Easter Schmeaster

I think I figured out why Flower is so traumatized by the electric fence. Yesterday I went out and did a little investigation. The wire across the gate has been pulled, there's clearly some slack in it now that wasn't there when I put it up, and the control box has been moved. Looks to me like poor Flower got her head between the wire and the fence and panicked when it shocked her, pulling the wire. Poor old thing. She's still completely terrified. Yesterday morning she peed in the floor in my room rather than go outside. Let me tell you, a 70 pound labrador can pee a LOT. Ohhh, she went outside after that, I assure you. But even with me scolding her, hauling her out by the collar, she was doing everything she could to weasel away.

Maybe this weekend I'll unplug the fence and see if it has done its work as regards Kobi. Then I can start gently trying to get Flower back to normal. She came out into the yard with me for a minute or two yesterday at lunch, but then clearly realized where she was, tucked her tail and made a bee-line for the garage. Man, I feel terrible about that.

And all just when the weather has turned and it's beautiful outside, too. The change in weather has been fantastic. Nearly 90 degrees yesterday. You'd think I would have ceased being surprised by Oklahoma weather by now. And yet, it still comes up with something new every year. Blizzard on Christmas eve, Snow on the first day of Spring... I remember one year the mercury tipping toward 90 in January. Astonishing that it even continues to be a topic for conversation, after all that. But here it is in the 80s and though I'm grateful, but it makes me wonder what the summer will bring.

In the meantime, there's Easter. My least favorite "holiday." Not being Christian, it's difficult for me to give up a perfectly good Sunday afternoon in spring to observe a great old pagan festival in completely the wrong way. Sorry... it's not that I don't enjoy spending time with extended family. There's just something about it. Maybe just that I would always rather be out working in the garden than giving thanks to someone for dying... thereby somehow absolving me of... what, exactly? Really, spring IS about resurrection. I get it. The earth resurrects and renews itself endlessly. Life prevails. I prefer to celebrate that by getting my hands dirty. That's all.

It is, however, a great excuse to buy stuff for my son. There will be the usual chocolates and candies, of course. The Easter Bunny never lets him down. But what will be the One Cool Thing this year? I'm thinking.... chickens.

No seriously, chickens. I've been thinking about getting some, and Grayson would love to raise some chicks. Norman city regulations don't prohibit it, so.... Think about it, fresh eggs, natural pest control, and fantastic garden fertilizer, all in one plump, feathery package. Or three plump feathery packages, actually. I think three hens would be perfect. That way if something happens to one of them, the others still have a companion.

I need to make a decision soon. Sunday is Easter, of course. Grayson will be with his dad that morning, but I'll pick him up on the way to the family luncheon. The chicks could be a surprise for when he gets home.

I know... I have a terrible weakness for animals. Maybe I just want someone to love. Not that I don't have plenty of opportunities to love, with my boy and my three kooky dogs and one spoiled lizard that will only eat from my hands. Seems I have room for some more. In my heart, at least, if not in my pocket book or my home. Chickens don't take up much room though, really....

In which I solve a problem and create a problem

Ooookay, SO... as I have mentioned, I have been experiencing some difficulty in keeping Kobi in the back yard. In fact, she was barely staying in the yard for more than a few minute before she was over the fence and trotting gleefully down the street. There are a few obvious problems with this: one, she could get hit by a car, which she nearly did last weekend. Two, she could get scooped up by someone a block over and adopted as their own and we'd never see her again. Three, my neighbors could firebomb my house.

Kobi is a perfectly friendly and sweet, non-aggressive little dog in almost any social setting. When visitors come, she might give a couple of warning barks, but then she warms right up. Out in the world, on a leash, she is friendly and approachable by even the grabbiest of small children. But off a leash, and loose in the neighborhood, she is a holy terror. For three mornings in a row, she burst out of the backyard and threw herself, hackles up, barking madly, at a mom walking with her two young boys and a baby stroller past our house. No amount of calling, clapping, shouting or pleading would get her to stop. I apologized and apologized, and the lady was very nice about it, but I know how I would feel if someone's annoying, yippy little dog had come running after me.

Then there's this: Sunday afternoon, Grayson and I were on our way out the door when Kobi jumped the fence and ran across the street to bark at the couple getting out of their car in front of their house. The woman is the mom of one of Grayson's friends. The man, I understand, is the friend's stepdad, and he's a real gem. He turned around and started cursing at Kobi and trying to kick her. "Get out of my damn yard, you!" Like he's somehow threatened by 16 pounds of barking Chihuahua. Grayson and I are standing right there, clearly attempting to call her away and get her to stop. This lovely gentleman didn't even acknowledge our presence, just kept trying to kick our dog. Nice. The world is so full of delightful people.

Actually, had his ill-omened boot made contact, I shudder to think what my reaction would have been. I don't think I would have been a model of self restraint or polite conflict-management. I think I would have gone over there and gob-smacked him.

ANYWAY... this charming person is just another very good reason to keep our dog in the yard. Ironically, on the occasion when he was attempting to kick her, we had been on our way out to the car to go buy an electric fence.

I installed the fence yesterday afternoon. I don't think it's too jerry-rigged. I was supposed to sink a copper grounding rod six feet into the ground. I bought four feet of steel rebar and managed to get about six inches of it driven into the hard soil around the back door. Best I could do. It also recommends that I set up some sort of lightning avoidance somethingorother... Um... no. I just set it up, ran the wire, and plugged it in. Then Grayson and I put the dogs out and went to the park. I didn't want to be around when they discovered the wire.

Well, the good news is that it worked just great for Kobi. We got home and Kobi was still in the yard. This morning I put the dogs out to pee and when I opened the door to let them in... Kobi was in the yard. The neighbor family with the baby stroller walked unmolested past our house.

The bad news is... well, of course the other dogs were sure to experience the wire, as well. I would have spared Flower if I could, but I'm afraid it was inevitable. I don't know when or how it happened, but it clearly made an impression. Poor Flower is now afraid to go in the back yard. I had to literally take her by the collar and herd her out the back door this morning, and she tried energetically to dodge past my legs and get back in the house. I'm sure it's because of the wire.

I feel terrible, but what can I do? Got to keep Kobi in the yard, so everybody suffers the consequences.

On a lighter note... I took Grayson to see "How to Train Your Dragon" on Saturday afternoon and it was AWESOME. Best. Movie. Ever. Made me laugh, cry, cling to my seat... it had everything. But mostly it had this fantastic dragon, Toothless. What a great character! And he never spoke a line. Perfect blend of real animal behavior and digital animation anthropomorphism. Loved it. Can't wait to see it again. I tried to post some pics, but Blogger is not cooperating with me on graphics today... so you should visit the site.

Monday's arrival

Monday landed with a thud. Groaned pitiably and crawled away.

That's my story about Monday. Seriously, if I can't shake these blues, I'm going to have to take drastic measures. What those might be, I have no idea.

It was good to get my boy back yesterday afternoon. We spent an hour or so having Sculpey battles. This entails rolling up a ball of Sculpey and then reshaping it each "turn" to have a different "attack" on your opponent. It taxes my powers of imagination, and frankly I find it a bit tedious, but Grayson really enjoys it, and I remember pretty vividly doing something similar with clay on the dining room table at my house when I was about his age.

Otherwise, all weekend I just lay around being lethargic, inert and semi-depressed. I spent two twenty-minute sessions sitting on the bathroom floor watching Mambo float in his bath. He's been lethargic lately, as well, and the web sites warned of lethargy brought on by dehydration if he didn't get regular baths... which he hasn't. So into the tub he went and he stood there looking at nothing and I sat there looking at him. What a wild pair.

Lately the lizard will eat only mealworms fed to him by hand. Okay, I realize I probably brought this on myself, but this is an animal that used to run to his dish every time I put in fresh worms and gobble up 15 or 20 at a time. Now he never seems to approach his dish of salad, whether or not there are mealworms in it, and only eats when I hand them to him, though when I do so he does seem to eat with relish. I dunno. This little 16-inch lizard is a constant source of worry and anxiety. I'm always afraid I'm doing something wrong that will result in his demise. He does seem a bit perkier since his baths over the weekend, at least.

Also, the spring weather seems to have returned, and my garden seems none the worse for having been buried in snow for two days. This morning flocks of starlings descended onto the seed I had scattered in the lawn. It's funny, they were nowhere to be found over the weekend when it was so snowy. Just sparrows and wrens and a couple of cardinals. I suppose that's a good thing, since the starlings would have just scared everyone else off. I was fun to watch them pig out this morning, though.

Tonight: the gym. Maybe some exercise will cheer me up.