Fred

Here's our Schmed-bird, or Fredward, or Fred the Amazing Dog, to give his full name.  We adopted him through petfinder.com for my 30th birthday and, while he has certainly been a handful, we have loved him ever since.  He has always lived up to his half Springer Spaniel side but had finally begun to settle down this past year or so.  Unfortunately, this past Friday I realized I had not filled his food dish in a few days, and when I asked Jesse, he realized he hadn't either.  There it sat, full.  Jesse and Fred spent the weekend going back and forth to the vet's office with no real conclusions.  On Monday morning Fred still was not eating, so I brought him back in.  Finally, yesterday morning we had the diagnosis: Addison's Disease.  He has now had two doses of the quite expensive medication and he is a whole new dog.  Fred is much more calm, though I do not think he has fully recovered.  It will take a few weeks of analysis to determine the right amount of medication for him.  We are happy to have our Fred eating again and running after tennis balls.

Putting Down Roots

Here is a photo of my latest effort in landscaping our yard. One of the selling points of our home was the large yard with southern exposure, however, the previous owners had a number of exotic plants and few trees in the yard. Over the past few years we have removed the high maintenance plants and worked to create some shade and interest. This morning I went to the Kubota Garden plant sale and purchased two Katsura trees. Katsuras have heart shaped leaves and turn a beautiful reddish-orange in the Fall. They are sometimes called the Caramel Tree because they have a very sweet smell when their leaves turn. Last year at the sales I purchased three other trees. Bit by bit we are making progress!

There is something elating and satisfying in planting a tree or two. We love watching the birds and bugs that make use of them, and enjoy the dimension and movement they bring to our yard. In the past few years we have seen five large trees cut down in our neighborhood. Some were not healthy, but a few were just a nuisance to the homeowners. It is a little sad to see a hundred foot cedar, home to so much life, chopped up. I like to think of the life our trees will have over the years. Obviously they clean the air and host critters and creatures, but I like to think of all the people who will enjoy their shade, the children who will climb their branches, the swings that may hang from them, and the spots of color they will add to the world.