The Garden Thread - November, 2025

I know we were under a foot (Ridgeway Township) - though Beau begs to differ. He hasn’t even begun to plow us out, yet.

He helped plow in Madison yesterday and they had 12-14” of REALLY heavy snow - he was near the lake making sure the, ‘Wealthy ‘Housewives of Shorewood Hills’ didn’t get any snow on their Manolo Blahnik shoes! ;)

They really ARE pretty shoes. My bunion and I are just JEALOUS!

https://www.manoloblahnik.com/us/

I failed to properly secure the row cover on the turnip bed. Wind blew it off overnight. No bueno.

Howard, for the most part, had a good holiday weekend. Until yesterday evening. We were having tv time, he was being a good boy, playing with his toys, wrassling with Booger, just doing dog things. Then, right in front of us, he squatted down and peed on the living room carpet. And it wasn't just a little pee, it was a freaking fire hose pee.

Mrs. Augie and I were both imbedded in the recliner and couldn't get up quickly enough to stop him. By his reaction to the scolding it was obvious that he had done that before and been treated horribly for it. I wasn't harsh with him when I grabbed his collar, but the yelling had already started - he knew that he was in trouble and absolutely panicked. At this point I'm adding "thrown around by the collar" to the list of abuses he suffered at the hands of his previous "caretakers".

We've started teaching him to ring the jingle bells on the doorknob when he wants to go outside, and he's done it a few times already, but it takes a bit of time for doggos to get the hang of that, so I'm not holding it against him. Mrs. Augie, on the other hand, is less than pleased.

On the bright side, it's also obvious that he was crate trained before he made his way to us. He's quite content to be there, and last night he spent the night indoors. He went the entire night without making any noise. I let him out first thing this morning, then brought him in and fed him. Half an hour later he barked at me a couple times so I took him out again so he could do his business - proof that he knows to ask out. He just needs to figure out that he has to do the same when he's not in the crate.

We WILL get through this. With any good luck Howard and I will still be allowed to sleep indoors by the end of it. lol

“With any good luck Howard and I will still be allowed to sleep indoors by the end of it. lol”

Howard has come SUCH a long way. And I’m so pleased that you are taking the time to figure out what was done to him, previously. For a dog that was more than likely abused, he is doing GREAT!

There needs to be a special Ring in H#ll for people that abuse children and animals. Grrrrr! (I know! No Growling - but sometimes I can’t help it!)

I'm starting to figure out that Howard is a nester. The nice crate pad I got for him lasted less than a week. He was buried in the mess when I got up this morning. There was nothing but his big old noggin sticking out. Wish I'd been quick enough to snap a pic before he moved. lol

But that's OK. He's happy and quiet all night, every night, since he started sleeping indoors.

He's also decided that he likes the snow. He doesn't want to stay out in the cold for very long, but he has quite a time when he's out there.

Temps here have below 20° for the last four or five nights. Spinach in the greenhouse looks pretty good still. I may harvest the rest of the turnips tomorrow. It's supposed to get into the upper 30s during the day. I know the roots will be fine. If the tops are salvageable I'll clean them up, cook them, then bag and freeze for later.

Pops is still in the crash house. He's going to the cardiac cath lab for a nerve ablation procedure this afternoon. Mrs. Augie will be there to keep the med staff in line.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.