Today I have a few subjects I’ve been meaning to follow up on, though they are not necessarily related to each other!
Yard Project
Way back in the spring I filled you in on our plans to clean up our yard to try to reduce the fleas and ticks. My last update was back in early June. My hubby did a lot of hard work since then, clearing brush and cutting trees, and we really came a long way. We also talked to a landscaper and he suggested using cedar oil along the fence line to kill insects (this is safe for people and pets)….we used a brand called Cedarcide, and you mix it with water and spray it around. I’m happy to report we haven’t seen a flea or tick since spring, unless we had taken the dogs for a walk.
We didn’t care for the all natural spot on treatment we tried…it was too messy, and didn’t seem to work on the ticks. We got a flea/tick tag to try on Cricket (Luke chews on Sheba’s tags but not Cricket’s), and I just finally got some spray to use on the other dogs for when we go on walks. I think the ticks have slowed way down this summer, but we did find one on Samantha when she got out of the house and was outside the yard where we had sprayed. We really feel that the yard clearing and the cedar oil have made a big difference. We’re not sure on the other things yet, we’ll see how the fall goes, when the ticks seem to have a resurgence.
As with any home improvement project, this one snowballed….and now we have a huge area cleared out which we hope to turn into lawn and more usable yard. We burned some of the brush last weekend for our Labor Day party, which was fun. You can see the remnants of the burn pile, and a nice pile of firewood in the photo below.
The Drinkwell Pagoda Fountain
Some of you may remember we won a great fountain water dish at K9 Kamp, and then it later got broken. I am so happy to report that my hubby was able to fix it, and it’s back in use! I put it in what I hope is a safer location. Luke still seems to be the only one using it much, but we still hope in time the other dogs and cats will as well.
More Winnings
I also wanted to share with you this book I won from Peggy at The Writer’s Dog. I’d like to tell you how great it was, but I haven’t read it yet! It’s not real long, 154 pages, so my plan is to sit down some rainy weekend autumn day and take a break from it all and just enjoy relaxing with this book. I included the back cover so you can see what it’s about….it sounds like such a great story and I love that it takes place in our neighboring state of Vermont.
Blogiversary
August has been a crazy busy month here, but can you believe I completely blew by our 2 year blogiversary, and almost forgot about it? I technically started the blog on August 21st, 2012 with a “Welcome” post, but my first real post didn’t go up until September 1st, so I think of the September date as more of my anniversary. Either way, I was just too busy with company that weekend, as well as Cricket’s birthday, to be able to make a big deal about it. Maybe next year!
SnapLeash Giveaway
Yesterday I posted a review of this really cool leash, and we are also giving one away! So if you haven’t read it yet, get on over and enter to win one of your own. Click here to be taken to that post.
Cricket’s Birthday
Thank you everyone for the wishes for Cricket’s 10th birthday! I planned to post some photos today, but this is already lengthy enough and I ended up with a lot I wanted to share! I will post some hopefully on Monday. I just want to say this…..Cricket is only our second dog to make it to the age of 10, and we are so grateful that she is still with us and is happy and healthy. She is a very active girl, and I hope that will help her to live a long, long life. We just love her so much. Thanks to our friend Jenna from Love is Being Owned By a Husky for sending Cricket this nice card via Twitter.
Your yard looks wonderful. I am glad all that hard work is helping to control the pests. Congrats on your winnings. I have such a long line of books to read….lol. Hopefully soon.
Thank you! I’m glad the hard work is paying off too.
I actually read that book last Sunday! Of course, it was a headache that got me to lie down and read, but I still enjoyed it!
What a great follow up, I hear ya on how one project leads into more. So nice the water fountain is back in action. I blow by stuff too and forget all about it. Happy 2 years blogging and to many more!
Thank you!! I sure hope I can keep it up for a lot longer!
Wow, what a lot of work you’ve been doing. Interested to hear that cedar oil appears to be working for you and that it’s safe. I wonder if it would be a good option for apply to our pants cuffs when we go hiking?
I think it might be, and I believe that company makes products that are specifically for that use. I think I might try it myself next year. I love the smell of cedar, so that’s a bonus!
Your yard is looking great! I know it is a relief to have all of the underbrush gone. It’s awesome that the water fountain was repaired. Congratulations on the blogoversary! ♥♥♥
Thank you!!! It is so nice to have the yard cleaned up, I feel like I can breathe again! I love the woods but they were just getting too close!
I totally missed Cricket’s birthday!! Eep! Happy, happy 10th birthday, dear Cricket!!
Thank you, Maggie!!!
great that you could fix the fountain, I wish I had such golden hands too :o)
I’m sure all will love it after a while, this fountains are just great!
Having a hubby does come in handy sometimes. 🙂
I think if the fountain was located where our other water was, they would all use it more. But it has to be plugged in and there’s no outlet there. I do think it will come in time for the others though. We may take away the other dish sometimes, but not until it’s cooler weather, to see if that helps.
I think our whole family would love that fountain! Glad you were able to repair it. That is pretty cool that your yard is fairly pest free. We are out so much walking, tracking, etc, it wouldn’t help us out much. Happy Weekend!
We definitely stick close to home more, playing in the yard, but we do also want to get out more this fall so do need to solve the other side of the issue too.
Looks like you have made a lot of progress. Cleaning the yard up will help with snakes too.
Oh, I didn’t think of that….great point! We don’t see them in the dog yard too much, but they scare the c–p out of me in my veggie garden area when I see one, which is more often!
wow! Look at all that stuff you’ve got done! Busy summer huh? Well done!
So glad you liked the bday card. And I’m happy to hear your fountain got fixed too! I know you were upset about that, so woohoo!!!!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
We really do love that fountain, and I’m so glad it’s fixed! It has been a very busy summer here….it seems like it always is, which is probably why it flies by so fast!