Dogs, debates, and downtime

Sophie and I had another marvelous walk this morning. My goal is to take a different route each morning so this morning we wandered past the cemeteries and over to the local city ball field. And, shock, there was a person walking their dog off leash. And shock again, the dog took off across the field to get to another person out walking their dog. Thankfully neither dog was aggressive and there was no fighting. But I certainly felt for the poor woman who's dog was on leash and didn't know what to do about the charging mongrel. I get so angry with these people. The owner of the loose dog was on the opposite side of the park so I couldn't dish out a little come to jesus session. I don't worry about Sophie with other dogs. She is so passive that any dog that approaches us sniffs and leaves well alone. It's not true where Max is concerned. I was feeling a little guilty about not taking him with us but unfortunately this morning enforced my fears. Max would have barked, we would have been charged and a dog fight would have ensued. Arghhhhhhhhh. My husband said I should take my cell phone with me and call the police. I know that the police have better things to do than come yell at people with off leash dogs but maybe it's the only way to actually start getting people to be responsible for their pets.

This morning I read through a fabulous debate on the Lone Sophists blog regarding immigration. A heated discussion to say the least. But very good. And now I have Dusty's blog to add to my lunch time reads. It's all good stuff. Dusty also talks about Neil Young's blog and his album that is streaming on line. I'm listening to it as I type. I have always loved Neil. Bless his heart. My good friends in high school loved him so I always get a little nostalgic when I hear him.

Finally, now that it is summer my down time activities are changing. In winter it's reading, t.v., and crafts. Now that it is spring it is digging in the dirt, pulling weeds, and planning this years plantings. With our less than tropical climate we often have a few plants each year that don't make it through the winter. So I have to decide what I want to stick there. Same thing? Give it another go? Or different? I usually end up with a little of both. Our garden is quite chaotic but I love it and it's beautiful. A master gardener I am not but I have fun with it every year. Soon I will plant several flats of petunias. I love them because they are hardy and will grow and flower all the way through spring, summer, and fall. Even after the first snow they will flower with their last breath.
Once I get the petunias in I have to spend the next month battling my resident ground squirrel. He is convinced that there are bulbs under the petunias so he pulls them all out. Then each morning I go out front and stick them all back in the ground. Last year I planted about 120 petunias. He popped out about half of them the first night. It progressively gets less and less each morning but I guess you can say it is our annual morning routine for a while. The irony is that I rescued that little guy from the jaws of one of our cats. And he has thanked me in little ways ever since. Petunia popping, columbine eating, fern chomping, and yes, he pulls up and eats some of the actual bulbs I try to plant for spring.
But he has as much right to exist on this earth as I do so we continue each year with our little yard war. I think I would miss the little guy if he wasn't there.