I think that most of us that have some form of garden, are looking to doing some Spring cleanup/preparation work in the not too distant future. Much of ours is dictated by almost 80lbs of Shepherd/Rottweiler… aka Ray!
Throughout the year, he regularly has his “spring lamb” moments (leaps around with no apparent goal in mind); “zoomies” (charges around at high speed); spreading his scent (pmail) by the “usual method”, and also from his pads by going through a scraping motion with all four paws. With the exception of his pmail, which typically is against a plant, all the other activities are on our back lawn (the term “lawn” is used rather cautiously!).
Those of you with large dogs will probably understand the situation, but smaller dog owners… maybe not. When Ray is excited and behaves like an overgrown puppy, his feet do most of the work. Typically he “digs in” just prior to launching himself and, when almost 80lbs of dog is transmitted down through those claws which are firmly planted in the grass, then soon there will be large tufts of grass (with roots attached) flying through the air.
One of our first Spring jobs, as a result of Ray living here, is to completely over-seed the grass area. Our lawn will never appear on the front cover of a gardening magazine, and in fact it would never appear anywhere between the covers either, but all three of us do enjoy our back garden in the warmer months. We just have to over-seed every Spring in order to repair the results of Ray’s exuberance during the previous 12 months!
The above photo was taken a few days ago, and the snow has all gone now, but Ray was taking his responsibilities seriously… or at least that is how it would appear. Was he doing some trimming of areas that did not respond too well to being his pmail drop of point during the Winter? Was he simply picking up shrub and tree debris?
Regardless, it will soon be time to get back outside and clean-up after Winter (she’s a messy season!), and there is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that Ray will be outside with me and “helping”.
Can you imagine the absolute satisfaction of totally over-seeding a lawn, and then watching Ray slowly remove all traces of the project over the Summer months! It’s a matter of perspective really isn’t it! If Ray is happy… I am happy!
It’s so entertaining when they get spring fever… Even my 12 year old girl gets perkier when the crocuses start coming up! But yes, not so great for the lawn. 😉
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The lawn can always be repaired can’t it! 🙂
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😄😄😄
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🙂
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Thanks for the Ray photo. 🙂 I miss having a canine friend so much. But, I am looking after a colleague’s dog this weekend. 🙂
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Enjoy your temporary dog! Can’t be much different from having grandchildren, in that you can get so much pleasure from them and give them back later! You don’t have that ultimate responsibility that you have with your own offspring! 🙂
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Our dog lot is the size of a small back yard. Lucy and Riley have destroyed a good area of it, so I had my son dump free mulch from a neighbor’s tree to reduce the mud being tracked in. It has helped. I will have to figure out what to do about seeding, too. It is probably time here to take care of that. Thanks for the reminder!
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You’re welcome. 🙂
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A great perspective. A true dog lover you are. Of course we all knrw that, though noone knows better than Ray. 🙂
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🙂
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Loved this post. Especially the mention about the zoomies and the pmail. And having it end with, “If Ray is happy, I am happy.” Reading this makes me feel all warm and fuzzy! 😊 😊 😊
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🙂
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I’m sure you are a big help in setting the garden up (and taking it all down), R. Have fun.
Love and licks,
Cupcake
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Hi Cupcake. A dog’s gotta do what a dog’s gotta do eh! Woof! Ray.
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Spring always means a lot of work in the garden,xx Rachel and Speedy
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Hi Guys! We have rabbits in our garden and, just recently, they’ve been leaving ginormous piles of poop balls in certain parts. I think they must sit there in one spot all day and do nothing but poop! Woof! Ray.
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They are marking their territory 🙂
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But it’s my territory! BOL! Ray.
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Theirs to now Hehehehe,xx Speedy
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🙂
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I have two Ray’s size, so they do a job on the yard running and playing. I love watching them though, they sure enjoy themselves.
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I have often told people that if I wanted a “show and tell” garden, I would not have a dog! A happy dog is much more fun than a neatly manicured garden! 🙂
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Love the zoomies. Every dog I’ve owned has had those, but it’s the look of surprise depicting ‘What? or Who, Me?!’ when they stop that always tickles me
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Wouldn’t you just love to know what goes on in that canine brain? 🙂
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Wouldn’t I just.
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🙂
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