Today Izzie and I went out on a series of errands in an effort to get a bit more done in the yard before several days of wet weather starts. Izzie is a wonderful errand companion, at least so long as the places I’m shopping are dog friendly. She is friendly to anyone who wants to give her a scratch but doesn’t lunge at people. She is good on a leash and if I attach her leash to my belt loop with a carabiner I have both hands free. If we are somewhere crowded or its inappropriate to be on the ground she is happy to be carried around in a canvas tote bag (and at 8lb doesn’t wear my shoulder out too quickly). She is also perfectly behaved in a shopping cart. This time of year, most of my errands are to places like the hardware store, Habitat Re-store, garden center or outdoor cafes – all of which are usually happy to see Izzie. Some even keep treats at the register!
Our first stop was Habitat Re-Store where we got a trailer load full of wood for $10. These boards will become raised bed gardens full of veggies. This is one of my favorite places to shop, I can find the best deals on wood, furniture and assorted building supplies AND I know that the little money I do pay goes to a good cause.
All those boards were heavy to lift so we stopped at the cafe next door for an iced coffee break (Izzie got a bowl of water, the last thing I need is a caffeinated puppy).
Our next stop was Lowes to get supplies to install our new kitchen sink faucet. She spent most of the visit on her leash, but then we can into a big golden retriever and decided the shoulder bag might be safer. Like many dogs her size, Izzie suffers from “SDS” (small dog syndrome) and feels compelled to bark ferociously at large dogs.
Then we went to a local garden center, Redmond‘s, to pick out shrubs to replace the boxwoods we dug up over the weekend. Eventually I decided on a dwarf variety of cherry laurel (cultivar ‘Otto Lukyen‘) for either side of the front step and creeping phlox for the half-circle bed in front of the walkway. I started with three phlox plants but once they get established and we are safely past the possibility of night time frosts I may add a few more to help the bed fill in more quickly.
Izzie got to meet the garden center’s resident dog, Frankie. Interestingly, Izzie didn’t bark at Frankie. I guess he isn’t big enough to require intimidating.
Walking around the garden center we got very hot – it was 80 degrees!! – so before we headed home we stopped by a local ice cream shop that gives pups their own (free) scoop of icecream when their owners buy themselves a cone. I got triple chocolate and Izzie got dog bone.
Finally we made it back home. I could feel the weather beginning to change as the pressure dropped ahead of the storm so I quickly started digging holes for the new plants. Izzie tried to supervise my work…
but then she fell asleep.
I managed to get all the plants in the ground and wood unloaded before the storm hit and now the new plants are getting a nice, deep soaking courtesy of mother nature.
Square Peg Farm 