Jack's Heart isn't on his sleeve!

Jack's Heart isn't on his sleeve!
Originally uploaded by Our Enchanted Garden

Yipppeeee!
So glad I finally managed to get a shot of the heart on Jack's forehead. Far more visible when his brows aren't raised or furrowed!
It's a very subtle contrast between two shades of brown hairs but there's a heart there without a doubt.

Jack is such an interesting character, has been with us for two weeks now and has shown himself to be an incredible companion. Mia has loved his romantic attention (they're both fixed! crazy pups!) and Daisy has loved his robust playfulness!

Jack's most endearing traits are that sweet heart he wears between his ears and his amazing collection of barks! When he is being brave and playing sentry of the back yard he has a deep bark that belies his size - sounds like a big hound dog! When Jack is playing with Daisy and Mia he'll sometimes use short sharp barks, and other times he squeaks rather than barks - it is the cutest sound and always gets us giggling!

Rescuing Jack

Meet Jack

When I recently told a friend I was considering rescuing a young dog and giving him a foster home until a suitable forever home can be found for him, she wondered out loud - "what are you thinking?" Okay sure, with two dogs of our own it may seem like a wild idea to bring another dog home, but this little Jack needed some TLC and attention. He was suffering emotionally from separation anxiety and the poor little fellow had no idea or control over what happened to his owners.

He's just a pup, at 10 months old and really just wants to be loved, be safe and get to play his heart out. That's all most Jack Russells want, a safe loving home (safe, as in JRT proof!) with lots of play and stimulation plus room to run, hunt and explore! I enjoy the breed and their happy, energetic personalities. They have a reputation for being troublemakers but usually the dogs are less responsible than their owners for lack of training! Jack Russell Terriers do require a bit more attention than many other breeds and new owners often learn that the hard way.

Our family are now the proud rescuers of a total of three Jack Russells; Keisha whom we lost last winter to cancer, Mia we adopted near the end of winter when she was 6 months old, and now Jack. Our other dog, Daisy is a large black Labrador-Doberman cross, she's the youngest and yet she plays babysitter with the other dogs. We adopted Daisy when she was a tiny 6 wk old pup. We brought her home to meet Keisha during her last days with us. Meeting Keisha helped Daisy learn some respect for an older sick animal and other important socializing skills. Not long after Keisha died we began looking into adopting another Jack Russell and that's when Mia came to stay with us. Mia and Daisy have grown together like litter-mates and now Mia doesn't seem to notice Daisy is three times her size, they play and fight and romp together and then curl up and snooze together too!

Three dogs, does it seem too much? Nah! But, if I help JRTRO by rescuing and adopting Jack but then have no more room for dogs then JRTRO would lose me as a contact, other than for referrals. Instead my partner and I felt we could help get little Jack settled and more comfortable here while volunteers with Jack Russell Terrier Rescue of Ontario work to find him a suitable home. Then Jack can be paired with a loving family and our family, including our two babysitting puppies can move forward to help another stranded and frightened Jack Russell. Our two dogs, Daisy is 7 months old and Mia is 9 months or so. They never cease to amaze me and I'm thrilled to help them help others of their species. They are becoming fabulous hostesses!

So while people may wonder where my senses have gone, bringing in a foster puppy keeps our two puppies well occupied, gives them a sense of purpose and provides a wonderful gift to an animal in dire straights through no fault of his or her own. Our house is really too small for foster kids but our yard and hearts are certainly big enough to foster unfortunate animals!

HA HA; Hope Always Helps, Actually!

Depression is one of the strangest states of imbalance in a person's mental health. Getting a handle on how it affects my day to day experiences is a constant learning endeavor. I know laughter helps me cope considerably and that got me thinking. "Ha Ha, there's hope...", and then I realized; Hope Always Helps Actually! Perhaps this is why people search so for answers to the questions; why are we here, what's the point of this human existence. It's why organized religions, despite their shortcomings, have had such a hold on the human psyche. Hope seems to be an elixir for us all in our day to day lives, helping us see beyond challenges and pitfalls to the potential that is inherent in our life experiences. Hope says we have the potential to realize our dreams and to grow beyond any current situation. People who feel life is hopeless, or believe there is no hope of overcoming something negative or unpleasant in their lives can find themselves dissatisfied and disenchanted with the life they are living. The sensations, if prolonged and unaddressed can become dibilitating and can even lead to serious health problems like high blood pressure, obesity and premature aging. Laughing in the face of perceived danger may seem foolhardy and yet if a danger is only perceived but not an actual threat then it may be the very best remedy by far! Laughter releases chemicals that help the body relieve stress, fear, even pain. Laughter puts us on a different playing field, where anything just might be possible or where our imagination can ahke up new ideas and connections. Laughter even makes a person more approachable, as everyone knows a good belly laugh is infectious! We all enjoy laughter, at least everyone I know does. I use laughter where I work to help diffuse tense situations and to assist my customers by uplifting their moods, at 5:30 in the morning I think my customers appreciate the fact I have a smile on my face and a pleasant greeting for them! Well I'm hope-full this is help-full to anyone else in a similar situation!

A Pretty Magic Wand

A lucky shot with a magical feel!

Mother nature sweeps her magic wand around the garden and the trees and plants respond with their most beautiful show of growth and color. The life cycle begins in earnest as the northern hemisphere of earth awakens with vibrant life. The peach blossoms are such a delight! Delicate, intricate and colorful; five petaled, star-like beauties doing their best to attract the bees and insects that will help create some luscious fruit! Their fragrance is light, fruity and sweet! There are four families of sparrows living beside the garden. With chirping, hungry babies the parents will be a big help in keeping harmful bugs from our fruit trees. In exchange we provide a safe environment, abundant food, a fresh water supply and some of the prettiest perches in the neighborhood! Co-creation with nature, living a life enchanted; my joys and the source of my passion!

Plants, creatures and colors grow so intense in Spring!

Plants, creatures and colors grow so intense in Spring! Originally uploaded by Our Enchanted Garden

Loved the colors in this shot. Wished the bumble bee had posed a bit better but there are still some interesting aspects, angles and texture in the image. (click for larger view) Hooray for the bees and other critters that hang out in our garden! Signs that our family attempt to allow nature to have its' own balance here in Our Enchanted Garden is of some success! Generations of birds, toads, squirrels, beetles, spiders, bats, lady bugs, chipmunks, and others live in and around the immediate area where we live. We hope to eventually build a waterfall and pond with a pool area for the dogs to enjoy. Just a small setup with a "pond" for the dogs, maybe a 6' diameter kiddie pool. That might be inviting to some frogs and fireflies adding to the backyard wildlife! Most of these critters eat bugs that otherwise might damage the fruits and flowers we're growing. They help us keep the garden in good shape naturally! Natural wildlife also play a role in helping the property reclaim its biodiversity, their excrement spreading seeds of locally native plants. Some plants are allowed to survive in the garden depending on where they show up and if they are a desirable addition to the eco-environment.. Such Intense Color, such is life in spring; Intense and poised and ready to expand into its full potential and expression. What all life forms innately crave in the bowels of their being - each displaying the desire in their own ways. Life is just so Beauty Full, so said my grandma years ago and another very good friend recently! I've been convinced of the same for years and hope to remind others of the simple wonderful treasures in life we all often overlook. We move so fast, think so hard, we forget to hear our inner knowing. There can be too much distraction and static and drama in a person's focus to hear any intuitive or sub-conscious nudging. Pause a moment and celebrate the colors of the season around you and the diversity of life and nature that abound everywhere! Drink it in, breathe it in deeply while remembering to be grateful for your many blessings!

Merry Cherry Maker!

So very glad to see the honey bees in the garden busy pollinating our fruit trees, planted this time last year. What a pleasure to watch the development of fresh fruits in the back yard! Nature's spontaneity and abundant synchronicity are the "magic" that is the very fabric of existence. Here is that magic in action; the ant and the bee and a mass of flowers to explore with random, wild abandon. Yet most of the flowers seem to be successfully transformed into tiny cherries, despite the lack of any apparent plan! We humans can learn so much from that!

The Apples Begin Showing Off Their Adventures!

Sweet Signs Are showing in the garden! Sweet and tiny still, these buds are set to explode into a bright and fragrant show of beauty unfolding. The magic and miracles of life and rejuvenation on display for all to enjoy and appreciate with gratitude. Life on this fair earth is ever changing and striving to reach its full potential!

*testing, this was an old draft I forgot to post - want to see where it turns up on the blog page...

In The Garden These Days

On Thursday afternoon 4-2-09 we had a nice preview of the warmer weather to come; this shot documents it, just for fun showing the temperature at 10 C, at 1:50 in the afternoon. This was in light shade! (Ah, promising! More please!!!) In my last post I had mentioned the birds had begun their nest-building in the garden. We have a few home-made houses on the front of our little barn, you can see the grass streamers in one shot, the other has a male sparrow perched on the uppermost birdhouse. It's still too early to do much in the garden, other than cleaning things up. With rains keeping things wet I find it best to avoid trying to work the soil. It's difficult for me to be patient at this point in the garden's season. I surveyed the yard to see what will need attention soon and noticed our little statue had lost her head. When I tried to replace it she looked a bit odd! Frankenstatue?

Life In The Garden Returns - No April Fool Here!

A favorite early spring flower of mine, Blue Scillia opens just a week or two after my neighbors' little white Snow Drops. They send the clear signal that the ground is warming and our bulbs and perennials will soon start popping out of the ground. A bonus that it marks the beginning of April - we'll likely have blooms in the garden in time for the upcoming long weekend. Like Crocus, these tiny flowers multiply through garden beds and lawns and finish flowering well before the grass will need cutting and can be mowed without consequence of damage to the plants. Something else that's showing life in the garden are the young fruit trees we planted in late April last year. They were already flowering when they went in the ground so we are experiencing the early spring transformation of these trees for the first time. we have two Cherry trees; one is a sweet red cherry and the other, a sweet black cherry. They are accompanied by a lovely little peach tree that I just adore blooms on! Can't wait till I get shots with the Canon I bought last summer, the macros are much better than my previous camera even though they were good too! Macro photography and gardens go so well together - the close up images really help show off delecate blooms and details you might otherwise overlook. Insects are also interesting subjects, as are toads and mice if you can get them to sit still long enough! The peach buds surprised me by being fuzzy just like the fruit that will grow from them. A borring bit of trivia perhaps, it is true too, the cherry tree buds look different. Their outer casing is smooth and, oddly enough, reddish brown! I even double checked to be sure. Ah, spring! The birds and bugs are getting active. Nests are being built in the birdhouses, evidenced by fluttering streamers of dried grasses and old morning glory vines dangling from the little round doorways! Most of Sunday morning in the garden we were serenaded by a good mix of bird songs; crows, blue jays, morning doves, house finches, purple finches, chickadees, sparrows, goldfinches, nuthatches. red winged black birds, robins, cardinals and cedar wax wings. Looking forward to documenting and sharing a whole new season in Our Enchanted Garden!