The garden is ready to explode

Categories: Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue · Homeward Bound Memorial Garden · Rescue DogsTags: · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 10 Comments

Spring arrived early in Sacramento this year. That means the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden is ahead of schedule. It seems as if every day something new bursts forth to pay tribute to the many canine companions helped by Homeward Bound. This photo was taken almost a week ago and it’s already obsolete. Dogs are frequent visitors, of course. This is Shelby. We have something new this year. I was told that these metal traps are meant to capture some critter that has been damaging the garden. The gardeners called them snapes or snoops … something like that. I couldn’t get…

You can feel it in the garden

Categories: Homeward Bound Memorial Garden · Rescue DogsTags: · · · · · · · · 10 Comments

We’ve passed the winter solstice, the days are noticeably longer, and we are rolling slowly, but inexorably, toward spring. Today was wet and dark and cold in the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden but even so you could still feel an undercurrent of life and growth that promises spring is not far off. I had to leave but still I paused again and again to look for just one more shot. I am normally drawn toward displays of color but we don’t yet have much of that in the garden. So I search out other targets. Perhaps I can get can get…

Goldfinch Day

Categories: Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue · Homeward Bound Memorial GardenTags: · · · · · 4 Comments

I’m really not much into taking photos of birds. Which is another way of saying that I’m not very good at it so I avoid it. But today the goldfinches were suffering the pangs of outrageous hunger so they let me get closer than normal to them. Happily, this afforded me better than normal results.

Ms. C. Laney in the garden

Categories: Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue · Homeward Bound Memorial GardenTags: · · · · · · · · 6 Comments

Random shots from the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden. First we have Frida, the garden cat. She just finished eating her supper in the shed. Something may not have agreed with her. Frida is there for the mice, not the birds. Although we do seem to have lots of birds around. We also have a mechanical man. And a blue spruce all dolled up for Christmas. Some of the roses are still hanging on. Several benches where you can rest your weary bones and enjoy the view. Even if you do have cataracts. And a piece of art that makes use…

The Bradford leaves

Categories: Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue · Homeward Bound Memorial Garden · Rescue DogsTags: · · · · · · · · · · 7 Comments

The Homeward Bound Memorial Garden has a couple of trees whose leaves turn a vivid red and gold in the fall. I’m told they are Bradford pears. Every year I try to capture their glory but my results never seem to match the spectacular reality. It seem to me that the Bradfords are the last trees to fully turn and ultimately free their leaves. Sometimes events accelerate the process. The shot above was taken two days ago on Saturday. On Sunday we were visited by a storm and the tree now looks … quite naked. No, little tree it’s not a…

Iceland Poppies

Categories: Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue · Homeward Bound Memorial Garden · Rescue DogsTags: · · · · · · 5 Comments

A couple weeks ago I received an e-mail soliciting a guess as to what recently arrived at Green Acres (a local nursery). My response was “mistletoe”. Mistletoe is on my mind this time of year because I take full advantage of the license this tradition offers me. Good timing along with quick and stealthy moves provide opportunities I can only dream of throughout the year. But I was wrong. It’s okay though because the correct answer turned out to be: ICELAND POPPIES!!! Yep, capitalization and three exclamation points. Someone was excited about this. Of course, I was too. Iceland poppies grace…

Daylilies

Categories: Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue · Homeward Bound Memorial GardenTags: · · · · · 6 Comments

I believe this is a daylily. The gardeners who work the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden will attest to the large gaps in my knowledge of things that grow so it’s no surprise I’m not certain. They let me mow the grass area because it makes me feel useful and I can’t much damage anything in the garden in that endeavor. I love the color and form of the daylilies and asiatic lilies. You’ll often find me near their bed trying to capture the perfect image. I chose this one for today because it’s getting cold here and it makes me…