Brady: The Valentine's Day Pug

Brady was Joe's gift to me on our first Valentine's Day after we got married. I had wanted a black pug for a long time, so I was very excited!

Comfort toys and Dumbo Ears

Joe and I both believe it is likely that Brady has some mental problems, or at the very least had some bad experiences when he was a puppy. We got him when he was young but he had been sold and returned by one set of owners before we got him. We don't know why they returned him or what happened to him, but when he got him he was an extremely terrified, nervous, sensitive little dog.

First, we have comfort toys. Brady grabs a toy, crams into his mouth and keeps it there until he is comfortable any time he is scared. He does this the most when people come over, and sometimes he will do it when we come home. He does it far less now, but he used to do it all the time. It is sometimes amusing watching him, he does not care what the toy is, it just needs to be close. I've seen him use socks and my slippers if he is in a clutch and they are closer then a toy! Size is also not an issue. In fact, I think the bigger the better. We used to have a couple toys that were larger then Brady, so when Brady used them the comfort toy worked really well- it protected him from even being seen!

Second, we have dumbo ears. This, combined with crouching and the comfort toys are the three major signs that Brady is upset. And when any of the three happen, we immediately comfort him. This has been our way of dealing with it from the beginning. Brady needs comfort more then anything else in the world. So, when he is scared, we provide as much comfort as possible so he knows he is safe. He is the most cuddly, squishy and huggable of all of our dogs. You can tote him around like a baby, thus why he is always our Baby Brady. He is also the smallest of all our dogs.

Brady grew attached to Otis before Otis grew attached to Brady. For the most part, Otis was not too keen on this little black pug we just threw into his life. Now they sleep together, play together and I don't know what would happen to Baby Brady if Otis was not around. I'm pretty sure Otis is his hero. And according to the photo above, he also makes a good pillow. Tell me Brady does not have the cutest sleeping face in the whole wide pug world? :)

Brady may be sensitive, but the little pug has some serious spunk too. Brady's whole entire world changed when we got Max. He became a ferocious little beast. I think Max became a giant comfort toy and combined with his already profound dependence on Otis, he now had something even bigger to protect him. Brady plays and fights with the Doberman's as though he was a Doberman. He can play fetch and run as fast as they do and when we let them outside to play, Brady will run and jump up on Max to antagonize him into playing. Having the Dobermans has allowed Brady to more fully experience his potential. He has gone so far from being a terrified little puppy who used comfort toys as a means of protection to a brave little pug who uses his friendship with all of our dogs as a mean of play and enjoyment.

Can you spot Baby Brady trying to play with the big pups??

Our relationship with each dog is completely different. And while Otis tends to get the congeniality vote, Brady is the pug that people veer to after time. Brady is the dog for the nurturers in the world, the people who love to comfort and take care of things. Brady is often the first dog we will pick up and the dog that gets a free pass to jumping on the couch for a quick pet even though we explicitly forbid this. There is just something inherently innocent and lovely about him. Joe and I love Brady so much, I can't imagine not having his sweet, wrinkled face to smoosh and kiss every day!

Dog Files: Otis

Joe and I have FOUR dogs. We got them each for different reasons and they are special and bring a different dynamic into the household.

Otis came first. When I first moved back from Arizona, Joe recommended we get a puppy so I would have company. He worked and went to school full time, while I did both only part time-so, I was home a great deal more often then he was. Narrowing down the breeds to Pug took a fraction of a second- I knew that would be the dog for me.

Otis on his first day home:

There was only one ad in the paper that we called and still had a puppy pug available. Joe told me it wouldn't even matter what he looked like, I was bound to like him no matter what. And he was right. We pulled into the apartment complex the owner lived at, and tiny Otis came running out. He jumped on me the minute I knelt down. He could have been all sorts of ugly and I would have wanted him, but he was miniature, adorable and wrinkled!


In going through my pictures from Otis' puppy months, he spent a lot of time on our laps while we were doing homework and/or on the computer. Since we were both still in school we were using our computer's a lot so it became Otis' nap time.

My sister was living with me when we first got Otis. I actually abandoned him the first night we got him and ran off to Joe's house. He cried and howled and screamed non stop when he was put in the kennel and my instinct reaction was to flee. So Auntie Julian was left to deal with Otis on his first night. Luckily, I've grown up and Otis has forgiven me. My first instinct now would be to stay and comfort. I'm significantly more patient.

Puppies are deceitful. They appear to only want to sleep and play--- until they discovering peeing, pooping and chewing. For the longest time we had a running joke that Otis only looked things that started with the letter "P." He loved to play, to poop, to be with other puppies and most of all people.

Otis is the most people oriented of all our dogs. Probably because he did not have a playmate until he was over a year old, he was always around friends and family. He is my perfect companion. He is not all that active, I didn't even know he was capable of playing as much as he does until we got Brady. He also knows that I don't like kisses from the dogs. Instead, Otis will just put his chin up to my chin and sniff. That is our way of kissing. Mostly, Otis just wants to be with a person. When we have guests, his only concern is making sure he does not leave their side (which is why he gets the most attention) and is the first dog begging to come back inside after his "duties" in the backyard.

One of Otis' favorite thing is to sleep with us at night. Unfortunately for him, this was routine until we got Brady and we started kenneling Otis at night again so Brady would not be alone. Now with four dogs, we are definitely not inviting all of them to bed, so every now and then we will allow the pugs to sleep with us. Otis has the same routine, he will immediately make his way under the covers and sleep at my feet. I guess my calf makes a good pillow. He does not appear to do this when Joe goes to bed first- so I think he must like being between the both of us.

Otis is a happy pug. He is also the alpha-male of this family. He breaks up fights, he comforts Brady and spends as much of his time as possible with Joe and I. I can't ever imagine not having him in our lives. He is the original and the best possible pug a pug owner could ask for.

P.S. We have people here cleaning our air ducts--- the noise is bothering Otis so he is camped out underneath my legs as I'm sitting at the dining table writing this. Scared or not, this would be Otis' position of choice :)

Why patience is a virtue

On my last blog I said:
"Already I know that the lavender plants will need to be replaced."
Well, that teaches me!
My main concern with the lavender bushes was that they were not producing new flowers. The Fairy Dusters, both daisy varities, the roses and all the annuals have already flowered several times. The lavender blooms were dead and the only thing that stopped me from removing them now,was the fact that new growth was sprouting out of the ground on one of them.
Here is what I saw this weekend: NEW GROWTH!!


The arrows are pointing to new buds. I deadheaded the plant after this (trimming off dead buds) which should encourage further growth. I recently changed my every day watering schedule to a four day a week watering schedule. Daily watering is only necessary until plants get established which as far as I can tell has occured. Lavender plants do better with less water so I think this change helped spur the plant into action. The same thing also occured with the Bower Vine we have in the front entry way. FYI- It is recommended to plant things with similar watering needs near each other so you don't run into my problem. But I wanted specific plants-- so I did it anyways!

Also, the Arizona Grandiflower Rose is budding. It's the tiniest bud I've noticed forming on either of the roses. The blooms should be sunset colored. So far, while both the rose bushes have buds none have bloomed. Still waiting on that one.



I didn't start this blog with the intention of writing only about gardening but it has been so fulfilling and enjoyable. Right now Joe and I are in the process of renovating our guest bathroom. Every week is a new project. Two weekends ago we updated the shelves in our walk-in closet to make a better configuration and took off the closet doors to open the space. The hope is for our next major project to be landscaping the backyard. It's a clean slate but is a large space. We are hoping to build a large patio, built in seating and barbeque area, ramada and more! Oh the joys of an older home--- our house is the same age as Joe! :)

Gardening

My favorite part about gardening is watching how everything grows. It amazes me that one day our entire front gardening plots will be full of mature bushes like Green Hopseed, Euryop Daisys, and Fairy Dusters. Our Agave and Aloe varities will continue to grow and there is still open space for new perennials and ever changing choices for annuals each new season.

I didn't walk into planting thinking that everything was going to work, there are things that I'm sure I will change including plants that will not make it through the summer or the next winter. My tastes may also grow, or some of the plants may not fit with the eventual theme of the front yard gardening area. Already I know that the lavender plants will need to be replaced. They smell amazing but they appear to be a better potted plant where I can control the water conditions more carefully. Everything in the front gardening areas are on heavy drip lines and I've read that the lavender will thrive if left more unattended.

I've also discovered that I love roses. Passionately. They are by far the most fascinating of the plants I have in the garden. They change every day. I was so nervous that they wouldn't grow when they remained unchanged the first few weeks after planting. I could not find a single website that could explain what new growth looked like, until finally I came across a photo of a newly planted rose. I then learned that new growth is red. Once I knew what to look for, I started noticing the roses were growing all the time. Because they are newly planted, nearly half of both of the rose bushes are red. Which means, that they are growing, growing, all the time. Both of the bushes have small buds, and I am watching, waiting for them to flower.

I know there is much to learn, but this is my first year. I'm slowly building my bank of gardening knowledge and experimenting with different kinds of plants. Maybe next year I'll try planting from seeds, bulbs or try an herb garden. For now, I'm trying to get the main plants for the front yard gardening area on their way to success.

Here are two photos of things I find fascinating in my garden:

Fairy Duster
I originally liked this particular plant because I noticed that it blooms in the winter. I paid special attention to what was flowering during the colder months because I wanted to make sure that my gardening areas retained some color during the winter. I also liked that the Fairy Duster was red, because it feels very holiday to me and appropriate for the season. The plant is also amazing. This picture is great because it shows how and why the Fairy Duster is named. First, the bloom on the bottom left is self-explanatory. A ton of tiny tendrils form the shape that gives the Fairy Duster its name. What is even cooler is how that happens. See the small cluster of tiny spheres on the upper right? That small cluster will EXPLODE and out will come the Fairy Duster bloom.This is how the plant spreads it seeds -they are literally shot out of the plant itself.

My camera did not cooperate in taking any photographs of the new flower buds growing on my roses, but I was able to get this shot of a few of the leaves. I noticed that the Double Delight Rose was being munched on by some critter bug. It was easy to notice at first because the missing parts were perfect semi-circular cuts. I learned this is the result of the leaf cutter bee. You can't kill the leaf cutter bee because it helps pollinate plants so is an important part of the landscaping eco-system. It's also difficult to kill anyway because it doesn't live on the plant, it merely drops by when it needs some leaves and whisks it off to build it's nest. The semi-circles are either small or large and they are basically identical to one another. I have never seen the leaf-cutter bee in action, but it would be interesting to. Although it makes my small rose bushes like odd (I'll notice it less when they are more mature) it does not harm the plant. I'm amazed that a small bee can cut such a precise shape and carry it to the nest. I'm more then happy to donate some of my rose leaves to the leaf cutter bee's home. On the bottom left and the upper right you can see the red I was talking about before. The Leaf Cutter bee has only muched on solid green leavess. New grow starts out very red and starts fading into a light pink and eventual green once matured.

Saguaro Lake

A couple weeks ago, Joe, Jake and I went to Saguaro Lake for a short day-trip. Jake brought his lab mix, Lilly, and we brought our Dobermans, Max and Sadie. We took an offroad trail and saw great scenery. Joe and Jake also enjoyed the four wheeling. Myself and the pups were a little less enthused :)

Joe, Syd and the Dobes

Our vehicle: The Four Runner!

Me (Sydney) overlooking Saguaro Lake in the background.

One of the Four Wheeling "obstacles"

Max using Sadie as a pillow

Joe Drove.. and Jake took most of the pictures

After the four wheeling we took a short hike around Saguaro Lake and let the puppies swim. Max loves the water, but this picture shows that he didn't quite having swimming down, at least not in his new, giant body. He swam with his paws out of the water like he was trying to walk on it.

Eventually, he got it. Here he is with Lilly, who won the catch the ball game every time.

Because of this, Max decided to focus his attention on getting Lilly, and not the ball.

Jake and Lilly

Jake

Four Wheeling

Lastly, here is a video of all of the dogs swimming. Lilly is obviously the most experienced and graceful of the three. This is a great example of Max trying to walk on water instead of swimming in it. And poor Sadie, who we now realize has probably never swum before in her life. She attempted to swim, but was more successful at semi-drowning. Better luck next time :

Tree Trimming

We have a massive, no....enormous.... no gargantuan Pine Tree in our front yard. It's one of the trees you would more likely see in Prescott, Payson, or Flagstaff instead of smack tab in the middle of Tempe. As much as I love having something that reminds me of cooler weather as part of my landscaping, it has already become a big pain. We have to deal with a lot of pine cones and pine needles and the tree roots have already broken our irrigation system. So, as a temporary fix we decided to just trim a majority of the bottom branches off so we would get more sunlight and less pine needles on the roof. Here is a reminder of the house before:

See how some of the tree branches are actually sweeping against our roof? Here is how they did-
the tree trimmer actually climbed up into the tree with a chainsaw and hacked everything down!


And this man caught the falling branches.

And finally, the finished project. Big tree = Big difference!!!

Landscaping, Oh My!

We began the process of landscaping our front yard immediately upon moving in. A previous blog showed Joe and Co. working on repairing damage to our irrigation system. We have also planted winter grass in the front lawn and removed all of the pre-existing shrubbery. I don't have photos to directly illustrate but there are four planting areas available in our front yard and all four had to be gutted entirely. They are the the front left, the front right, the left entry way and the right entry way. The left entry way will ultimately be filled with pavers and used as a sitting area.

Step 1: Remove all of the existing landscaping. Most of the shrubs were 3 feet high and filled in every available space. Weeds were overgrown. We removed all of the shrubs first, and came back later to remove all of the weeds until we were left with a smooth layer of dirt.



The front left landscaping area. In the small photo you can see the Oleanders that had overtaken the area. The only thing we kept were the Pygmy Palm Trees.




The front right landscaping area. Again, everything here has been removed. This area was a weed-disaster zone.




Joe had to remove the Oleander bushes and he did so with the assistance of our Toyota Fourunner. He hooked heavy duty chain around the base of all four Oleanders and yanked the root balls straight out of the ground. We are happy with our Oleander-free existence!




Step 2: Organizing the plants. Not including annuals, there are nineteen plants in the front landscaping areas. I'll discuss them more below.

Step 3: We had to fix and extend our drip line system so it would irrigate all of our new plants. As the plants grow, the drip lines will have to grow with them. It is a tedious process but essential to keep everything thriving.

Step 4: ROCK! We decided to place a rock layer over the ground. We chose a light colored stone that blends nicely with the exterior color of our house. We love the look and thinks it brings a nice finishing touch to the landscaping.

Here is a more detailed view of the front left landscaping area. We have Euryops Daisy (the yellow plant), two small rose bushes, two Agave varieties, an Aloe variety, Fairy Duster and a green Hopseed bush. The fairy duster is a red variety and difficult to see. It will be a medium-sized shrub once established.

The right front landscaping area. We planted Euryops Daisy, an Aloe variety, Green Hopseed Bush, Fairy Duster and two purple daisy annuals.

The front entry way. The vine is a Bower vine, it will produce beautiful white flowers with magenta centers. We hope to carry the vine across the arbor across our entry way. The vine is surrounded by a variety of annuals and a layer of rock has been addded here as well.

Everything is planted and the irrigation system is working. Now we have to determine how long and how often to whater, when and what to fertilize with, to make sure that we give all our plants the best chance at survival. We purchased "Moon Juice" from the nursery and this is administered to the plants weekly and is supposed to help them become established. Arizona summers are HOT and we need to give them the best shot at survival. Luckily, most plants here are well-suited for desert weather. Because we have a mild-winter many of these shrubs will flower year round and we will have color landscaping non-stop. The roses espicially will bloom through the winter once established.

Next project with the front yard: Pavers in the entry way!