i love this time of the year – the weather is perfect and we can all be outside together working on projects with the added benefit of worn out dogs when all is said and done. there are some disadvantages to trying to get work done with 16 dogs, the main one being the energy expended trying to keep said dogs that i love to have around from destroying whatever it is we’re trying to accomplish. they all have very specific behaviors when work is being done: reilley, dooley, carly and zander generally frown upon work and can be found in the most comfortable spot closest to where we are; fletcher, watson, slater, phineus and simon are generally off doing their own thing and check in here and there; and the remaining seven are all up in our business. it sounds like a pain in the ass and while it can sometimes lead to more work they really do make things very entertaining.
there is one thing we’ve found that changes the above specific behaviors to “all bets are off” and that is a pile of dirt. it’s crazy but holy shitake mushrooms if a mass of dirt isn’t some kind of dog slang for “oh, it’s on.” this weekend dave & i were working on a raised bed that has been filled with weeds and falling apart for a few years , a bed which nobody has bothered with in that state. everyone was pretty much on task for their specific behaviors until the dirt was revealed and then chaos ensued…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjPAq4kAN7c&w=480&h=315]