Extra super busy tiring weekend!

   I had a lot of stuff to do this weekend, and then did about 10x what I had actually planned... on Saturday I ran errands (clothes shopping, kayak-accessory-shopping, grocery shopping, and sushi lunch) and was out for several hours. Then I came home and mowed the lawn (enjoying the gorgeous weather!) while I did a load of laundry, then attached my kayak rack to the Rav4, and loaded the kayak just to make sure it worked. I invited Kelly over for a homemade pizza dinner, baked up a storm, and then we watched Anthony Bourdain's new Kansas City episode that aired earlier this week. (He visited Oklahoma Joe's, Stroud's, The Savoy Grill, Cigar Box, Town Topic, Rosedale BBQ, BB's Lawnside, Woodyard BBQ, Dirt Green Farms, tailgated at the Chiefs Game, and saw the Hair Museum in Independence.)
   Today I started working in the yard at 8 am (before I'd even had my coffee!), made a quick trip to the hardware store, planted coleus, weed-whacked the back yard, ate lunch on the front steps and talked to Loren & Champ, and then kept working right up until 1:15, when I had to quickly change and head to Swanson's for Aki's agility class. We spent a couple hours there running like crazy.

   On the way home, we stopped at the hardware store for another load of dirt, and then I worked in the yard for 3 more hours. The dogs sat out on the deck and observed, while chewing a couple of the big "dinosaur" bones (aka beef femur) I had bought for them. I went inside & out, checking on Gypsy and doing 3 more loads of laundry.
   By the end of the evening, I had watered, fertilized, and applied weed killer to the whole lawn, put down 19 bags of top soil to level out the grade (19 x 40 lbs. = 760 lbs.... a LOT to buy, load, lift, carry to the backyard, and dump. But apropos for Earth Day, I moved a lot of earth!). I cut and laid chicken wire over the new dirt, pounding large staples to hold it down—which I HOPE will finally keep Aki from digging, so that grass can grow again. She has been focused on one 4' x 4' spot for a few years, ever since she dug down and discovered an old credit yard. She seems convinced that there's more to find there...

   I weeded the flower beds. Moved some rock. Bought a bunch of perennials and planted them in my flower beds and containers. Mulched. Watered. Thanks to the head start Mom gave me, my yard might actually shape up okay this season!

Happy to be outside:

   After all that, I picked up, put the tools away, and came inside to give Gyp her treatment, give her another new food, feed the dogs, shower, run to McDonald's to get a Filet-o-Fish sandwich for Gyp (she only took 2 tiny bites, so I ate it), finish laundry, read the paper, have a glass of wine, blog, and crash!

Mom's Visit

   I finally posted a few photos from Mom's visit (okay, and some bragging about all the work she did to help me while she was here!!!). To see all posts, go to the "blog archive" pulldown menu on the right, select 3/11-3/18, and then 3/18-3/25, or...

Saturday

Sunday
Kit's visit

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday & Saturday

Gray Skies are Gonna Clear Up...

   Put on a happy face! The scattered showers throughout the weekend gave way to bright blue skies. Little to be unhappy about this year, with the mild temperatures, blue skies, and gorgeous blooms. Here are a few photos from my back yard:

Antioch Park Sunset

   I took the dogs up to Antioch Park tonight, to take advantage of the incredible weather and to enjoy the blossoming trees before they give way... to the NINETY-degree temperatures coming on Monday! (What planet are we on, exactly? And just how unbearable is summer going to be, if March and April are tropical?)

charming dogwood

   A maintenance worker, still wearing all his gear, and his daughter stopped me soon after we began our walk. They recognized Shibas because they have their own red sesame at home, a 7-year-old male. They got all googly over my dogs and told me the story of how strongly their dog's drive to escape is. He jumped out of the window of a car moving at 70 mph on the highway—and survived! He blasted out one of his hips and it required intense surgery, but he got to keep his leg. And THAT is why my dogs aren't allowed to hang their heads out of my car windows.

the buds were extra intense in the late sunshine

commingling white- and redbuds

floral fireworks!

   Tons of people had the same idea, and while we made our way around and around the park, on every trail and around every lake—twice—we met many children who were delighted by the dogs. One adorable little girl shrieked, "I LOVE YOUR DOGS!" as we walkey past. Gregarious Taylor is always beloved, but even Aki was all warm and fuzzy. She approached kids and sat with them, allowing them to stroke her fur. Usually she lowers her head as the children approached her, as always, too quickly for her tastes, and with little hands overhead, which makes her recoil. She didn't tonight! Progress? Or just a good mood?
   While we stood and talked to a sweet and chatty little boy and listened to a man playing a flute and loaning his mandolin to a little girl who wanted to try. The boy told me about the dogs he used to have, a husky mix named Smokey and a chihuahua. But he said my dogs were the best. Suddenly, my eye caught something. We were right on the north side of the lake, and a cement drain was just below the embankment. It had just a trickle of water in it, but as I glanced down I saw a small creature shuffling along it. At first it looked like a tiny beaver (about the size of a small rabbit), but when I saw the tail I knew it was a muskrat. Although, I'm not certain how I knew that, as I had never seen one before.

Image source

   The boy and I watched it. It appeared wobbly and clumsy, and just before it traveled out of view, it stumbled and fell, got up and continued. Not a good sign. I stopped by the park office to report it, fearing that it might have rabies or distemper. They were closed, so I'll call tomorrow. Poor little guy. I'm afraid reporting it will be a death sentence if he's spotted again, but it would be kinder than suffering through an awful disease, and may protect other animals and people.

This appeared in the KC Star two days later!

   It was very sad, but I have to say that the sunset over the lake was enough to brighten my mood again. This path led right up to the lake, glowing like golden fire.

and the show got even better and better!

Appreciating the Season

   The spring flowers are spectacular, throughout my neighborhood and in my own backyard!

   And... OH, Taylor!

   I've caught him burying bones in my flowerbeds, and bedding down in (aka "crushing") my ground cover. It's a damn good thing he's so cute!

Here he is, in all his dorky glory:

A Hiking We Will Go

   Rafael unexpectedly came in to town from Rochester and had Sunday free, and the weather was GORGEOUS ( spring arrived about a month ahead of schedule due to "the winter that never was", but I don't hear anyone complaining!).  We figured those were all the excuses we needed for a hike, so we piled into my Rav and drove out to Clinton Lake.
   It's amazing how everything has greened up and blossomed in the last couple of weeks. It really is miraculous how quickly it happens. Between that, and the fact that I haven't been hiking since my surgery over seven weeks ago, this outing was particularly appreciated. The dogs could barely contain themselves—and didn't! We pulled into the parking lot, and Rafael opened the back gate, and the dogs flew out and into the woods in the blink of an eye. Leash-less, of course. It was impossible to tell which way they went—the trail split off shortly upon entering the woods, and the tall, impossibly green grasses concealed them.
   Apparently it was a day of miracles, because Aki answered my calls and was back with me just  a few minutes later. And Tay—the one I was really concerned about—obediently returned a few minutes after her. I guess if everything has to be on his terms, but he returns safely, that may be the best I can hope for. But I could tell our training sessions over the last few weeks are WORKING.

brilliant green

Taylor spontaneously posed for Brett

(and for me)

   There were lots of firsts: the dogs found a snake & millipede, &amp Taylor repeatedly jumped for joy (actually, he was jumping because he wanted to EAT the snake!)

   Aki swam for the very first time... by accident. A guy in a boat came somewhat close to the shore, & she took off to try to catch him. It was just like the old Looney Tunes cartoons, where Wile E. Coyote runs straight off a cliff, and hangs midair until he realizes he ran off the cliff, then reacts. Aki leapt into the water valiantly, got up to her ears & you could see the look on her face: "Oh no! This water is WET!! I have to get OUT!!!" She hurried back to shore. It was very funny. (And now, just imagine observing the 3 of us idiots trying to get into & out of a kayak!)

We also found a new lil' friend... (click to see more)

    Afterward, we drove through Lawrence to have dinner at Free State. The traffic was slightly insane as we neared town. Suddenly Rafael said, I think KU might be playing tonight. Yep, it was the Sweet 16 game, which fortunately was live in St. Louis. Campus was mobbed with celebrating students. But through some stroke of luck, we easily found a parking spot past Mass St., walked right into Free State (pass a mob of kids drinking beer out of plastic cups), and got a table with NO wait. Amazing! The end to a perfect afternoon: a Cyclist (beer + lemonade) and a bison burger.