Thursday, September 12, 2013

an undone task...done

Long ago I put up on my website that I was going to build a pyramid to mark the grave of my trusty ol' dog Goldie.  Coyotes almost dug her up the morning after I buried her, so her grave has been marked all this time with just some concrete reinforcing wire and some rocks to keep the critters out.  A couple of years ago, I decided that a raised bed for plants would be a better option to mark her spot.  Since I moved that pile of wood chips yesterday - I figured it was about time I built the raised bed (projects here tend to have a domino effect).  It took half a day and a lot of rocks to build a 9' diameter / 20" tall wall of stone.  Gonna let the chips age and build soil till next year before I decide on what to plant in there.

While I was gathering my rocks, I disrupted the home of a salamander.  I took her picture while she checked me out from her foyer then put her rock porch roof back.  Her name is Sally.  80,90,68,0,B,0

9 comments:

Chris Miller said...

Wow... we didn't even know you had a dog, JW! That salamander sure is a beauty... sure it's not a gecko though?

Beautiful dry stack just like your wall. We're going to follow your lead and do something similar for our native garden bed. I hope it holds up as good as yours has.

Been so dang busy with our place that we haven't checked out your blog as much as we used to. We're going to play catchup for a few days here and hopefully get back in the loop. :) You really should come out for a beer sometime.... we were hoping to see you on the last 2 trips to the Robert's. Maybe something a little smaller would do?

Chris Miller
Our180.com - One Family's Journey To Finding True Happiness

Dizzy-Dick said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dizzy-Dick said...

Very nice memorial and you will have a beautiful flower bed to look at and remember the good times with your pal.

Rita B. said...

Excellent memorial to Goldie. I'm not wise as to what blooms the best in the dessert other than ocitillo and cactus but i know you'll find something appropriate to plant.

John Wells said...

Chris Miller - yeah, I know it's actually a gecko but Sally Salamander sounds better than Sally Gecko.

Rev.jimmyleebob said...

Got a platoon of geckos in my house.Not quite as nice as the insurance dude. These guys are vicious bug assassins. Nice monument John...well done!

pamit said...

That's a gorgeous planter-memorial. How about one of those tall beautiful agaves (Agave americana, or century plant)? Of course, you will probably be with Goldie when it blooms (once in 70 years or so).

Compost Bob said...

John - here's a link to some desert plant ideas that would provide you with a beautiful memory of your long-time "friend" and that would also provide your greenhouse with some near-by bee activity that is always helpful. Nice work on the raised-bed!!
Link: http://cdri.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/Fave-Five-Plants-2008.pdf
Compost Bob

Ted said...

John, I am an animal person, having 12 dogs myself. I feel your need to memorialize Goldie in some way. As my heard passes I have them cremated and place them in a memorial shrine in my house. For Goldie a wonderful plant may in fact be a Century Plant.