I spent most of this Saturday morning working in my front garden. Every Spring I go out and do a total renovation, since I rarely work in the garden during the winter....too many weekends full of holiday celebrating. During the winter months all the plants begin to turn and their leaves fall to the soil beneath them. And although it doesn't look so attractive "it's a good thing" because the dead foliage acts as a nice cozy blanket for the plants during these recently frigid nights. And as the foliage rots it provides wonderful easily digestible meals for my worms who poop it out creating nutrient rich soil for my plants. The blanket of death also inhibits the growth of weeds, and provides nice dense homes for my buggy friends (the good ones of course). It also provides a comfy humid home for a special friend of mine who I have uncovered every "spring cleaning" since we first bought our home. His name is Falkor. He's a salamander and an endangered species apparently. But I like to call him my friend. Seeing him again is my favorite part of "spring cleaning" and I think about our reunion all year long. This year, however, was different. As I gathered all the rotten leaves and pulled all the villainous weeds I kept a sharp eye out for Falkor and was sure to be gentle as not to squish him, this is another reason I prefer not to wear gloves while gardening, I can FEEL all that I grab and know when I've encountered a creature and do not harm it. I had cleaned up most of the garden, and all the places I've bumped into him years before with no luck. As I pulled the last weed at the end of the walk I came to the realization that, this year, we would not meet. I was so sad, I knew if I did not see him I would worry about him all year. And then I worried about him all day.
This Sunday Mark needed to mow the lawns. He asked me if I would clean the back lawn of it's waste. Waste being Bruno's surprises... both poo, and all the fun items from the yard he has drug onto the lawn and chewed up. Things like fire wood, topiaries, the garden hose, recycling cans, and many more fun items. I did so stopping to admire some of Brunos poop presents.
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You'd think picking up dog poo would be a terrible chore that one would try to wrangle someone else into doing. Not when Bruno's your dog! It's like a mystery game of follow the clues. Why is this piece of poo so light and fluffy, it looks like it's made of styrofoam?... that's because it is!! OH, Bruno ate the Styrofoam scull left out from Halloween. OH WOW this one looks like it's solid particle board...hehe particle poo. He licked up all the saw dust, and ate the scraps of wood from Marks last shelving project. And what's this, blue and red spaghetti poo?? Oh yeah we threw out that old PS2 controller the other day. This is a PURE BRED mountain dog people, he is supposed to be on a strict diet of raw and organic meats and veggies, and various other items he finds in the yard apparently. Any how back to the story:)
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So I cleared everything off the lawn except for this pile of wood the heating and air people left from dismantling part of some eaves to make room for the GIANT air conditioning unit they put in. And as I picked up one of the 2x4's I was suddenly stricken dumb and paralyzed with excitement. There he was, my friend Falkor, hanging out under the wood pile. I picked him up and we caught up on the year that had passed. I then found him a nice damp spot to make his new home. We said our goodbyes and promised to ron de vue again next spring! In the end life is good in our little part of the world:)
