Changes, Heidi, and the Yard

Heidi, who appeared in many of my header photos, passed away March 1, 2016, at the age of twelve and a half.  She had some lumps for quite awhile, and in the last few months, had trouble going up steps.  She stumbled, and scared us sometimes.  In the last few weeks, it had gotten worse.  Then she started leaking urine.  The medication she went on helped, but then she started having trouble breathing.  I went with them to the vet this time, because I was afraid she wouldn't be coming back with us.  The vet said he was going to be brutally honest, and that it was time.  He said her lungs were filling with fluid.  We sat with her as she passed away. 

I went back to look at photos of her, and decided to do a post showing her over the years, along with the changes we've seen in the yard over time.  I had to start with 2008, because something went haywire with my iPhoto library, and Larry was not able to retrieve the ones I had taken up until then.  I am still sad about that.

Larry said I have too many photos, but I decided to keep them.  This has turned into a photo history of the yard as much or more than a tribute to Heidi. As soon as she saw me with my camera, she was ready to go outside with me and watch the world.

5/19/08:

5/28/08:

6/3/08:

9/21/08:

11/15/08:

6/12/09:

6/23/09:

7/7/09:

8/11/09:

8/11/09:

10/28/09:

4/17/10:

6/21/10:

4/14/10:

5/4/11:

6/18/11:  (I think.)

8/9/11:

2/4/12:

4/26/12:

8/26/12:

8/26/12:

6/6/13:

6/28/13:

7/18/13:

5/22/14:

7/17/14:

5/19/15:

6/15/15:

6/15/15:

 
10/20/15:

10/30/15:

I watch our granddaughter 4 days a week.  She has been a dog person from an early age, and loved Heidi, even though it took awhile for Heidi to get used to her.  She is still asking for Heidi.  I feel so bad for her.  I couldn't find photos of the grandsons with her, except for the one from 2011.  They come over on Saturdays.  The 8 year old loved playing with her when he got a chance, but she was usually in the basement when they were over, because the 4 year old was afraid of her. 

Larry and I have had 2 other dogs besides Heidi, and I didn't mind them, but I did bond more with Heidi, even though I got upset when she scratched on a closet door, and my Hoosier  cupboard door, trying to get to my chocolate.  She also dug some of my plants up in the back yard.  The friend we got our other yellow lab, Katie from asked us to take Heidi, shortly after Katie passed away, because the former student he gave her to couldn't keep her after all.  She and their other dog or dogs got into too much trouble.  As it turns out, she was mistreated there, and came to us with issues, some of which she outgrew, some she didn't.  I myself am not a dog person.  As a girl, I was afraid of dogs.  I used to choose the ways to walk to school that would avoid me being barked at by dogs.  I do not want to get another dog. I think I am in the minority, but they tie you down, and cost lots of money for their care.

November Wildflower Wednesday

We are enjoying a mild fall, even though we've had a number of nights that have dipped down to the 20s.  I have mostly wider views for this month's Wildflower Wednesday, hosted by Gail, of Clay and Limestone.

We'll start out with the curb beds.  I've mentioned that I do the clean up in the spring, so that birds can have the seeds to eat, and whatever native bees and such who live in the stems can live safely over the winter.

I love the puffy seed heads of the various kinds of liatris.  I'm thinking this is aspera.

The spikes of puff on the left are another kind of liatris, I think, a cultivar.  I think the dark colored seed heads are black eyed susans.

I guess I really do like liatris seed heads!  Here's another clump, with New England asters on the right.

The plant on the left is a coneflower of some kind.  The plant in the front is New England aster.

The Mexican hat plants are still green and have some color in their blooms.

This is across from where a sidewalk would be from the west curb area. The wild senna seed heads are pretty cool looking.  I'm also seeing more liatris, stiff goldenrod, riddles goldenrod and some grasses in this photo.

The false baptisia on the south side of the fence still has seed pods that look good.

Heading into the area where the tree used to be, we see meadow rue and cup plant.

This was the last clump of New England asters to bloom, and I see it still has one bloom on it.

I found a photo of wild quinine that I liked better than this one, but decided to include both, because if I delete this, I'll have a wider gap that I have to edit the post to fix.  The gold in the back is Amsonia illustris.

The gray-headed coneflowers still have a bit of color.

These are sweet black eyed susans.

I just transplanted this clump of ironweed from another part of the yard this spring.  It did very well.

Here is the other clump of wild quinine.  I have it in several spots in the yard.  It has the longest bloom time of all of the flowers, and I see pollinators on it all of its bloom time.  It looks nice afterward as well!

I am still enjoying the Illinois bundleflowers.

Since we started with a view from the street, I thought we'd end with a view from the porch.

I hope all is well with you at the holiday season.  There are so many bad things happening in the world that are out of our control.  What we do have in our control is how we treat others.  I hope we all find ways to show kindness and respect to those we come into contact with.  This time of year is also a good time to remember to forgive those in your life who have hurt or offended you.

Wildflower Wednesday on Thursday

For Gail's Wildflower Wednesday I took some photos of the area where the tree used to be, and included photos of fading foliage and seedheads as well as a few blooms.

I deadheaded the Gray-head coneflowers, and some of the clumps are reblooming.

Wild senna:

Little bluestem and Amsonia illustris:

Wild quinine:

Riddell's goldenrod:

Ironweed:

Golden alexanders:

Illinois bundleflower:

Liatris of some kind:

Meadow rue and cup plant:

Monarda fistulosa:

Narrow-leaf mountain mint and false baptisia:

New England aster, foliage of swamp milkweed, and maybe ironweed seeds in the background on the right.

Here are a couple views from the porch:

Our fall weather has been quite pleasant, and we are still getting some rain.  The birds have been eating some of the seeds, but it looks like they will have some for awhile yet.   I am watching our now 4 month old granddaughter 4 days a week.  I harvested some of the seeds while holding her over a couple days, and we found places to place some on the ground, and I walked around, trying to put a little dirt over them.  Maybe I will get some seedlings to share with others in the spring.  I hope your fall is going well!