This pretty much describes the activity around here yesterday. Olga cannot get enough of sunbathing! See how our roses have begun to bloom?
I had a fairly busy morning. I did laundry, changed our sheets and towels and cleaned up a bit around the house.
I planted this penstemon that's been living in a pot for a couple of years. It was pot-bound and not really flourishing, so hopefully getting it in the ground will solve that problem. I consider this a major achievement. You know how I hate digging holes.
Look at the size of this burdock! It practically blocks the path up the side of the garden. I know people consider these plants weeds but I think they're fascinating. Dinosaur plants, Dave calls them.
Olga likes to eat dirt. We have no idea why she does this but usually she's standing up. Yesterday she couldn't be bothered, but lying down she had a little trouble getting leverage.
According to Google, "Dogs eat dirt for a variety of reasons, often related to their nutritional needs, behavioral quirks, or even as a way to self-medicate. Some common reasons include seeking minerals and nutrients, alleviating gastrointestinal discomfort, exploring scents and flavors, or simply due to boredom."
Dave tries to stop her but I just let her go for it.
About a week ago Dave brought home a package of British wild garlic. It was in a box with a plastic cover, and a few nights ago we decided we'd better use it, so Dave unboxed and washed it -- and a slug fell out! Not a very big one. I felt so bad for the little guy, having lived in our refrigerator for a week, that I set him loose in the garden. I don't see how one more slug could make much difference, and we know he's a British slug since he was in a package of British garlic. Hence I am not violating any DEFRA rules by releasing an exotic species. Fare well, refrigerator slug!
Ugh! A refrigerator slug. I don’t know if I could have been so kind. I mean, blech!
ReplyDeleteI love watching Olga’s rump and hind legs go in the air as she eats dirt. I’d be with Dave on that which would mean she’d continue to do it when I wasn’t looking. I think the burdock is glorious.
She made me laugh with that hilarious body movement. She's such a freak.
DeleteI would have put the slug in one of the neighbour's gardens......neither of them care for their plots! ( the young couple recently moved in on one side might in the future...they have come from a London flat and know nothing of gardening!)
ReplyDeleteHa! We have lots of space and the back of the garden runs pretty wild, so I figured the slug could make a home there.
DeleteCan you actually buy packs of wild garlic, blimey London is a different world!
ReplyDeleteThe slug would have had a very short life here.
Ha! Yes, apparently wild garlic can be bought -- in this case at our specialty butcher.
DeleteHow could a slug survive in a refrigerator? Maybe they can hibernate?
ReplyDeleteWe don't know the benefit of dirt for dogs.
They survive the winter outdoors, so I guess a refrigerator might only slow them down!
DeleteI'm glad you let the slug free, it would have a good time in that burdock you wouldn't even notice it had been nibbled.
ReplyDeleteExactly. For the most part the slugs are welcome to nibble. It's only certain plants (my dahlias!) that I get defensive about.
Delete"Fare well, refrigerator slug!"
ReplyDelete"I will indeed fare well as I intend to fornicate with every female London slug I can find - thereby creating a population explosion in a corner of West Hampstead that contains all the food my progeny could possibly desire. As it says somewhere in The Bible - 'Go forth and multiply!' ".
That pretty much describes the situation, I'm sure!
DeleteThe slug probably felt it had enjoyed a short winter and is now ready to live life to the full. Well done for giving it its freedom. Everything has its place in the universe.
ReplyDeleteExactly! It's not the slug's fault that it's a slug!
DeleteYou learn something new every day in Blogland and today I learned two things -- dogs eat dirt (and it's not a bad thing) and slugs can survive in the fridge. Who knew? The garden is looking great and I loved today's video.
ReplyDeleteI would love to know what's going through her mind as she thinks, "Yum! Dirt!" I mean, WHY, when she has a bowl of dog food inside?
DeleteWe are on yard duty today, mowing and pruning and cleaning, but after seeing that first pic, I wanna "Olga" in the yard!
ReplyDeleteOlga as a verb! LOL
DeletePenstemon! All I know about it is that it was a vital clue in a Foyle's War, where Sam spots someone who doesn't know what it is though pretending to be a gardener. Yes, I do watch too many mysteries!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd ever heard of a penstemon until we moved to England. Maybe we call it something else in the USA? Or maybe it doesn't grown down in Florida, my home state.
DeleteThe garden is looking good. Aaack, a slug!
ReplyDeleteDouble aaack -- it's in the refrigerator!
DeleteWhy do you hate digging holes? Just curious. Both our dogs love eating grass, the cat too. I imagine it's a salad for them, which is fine, but a few days ago I had to pull grass out of Heidi's anus.
ReplyDeleteWe have very hard, clayey soil -- particularly when it's dry -- and it's just hard work. I have a metal detector and I never use it partly because I'd have to DIG!
DeleteI do not specifically recall any of our dogs eating dirt. Grass, yes. Maurice has a few plants that she likes to delicately nibble on at times. But honestly, I'm not sure I even realized that dogs would eat dirt. Olga seems enthusiastic about it, though.
ReplyDeleteThat burdock thrills me. I'm not kidding. Dinosaur plant indeed!
I'm glad you freed the slug.
I don't remember my dogs eating dirt when I was a kid. But yeah, Olga goes at it with gusto!
DeleteHere dogs love to eat snow. It's probably another way to get water. As kids we used to eat snow.
ReplyDeleteOlga eats snow too, on the rare occasions that we have some.
DeleteThat photo of Olga kind of makes my back hurt. Animals seem perfectly comfortable positioning themselves in all kinds of awkward poses. I think that slug would have met a different fate at my house. That would have been after I let out a tiny scream and backed away. It was lucky to have been discovered at your house.
ReplyDeleteShe does look like she'd be uncomfortable, doesn't she?!
DeleteBest Video On The World Wide Webbie !!! Living The Vegan Lifestyle , We Must Pop B Vitamins - Apparently , Cows Pull Those Nutrients From The Soil As They Much On Grass That Created The B's In Their Guts That We Consume From Steak - Queen Olga Girls Says That She Needs Steak - Well , Dirt Away - Must Eat Steak She Says - Or A Just Because Treats From Uncle T
ReplyDeleteBe Well Brother Reed ,
Cheers
I knew you'd like that video! I can see how soil might give her some nutrients, but I really think she does it just for fun.
DeleteWhat could be more organic than finding a slug in your garlic? Minnie doesn't eat dirt but she will eat grass, not just any grass, she's particular about which grass, when her stomach is upset.
ReplyDeleteOrganic, for sure! And a wild slug, no less, since it's not farmed garlic.
DeleteI've always heard that if dogs start eating grass or dirt, it meant that rain is on it's way. But I think your research is probably more accurate.
ReplyDeleteHa! Why does everything seem to predict rain, from achey bones to achey teeth?
DeleteSo if you were to ever move, are there any plants from your garden you'd dig up and take with you? What about the avocado? I can't remember if you ended up planting it outside or just continue moving it in and out.
ReplyDeleteThe avocado is still in a pot, albeit a very large one that could not be easily moved. I guess what we'd take might depend on where we were moving and what kind of outdoor space we'd have. If we had another garden I might take a few things.
DeleteI would have to throw out that whole package of garlic including the slug. Ugh! Gross!
ReplyDeleteHa! We just washed it up and ate it, which in retrospect is a little gross, I agree.
DeleteWe have tons of slugs around here and I'm not a fan, especially when they feast on the leaves of my annuals.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan either, but I didn't want to kill it after it had been through so much!
DeleteWhen I was a kid I craved the dust off of the bricks on our house - it was crunchy to eat (the bricks were new). I think maybe I was needing a mineral of some kind too!
ReplyDeleteOh, that's funny. I've heard of pica in people (as opposed to dogs), when they eat dust or dirt for nutritional reasons. But I would have thought it was mostly gone in the modern age!
DeleteNo slugs in my garden or packaged food. Not yet anyway.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, people found an occasional poisonous spider wrapped inside packaged bananas.
Like you, I appreciate large leaf plants. My favorite was a Montana Hosta. Unfortunately, the deer ate it.
Your roses are lovely too.
We have some hostas and the slugs love them. Ours don't have leaves nearly as big as the burdock, though!
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