Psyche!

I took today off as a paid day from work. 

Kinda had to. 

My employers have a cap on how many hours you can accrue and I was coming very close to the dead line.  This happened last year too as I like to take vacation time when the weather is nice (i.e. NOT in Winter)

Last year I took a week off in March and swore I'd never do that again.  Cold, nasty and rainy it was.  Yuck.  A big, fat waste of my time.

So this year I'm just taking a day off here and there as needed until my big Annual April Staycation.

Anyhow, yesterday was a lovely day.  Sunshine and in the 60's.  I was outside for most of the day working in the yard.

I removed the pine straw from the strawberry beds, curious as to what I'd find.

Psyche! 

No...Let us have the truth now, Tami.

Here's the garden as of this morning. 
 

After I'd done some weeding, prepped the hoop house bed and the onion bed. 

I'd hoped that maybe I'd plant all my Spring stuff (lettuce, peas, carrots and onions) this coming weekend but the forecast is for temps in the 40's and low's in the twenties so I think I'll have to delay things a bit longer.

Mama Nature psyching me back, I suppose.  Experience has taught me though, that when Spring hit's in the South, she hits hard. 

As in BAM!

So we're in a holding pattern for now.  Heavy rain expected tomorrow too.

I did manage to prune back the last of the monster rose bushes.  This is where I think I'll rake back the mulch, build a bit of a split rail support and back fill soil for a cutting flower bed. 

I'll still have flowers in the garden too, but I might as well have some color outside of the veggie garden.

Notice that the apple trees in the background got a haircut too.  This is their 4th year and we haven't gotten any fruit yet.  Maybe this year?

We also want to expand the porch area this year so SM has been slowly chopping away at the Palmetto Grass I planted when we first moved here. 

They are lovely but really need to be away from the house as burning them each Spring is the easiest way to keep them in check.

OH! 

As I was taking these pictures I noticed that our new neighbors tossed their cardboard (from their move) over the fence. 

Yeah me!  Nothing brightens my day more than free cardboard for the garden!

The dogs had a ball yesterday.  Mud covered but tired from all the racing around they did.  Both girls pulled up lame this morning.

And while I didn't pull up lame, I was certainly stiff. 

Nothing that a few glasses of wine won't cure @;)

Conversations At The Mall

Yesterday morning after having a few cups of coffee and a carbo loaded blueberry pancake breakfast, SM finally crawled back into bed. 

It was crappy, cold and raining pretty steadily.

I, on the other hand was still charged up on my daily dose of Mountain Dew (I don't do pancakes) so I sat and blogged and cleaned the house and did some laundry and blogged some more, and then I got sleepy again around 11. 

What can I say?  I sleep when the urge strikes.  And I don't get that urge too often anymore.  Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I slept for more than 4 hours straight.  I'm usually up every couple of hours.

Hot flashes, tiny bladder...(shrug)...I digress.

So I crawled back to bed just as SM was re-emerging.  I finally got up about 12:30 and found SM itching to get out and do something. 

Anything.

"How about lunch first?"  SM asks.  Obviously the pancakes have been digested and he's ready for round two.

I'm still in the twilight zone though and wasn't in the mood to cook. 

"How about we go out for lunch?" 

"On The Border?"  SM asks.

"Sure.  We can walk around the Mall while we're at it and stretch our legs."

So off we go to the mall, something we never do but we had cabin fever big time. 

The Mall?  Are we crazy?

We must've been.  Although in our defense I do think people reach a breaking point in Winter when you do things you might not otherwise do.

Turns out everybody else had cabin fever too. 

Think Christmas at the mall. 

Only worse.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea."  I said to SM as we sat in traffic.  SM shrugged and said "What else are we going to do today?"  It was still grey, cold and drizzly.

So we went and sat at the bar and shared a "sampler" appetizer platter.  The place was packed.

Boredom cost us $25 and a belly full of "Ehh.." 

"You cook better than that." 

"Anybody cooks better than that!"

So into the Mall we wandered.  First stop?  Jeans.  Both SM and I need them.  The store we went into had good prices according to SM.  He had lots of choices.

I didn't. 

What is up with the skinny jean trend?  Tight at the ankles?  No Thanks!

"I'll just look like a Swedish meatball on the end of a toothpick if I buy these." I told SM in disgust.

"I don't know why we're shopping for jeans anyway.  We'll be in shorts before too long."  SM said browsing.

So we skipped on the jeans.

As we came out of the store, there must've been a pack of about 30 people all clustered together coming straight at us. 

It was kinda scary. 

I darted out and around them, but SM plowed through.  When we came together again I turned to SM and said...


 

"That was a Zombie Herd if ever I saw one.  You're lucky to be alive!"

We both laughed.

What can I say?

It's the little things...

We stopped in Eddie Bauer where SM found some rubber coated "Gear Ties" in various sizes that he can use for holding equipment in his truck.  50% off!





They also had a 70% off sale on some clothes and I found a pair of last years shorts, a sleeveless top and warm, winter gloves for $8 each.  Sold!

We wandered along some more and saw a huge poster at Aeroposatle with a young girl with big lips practically sucking her finger.  VERY suggestive.

I shook my head.  "Was advertising this bad when we were young?"  I asked SM.

"Probably.  We were just to young and stupid to recognize it."

We came up to the food court.  It was PACKED.  I noticed though as I looked out over the heaving mass of humanity, that everyone was in a shade of black or grey. 

"Only the kids have on color."  I told SM.  It was all very monotone. 

It was starting to get hot too, all those people.

"You know...This might not have been a great idea.  I wonder how many people have a cold or flu out there."  I mused to SM.

We both looked at each other and picked up the pace and as we hit the doors and that damp, cold, fresh air hit us, I turned to SM and said...

"This actually feels pretty good now doesn't it?"

It's all in your perspective I guess.

We won't have that problem today though.  As I sit here typing this, the sun is warming my back and it's supposed to hit 65 today.

I hope wherever you are, you get some sunshine too.

We could ALL use it.

Raindrops On Roses

So it's another rainy day stuck in the house. 

Gosh, we've been in a rainy cycle lately.  Every other day, rain. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and 60 degrees.  But that's for tomorrow.  What am I gonna do today?  Or more importantly, what am I going to blog about today?

The "sameness" of winter days got me to thinking about creativity.  Do people get more creative when they're bored? 

I think so.

When I woke up this morning and offered the dogs the opportunity to "Go Outside?" in a pouring rain, they wisely declined.  So I stood there after closing the door and that song popped into my head.

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens..."





Think about it.  This is clearly a mid winter "I'm bored out of my gourd" kind of song.  I can tell someone was stuck in the house on a cold, yucky February day trying to make themselves feel better.  That spring will come again! 

Look at the list!

When you break it down there's...
Whiskers on kittens.
Bright copper kettles
Warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages
Cream colored ponies
Crisp apple strudels
Doorbells
Sleigh bells
Schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs

I look around my house and I see disarray and disorganization everywhere.  Too cold and wet to paint a wall, too unmotivated to rip out a shower stall.  Carpet needs replaced.  I could go shopping for paint and carpet samples I suppose. 

I look outside.  The garden still needs cleaned up.  Bermuda needs pulling.  The last rose bush needs pruning. 

I pause as I'm typing this post. 

I can hear the rain pick up.  Steadily beating harder now. 

The dogs are curled up, sleeping on the sofas.

You know, that's a good idea.  Maybe I'll just go tuck myself back into my warm bed and pull the covers over my head.

And dream of Spring.
 

Where's My 8 Track?

Yesterday morning I hopped in the Jeep driving carefully through the neighborhood till I hit the main road.  The sun was shining (at 7:30am WhooHoo!) and on impulse I hit the power button to the radio.

I must've had it on a classic rock station the last time I was in the car.  The timing was perfect.  That "tapping" started and I was tossed back in time 30 years.

VanHalen Dance The Night Away.

It was almost as if I'd popped in an 8 track tape.  I turned it up.

WAY UP.

For those of you who drove past the middle aged lady cranking and singing, dancing in her seat, nodding her head yesterday morning...I apologize.

You see, for 3 minutes and 25 seconds she wasn't middle aged.  She was that young kid with big 80's hair jamming in her Plymouth Tourismo to one of her favorite tunes.

Does make me wonder though if one of these days I'll be a bent over, blue hair crawling down the road at 15 mph jamming to Led Zeppelins Kashmir.

Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been
To sit with elders of the gentle race, this world has seldom seen
They talk of days for which they sit and wait and all will be revealed.

Mixed Messages

SM is laid back in his recliner the other evening, appropriately attired for the cold winters night in sweatshirt, sweatpants and thick socks.  Thick, soft blanket tucked in at his side.

I go zinging by him.  

(I do that a lot.  Zinging.  I'm always in motion. Busy, busy, busy...) 

Anyway, as I go zinging by, SM puts out a hand and says "Hold up a sec..."  He sits up and starts laughing.

"I oughta take a picture."  He says, fingers around my wrist, holding me still as he eyeballs me up and down.

"What?!?" I ask, looking down at myself. 

Oh.

On my feet, wooly winter socks.
Bare legs (in need of some good moisturizer I might add.)
Summer cotton PJ shorts.
Light cotton short sleeve T-shirt.

And my winter snow cap on top of my head.




"What the hell?"  SM asks me with a smile.

"Regional hot spots."  I explain.  His eyebrows go up, clearly confused.

"Look, my head and feet are cold.  My legs and tummy are hot.  But come to think of it, the back of my arms are freezing."  I say rubbing my arms to get some warmth going. 

SM shakes his head and rubs a hand over his face.  "You do know it's about 20 degrees out there don't you?"  He asks, head tilting outside.

"Yeah, well tell that to my inner thermostat.  It's on the fritz again."  I say as resume my zing.

What I'm gonna this Summer, I have no idea.

Sweat, I guess.

Shoulder Season

Yesterday, I posted about trying to hold myself back as far as seed starting went.  But this morning when I read the comment section I saw this...

I can't wait any longer! Like you, I had huge transplants last spring. But I use lunar calendar which means Feb 20,21,22nd are great seed starting dates and the next ones won't be until end of March. So I'm going for it. Plus, the snow has slowed down all the outside work so into the greenhouse I go! Stevie@ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com

Aw Man....


Gosh, I didn't know that!!!!

I like to try to garden with the moon too.  Try being the operative word here.  Sometimes it just ain't happening mostly for weather reasons.  And sometimes just because I'm not around to do the work.

i.e. Lazy

So I've convinced myself that there's a bit of a shoulder season with following the moon calendar.  I figure if I'm within 24 hours of the actual days, I'm good to go.

But still.  February for starting my seeds?  Maybe there's another option.

So I whipped out my handy moon calendar that I get (for free!) every year from our hometown pharmacy and saw that indeed Feb 21st and 22nd fall under the primo sign of Cancer, "The Most Productive" sign. 

Pout.

But I knew that there are other signs that can be good too.  I saw that March 1st and 2nd (A Saturday!!!) fall under Scorpio which is "Very Productive" and "Good For All Planting."

Well, alrighty then.  Seems silly to think that 8 days is gonna make or break my transplant weekend in May (4th and 5th fall under Pisces "Good For All Plants") but I tell you, beating back those monsters just to get into my kitchen a few years ago was a scary thing. 

Plus I figured anyone looking in my window might think I'm growing the gan-ja, if you know what I mean.





So March 2nd it is! 

I've got me a HOT date with some seeds and starting mix!

Thanks Stevie for the reminder!  I hadn't really thought of it until you mentioned it!

So Tempted...

We're all itching for Spring, I know.  I read ya'lls blog and so many of you are starting your seeds that it makes me twitchy. 

I want to join in!

But really, the only thing I need to "start" is tomato and peppers seeds.  We have such a long season here that everything else does so much better being direct sown into the garden. 

It's still too early to start the tomatoes and peppers though.  I shoot for a May 1st transplant date for those heat loving plants.  One year I started them March 1st and had a jungle in my kitchen by the time we could plant.  Last year I waited till the end of March to start and they were a little too scrawny.  So this year I'm thinking I'll get the party started around mid March, so I've got a few weeks yet to go.

I was SO TEMPTED to place my order online this weekend for my onion sets from Dixondale.  But their zipcode release dates show that they'll ship them this week if I place the order.  Not a good idea.  While our temperatures are supposed to be around 50 during the day, we've got lows close to (or below) freezing with every other day rain being forecast.

Too yucky and wet to prep the beds so I think I'll wait another week or two.

The catalog is right here next to the computer though and as I peruse it I have to stifle my desire to buy more than what I need.

Last year I bought the Intermediate Day Sampler.  Red Candy Apple, Super Star and Candy. 

They were MONSTERS.  So huge!  So easy to grow!  (Maybe I should become a backyard onion grower?)  But I ended up giving most of them away as the "sampler pack" had 50-75 plants. 

Way too many onions for SM and I alone. 

As much as I like to see the happy smiles of folks accepting freebies from my garden haul, it's not my job to feed the world, so I'm planting fewer onions this year. 

Deb (my neighbor across the road) wants in on the onions but wants me to grow them at my place since last years haul was so good.  She thinks I have the touch.

Ha!  Little does she know.

But I'll play along.  I'm partial to red onions myself.  I'm eyeballing the Red Torpedo Tropea (3 month storage)





or the Red Marble Cippolini (5 month storage)
















Anybody grow these?  Dixondale's website shows several "Thumbs-up" for the Torpedo so that's the red onion I'm leaning towards.  But I'm also thinking of doing a Copra batch too for a longer storage onion.

Whatcha ya'll think?

Big, Fat and Fluffy

We had a grey, cold, rainy kind of day here Saturday.  The kind that keeps you holed up inside.  Which was fine with SM and I as neither of us had slept well the night before.

So we tried to nap. 

Nope.  Not happening.

Right around 5pm though big, fat fluffies started coming down and we perked up right quick.

Now I know most of you are sick unto death of snow.  I can't blame you a bit.  It's one of the reasons why we moved down here in the first place.  But I can sure appreciate a pretty snowfall every once in a while. 

Sure is pretty, isn't it?

OK...You can melt now.

I'm ready for Spring, aren't you?

Flip The Switch...

Why So Cranky Puddin Pop?

I've been in a bit of a cranky mood lately. 

Dirty house, overloaded schedule at work, crazy people trying to kill me driving to and from...

I've really had enough.

And now this.

The other morning at 5 am, I'm out walking the dogs and a guy on a bike zing's by us, scaring the crap out of me.  He then proceeds to zing by me twice more with me finally yelling at him "This isn't funny.  I can't see you until you go rushing by.  It's dangerous!"  Seriously.  He's fast.  No lights.  No nothing.

(Our neighborhood is out in the country and was built when sidewalks weren't mandatory so we don't have them.  Everyone walks in the streets.  I wear a flashlight attached to my wrist, but the dogs don't have anything on.)

So now I'm pissed off and slightly sad that once again I have to deal with idiots impacting my life.  But now I have to deal with them at 5am.

"It's nuts!"  I tell SM later.  "What part of riding your bike at 5 am in the dark makes sense?  I just want to strangle him...Freakin bikers!" 

"The ice is breaking.  Spring is here.  People are acting crazy."  SM shrugs me off.

Knowing that the only behavior I can ultimately control is my own, I decide to get up earlier and walk a slightly different route.  It works.  The only time I see the guy is when I'm almost home.  As he goes zipping by he calls out "Hello!" in an overly cheerful voice. 

"Goodbye" I toss out at him equally cheery.  And then, cause I can't help myself, I toss out "Dumb-ass!" just in case he's in any doubt about my feelings on the subject.

Sigh.

Every Spring someone does this.  A few years ago someone came zinging around the corner on a bike (in the dark) and went between me and Scooter, riding over his leash.  I let go of the leash and Scooter was fine.  The biker slowed down briefly, but then zipped off.  No apology.  No nothing.  If he'd have hit me or the dog, not only would we have been hurt, but so would he.

Eventually he stopped riding in the dark.

I get the feeling this guy is older and likely to be more stubborn.

Idiot.

The Voice

So I'm sitting in Lisa's chair Saturday Morning at 9am getting my hair done. 

Cut and colored. 

You know...making an effort to still look good after 50.

So Lisa is chatting me up about her life and I'm listening, chiming in here and there thinking to myself "I wonder how many clients she has today and how many times she'll tell the same stories over and over." 

(I couldn't do it...Blah, blah blah all day long.)

So she finishes up my foils.  (Low lights this time as my gray and blonde hair have turned my head into a big beige blob) And then she starts talking about a bathroom renovation she's doing.

And off we go. 

Finally something in common and suddenly we're yammering on about our bathroom remodels while my head processes when suddenly I hear...

"Tami?"

I spin in my chair and look over at a lady 2 chairs down leaning my way.  She doesn't look familiar to me at all.

"Yeah?"  I ask not knowing who I'm talking to.

"I thought that was you but wasn't sure until you said SM's name.  I live in the same neighborhood.  You know...Patty and Les!  Gosh, I haven't seen you in years!" 

"Oh...Hey Patty!  You went dark!"  The Patty I knew was much blonder.

"Yeah, darker and 20 pounds heavier.  (Sing it Sister!!!) 

"You know I was sitting here listening to you talk, thinking how do I know her?  You have such a distinctive voice."  She pointed out.

"Yeah, I've heard that before."  I said making a face.  "I've heard recordings of myself and all I can think of is that she sounds like an uptight, know-it-all.  You know...Snotty Bitch."

Both Patty and Lisa laugh and say "You don't sound snotty." or something to that effect. 

By this time everyone in earshot is listening to our conversation and I realize that once again I've gotten bit by my voice.

You see, she right.  I've got a pretty distinctive voice. 

It projects. 

It's bossy and authoritative.  I've been told before that I'd make a great Staff Sargent. 

But I can also put you into a trance with this voice. 

Or so I've been told.  When I need to relax a patient I can back it down and tune into my inner meditation teacher. 

And I hypnotize you.

Whaa Haa Ha...  I've got skills, I tell you.

Anyway, realizing I've got an audience that I don't really want listening to all this, (Cause believe it or not I'm actually quite shy) I shift the conversation back to Patty.

"So how's Les."

"He's good."

"Still retired?"

"Yep."

"You know Patty, I actually thought of him last year when I turned 50.  I've often thought how wonderful it would be to be able to stop working and do as I please."

(Les is a teacher and retired with a nice pension at age 50.  This offended me quite deeply when I'd heard about it.)

"You'll be sure to go home and slap him for me would ya?"  I asked her.

Everybody laughs.

"Sure will."  Patty says.

"I'm SO freakin jealous!"  I let her know.

"Yeah, tell me about it.  I'm still working too."  Patty sympathizes.  "Although I do still keep him busy with stuff around the house."

By this time both our hair stylists are hovering.

"Well...good to see ya." 

And we wave each other off knowing that hair must come first.

Especially if you're paying for it.

Snoozefest!

February has always been a tough month for me to get through. 

They might as well have called it Feb-blah-wary.  It's a tweener month to me.  Just some afterthought of winter but (hopefully) a bridge month to Spring. 

At least around here.  (I expect some of ya'll might not dig out from under the snow until May.) 

Here in the South, I can be looking at planting onion sets over the next few weeks.  Once March hits, I'll be able to put up the hoop house and get some lettuce, peas and carrots going outside.  And inside I'll get my tomatoes and peppers seeds going. 

But that's in March and when you're up at 5 am sitting in the cold darkness of a Winter morning, March seems like it's a l o n g ways off.

So I plod on through my days looking for some kind of excitement in my life to share with you through this blog.  It's so boring around here, I've been tempted to take a break from posting. 

But that just doesn't set right with me.  Life is not a continuous circle of excitement, is it?  There are times of just "being" if you get my drift.

There's nothing to post about.  Really.  What a snoozefest it's been around here.

SM and I have been hard at work at our respective occupations.  February is the month I always get twitchy at work and start looking for another job.  Why? Who knows?  I'm just bored I guess.  I couldn't tell you why I'm bored.  They've got me working such long days and even some weekends.  When I do get home, I'm butt tired.  Do you know what butt tired is?  Butt tired when you're so tired all you can do is just sit on your butt and stare into space.

What a bore!!!

SM is tired too.  Although he's flat on your back tired. 

Last night I woke up with him walking in the door at 11:30, tired to the bone and hungry.  I discouraged the food (at that hour) plopped him in front of the TV till he was nodding and then tucked my poor boy into bed and snuggled in after him.

So this is what our days have been like lately. 

How about you? 

Care to whine a bit?

Go ahead!  I can take it! 

You're telling me how boring YOUR life is, is likely to be the highlight of my day!

Zombies vs Puppies

Did I watch the Super Bowl? 

Nope. 

I could care less.

But I do have a confession to make.

I am completely hooked on The Walking Dead. 





I came late to the party though.  When we were visiting our friends Jerry and Sandy in Ohio over Thanksgiving weekend, they had it on.  SM and I had never seen it but Jerry gave us the outline and I've watched it ever since. 

But only Season 3 episodes.

So I was thrilled to see that AMC was having a Walking Dead Season One Marathon yesterday.

All I can say is WOW.  Season Three sucks compared to Season One.

So why the fascination?

I'm not into scary movies AT ALL.  But this show is fun to watch.  Yes, it takes a moment to get past the gore.  But the way I look at it, some Special Effects guys spent a lot of time working hard making those intestines look real. 

The least I can do is applaud.



No.  What's got me hooked is the story line that there's just a handful of human beings alive in the whole world and they still manage to treat each other like shit. 

The dead are easy to deal with. 

It's the ones that are alive that cause all the problems.

SM sat down and started watching too.  At one point, he said "Wow.  This is really getting good."  So now he's hooked too.

Ultimately SM went in the other room to watch the Super Bowl but I could hear him flipping back to TWD during commercial breaks and the big black out.

I'm not interested in watching the Super Bowl for the commercials.  So whenever TWD went to break I flipped over to The Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.





Yeah Puppies!

What can I say?

I'm a complicated woman.

Eh...Not So Fast

Most of my menopausal issues up and walked away in December and January.  I felt pretty good, so good that I mentioned to SM last week that I wondered if I was on "the other side."

"I know it's only been 2 months but do you think it could really be that easy?"  I asked him.

No hot flashes, no cold flashes. 
No migraines. 
No mood swings. 
No period in over 6 months.

"I mean, I know some women suffer for years with this crap but then you run into a few who say it was no big deal and they got through it in a year or so.  Wouldn't it be lovely if it's over?"  I asked SM.

"Don't count on it."  SM told me. 

"What?  You think just because I've put it out there..." (My fingers making the quotation marks)..."that now it'll come roaring back?"

"You know how it works Tami.  You put it "out there" and it'll come back to bite you in the ass."  SM warns.

"I remain hopefully optimistic."  I reply, my head held high, nose in the air.  

Ha!  Take that Universe!  I thumb my nose at you!!!!

Friday, I started my period. 

Saturday, I woke up with a killer migraine and cold flashes so bad that even though I took two (count em TWO) blistering hot showers, I still couldn't get warm and slept last night in full winter gear with my winter hat on my head.

This morning?  Migraine gone so far (Thank God!) although my winter gear is still on.





Oh well...Deep down, I knew it was too good to be true.

The DMZ

Our new neighbors are in!  Welcome to the hood, Ya'll.

A very nice family of 5...Mom and Dad, little girl, baby boy and Huck.

Huck is their 3 year old dog who is more than a little overwhelmed with the move.  Why? 

Well, I came home from work the other day greeting SM and the pups.  It was a nice, warm evening so SM had some of the windows and the back door open.

The dogs went charging through the house while SM explained to me that "Casey "yurped" in the kitchen and I'm sorry I didn't clean it up but I just ate dinner myself and ....."

Suddenly I hear this weird noise from outside.  "What the...?" 

So I hustled out to see my dogs plastered to the fence with Mom holding onto what I had to assume was Huck.  The kids were on the trampoline along with another lady (Sister?).

So we got to talking and I figured it was best to approach the introductions one dog at a time.  I calmed my squad down with the promise of "snackies" and took Scooter and Ginny into the house to get theirs. 

Casey was having none of it, though.  She planted her ample backside down and stared at Huck.  I got her leash and collar from the house and snapped them on to bring the meeting to order.  Casey settled right down. 

Huck wasn't in the mood to socialize though.  While friendly enough, Mom reports, Huck is very protective of the kids.  When I stuck my hand over the fence to sweet talk him, Huck growled at me and we all decided that it was enough for today.  It was all just "too much" for poor Huck.

So they went inside, I turned Casey loose and SM and I got to talking.

"This is gonna be a problem."  I said to SM.

"Give it time.  It'll all calm down."  SM pointed out.

"It's not just that."  I said. 

"You know how Casey loves to race other dogs up and down the fence?  You know she'll run over anything in her way.  How many times have we seen her mow Scooter down?  And if Huck gets going on his side too...?"

"And then there's the kids.  With the trampoline and jungle gym along the fence here, just having the kids out playing will cause a lot of excitement for the dogs.  Never forget that dogs are animals.  When things get excitable they revert back to instinct no matter how well trained they are.  I can't be out here monitoring the situation 24-7."  I said shaking my head.  "This could turn into a free-for-all."

"That's a good point."  SM agreed.  "I hadn't thought of the kids."

"What we need is a buffer."  I said walking around our shared fence line.  "A neutral zone."

"You need a DMZ."  SM said laughing. 

"A demilitarized zone?"  I asked eyebrows up. 

I waved my hand at the garden, sweeping it up towards the house.  "Expand it again?"  I asked.

"If you want."  SM offered. 

"Then all we really need to do is buy more rabbit fencing and connect the garden fence to the house.  The dogs won't be able to come over on this side at all then."  I said.

"Problem solved."  SM agreed nodding his head.

Most of our shared fence line is garden already, which the dogs have never had access to.  So there's really only about 40 feet or so of fence we need to worry about blocking.  That's easy enough to do.  And with the width of the garden separating the dogs from each other, I won't have to worry about nose to nose confrontations between the contestants.

Perfect!

So that's what we'll be doing this weekend.  Putting up a bit more fence all in the name of peaceful sanity.  Can't put a price on that, can you?

Hm. 

My garden...The DMZ.