July 4, 2022
Puppy Play Yard Progress!
Good day!
I hope you are all well and enjoying life. Part of having dogs is learning from them, and something I have learned is that if you really take time to stop for just a second and focus on your surroundings, you can be surprised and delighted daily. That sounds wise, but while I have learned this from my dogs, I am not skilled at always utilizing this little bit of wisdom. I am definitely a cranky pants about stupid things like traffic or loud cars passing my house or nonsense from other people. But I try to remember, and it really makes a difference when I do! Let’s be more like dogs (and cats). Pee on something if you have to 🙂
I am pleased to share some pictures of the progress I’m making with this summer’s version of the puppy play yard.
This time around, I am growing most of my edible vegetables on the other side of the fence where the pups can’t reach, as I mentioned in my last blog post. I do have just a few veggies and herbs for myself in containers in the play yard. I grow them in large pots to prevent trampling.
However, as you’ll see in the photos, I have several pots around my smoke tree. All of these pots have been seeded with dog-safe herbs. Once they grow, they will be available for sniffing and nibbling. I am slowly but surely adding plants like lavender and mint directly into the ground. I don’t care about grass, in fact I don’t really like it, so rather than treat the bald spots in my yard, I am planting goodies for my dogs in those spaces. I have a lot of opinions about grass, but no one wants to hear that. I have also planted decorative grasses (I do like those) near the smoke tree and added little wood planks for a change in texture for my dogs. I like to use items that I just have laying around (like these pieces of wood) when I can because A. the dogs use this yard and things will break/get smooshed. That’s ok. and B. I change things every year, so why spend a ton of money on something that I am going to change out every few months?
I like using the kiddie pool and little tunnel for fun in the summer. The pool keeps the pups cool. I don’t waste the water, either. At night, I fill up my watering cans and do the evening watering that way. It is a little work intensive, but I hate going to the gym, so I appreciate the exercise. I REALLY hate going to the gym.
The tunnel is from a small “agility” kit from Outward Hound. It was inexpensive and came with all kinds of goodies to add to the yard for playtime. It even has a little hoop/jump!
Ok, in some of the photos, you’ll notice the bamboo privacy cover on my fence. I just ordered about 30 ft. more of it. I am going to place it on top of my green canvas cover because while the cover offers privacy, it’s also unattractive. I want my yard to please my eyeballs, so I’m ordering something that will look good to me. I hope to have the bamboo installed by next week; I will update photos here!
Last but not least, please see my boy Toki’s frog dog legs on his watermellon mat. This is actually a cooling gel mat. I like to put it in a plastic bag and stick it in the regrigerator overnight then place it on the shaded patio when I let the pups out. The dogs are learning that it’s a good way to cool down if they don’t want to splash in the pool.
Also, note the trellis with ivy on it in the back right corner of my yard: that’s my trash can camouflage screen. I thought I was so clever when I thought of that. You can see in one of the photos where I misplaced it and the trash can is showing. Scandal!
I’m a big fan of using all the spaces available to me. My yard is not huge, but it is perfect for us. The dogs are never far enough away that I can’t get to them if needed, but they have plenty of space to run.
AND FUN WAS HAD BY ALL! I’ll be posting again soon, pals.