You don’t have to own a pet to be fond of one

ANIMAL lovers often find themselves in circumstances that are less than ideal for owning pets. Travelling or changing residencies often, working long hours, living in a very small apartment or a building that doesn’t allow animals, having housemates or family members that are allergic to certain animals, or a lack of funds can all make pet owning stressful rather than enjoyable for both the pet and the person.

Although you may not have any pets at home, there are many secrets to vicarious pet ownership.

You may be able to receive regular doses of fuzzy affection by being “aunt” to many animals, and this is only one of many ways for animal lovers to enjoy the friendship of an animal without committing to pet ownership.

If you have a relative, friend, or neighbour who is thinking of adopting a pet, you can tag along to choose the pet and share in the excitement of shopping for all the essentials - the bowls, the bed, the first bag of food, the squeaky toys. If you’re lucky, you may get the title “aunt” or “uncle” bestowed upon you.

As an aunt or uncle of an animal, you get the honour of the owner’s trust with their beloved pet, and you develop a long-term relationship with the animal. You will likely be called upon for regular pet sitting, and you can offer to walk or care for the animal when the owner is sick or gets stuck late at work.

Having a “niece- or nephew-pet” also gives you a reason to browse the local pet store to buy little gifts and, like having a human niece or nephew, you have the benefit of being the good guy, leaving most issues of training and discipline to its owners.

If you are in a situation that allows you to make a temporary commitment to a pet, fostering may be an option. Many organisations need foster caregivers for cats and dogs while they await permanent adoption.

If you just need a small dose of cold noses, volunteering at a local animal shelter can give you some hands-on time with animals. Sometimes pet store chains need volunteers to handle animals for special adoption days.

Organisations unique to your community may have unique volunteer opportunities available.

For example, veterinary clinics may allow volunteers to spend time lending a hand if many of the pets’ owners live hours from the hospital, the pet may have to stay for several days of treatment without seeing their owner, so hospital volunteers keep the patients from getting lonely, playing with and petting them.

For horse lovers, some stables may need volunteers to help groom, tack, and handle horses for non-profit events or activities such as hippotherapy programs that utilize horses for physical or mental therapy.

So, fellow animal lover, if you do not and cannot own a pet right now, you don’t have to resort to wandering around the local dog park, trying to blend in while sneaking pats-on-the-head and occasional hugs from other people’s dogs; you may be needed as a vicarious pet owner, dog-sitter, pet walker, aunt or uncle, foster caregiver, or volunteer.

Flower of the week: Zinnias - If you grow them butterflies will come

Zinnias will reward you with bundles of colorful blooms in the summer provided that you give them rich, loamy soil in a sunny place. Don’t over-water! Zinnias like hot, dry weather.

Cut them frequently to encourage branching and to prolong blooming. Resist the urge to line plants up singly as an edging; zinnias are more appealing as an irregular mass of bright colours.

The flowers have a range of appearances, from a single row of petals, to a dome shape, with the colours white, chartreuse, yellow, orange, red, purple and lilac.

Be aware that zinnias dislike root disturbance. Harden them off gradually by setting flats outdoors for a few hours each day.

Transplant carefully after weather is reliably warm, trying not to expose the roots. Water seedlings upon planting but infrequently during summer. When growth resumes, give them a light application of fertilizer.

The hairy leaves of zinnias are prone to powdery mildew in humid areas and during late summer and fall, when dew is heavy.

Space plants to give them adequate air circulation and avoid overhead watering, which spreads the mildew spores. No one will notice if you have removed infected leaves before filling a vase with an assortment of festive zinnias.

Zinnias excel as cut flowers; their rigid stems hold long-lasting blossoms that don’t drop petals. They are especially favoured by butterflies, and many gardeners add zinnias specifically to attract them.

Grab a camera: 12 tips to take better garden pictures

*Shoot early in the morning. Follow this tip and you will take better garden pictures all season long, guaranteed. The light is softer early in the day, and flowers and leaves often have dew or raindrops that can add interest, especially for close-ups.

*Mornings are also ideal for low wind. There is often no breeze or wind early in the day, which cuts down on motion-blur to keep your flower and garden scenes sharp.

*Bright, sunny afternoons are the worst time to take pictures. That’s because the sun casts contrasty shadows that look black, and the harsh light washes out flower colours. However, another good time for pictures is in early evening when the light becomes soft and warm again.

*Calm, overcast days also let you take better garden pictures. On such days, the bright white sky acts as a huge reflector, intensifying leaf and flower colours. Just be sure to compose your pictures, so that you crop out sweeps of white sky.

*White sky can confound your camera’s light meter. This can make the subject of your picture look too dark. If you leave the sky out of your composition, you will avoid this problem.

*Use a tripod. It’s difficult to keep a camera completely steady without a tripod. Hand-held photographs, especially those taken in lower light conditions often suffer from “camera shake.” The result: blurry pictures from camera movement.

*A tripod makes a great tool for better composition. Even with cameras and lenses that have “anti-shake” technology, using a tripod forces you to slow down and take more time to compose and frame your pictures.

*Weed and groom your garden before taking pictures. Things your eye skips over in real time - dry twigs or faded flowers, or a hose left on the grass - are very distracting in a photo, so look carefully before you press the shutter.

*Fill the frame with your subject. Get in close for a great picture of your perfect peony, and keep your background as uncluttered as possible. Don’t put flowers smack-dab in the middle of the photo. If your subject is in shade, avoid bright backgrounds.

*Focus on what it is that drew you to take that particular picture. Most people try to get too much into a single photo. Emphasize your subject and crop unnecessary details out. Keep asking yourself: What is this picture really about?

*For a fresh take on your garden, try different view points. We all get used to seeing our own gardens from particular places. To break out of the predictable, get down low to photograph low-growing plants, or take a stepladder or shoot from an upstairs window to look down a garden bed. Try photographing from behind or even in a flowerbed.

*To take better garden pictures, use lines in the landscape to suggest depth. Cameras turn three-dimensional subjects into flat two-dimensional photos. A common pro trick to add depth is to use lines in a scene on a diagonal.

Take better garden pictures for planning:

*Take lots of photos through the season. This is easier than ever with digital as you don’t have to worry about the cost of film and developing.

Go out every two to three weeks. Then use the photos to keep a record of what you like - such as great plant combinations - or to assess areas that need improvement.

*A panoramic view is useful for visualizing change. Stand in one spot and take two or three different garden photos, making sure each frame overlaps the previous one slightly.

* Then you can tape your prints together for a complete overview of the garden.

* Even better, with a photo-editing program on your computer, you can ‘stitch’ digital pictures together to create a single image.

* Blow this picture up, print it, and cover it with see-through tracing paper.

You can draw on the tracing paper to help you visualize landscaping changes, such as what your garden will look like when young trees have grown taller.