Part I Summer 2017 Doubtful Dahlias

  Today, Friday, I remembered that I had not planted my Dahlia Bulbs.  I hope it's not too late. I found them in the cellar today when I was looking for my garden hose.  Actually, that's not quite accurate.  I've been searching for the garden hose and accidentally came across it today when I went downstairs to look for the dahlia bulbs.  Anyway, I sort of recall last fall that I was considering leaving them in the ground because for the last 4 or 5 years there have been so very few blooms, even though the plants have appeared  healthy.  We tried fertilizing one year,then not, breaking the bulb clusters apart, or leaving them together, even planting them in different areas.  But the flowers were sparse regardless.  So when we had an early fall snowfall, I said to heck with digging them up.  But then the snow completely melted and I must have wanted to be outside: the date on the newspaper wrapping them is Nov.18, though I probably waited a week or so before putting the wrapped bulbs to rest.
   So today, I brought them around to the front yard, near the mailbox where for several years they presented a splendid array of red floral beauty.  The site is pictured above.  I warn myself not to get my hopes up, because in addition to their recent history of failure, these bulbs appeared quite desiccated, with only minor signals of life .  But, as my mother always said about any weak or ailing living thing, I'm "giving them a chance."
    While I was sitting on the ground, digging as deep as my poor rotator cuff will allow, I saw a dark shadow fairly close above. I looked up and a wide-spanned chicken hawk leveled down across our front yard into the area of Nellie's chicken coop.  She told me the other day, she was planning to put wire over their run.  I hope the chickens went into hiding.
One of the hazards of being outside in this beautiful weather and working the soil is the danger of being assaulted by ticks.  They say this year is even more problematic than usual.  I am finding this to be true, as witness my tick collection below.  I've been bitten only 3 of the times, as far as I know. But I'm on an antibiotic that is supposed to prevent me from contracting tick-borne disease, at least some of them, and at least as far as they know.