Dear Dad ... It's Me Shiner ...

Dear Dad ... it's me Shiner ...

You and I got a lot of exercise together the past few days and I could tell you were a bit worried about what would happen once you went back to work.  Mom has that little problem you know, and sometimes getting exercise is not the easiest thing to do.

Well, mom asked me if I wanted to go to the Garden today. I immediately jumped up and turned on my back legs in the direction of the garden.  Mom loves it when I do that.  She's shocked when I understand her, but we know it's not really shocking, right dad?

So I led mom to the garden and we walked around and mom took pictures of course.  Mom let me go my own way, but I kept my eye on her, so you don't have to worry.

Mom was surprised at this azalea blooming in August, so she took a picture of it of course.

When it got too hot I told mom it was time to go, and I brought her home.

Mom took one last photo by the mailbox.  This one's beautiful isn't it, dad?

So you don't have to worry dad.  Mom's exercising with me too.

Love always,

Shiner

Saving the Peony

In my garden, I'm a let-it-fall-where-it-may kind of girl.  I don't stake, I don't pull weeds if there's a chance they may be wildflowers, and if a plant needs a lot of care, it probably won't make it to next year.

It's why I love peonies.  They are basically carefree and have come up in my garden year after year.  The ONLY thing that can be a bit discouraging about peonies, is that rain can take down a pretty bloom in seconds flat.

As the rain from tropical storm Andrea quickly approached a couple days ago, I realized that I hadn't truly appreciated my peonies this year.  Their blooms were out, but life got in the way and I never stopped to ... well ... smell the peonies.

So this year, right before the rain, I staked them.  The massive rains came and damage was to a minimum.  I forgot to cut some of the blooms before the rain to keep in the house, but after the rain they didn't look too shabby.

{ all digital brushes by Katie Pertiet }

Or did they look shabby?  I mean shabby in a good way.  Shabby chic peonies.

Note for next year:  Stake peonies early - it's totally worth it!