Dakota Archives | Diana's Designs Austin

What’s down there inside of all these bluebonnets?

Who knew that dogs were so interested in bluebonnets? She’s my sniffer girl – part long-legged hound, part catahoula and part husky.

Truth be told, she’s not really that interested in the bluebonnets – but she does like having a nice winecup snack.

Last year, she uprooted all of my winecup plants in this flagstone and decomposed granite path. Apparently this beautiful trailing wildflower’s tuberous roots are quite tasty!

Side note: Dakota has also been known to dig up and eat other bulbs, like agapanthus. I dug it out of the front garden because the deer were eating it. Little did I know that the deer sent a memo to Dakota, alerting her of it’s tasty bulbs. So, now I have no safe zone … and no agapanthus.

Oops, is that a bug in there? She’ll eat them, too!

Awwww, Momma, I’m really a good girl…

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:02-06:00April 12th, 2015|Blog, bluebonnet, Dakota, path, roots, Sharing Nature's Garden, tubers, winecup|0 Comments

Chickens, chickens everywhere…

No doubt about it, chickens are in.

With surging interest in home vegetable gardens and the growing sustainability movement, chickens are becoming very popular.

They are moving from the country to the hearts of cities as gardeners everywhere branch out into these “pets with benefits.”

That’s how Jessi Bloom describes her chickens in her book, Free Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard.

I’m fascinated by chickens. I don’t have any chickens, but my husband used to. About 57,000 of them. When he was a small boy growing up in the Midwest, his family raised chickens.

I’ve heard lots and lots of chicken tales.

Which I why I was eager to read Jessi’s book when Timber Press announced its contest to win a chicken garden start-up kit as part of its promotion of Free Range Chicken Gardens. They sent me the book to review and I got to learn everything I always wanted to know about chickens but was afraid to ask my husband!

Right now they are giving away a complete chicken garden start-up kit, including:

A $50 gift card for chicken feed or supplies from McMurray Hatchery
One chicken coop plan from The Garden Coop (a $20 value)
1 lb. of organic chicken forage blend and seeds for chicken-friendly plants from Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply (a $20 value)
A copy of Free-Range Chicken Gardens

I know my husband would like to have some chickens — maybe just 56,995 or so less of them than he used to. So I figured I’d better do a little research about the chicken and the egg.

Free Range Chicken Gardens is a fascinating and beautiful photographic journey through the chicken gardens of many families, combined with excellent and honest advice for anyone wanting to raise chickens.

It’s practical — it’s chock full of advice about the benefits of raising chickens and how to avoid the pitfalls of having them in a garden.

Bloom outlines the natural soil building capabilities of chickens and how they help to keep weeds and pests under control. In addition to the plants and habitat needed to raise chickens, she provides detailed information and even design plans focused on creating a successful chicken garden and keeping your “other” plants safe. Barriers and fencing and hedgerows are all reviewed with pros and cons. And she recommends a host of diverse plants for the chickens to hide in and browse around.

I had to laugh when I got to the chapter on “The Chicken Infrastructure.” It sounds so technical, but it’s all common sense advice about the 3 Cs of the chicken garden – the chicken coop, chicken run and chicken paddocks.

It also included specifics about the different breeds, where to get them, what to feed them and how to keep them safe from predators.

Free Range Chicken Gardens is filled with information, creative plans, and inspirational photos and stories of other loving chicken gardeners and their pets.

We have a no-chicken policy in our neighborhood, so I guess I won’t be getting any chickens soon.

For now I’ll just have to settle for my other dirt-scratching, digging, plant-eating pet.

Miss Dakota.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:19-06:00February 8th, 2012|Blog, chickens, Dakota, Free Range Chicken Gardens, Sharing Nature's Garden, sustainability, timber press|0 Comments

New pup already helping me garden…

We lost our sweet boy, Tanner, to cancer in November.

We adopted him from the Humane Society on my birthday, when he was just 8 weeks old.

Soft, cuddly and adorable, he stole our hearts.

He would have been 12 on New Year’s Day.

He was a great dog and my sweet boy. He was funny and willful and full of love. He followed me everywhere. And even at almost 12 years old, you could still bend down to his soft, fuzzy head and get a whiff of that sweet puppy smell that he never lost.

He was my Tan-man, Bubbie, Scooby, Bubs, Nudge, and Mr. Man-Man.

I had to wait this long to write this post, and it’s still making me cry with every word. He deserves a loving tribute.

I know he is lying in the sunshine, chasing squirrels, and taking long naps in doggie heaven with Sierra and Sami, and waiting for us all.

I’m not sure I will ever stop missing him.

While Dakota was enjoying being the only dog and getting lots of extra lovin’ to help me ease the hole in my heart, she didn’t want to go outside, she had no one to follow around and she seemed lonely. Happily lonely, according to my dear husband, but too solitary. (A little too much time spent in her bed!)

So, I set about looking for a friend for Dakota and another pup for which to be a forever family. After a lot of looking, Fletcher found his way into our hearts and our home. He’d been returned to a shelter by his adopted family when he was injured. (Sadly, weeks after not treating his injury) His foster family raved about him and here he is.

He’s housebroken, sits on command and has learned to play fetch and drop the ball in just a week. He’s also learned to go lie in his bed when I tell him to go away in the middle of the night. He’s a smart boy and a fast learner. (But, he’s still a puppy. I’d clearly forgotten how much work that is! I haven’t had to train a puppy since Sierra about 9-10 years ago.)

Fletcher loves to play, and despite the fact that Dakota (8) didn’t play much with Tanner because of his age, she does love to play and run (fly & leap) around the yard like a kid. She’s still a little put out at times, she gets jealous and wants to make sure she’s getting her fair share of lovin’. And she takes her responsibility as the older, alpha dog seriously. (Tanner was the alpha before.) She tells Fletcher when he’s annoying her and when he’s gotten too close. And, sadly, she’s already shown him her favorite places to dig up bulbs … sigh.

And, they play. They follow each other all around, checking out noises and people going by out front, romping around the yard, jumping and wrestling with each other. They enjoy each other. Even when they are both barking, growling, and howling at each other, those tails are wagging and they are having fun. He’s good for her. I knew he would be.

Even though I still have part of that hole in my heart, it’s good to share all that love with another homeless animal.

It’s what Tanner would have wanted.

Rest in peace, my sweet bubbie-boy.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:40:02-05:00January 13th, 2012|Blog, Dakota, digging, dogs, Fletcher, puppy, Sharing Nature's Garden, Tanner|0 Comments

The garden supervisor

I went out yesterday morning to capture a few shots of water (yes, really, in Austin in July) on the garden.

I didn’t realize until I was outside that I had some supervisory assistance!

Dakota sat and watched me until she couldn’t see me any more. I’m not sure if she was wishing she could come outside, or if she was just thinking in her little pea-brain, “What in the world is that alpha-dog-woman doing now?”

Don’t you sometimes wonder what they’re thinking? I was even wondering about the squirrel who stopped in his tracks on the way up the tree when he saw me watching him through the window.

It was lush and green and moist in the garden this weekend after our several inches of welcome rain last week.
The drops on the Caladiums look like puddles on an abstract painting.
And, like most things, the droplets were dwarfed by the huge blooms of the Moy Grande Hibiscus.

And the moisture helped me see this huge spider web that spanned about 5 feet — from a tall coneflower plant to a neighboring tree. Couldn’t see anymore when I got far enough away to get the whole thing in the shot, but clearly the spider had lured in some lunch.

The rains gave everything in the garden a huge boost — so welcome since I am leaving before the chickens are up on Thursday morning — heading to Buffalo for Buffa10, our annual garden bloggers meet-up. I’m so excited to visit with friends from across the country and meet new ones, while touring amazing gardens.

Will I see you there?

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:26-06:00July 5th, 2010|Blog, Buffa10, Dakota, Moy Grande hibiscus, rain, Sharing Nature's Garden, spring fling 2010|0 Comments

Presents on the doorstep…

A big box from Gardener’s Supply Company arrived on my doorstep today.

I was excited and eager to learn its contents. But not as eager, it seems, as my bubbies, who stuck their big noses right into the middle of things.

They were so disappointed that there wasn’t anything in there for them — just boring old seed heat mats. (Maybe they will grow something we can eat later, they thought!)
They were only moderately interested as I modeled my new garden clogs. Not too interesting when they are on my feet.
(But Tanner was thinking…”oooh, I can snag one of those when she leaves them outside the back door and run off with it in the yard — now that might be fun!)

Silly dogs.

But I am psyched about my goodie box today.

Seed sowing soon!

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:42:36-05:00February 2nd, 2010|Blog, clogs, Dakota, dogs, seed heat mats, seeds, Sharing Nature's Garden, Tanner|0 Comments

Gross … really gross!

Can you say ewwwwwww?

I moved the Agapanthus, so THIS is what Dakota dug up out of the grass this week.

Disgusting. Fat and juicy and nasty. With a long spiny thing on the end. It was about 3 inches long and 1/2 inch fat. Not sure if it is a caterpillar or what, but it gave me nightmares, seriously. I suspect it’s a Giant Silk Moth caterpillar of some sort. Seems they get dug out of the grass, but I wasn’t willing to scroll too far through Google to confirm the exact kind.

Sigh.
And then she went outside and found a mushroom somewhere and as a result, threw up twice inside yesterday afternoon.

Sigh.

WHAT is with this dog??!!!!!

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:42:37-05:00November 21st, 2009|Blog, caterpillars, Dakota, digging, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Dakota

What’s down there inside of all these bluebonnets?

Chickens, chickens everywhere…

New pup already helping me garden…

The garden supervisor

Presents on the doorstep…

Gross … really gross!

Escape in the garden