dobermannpinscher.org – Page 77 – Dobermann Pinschers

Verawood Trees

I LOVE Verawood trees. They give off a lovely yellow flower and their leaves close to sleep at night. I also LOVE a good bargain. Yesterday, I was coming home from a dental appointment, and I saw a 50% off, going-out-of-business sign at a nursery. So, I stopped.

I found 3 Verawood trees in 2 pots, which I got for $10!

So I repotted them this morning. To the left, in the big yellow pot, is a Verawood tree I bought several years ago for $25. It is lovely, but is getting sick of being in a pot. I don’t want to plant it at my current house, though, so like many of my other potted babies, I am trying to keep it healthy until we move, so I can plant it then and there.

I have a little one that sprouted from a seed from a pod on the original tree. I planted this one last year.

This is what a seed pod looks like. They grow on the tree after the yellow flowers depart.

They aren’t as easy to sprout as I thought, though. I put 7 seeds in 7 pots, and only 1 sprouted.

Trees and Plants

21

Birds

Today, the conure parrots dropped by in one of my trees. I ran inside to get the camera, but by the time I arrived, they had moved to a neighboring tree. I could hear them all over in trees that were in other yards than mine. This is a picture from a few weeks ago.

But there was a very interesting bird in my tree when I returned to the parrotless tree with camera.

She looked like this when fluffing her feathers.

And this from the side:

And this from the back:

What kind of bird is she? I don’t know.

Birds

21

Rainy Day with Mushroom Soup

Tonight I soaked the Shitake mushrooms I bought at Costco in hot water. Then I added the water and all to Miss Ginger’s squash, chicken, and rice medley. She had issues with the mushrooms themselves, but liked the soup, which is supposed to be where the polysaccharides (cancer fighting agents) end up…and that’s what she needs.

Afterwards, I shut the crate and we were all supposed to move on outside, but all of “we” didn’t. Who remained were a hefty crew staring in at Ginger’s dinner mushroom remnants. When I opened the crate door, of course, Raven got first dibbs and finished the mushrooms Ginger didn’t.

Now shortly thereafter, I went back and read the directions from a portion of a file I found at the yahoo groups I joined – Canine Cancer.

“The way to get polysaccharides from mushrooms is through a hot water extract. Hot water extract also means we can do it at home. Buy shitake, reiki, maitake, and (impossible to find except in Asian markets) coriolus versicolor, whip them up with water in a blender, and bring the puree to a boil. You now have that hot water extract, full of protein-bound polysaccarides and polysaccharide peptides, which can be poured over their food and, hey, even over ours…”

I didn’t do that whip them up in water to a puree part. Thank goodness I went back and re-read the directions, so I can get it right next time.

After Raven ramsacked Ginger’s crate, and others had the nerve to touch Ginger’s non-mushroom stuff, well, Ginger was peeved. She stayed in a peeved mood for minutes snarling at anyone who walked by.

Then she overcame, and decided to be Ginger again.

Meanwhile, today it was very rainy and there was not much outside playtime going on in Fort Doberdale.

The brown blanket hanging off the fence in the above picture is one of the many peed-on blankets waiting for a turn to be washed. I couldn’t wash today being I hang them to air dry. I’ve been finding this pee-on-the-blankets tradition has started up again lately, and I’m getting tired of washing the same blankets everyday, so I’ve gone back to chaining the juvenile pair to the futon when I am not able to watch them. Housebreaking can try one’s nerves!

Ginger, Raven

20

Raven’s Last Meal