Henry outside

In the mondo piles of cheat grass that needs to be cut. He looks very silly there! But you can see his crazy wild eye brows and button terrier eyes. His right front leg was shaved for the neutering operation so it's not deformed, just a bit bald for now.

So I was torn up with the loss of Baxter. I was spending stupid amounts of time on Petfinder.com looking for another Baxter and not finding one, knowing all the time that such a thing can't exist but wanting it all the same. I tried to adopt a couple of terrier mix dogs but was always not in time. We actually went to a meet and greet to see a puppy, but while my husband didn't actually say anything negative, I understood that that puppy was not the dog for me. I was actually sane enough to understand and walk away.

So I registered with the Airedale Terrier Rescue Association. I filled out their form that takes several hours to do so. They ask a ton of questions in order to make a good choice with the dog they offer. After I filled out the form, I stopped haunting Petfinders.com and trusted that the right dog would find his way to me.

Last week, the ATRA representative from Colorado called with a "diamond in the rough". We agreed she'd come on Thursday to do the home inspection and bring the dog up from Colorado Springs so we could meet and the dogs could meet.

It all went really well. Boudy and Henry started to play almost right away! He loved the yard and I loved him.

We've been to a couple of places in the interests of socializing him and letting him see more of the world and had a ball. He's healed my heart and while I still miss Baxter (and Emma), I have a new friend to show the world to. He really needs us, too.

Garden:

M and I have been gardening up a storm! We got a few more of the beds planted yesterday. Note to self: potatoes are hard. Don't plan a lot more than planting the potato beds on a day unless you are really buff. Tomorrow we will put in the squashes and some flowers and more tomatoes. We've grown almost everything from seed which we are really proud of. There are 9 beds that are about 11 feet x 5 feet. 3 of the beds are supposed to be in perennials, but that may take a few years to get filled out. I want a bed of asparagus but didn't get it together to get the crowns ordered. We've been here for 15 years and I've thought about planting asparagus for about 8 of those years. sigh.

I put together a fairly complex garden plan with lots of companion planting. The bugs can be really hard on a garden here as it gets so dry that the bugs are drawn to the few green areas. I am trying to plant the "stinkers" around the garden to discourage the bugs - strong smelling herbs and flowers to repel them. We'll see how well it works. Also plants that are "trap crops" - plants which really attract the bugs. The plant is pulled up and the whole thing including all the bugs living on the plant is killed.

In any case, it should be really pretty with all the complex flowers and various herbs and veggies. It feels good to be gardening again after so long.

The rock garden has come back and is so lovely. The white pansies lived through the winter and are covered with blooms. The mungo pines have some nice new growth and most of the plants are coming back. I got a few more things today at Rabbit Shadow Farms where they were celebrating their 10 year anniversary.

I feel blessed and optimistic. Hope you are enjoying your spring!