Thursday, August 13, 2020

I like Thursdays: August 13, 2020

Good morning!  It's "I like Thursday" and time to post positive posts!  Please visit LeeAnna for more inspirational posts!



Yesterday morning I went out to pick up the newspaper in my bathrobe and saw about 6 hummingbirds flitting around our peegee hydrangea tree!  I couldn't get a photo of them.  I knew that once I went into the house I would have spooked them.  Sometimes it's just nice to sit tight and enjoy nature anyway!

Happy the dog came to visit Scout last week and that made her day.  The two dogs get along so well and Happy's name is truly fitting.  He's a happy and carefree dog and he never seems to want to leave our garden!
My niece Christina has taken up sewing and it is wonderful!  I'm sending her a box of fabric.  I picked up a bunch of different things for her when I cleaned the sewing room!
I love this combination of magenta butterfly bush flowers and russian sage.  It's not a great photo but I will say it pleases me whenever I see it!
I like 8 lbs. of Cayenne Pepper.  YES EIGHT POUNDS!  It was bad enough when the squirrels were eating our tomatoes but we have a groundhog that enters our garden (day and night) and does some real damage.  My brother (who lives down the street) has lost his entire crop of tomatoes and my neighbor next door isn't doing well either.  I'm entertaining my neighbors and friends with our war on groundhogs and I read that Cayenne repels groundhogs or squirrels.  So I ordered the peppper in bulk.  I've used up one 4 lb container so far but that is because I gave jars of it to my neighbors and family.  It's only if it rains or the pepper gets wet (tomatoes do require watering) that the groundhogs return.

I can't have a groundhog in my garden because I know Scout will go after it and I don't want her hurt.  She does a really good job of letting me know when we had intruders in the garden and yesterday showed me a new entrance the groundhog used (I peppered the old entrance).  

Good dog!

Have a safe and happy day!

14 comments:

grammajudyb said...

Oh no! Garden robbers! Good luck on your war against them! The birds and I are sharing my second round of strawberries!

Mary in Peoria Handmade said...

Wow those are some serious varmints . Hope the pepper works. How fun that you can help your niece in the joy of sewing.

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I was thinking that groundhog thought your neighborhood was his very own buffet restaurant! I'm glad the cayenne pepper works to repel them. Happy does look so happy and fun for Scout to play with! And how fun for your niece to get all that fun fabric from your stash to play with!

LA Paylor said...

Milo sends his best to his sis... boy is she adorable! She and Milo have such similar features too, the way she's looking at Happy is how he intensely looks at someone. He really watches my face and reacts to it, does Scout watch your expressions?
that's a lotta spice! It's war for the tomatoes... you've infected your niece with quiltpox... haha... what do you think of Kamala ?
I just read on writers almanac today, about Annie Oakley who fought for women's rights...
LeeAnna

dq said...

Who would have thought so many pounds of cayenne pepper would make someone so happy? I am battling grasshoppers in my tomatoes.

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Michele! We used to have a Peegee hydrangea and I never saw a hummer near it - but maybe I wasn't looking. How sweet is that, Happy and Scout together. You are so nice to send your niece some fabric. I remember you sent me some I Spy fabrics not that long ago - you are just that nice kind of person. {{Hugs}} So interesting that the cayenne pepper works for the groundhog AND the squirrels. Good job, Scout!! She's so sweet with her baby (toy). ~smile~ Roseanne

PaintedThread said...

Wow, that's a crazy amount of cayenne pepper! I love that combo of magenta and sage, too. Quite stunning. Your niece will be thrilled with a box of fabric! Aren't hummingbirds fun?

Susie H said...

We have a groundhog problem around here too. It keeps eating my neighbor's flowers and she is having fits. She put moth balls around here plants and it seems to help. Too bad all I smell are the moth balls now, not the flowers. Oh well ... pretty! Glad you have a good dog that is always alert. Love the dog pics!

Carol Andrews said...

Garden wars can be so entertaining for others! Good luck in your battle

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

Oh groundhogs can be a real nuisance. Daughter has one and she had to buy a greenhouse to grow a few veggies because he kept eating everything. I've read that too about the pepper and do hope it keeps it away from the yard. Yes, I would worry about Scout too.
I love Russian Sage and we had a nice bank of it back at the farm. My two lavender bushes returned though tiny still and I've been happy about that. Our hummingbirds got pestered by the wasps and seem to be scarce now. Can't blame them.

Siouxzq64@gmail.com said...

Good job Scout. I love the picture of the butterfly bush and sage too. It would be an awesome art quilt. Your battle with the ground hog and squirrels reminds me of the movie Caddie Shack. :D How appropriate, sometimes you just enjoy nature and the moment.

Shannon said...

That picture of Happy with Scout is so perfect! How adorable! And I'm so sorry about your groundhog problem! I had bad moles last year, they dug tunnels all over the place under my front yard, but I think the dogs kept them out of the backyard, and I haven't seen any (or signs) at all this year, so I'm thanking my lucky stars. Dealing with the mice is bad enough! I hope the pepper is successful!

Rosemary Dickinson said...

Does the cayenne pepper actually work? I love the picture of the 2 dogs together. They look happy! I'm sure your niece will love whatever you send her. It's so nice of you to think of her!

Su-sieee! Mac said...

I hope the cayenne works for you. I feel for you. Slugs and snails attached the beans and peppers when they were starting off. A bowl of cheap beer cured that.