Gardening Is Dirty Work

It's hard to see from this angle, but Lightning is a filthy cat. She's famous around The Realm for her filthy mouth, but she often sports filthy fur when she's in a gardening mood.

My Constant Gardening Companion & Her Constant Companion

Penny is my shadow as I move around the gardens, no matter what I am doing. If I am walking, she walks along. If I am working, she waits. Sometimes she stands to wait, sometimes she settles in for the long haul. And always with her is the ball. Sometimes it is in her mouth. Occasionally, it is beside her as in this picture. More often, it is positioned behind me so that I step on it if I take a step backward. I live to garden; Penny lives to play ball.

Kitchen Garden Update

Wednesday, the top soil was finally delivered! Here's the dump truck unloading the first of two loads of dirt and also The Kitchen Garden with all the dirt. (That's border collie and tennis ball savant Penny in the foreground.) Next step: tear down the fence and begin building the forms to hold in place the gravel we plan to use as a transition between the pool and the beds. But it's hot, hot, hot in northwest Arkansas, so work is progressing slowly.

A Little Shade on a Hot Day

Skye snapped this picture of Cookie enjoying the shade of the cat cave under the angel trumpet. I wish I had a nice cool cave in the Cottage Garden: I might never come out!