Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Saturday, July 24, 2010

New Old Friends

We had a great experience this past week, meeting Brooke & Greg from DWB (Benson's, Opy's & Angel Charlie's mum & dad) and showing them some of Portland.
They petted Charlie nonstop and fussed over him, called him a beautiful boy, hugged him and fed him treats. Charlie, of course, ate up every second of it!
We were all so sorry to let them go, but grateful for the opportunity to spend time with two of the nicest people in the world!


However... Charlie now knows it's possible for people to pay even MORE attention to him than we usually do. So the bar's been raised, and we're going to have to do our best to meet the new high standards.     :-)

 

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Sunday, July 04, 2010

Good Fences Make Good Dogs

Charlie is intrigued by the new garden I put in. He loves to eat dirt, plus Pouncer digs there and that's a big attractant. But when the veggies ripen, the attraction will increase exponentially, because Charlie's an omnivore -- he loves veggies as much as I do!

So I'm erecting a low bamboo fence around the new garden. Tall enough to keep Charlie (who doesn't jump fences or push babygates) out, yet low enough for me to step over.

"Mmmmm... 2010 -- a good year for dirt."

I've been using a jerry-rigged setup of sawhorses and 2x4s, but it's always falling apart as Charlie pushes the boundaries a little. So it was time for something better looking and more stable.

"I could help, you know. I could keep the kitties out of there."

Having taken a class on bamboo fence-building, I decided on a rustic Japanese yotsume-gaki-style fence. Gabbie's mom grows bamboo & donated canes to the cause, and I bought posts at a local feed store.

"Awwwww... you never let me have any fun!"

For the last week, Charlie and I have been measuring and cutting and digging and leveling and nailing... There's plenty more do do (namely, the pickets and a gate), but we have the bones of a fence; one sufficient to keep Charlie out and the vegetables in.