January Update ~ The Little Copper Dog

 

Hello Friends,

My sister gifted us a 2024 calendar ~ The Truth About Dog People ~ 

Writer and Illustrator ~ Jo Renfro

As I change the calendar page each month, I will share the illustration and  give an update on Ernie our rescue dog.

 

 

I shared the story about adopting Ernie here.

January Update

 ♥ Ernie has lived with us for 3 months.

♥ His paperwork from Texas stated that his birthday was December 10th, 2022 .. his paperwork from Wisconsin stated that his birthday is February 10th, 2023. He is a year old. He moved in with us in late October. Adopting an older dog, who was not neutered at the time, (he is now) a rescue and not knowing what challenges may all come with that, we are happy to report Ernie is doing very well.

♥ Ernie does not look like he did in the photo above. He has gained weight and the color of his fur has darkened.   

 

 

 

  ♥ He loves to play tug. 

♥ He loves to go for walks.

 ♥ He loves to cuddle.

We are working on.. knowing when to stop barking. He is a great watchdog, but once I have let him know it is alright these folks are our friends, he still is not sure and will give his two cents of woofs a few more minutes.

Jumping up.. we are still working on this, he gets very excited when we come home, when he is greeted by friends and when he plays.

 ♥ 

Ernie as been a very good distraction for me. And that is part of why I wanted to take on the challenge of bringing Ernie home. No one knows what a rescue has been through and how they will act. We have been blessed, Ernie wants to learn and is eager to please. And for me with society feeling rather shaky right now. The media keeping up the frenzy of FEAR. We took on the challenge of Ernie, keeping me grounded in reality. And enjoying life that comes with training up a little copper dog.

 

Writing for the Cameron Chronicle in 2024

 

Hello Friends, 

I will be writing garden articles  for our local village newspaper again in 2024. 

Cameron Chronicle "The Little Paper with Personality."

I am sharing the article I wrote for the January 2024 issue.

  

Roses

By Carla TePaske of Cameron, WI ~ The Little Garden That Could

Happy New Year to you all. As we jump into a new gardening year I plan to pick certain plants and flowers to discuss and give tips for success.

Roses are a favorite of mine, but lately I have been having pest and black spot problems. We will start talking pests. Rose aphids are the pest that I have been having the most trouble with. We garden organically. I will be sharing organic ways of managing pests. It may sound gross, but it works, use finger and thumb to squash aphid colonies on your plants. Encourage aphid predators in your garden, ladybugs, wasps and earwigs all like to eat aphids.

Black spot is the next problem I have with our roses. It is caused by a fungus, Diplocarpon rosae, which infects the leaves and greatly reduces plant vigor.

Underplanting with salvia has been proven to help the health of roses.

The sulphur in the salvia’s scent profile means that when they warm up, they release a natural fungicide. This helps keep the roses strong, healthy, mildew and black spot free.

Underplanting with salvias is a great organic gardening method, which allows you to forgo pesticides and chemicals. If you spot the signs of black spot, clear anyway any dead leaves which might work as a natural host for harmful spores.

I planted a salvia under one of my roses in late summer. I am in hopes it helps with black spot and other pests. I will keep you updated.

Until next time, happy gardening!

Hello February 2024

 

Leap Year by Annette Wynne
Little month of February,
You are small, but worthy—very!
Will you grow up like the others,
Like your sister months and brothers?
Every four years with a bound
With a leap up from the ground,
Trying to grow tall as they—
All you stretch is one small day!
Even then you're not so tall
But just the shortest month of all.