Life with Bugsy..a beautiful 10 year old mutt

 Spending way too much time with the dog, concerned about whether he's nervous or not...can't imagine I ever cared about a dog this much before in my life!  In fact, I know I didn't.  Not that I'm one of those people who don't care about animals..I just didn't worry about or let an animal of any kind rule my day.  It's sort of sad to admit that I really do hesitate to do the activities necessary to leaving the house because I know how this dog will respond.  It started after we moved into this house in Louisville, KY and after I quit my wretched job at Ethan Allen to be self employed.....it started with putting on socks, really? Putting on socks could send this 100 lb dog into fits..panting, and even this weird whining sound.  So, I conditioned him not to "worry" about the socks.  See? Mommy has socks on and is watching TV or making coffee? Or, better yet, on the computer.  See?  Then came..oh my God! She's taking a shower!  (If she's taking a shower, she might leave)  I learned that if I kept house shoes on..oh, okay no worries.  Now, well now we're dealing with drying the hair and putting on makeup. (Seriously)  I totally feel like a crazy woman..telling the dog to go away, that I'm really not leaving (that's a lie) ..(I think he knows that's a lie).  In fact, he lies by the doorway to the bathroom while I dry my hair.  I can step right over you , you know.  I will. I will step right over you and go out that door...well, maybe you can ride along.  And he starts leaping into the air and I say, let's go.

Antique flowers, antique house

It's three o'clock a.m.  I've seen that time many nights.  Most times I feel frustrated to be awake, sometimes I pray, but tonight was a beautiful time of remembering without regret....

The Flowers of Coventry

The oldest and

most beautiful pink dogwood I've ever seen graced the side yard between us and Bill, (possibly the worst neighbor anyone ever had) were it not for the neighbor on our other side.  That's why this early morning wake up call was such a wondrous time.  I could think of nothing but the beauty and the people before me who cared enough to plant my perennial garden.

I could never wait for our huge forsythia to burst open. So, I brought stems in every cold spring for forced blooms.  The purple and white lilacs were next.  Lilacs are generally known as a bush type plant but ours were trees!  The scent filled the air for at least three weeks.  As the tender leaves of Giant Hosta started to peek out of the earth, the Bleeding Heart and the Lily of the Valley would race ahead to prove their worth. The Pink Azalea fought for the lead and because they were at the front corners of the house attracted the most attention. The Andromeda kept time with the dogwood ...making me smile as I watched outside my kitchen window. 

Later, the Antique Rose and the Rhododendron would provide pink blooms as well.  In this photo our little visitor thought a pink background best.