Awhile back I posted a few pictures of the Mimosa tree that we planted in the backyard. Since we planted the tiny tree it has really hit a growth spurt. We couldn’t be more pleased! Here are a few more pictures of the tiny tree so that you can see how it has grown.
I admit, right now it kinda looks like a big weed in the yard, but it is starting to develop a trunk and pretty soon it will look more like a tree. I can’t wait until little Mimo gets bigger and gives us some shade in the yard.
The other day I went outside to test the pool water and I saw this guy in my yard. Even though I was on the inside of a screened in area he still startled me, to say the least, and he was slithering all over the pugs’ favorite spot to sit when the grass is still wet with dew.
He kept bumping into the screen and I couldn’t figure out what he was doing. Finally, he found his way inside the drainage strip of my pool deck. The pool area is screened in and surrounded by cool deck. About 3 feet away from the house, a drainage strip that is about a half inch wide runs along the length of the deck. The strip is made of a heavy rubber and has little slots in it that allows the water to pass through when it is not full of pug hair. The water then exits from either side of the deck.
It is hard to see it in this picture, but right underneath the gutter there is small break in the concrete of the deck. This allows the excess water to flow out. We have another hole just like this on the other side of the deck. Well, the snake is using this little tunnel to get from one side of the yard to the other side of my house! Not cool! I’m going to have to make that a toll road. Because if he wants to get to the other side of the yard he is just going to have to slither around the long way!
So needless to say, I am now paranoid every time the pugs are in the yard. I’m all for nature and wildlife, but nature can happen outside of my fence. The only critters I want inside my fence are pugs!
Last Saturday, a local Doggie Bakery held a fashion show. Luna, of course, wanted to take part and who were we to say no. To make sure everything went smoothly they held a rehearsal the night before the big event. We brought along Benjamin & Henry to cheer on their li’ sis even though they were not participating.
The boys got caught up in all the excitement and before I knew it they were participating in the fashion show as well. Luckily, they had a couple of outfits to choose from.
For the rehearsal, each participant practiced their walk down the catwalk. Luna went first and took to it like a complete natural. She did her walk and then she practiced her sit in the middle of the stage.
Henry was up next and he did a good job as well.
Benjamin finished up for the group, and while he was having a little bit of sewer anxiety (more to come on that) he did a wonderful job too. Instead of sitting though, he opted for a masculine pose.
After his turn on the catwalk, Henry decided to grab a front row seat in the audience.
I’m not sure if you can see it in the photo, but recently there has been a haze of smoke hanging around for the last few days. The smoke is from a brush fire that is burning about 20 miles north of us and depending on which way the wind is blowing the smoke and fire smell can be pretty strong at times. So far the fire has burned 3700 acres, but luckily it is moving away from homes.
Because of all of the smoke, I have been keeping Benjamin, Henry & Luna inside as much as possible. They haven’t been too happy about that and have been begging me to let them outside so they can lay on the lounge chair. They just don’t understand that it is not good for them to be outside breathing in all that smoky air.
I wouldn’t say that Luna is a very barky dog. She rarely barks at people or cars when they pass by the house. However, she is very assertive and she will bark to tell you that she wants something.
The first time I noticed this was during dinner shortly after we adopted her. We sat down to eat and all the pugs were at our feet hoping to get some scraps, when out of the blue, Luna just starts barking at us. Demanding that we give her some. Benjamin and Henry almost fell over when Luna did this because they know the most effective begging tactic is to put on your cutest face and look like you are starving. Mommy falls for that every time. Barking, whining and scratching, however, get you no where.
Luna also frequently barks at the boys when she wants them to play with her in the yard. She usually barks at Henry and Henry is very good at ignoring her. Here is a little clip of Benjamin, Henry & Luna playing in the yard the other night and Luna barking her head off because she wants Henry to chase her. Notice how , in the beginning, Henry is totally tuning her out.
When we moved to our new house 2 years ago, we thought it would be great to have a Mimosa tree in the backyard. A Mimosa tree has very unique leaves and gets the best pink, powder-puff like blooms. It is also a great shade tree.
So we went to different nurseries hoping to find a Mimosa tree to plant. To our surprise, a Mimosa tree was very hard to come by and the few we did find were very expensive. After a year and a half of searching, we walked by a Mimosa tree while walking the pugs and noticed tons of seed packets laying on the ground. We picked up a few and thought we would try our hand at growing a Mimosa tree from a seed.
We didn’t get our hopes up, so we were more than thrilled when about two weeks after we planted the seeds, we had a little baby Mimosa tree
After the seed sprouted, we have been keeping a close eye on it and transferring it to bigger and bigger pots. Each time we transplanted it, we crossed our fingers and hoped that we didn’t kill the little tree. Last weekend, Mimo was ready for a new pot and we decided that instead of getting a bigger pot it was time to plant her in the backyard. So, we picked the perfect spot for Mimo with the help of Benjamin, Henry & Luna.
They were very eager to help and pleased to have something new in the yard that they can go potty on. Lets just hope that Mimo can hold up to her frequent waterings!
