Dogfest, roaring water, cracking rocks

The most interesting thing this week was a trip to Rockville for Dogfest at the Doggy Dude Ranch. Unfortunately, Reinee had an anxiety attack about being there with all those dogs and owners. She'd been there once before, as a test, to see if we could leave her for a few hours, and she did OK, but yesterday she went bonkers and had an attack of extreme dandruff and shedding, her way of expressing high anxiety.


In the yard, I just keep after the weeds. The stakes holding the honeysuckle away from the back fence (so that they don't get herbicided by the city) gave way, and I had to find a new way to tie the wire trellis back. The wind really works those over. It's still a temporary fix but will help for now. We found another apricot that had survived the April 6 freeze -- so now we have two apricots (that's individual fruit, not trees). Aphids are attacking the apricot and the plum. I've seen ladybugs, but they are not keeping up with the supply of aphids, so I hose the undersides of the leaves off every couple of days.

The birds must be feeding hordes of little ones. They've been eating a quart of thistle seed, a quart of sunflower seed, and two quarts of mixed wild bird food (mostly millet) every day.

Our run through the hills was interesting today. The road ahead didn't look like much, though after a while I could see we were approaching a chasm, no uncommon thing around here. Then I noticed a faint roaring sound, which I ultimately realized must be water. Surely, there's not that much water in the river, I thought; there must be a waterfall, or at least some rapids. And then we saw ...

We think this is the dam that provides power for the local irrigation water system. Our street is one of the older ones, so we don't have irrigation water. We have to use culinary water for our plants, so we are definitely in favor of xeriscaping.

Along the side of this chasm, there is an extensive web of clefts in the rock.

Many of the cracks would be easy to step over, and there are photogenic scenes beyond them, but I'm afraid to pursue them because Reinee is busy chasing lizards through the brush as I work. I'm afraid a lizard may go over the edge, and she might slip into a crack. She's a leaper, and would be OK if she saw what was there, but I don't want to take the chance.

She never catches the lizards, who slip by faster than a shadow, but she loves the chase. Here she is saying, "Just one more lizard, Mom?"

On the way back to the car, we see a couple of large vultures headed toward Virgin. I dream of spotting one of the condors someday.