Centerport, my new home

Welcome! It's about time you dropped by to see the place :-)

As promised, here's some images of my new little cottage in Centerport, New York (north shore of Long Island, between Huntington and Northport).

Not everything in my life has changed. As you can see, Calie-the-wonderdoodle still greets any visitors that have managed to find out my little hide-away. At six years old though, Calie has grown a bit wiser. She'll stay on the front stoop if I ask her unless a dog is being walked right along our fence line.

This is the cottage, the whole thing. As you can see, there's not much to it but more than Calie and I need to put a smile on my face. 2 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, bath and dining room downstairs, one room upstairs. Life is simple here, I can clean house in one evening!

We have a corner lot. Since each house on my street has only 2 homes, I guess we all have corner lots! The street is only 5 blocks long, so we really are well tucked away from the rest of the world. I love the views out of all my windows, I see flowering trees and shrubs and darling cottages in each direction.

Here's the other side along with the little side yard. Upstairs is a single room my daughters have set up when they are here. At 5'9" poor Lauren can only walk down the very middle of the room. Ouch, banged my own head once too often up there!

I brought what garden accessories I could, probably more than I should have but some just couldn't be given away or left behind. This antique chimney top came back after a wonderful trip with my friend Chris and I will drag it where ever I go.

There's a little garage although I don't use it. My landlord has the most incredible antique red tractor stored in it! A little fish pond is there too. I've put my money pot by that pond, as close to the rear left corner of the lot. The wealth has begun to flow although not cash, just lots and lots of peace, happiness and laughter.

Now here's the real treasure, just 3 short blocks (super steep down hill) is the beach! Sunday I sat there with a beer in hand (pure heaven) and watched this darling Dachshund walk along the water edge side by side with a slowly gliding swan. They continued like this for at least 5 minutes!

I've always loved birds and we have so many here but I will admit I was surprised at just how many swans are on our water. There's easily 30 of them out at one time.

The tide here changes pretty drastically. Our sand is well kept but when the tide is all the way out there's always some green sand. I spent as much time as possible there last summer but didn't go for a swim. Somehow the water doesn't appeal to me that way.

Lots of locals have kayaks and that is something that I am very interested in trying! As you can see, when the tide is out the opposite shore is quite close. We're surrounded with little coves and beaches so a kayak would have plenty of places to visit.

Hope you liked the tour! My new camera came today so soon there'll be lots of garden shots.

melanie

Behind bars

Phooey. It's raining outside and this picture of my labradoodle Calie shows just how I feel.

Yesterday's weather was glorious but I had no time to get out in the garden. Today I don't have the time to get out there either but I can't even dream about it with this weather. Of course I know the garden appreciates the rain so I'm only grumbling a little bit.

As a teaser though, I'll leave you with this photo:I took this picture last summer in Germany but I chose it here today as a tropical image. Tomorrow morning long before the crack of dawn I'll be on the way to the airport to catch a plane to sunny Florida.

My mom and I will have almost four glorious days together, we plan on lots of walks and visits to various nature preserves. I promise to bring my camera and come back with oodles of photos.

Maybe when I wake up here next Tuesday morning it will feel like spring outside :-)

Think green,
Melanie

What's better than a rototiller?

What?

Digging in the compost heap again?

What could possibly make you think I was digging in the compost heap?

Nope, not me, I was sitting here nice and calm all afternoon.

Woofs and Licks,

Calie the wonder-doodle

Did you See what I Saw?

Yesterday I was running around the house getting ready for an appointment filled day when I heard a strange banging noise. Looking out the window I saw that my dog Calie was quite busy.

She was standing quite steadily on her hind feet like a human and looking down the tube of our see-saw (teeter-totter or what ever else you call these things). I ran and grabbed my camera but it shoots too slowly to get the best action shots. It doesn't help that I was perched on the couch in a state of undress in front of a huge window while trying to take these photos.

After one end of the see-saw was pulled down to the ground, Calie would run around to the other end, stand on her hind feet and stick her nose into the metal tube. Down would come the see-saw...Thump.

After a moment of frantic digging Calie would realize she couldn't sniff/see down the tube and around she'd go again to the other side.

Never mind that you can see the true state of winter shambles of the garden behind her. I want to know what creature was running back and forth inside that see-saw! Maybe after Frances at Faire Gardens locked her mysterious visitor out it decided to move here?

Calie is one of those new mixed breeds (expensive mutts). Her mom was half yellow labrador/half standard poodle, her dad was full standard poodle. Calie has hair like a poodle, a bit less curly and doesn't shed. She also has the ridiculous clown nature of a labrador. Hence she is known as Calie the wonder-doodle.

Dogs Versus Cats as the Ultimate garden pet

(Man's best friend)

If you are a gardener and are thinking of getting a pet, here's some timely advice.

Get a cat. Dog's are cute and might be mans best friend but when it comes to gardening, they will make your blood pressure POP!

Cat's slink around the plants in your garden.
Good cat.

Dog's thunder through the plants in your garden.
Bad dog.

Cats will hunt down any vole, mouse, chipmunk or bunny eating up your garden.
Good cat.

Dogs will chase any vole, mouse, chipmunk or bunny through your garden, decimate a 15 foot swath and come up empty handed with a big goofy grin on their face.

Bad dog.

(What makes you think I was sniffing down that chipmunk hole again?)

Cats will wait patiently at the opening of a chipmunk hole for hours until the wee creature emerges and then pounce.
Good cat.

Dogs will dig out that chipmunk hole so far that you will be looking at China (most likely a Chinese gardener with a dog will be peering back at you).
Bad dog.

Cats are nice and quiet so you can hear yourself think. When a visitor comes by you can actually have a conversation.
Good cat.

Dogs are loud, rude and disruptive. Even if you put them in the house, shut all the windows and doors, you will have to ask your visitor to walk 50 feet down the driveway before you can carry on any kind of conversation with them.
Bad dog.

(If you think I can't still hear you, you're wrong!)

When cats dig holes in your garden, it's to bury their business.
Good cat.

When dogs dig holes in your garden, it's just for fun, and never where you need a new hole.
Bad dog.

(Yes, I know the compost heap was on the other side of this wall, I just wanted to dig on this side.)

You can carry home the biggest bag of cat food and not hurt your back.
Good cat.

If you try to carry a bag of dog food without wearing a hernia belt you will find yourself making best friends with the chiropractor.
Bad dog.

Cats do not steal your every garden tool and barbeque utensil every time you turn your head.
Good cat.

Dogs will steal anything not nailed down and chew the living daylights out of it. They will stoop so far as to stick their head under the barbeque vinyl cover just to get a hold of that scrubby grill brush that smells like burnt meat.
Bad dog.

When a cat is inside the house it will not enter a room if the door is shut.
Good cat.

When you have lever door knobs, your dog will figure out how to open any door they desire.
Bad dog.

(Of course I didn't make that mess. You should be more careful with your trash.)

Cats give themselves baths.
Good cat.

(I don't know what you're talking about. I like that smell.)

Dogs never give themselves baths. They will run through every mud puddle in the garden, prance around in a rain storm, attack the sprinkler and then balk at standing in the bathtub unless you join them. Then when they are soaking wet and you turn your back they will make a run for it, open doors and lay down on your bed, on YOUR pillow, not your husbands pillow.

Bad dog.

(Hey! How are you supposed to get a drink around here?)

(What do you mean by "this couch is for people"?)

At the worst a cat will use a plant marker as a back scratcher.
Good cat.

At its best a dog will chew your plant marker only enough so that you can still make out the name (but you will have no hope for finding out where it came from).
Bad dog.

(No words necessary)

Every cat I've had has come when I've called its name.
Good cat.

When I call my one dog by her name she looks at me with that teen-age look. (I see your lips moving but all I hear is Blah, Blah, Blah.)
Bad dog.

(Table? What table? How was I supposed to know not to sleep on the table?)

Cats sleep all day while you are working and then do what ever they do at night while you are sleeping.
Good cat.

Dogs drive you crazy all day long and then try to sleep on your bed while you are laying exhausted in it at night.
Bad dog.

Thus goes one week with Calie the wonder-dog. After a harrowing week of chasing my labradoodle Calie around the yard as she devasted multiple plantings, decimated a family of bunnies and traumatized a colony of chipmunks I've decided to post the pro's and con's to having a dog or cat. Before we had Calie, we were always a cat family so I know well what that was like.

My yard is totally trampled!
ARRRRGGGHHHH.

Calie the wonder dog

Woof! This is Calie the wonderdog. She's 3/4's standard poodle and 1/4 yellow lab which makes her a 100% lovable Labradoodle.

As you can see, she really enjoys the snow. We always though she was part polar bear too and now we can see the truth.

We got Calie one year ago, February 2006. Our intention was to get a Wheaton terrier but when the breeder brought out this fluff ball, our hearts melted.

Don has allergies so we needed a non-allergenic type dog. Labradoodles aren't always non-allergenic but Calie has been no problem.

We don't know what it was about her that sold us but the minute they carried her in the room we just knew she was meant to be ours.

Emily is the one in the pink shirt, Lauren is in the red and white striped shirt, Calie has the brown nose :-)

Unfortunately, we hadn't had a dog before and should have started training her from the moment we brought her home.

Little dogs do things that are cute, big dogs do things that hurt. We had no idea and neither did Calie. Letting her jump on people seemed cute at first but a 70 lb dog jumping in your lap is not cute!

So join me in a photo adventure of Calie the wonder dog and I'll try to pass on some of the do's and don'ts of dog-ship.

Warning, don't click on these photos, they will be gigundo. Firefox is giving me a problem with downloading photos to this site so I'll need some help before I can get small photos here again.

Don't: Aw, how cute. Calie is trying to get her liver treats off the table, let's take a picture!


Do: Teach your dog that silence is golden and no nipping allowed.

Don't encourage your dog to hang out over the baby fence. Calie still respects the fence but knocks it down when she tries this.

Do ask for help and bring a professional in to work with your dog. Thanks Mare!


Don't let them sleep on the couch or they will ruin it.


Don't let their hair get this long or it will get knotted (matted). Even if they look cute.


If you do let their hair get matted (I was brushing her almost an hour a day at that point) DON'T let the groomer get carried away! Poor Calie needed therapy after this hair cut.

Do take your dog for lots of walks. It's not only good for the dog but good for you too! Calie and I love to hike the Walt Whitman trails in West Hills (South Huntington) New York.


Don't expect your dog to consider any available trash can as anything but a candy shop.

But most of all, Do love your dog with all your heart that's how they love you.

P.S. Note, new couch but who's still on it?