn't feed it since they're pricing it at $2.00 a pound or better!!

This is getting aggravating! I've gone through 6 different brands of food and if one eats it the other won't! Avalanche LOVES the Fromms Seniors Gold and of course Sky turns her nose up at it ... getting to be too typical. I have a bag of Fromms Mature Adult and if they do the same thing again, I'll pick one and they can eat or go hungry.

After our last visit to the vet where an x-ray showed some inflammation around Avalanches right hip I've been wondering just how much to let him run. Typical dog he doesn't show pain unless Sky hits something in play ... but then play has really become an occasional thing.
Normally, when I take him into town, I'll let him out about a mile or so away from the house and then race him home. I've noticed him slowing down - used to do 25+mph now it's down to about 15. I don't want to cause him any more pain but I also don't want to deprive him of times he enjoys. Oh, yeh, he seem to really love getting sidetracked by a rabbit as he's running home.

Yesterday we were sunny and 95, today it's cloud cover (so much for solar!) and high 60's ... with luck we'll get some rain but I'm not holding my breath.

I am so grateful I have no food issues with these guys. Good luck with the search.

As for letting him run? I let both dogs do what they want in that regard. If they're sore the next day, they rest. Z'ev will get the other half of his carprofen and if Ami is really showing distress, he'll get a half a carprofen as well. Living with arthritis, one has to accept the good days and the bad days coming from enjoying the good days. At least, that's the way I live it.

I just decided that Avalanche is a lot more fun traveling than Sky is.  I've taken both of them up to Alpine recently and Avalanche is always right at my shoulder (well, leaning on the passenger seat) and watching *everything.*   He's quite apt to bring my attention to something I didn't see because he's looking at it so intently (read cattle, horses, bunny rabbits.)  And, since he's a bit hard to see through, "back up" gets him to move far enough back that I can see out the passenger window.  Sky, on the other hand, just crashes, no interest in anything til I stop then it's just to stick her head up and look around and crash again.

One thing that Avalanche does that I haven't had any other dog do since Lady - like 40 years!  When I stop to go in somewhere, he hops into the drivers seat - guess the logic is Daddy can't go anywhere without me knowing! - but I can point to the back and he immediately hops over the console into the back of the Jeep.  I've tried from further away and he's watching me so closely that if doesn't seem to matter where I am, if I "Point 'back'"  he's gone ...  Fun Puppy!

Still not sure about letting him out to run that last mile or so home. If I knew he'd stop when he got hot / tired / sore it wouldn't be a problem but since I trail him in the Jeep, I think he'd keep running ... Energizer Bunny???

I know all you folks in the east are getting tired of the rain and cold (it's 66° in the finger lakes area) but I'll trade you some of your water for some of our heat.

For the past week / ten days we've been running highs from 95 - 105 most of the time it's been over the century mark. We have gotten a couple of sprinkles - when we should be in monsoon season with heavy rains! - the only way I knew it rained the other evening was to see the pock marks in the dust in my drive.

I guess it's needless to say that the dogs and I spend part of the afternoon crashed (siesta during the heat of the day.)

We've finally had a little break in the heat. The rain split us last night which was disappointing since I have the garden out and the new plants in could really use to be watered a little bit daily and I'm tired of walking down there.

We've had three 'sprinkles' and the folks with rain gauges haven't had enough to measure.  One with an expensive (about $500) weather station reports "no measurable rain" so far this year...

Because of our mountains, anything coming in from the south or west is forced to go around us ... the only thing we get from the north is blue northers from time to time in the winter.  Hoping for some good Atlantic storms that'll be strong enough to push in from the east  but then New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are complaining about hurricanes.  We do occasionally get hurricane weather in from off the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) and when they come in we get some really good heavy rain.

I'd do a rain dance but then I'd have folks looking at me weirdly --- well, more weirdly. Pray for rain!!!

aljones wrote:

I know all you folks in the east are getting tired of the rain and cold  (it's 66° in the finger lakes area)  but I'll trade you some of your  water for some of our heat.

For the past week / ten days we've been running highs from 95 - 105 most of the time it's been over the century mark.  We have gotten a couple of sprinkles - when we should be in monsoon season with heavy rains! - the only way I knew it rained the other evening was to see the pock marks in the dust in my drive.

I guess it's needless to say that the dogs and I spend part of the afternoon crashed (siesta during the heat of the day.)

If this was indeed yesterday, your temps are way off for the finger lakes!!! We have been having a week of high 70s and dry sunny weather. So much so that my garden soil is baked into concrete and I had to venture into the basement to turn outside water on! Started out warm and muggy today but strong cold front, with accompany severe storms, went through about noon today, temp is now 59⁰ and tomorrow 57⁰. But starting back up on Wednesday with closer to 90⁰ on Fri. Or so they say ..

I cannot picture 90 up there, 80 with that humidity is a killer!!!  I keep Ogdensburg (where my cousin lives) and Watkins Glenn (which I thought was in your general area) on my Wunderground top bar (whatever they call it).  Right now I'm showing 66 and rain for Watkins Glen ...

Don't know why but @jalepeno post got me teary eyed again ...

I'm laughing sighing as I write this - just saw Uvalde Texas on the map. Thought wow, that's "near" where Al lives. Looked up Terlingua and just started laughing, said to husband "Texas is a big f*****g place!!! Almost 400 miles between you and Uvalde

Naw, it's not that big. If you take I-10 across Texas, it's only 888 miles. (( Probably changed some as they've done work on 10, but still probably close. ))

It's kinda funny, most of us don't think twice about going a couple of hundred miles to go to the store - okay, not often but I've done it! Anything less than 100 miles is 'around the corner'.

And Uvalde to Terlingua's only 230 odd miles ... if you're a bird.

Out here, we feel like we're isolated but .. going to a store is only 10-12 miles. Going to a preferred store is more like 22 miles. Guess for Texas, that's walking distance