What? Me Groomed?

While waiting for the Victory Garden to show some progress, my next most immediate concern was to straighten up Pola Negri, aka Chia Pet. She is a two-year-old Schnoodle passed on to me after she misbehaved with some chickens. A more loveable, friendly dog would be hard to find. When she is not barking herself silly outside, she is a Velcro dog.

She is a Velcro lap dog a lot because of the barking habit.  She doesn’t bark in the house so she must stay in the house.  She sees the same people day after day, but has a big need to holler at them. I am reminded of Gary Larson’s cartoon about barking dogs. What we hear vs. what they are saying:  Hey, hey, hey, hey! She just has to “Say Hey!” to everyone. When she sees her dog friends, she escalates to hysteria. Beyond barking, her next most  noticeable habit is growing volumes of  dense, curly Poodle hair.

Ya’ll will just have to put up with my unprofessional backgrounds for photos because I have to groom in my kitchen. I know:  eeeeeeewwwwwww.

Pola Negri is not runway model  material. She has one photo pose: sitting with her little beady eyes bugging out.  Sometimes she can be coaxed to stand up for a couple of seconds. I attribute this behavior to mulishness. Her bad manners are just waiting to emerge. She knows the rules but wants to be baaaaaaaad, oh so bad!

Not only is she no model, she is  naughty for foot handling and nail trimming.  We often have to go eye-to-eye over that habit. I really hate seeing her pearly white  teeth and those lips twitching in silent, restrained fury.  For you groomers out there,  we all know these behaviors are verbotin on the grooming table. I’m  sure she would not actually try (operative word: try) to bite,  especially with me using my “groomer voice” and the evil eye.

I assume that she was groomed by the breeder because she is perfect for face combing and trimming. Where she got those other ideas, we can only guess. No matter, though, I’ve got The Whammy (look it up, young’ns) on my side. I can get real beady-eyed myself when I have to.

Today we did an experimental haircut, combining standards from both the Poodle and the Schnauzer clips.  I used a #10 blade on the body, leaving no furnishing except on the hind legs. I used  a #4 skip tooth to prep the legs.  Deviating from anything usual, I left a lot of hair on the nub at the end of her spine. Pola has practically no tail.

Don’t get me started on tail or ear docking. The British have the right idea on that score.  Pola has only about a  one-vertebrae extension–way too short and not healthy. Still, it is her most expressive attribute. Fortunately she has plenty of hair on it to create a puffball for the Bowlegged Nubbin-ness. Sorry, I have to say it:  It Is Way Cute!

She got a Schnauzer style on her legs because her rear needs that accent. However, she does not have terrier front legs. She has skinny Poodle legs. “Stick legs,” as one of my  Poodle clients appropriately named them.  Hence the prep with a #4 blade so I would have something fluffy to shape with scissors later.

In the past I have used the Schnauzer standard for the head:  smooth top, cheeks and ears with a trimmed beard and triangle-shaped brows. For a change this time, I left her a topknot, trimmed with a 1/2-inch snap on blade, #15 ears and a round face. Her brows are too curly to make the crisp triangles required on a  Schnauzer.  She has a very pointed Poodle nose and looks goofy when it is trimmed too short. Might be that we are just used to seeing her with a beard.

So, that’s what I did with my Saturday! Dog looks pretty good and is now safe from sticker infestations when we go for walks.

The new Pola Negri

The fuzzy, fake tail

Is that another dog?

Yay!

Notes on the “Garden:”  Well, it’s May 1, we didn’t get April showers and the “produce” would have to be photographed with the macro lens. Kinda disappointing that the garden is not moving along very robustly! The weather has been way too cold, I guess. We did have a short heat wave so some seeds sprouted, but now it is cool again so the seedlings are miniature. The good news, though, is that it is raining nicely today.

The strawberry plants are doing really well. There is some chard and tiny bunching onions struggling along. There are a few beets, two kinds of squash, watermelon, and pumpkins.  Put the Oregon Spring tomatoes in the ground–they are maybe one inch high–certainly not standard planting procedures being followed here. The cherry tomatoes are in pots and doing better than the other experiments.

The last five years, planting a garden has been a challenge. Global warming, climate change? Very weird. In the past I think I have given up too soon and chucked it all. This year we will hang in for as long as it takes. Next post, maybe I will be able to take photos with the normal lens!

The wallflowers and alyssum were spectacular–weather apparently is not a factor in their success!

My friend, Irvin Baker (89), bought his tomato plants at the beginning of April and planted them–IN THE GROUND. I was skeptical, he was determined. Here he is with last year’s crop, planted early in April. Who am I to argue with his experience? His plants were loaded all summer long. What can I say? He was a WWII fighter pilot. One of those brave guys who chased German planes around in one-on-one combat. Bold in the air and in the garden. Go Irv!

]]> http://grannyreta.wordpress.com/2009/05/02/victory-garden-not-yet-victorious/feed/ 3 grannyreta img_1056 img_1058 img_0871 http://grannyreta.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/victory-garden-coming-soon/ http://grannyreta.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/victory-garden-coming-soon/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 04:51:55 +0000 grannyreta http://grannyreta.wordpress.com/?p=86 ]]> Wow! I really have been MIA for a long time!

Still, it is almost springtime around here–still kinda frosty and cold sometimes. This is the year for a really fabulous garden in containers. There is hardly any dirt around my little enclosure  in the mobile home park. The landlord has a real love affair going with the black plastic covered with that chalky, pebbly white rock stuff.  This year I am collecting real dirt from friends who have open ground. Mixing this stash with purchased potting soil, steer and compost of my own making, maybe there will be some success.

Here’s what we had last year. The flowers did pretty well. Kind of shady on this side. Lettuce did well, though. Look over to the far left and you will see a really bare space.  That is the only patch that is finally free of plastic and rock. This year I am planting as many veggies as I can squeeze in there. The rest will be in containers. Victory is our goal!

Here’s a detail shot of the target area for the “garden.” Keep checking here for something.

So far we have planted some edible pod peas, very cool chard with brightly colored stalks and some bunching onions. Nothing showing yet!

So first, beyond all everything else that might come up, please check out The Good News Network. Yes, you can hear about the positive and hopeful things that are happening right now! Check it out. It is the antidote to murder, mayhem, economic crisis, war, and the presidential election coming up oh, so soon. Give yourself a nice helping of hope and happiness. I am so glad I did!

Over the past couple of months they have had to make many adjustments, taking turns picking on each other. Goober is a pretty mellow guy, but Hobo is aggressive and pushy–very “love birdy.”  It wasn’t long until they had to be placed in separate cages to preserve the peace and protect Goober from harm. Recently Karen began socializing Hobo. At first he had to be wrapped in a hotpad to protect him from harm and to keep him from biting with his impressive, sharp beak.  Hotpad wrapped around bird equals a “taco.”  So Hobo has evolved into Taco. He is a major character–kind of reminds me of Yosemite Sam sometimes. He no longer uses his harsh voice–I have never hear him make that sqawking noise again. He does do a lot of  calling and will probably be saying a few words soon.  He already sings a pretty good “Mexican Hat Dance.” Since he is so young, he still enjoys snuggling in a pocket. I had no idea birds like to do that, but Taco is an expert. He lies quietly in a pocket and has to be encouraged  to even peak out! Hilarious.

Time constraints have keep me from getting through the entire site, but I keep taking small bites as often as possible. My newest discovery is Dr. Bronner’s son Ralph telling anecdotes about the good Dr. himself and other amazing stories from his own life. This is a huge site with sections on History and Activism as well as descriptions of the products. The FAQ section is very informative and you can learn a lot about soap and organics in general.

The family does not seen to have ever suffered from shyness in either marketing or social activism. Check out the “Coming Clean” campaign to stamp out “cheaters” who stretch the truth claiming to be “organic.”

They produce products that are effective and pleasant to use, you can also feel good about using them. Worth studying.

So, here’s a couple of women who are blowing the lid off out there.

Diane MacEachern is an author, entrepreneur, public speaker, and long-time conservationist.

“The Big Green Purse” website and blog. Please read her bio and check out these sites throroughly. Subscribe. Get into this, girls and boys! As she states on her website:

I know you are busy with your lives, but informing yourself of the influence of your dollars is a way to make a difference as you go through your daily routines. Its all about choices. She has also written several books worth checking out. Her newest one is Big Green Purse, released this month. I’m thinking holiday gifts-a nudge to those who need it.

Fara Warner is an award-winning journalist, international speaker and instructor emphasizing the significance of women’s issues in the global economy.

“The Power of the Purse” website and blog. Once again check out the bio and accomplishments. This information gives you insight into who’s talkin’. Her book, The Power of the Purse, How Smart Companies are Adapting to the World’s Most Important Consumers– Women. You can now start to notice how the biggies are changing their marketing strategies to get females to open that purse. Ms. Warner explains it all to you.

After the big birthday, the only realization that was even mildly unnerving was: How did I get this old already? Tempus fugit and all that. Nothing even vaguely innovative about that thought. What is interesting to me is how many people have thought it? Wow! Even more intriguing is how many ways aging is interpreted. We are talking higher mathematics here.

Along the way, “Are we there yet?” has turned to “Where can I go next?”

I notice that I am not very motivated to look backwards except to remember funny or touching incidents usually related to my children and grandchildren. Why beat yourself up about what you did or didn’t do in the past? Can’t fix it. Much more amusing to move along to the next memorable moment. I have to keep remembering to “Keep Shining” or “Act Silly”:

When you pick a program you can sign up to receive a daily email reminder to vist and click. I started with the “Animal Rescue” site, but noticed that there are tabs for all the programs on each page. It is so easy to go to each program and give a click. Cover all your bases while you help feed rescues like

Peggy (I was running the streets) and

Pola Negri (I killed a chicken and I’d do it again) and

Coco Weeny Dog (I have bad manners sometimes) or

Polka Dotty (my mom was homeless and pregnant with four children). Maybe you will be privileged to help a Figaro-type guy, a very refined fellow, who was abandoned in a rural area populated with unmannerly coyotes who do not respect cats except as maybe lunch.

NOT The End, and Thank You Very Much!!