Last time for the flowers

The old digital cameras really don't handle contrast very well, do they? Nevertheless, this is the memory I have of the garden coming into full bloom in May 2001. The roses are out now.

The roses surrounded the small deck on both sides. They kept me busy pruning. I've never seen roses grow so crazily fast. There were a lot of suckers to pull out as well as just keeping the regular stems trimmed. That wasn't too bad compared to the white dusty stuff that would get on them later in the year. We were set against poisons, so we tried various natural or less harmful remedies with limited success. But it was fun to see them, so bright and colorful. I'm not sure what the water jug was about, except that we made sun tea once in awhile, so maybe that's what it was.

More roses with a big rose stem sucker begging to either be cut or run rampant. I sometimes filled whole garbage bags with them from this one little patch of roses. In the background, the moonlight scotch broom has lost its beautiful light yellow blossoms, but it seems to be adapting well. And the fence is now covered with lush, growing vines. Only a few weeks ago they were brown and dead-looking.

Here's another photo of the yellow rose. The planter box around the deck had several colors.

Pterelas, Leila, roses

All the nuances make a difference when you know it's almost over. Here's Pterelas with slobber on his nose. He's part Lab and part Chow, and probably part something else, too. He's got a pink tongue with black spots on it.

I just took a similar photo, but I want this one, too. They will all be precious when I can't see the dogs any more. A different expression, a different angle. It all feels important, and also ephemeral.

Even the roses interest me, and how they begin to bloom in May.

This is Leila. We're pretty sure her mix is half Lab and half Chow. Her mother was a Chow, and the owners had to chase the Lab out of the yard after mating with her mom. I guess he could have been a mix, but he looked mostly Lab to them. She had a black tongue, a slight underbite, and white, white teeth. She's one of the sweetest dogs you can imagine. Very tuned in to emotions, maybe a little codependent, but not too. She has a streak of "cat" in her - a bit of independence, and, oddly, is the best mouser in the family (including the cat).