It's Really Over

Our last really nice weekend was in early November so I took advantage of the warm sun and finished cleaning up and cleaning out the gardens. I had left all the potted geraniums as long as I could, keeping them in the safety of our covered deck so they wouldn't get the frost. But a couple of days of freezing temps really did them in - froze 'em up, then they just collapsed. Such a sorry sight. So I cleaned out my last dozen or so pots, pulled all the remains out of our two big oak barrel planters and worked through my last flower bed. I trimmed back all the mums and hollyhocks in my final flower bed - above are THE LAST flowers anywhere in my gardens. *sigh* Summer is really over. That's sad news for someone who loves their flowers.

My constant companion while working was the ever-active Tango. The dog always wants to play ball, day and night, begging constantly by "dropping the ball." She'll follow us around in the house, ball in mouth, dropping and catching, dropping and catching the ball as she walks around. She really has a problem - an OBSESSION - with playing fetch. Chris was giving the back yard a final mowing for the season, so she alternated between me and him, giving us both an equal opportunity to throw the ball for her. What a pain in the neck she can be with that darn tennis ball! She would drop it at my feet, or sometimes in my basket of clippings (above) making it very clear that she was ready for the next toss. Then for a while she decided to follow Chris as he mowed the yard, back and forth, back and forth she would follow him, sometimes at his heels but sometimes moving in front of him and the lawnmower. The result is a chewed up tennis ball (above) that has been spit out by the lawnmower. Ugh. But does that bother Tango? Oh, no, in fact she kind of likes a ball that been split open because then she can chew on it like a piece of nasty old chewing gum. And she still expects us to throw it, covered with grass clippings, dirt and dog slobber. In a dog's opinion, I'm sure, that's an afternoon well spent with your people.

So that's my tale about a sunny November afternoon, enjoyed by humans and pets alike. We all slept well that night.