Cutting Confusion

Every year since I moved here from Southern California I get this mystical confused look on my face when it's time to trim the back yard for winter. You've got to understand here that in So Cal you don't do that. EVER. Things just don't have seasons. The palm trees need trimming but you call someone to do that for you. You cut the grass year round and if you have rose bushes you prune those back but other than that it's just keeping the grass trimmed. Not here! There are bushes to prune and I'm never sure if I'm doing it right. If I'm killing it completely or just trimming it back. How much is too much and it is a HUGE job! Craig doesn't get home until it's almost dark and Christian hates yard work more than he hates homework. I can get him to do it but there usually has to be money involved. None of that lately so I'm just doing a small square of ground a day. I figure I will be done before the first snowfall. Maybe. Last year it snowed in October.

I had to take little Holly to the vet this morning. She isn't gaining weight as fast as I'd like and when she nurses she gets this gurggly sound that makes me nervous. He said she isn't congested so that's good. I'm just going to watch her and make sure she gets all she wants when she eats. She was the biggest puppy when they were born and now she's the smallest. Everyone else is just growing like weeds in a rain storm and she's gaining but not very fast. I worry so much about them. I swear I say my prayers all day long for them. These first few weeks are so critical and scary. If you're going to lose one it usually happens in the first two weeks. I just don't think I could cope with that at all. I've been so blessed not to have lost any so far.

Yesterday I took Taz to her third obedience class. She did great until the trainer brought out the squeeky toys. She's a nut for them. She got all upset that the other dogs had them too and was snapping at one of the other dogs. It's typical of what I've had to go through here at home and the trainer showed me how to stop her from doing that with a metal shaker can. It works. Now the other people in the class are afraid of Taz. She's a bit of a loose cannon. She just needs to learn. And she's very smart!

Well I'm headed outside to fill up my garbage can with the spoils of Spring & Summer. I hate yard work, isn't there some homework I can do?????

~Adele~