Day 3: the back yard weed maze is gone

 

Ember still likes to just lie down in the grass and feel the air and listen to the sounds of the birds.  But she knows her world is changing, and just now she chose to go nap in her kennel.  She had been lying by the dining room table and when I went to check on her, no Ember.  I checked the parlor, the staircase, and even the family room lest she slipped by me, but no!  There she was in the dark of her crate!

I asked her if she wanted the door closed and she didn't protest, so she's back in for another puppy snooze.

We had success in the poo department about 12:30 p.m. once the workmen had finished what they were going to do in there for today.  So with just Ember and me, she found a spot in the corner and dropped a well-formed but soft poo.

Then at 1 p.m. her friend Barnaby and his daddy Bill stopped by to invite Ember to play in their patio area.  That way, Barnaby's hu-mom could meet Ember.  She (Barnaby's mom) doesn't move around so well any more, and she wanted to meet the new puppy on the block.  The dogs played nicely together, and we warned Ember off the lovely flowers which would not be good for her.  I love bleeding hearts, and they have azaleas, too.

After 20 minutes or so, I decided it was best to bring Ember on home, and she collapsed in a tired but happy puppy state.  When she went back into her den with a peanut butter bone, I stepped out to check on the front and side progress.

If you can see the pink lines, that's where the edging will go to the new paver-stone patio area, which will extend under the bay window to the end of the house.  Beyond that, inside the pink edging marks will be filled with river rock.

Talking with the crew, I discovered that I hadn't considered the plan beyond the downspout along the deck fence.  They had mulch in the plan and a natural edging.  I'm not a big fan of mulch... it rots and weeds take over so easily.  I asked them to change it to extend the stone edging and river rock to the back end of my property (i.e. the end of the patio in back.  And let me know how much more that will cost before following through.  I'm pretty sure I'll do it anyway:  in for a penny, in for a pound, don't ya know?

After the crew left, the skies opened up, and the backyard that was mostly dirt?  Yeah, the usual flow-through water.  So it doesn't look as though that particular "drainage spot for the neighborhood" is being fixed (but then I didn't request that fix, either.

A muddy mess it was.

Leaving muddy paw prints on the way back to the house.  Fingers crossed for a smooth overnight!

Overnight report, Wednesday to Thursday

Sleeping arrangements varied, as Ember decided she wanted to be on the leather couch in the family room.  So I streamed the season 7 episodes of Young Sheldon and we snoozed together.  About 11:20 p.m. Miss Emmy stirred, so we went outside, and the poo was about half and half:  part more solid, part very soft.  Half an hour later, out again, and she did whatever she did under the deck, so I have no assessment of its nature.  

Back to snoozing.  2:20 a.m. she started stirring again, and this time I didn't get myself and her together in time, but at least it landed on tile floor, and was easy cleanup.  Very soupy.  I gave her another dose of Kaopectate at this point, and coaxed her into the crate, and was able to go up and sleep in my own bed until 4:40 a.m.

At this point, I opted to follow the original routine:  dress me, feed the cat, then take Ember out for a chance to go (she peed, but I don't expect a poo until afternoon, given when I dosed her.  Once it got light enough, I went and collected the pooh from 11:20 p.m., triple bagged it, and put it in the back of the car, so "just in case" it would be useful to the vet, I have it.

I fed The Little One her breakfast, interrupted by play, as usual.  Then I attempted to put her harness on, but meeting the desire to play tug-o-war with it, I opted out of that game.  I waited for her to go sit by the front door, then swapped the house line for the "big girl leash" and we went on our usual morning "round the block" walk, but earlier than usual, at 6:30.

The inch-long painted turtle that she'd found yesterday morning was still there this morning.  Dead, but in the grass, colorful enough to look like a toy or a buckle or something... very attractive nuisance.  I got her to drop it (but it wasn't HER idea), and we moved on.

She got toothy when we got home from the walk, and earned herself a time-out in the den to calm down while mommy also calms down.  In that cooling off period, I have vacuumed the upstairs hall where I had treated the accidents of the past couple of days.  Dry enough to vacuum now.  And I'm writing this.  As soon as I post I'll be letting her out of her time out and attempting to put the harness on for the trip to the vet.  Wish us both luck!

Life is good.  Spark on!