Land is a much desired and highly valued commodity in Southern California, and our dogs are lucky enough to have a quarter of an acre of land at their disposal (for their disposal too I suppose…). When we first bought the house, the front and back yards came complete with lush vegetation and the previous owner had a small garden nestled in a distant corner of our fenced-in landscape. Like the first settlers completing the Oregon Trail, we took pride in our land, making sure to dispose of dog droppings promptly and being attentive to its desire for irrigation. Our dogs soon showed us that they did not feel the same respect for the property and have subsequently manged to transform our once serene surroundings into a barren, dirt and stick covered dirty dog haven.
As I discussed in a previous post, the west side of our vegetative space is where the puppies have chosen to hold their nightly canine Cirque de Soleil. The prime result of these pit bull antics is a complete desecration of anything green that used to thrive on carbon dioxide. I must admit though, all of the dirt and dust flying in the air does make for a more impressive and dramatic show; way to go boys!
In the mid line of the yard is where you can find the mosquito breeding area, a.k.a. the pool. This time of year the pool has taken on a vibrant forest green tone with an ever so delicate tint of poo brown. It really is amazing how quickly a few inches of rain/dew moisture can turn into a festering pit of slime that serves as a home for many most likely deadly insects. The pool really is the centerpiece to our yard, especially since we were able to load up most of the miscellaneous lawn ornaments, rotten 2X4′s, and shed shrapnel in a dumpster a few months ago.
The remainder of the yard is usually decorated by the dogs. Tucker, Guapo, and Biz really do not discriminate when it comes to what type of media would look best on a dirt background. I have come home to a bean bag chair ripped up into so many pieces that you would have thought it snowed. They have moved cumbersome pieces of wood clear from one end of the yard to the other. Numerous comforters and blankets have met their untimely death at the mercy of a backyard game of tug-of-war. For the most part though, trash scraps tend to be the most popular, and tuna cans seem to make it out of the trash bin more often than other discards. Right now the yard art consists of a tattered tablecloth, smashed milk carton, shreds of a tennis ball, and an In-N-Out burger wrapper, and I would not have it any other way.