Thomas always says that our garden grows despite my best efforts. I think that was true at first but I'd like to think the plants are responding to the copious amounts of time I now spend doting on them. Perhaps they are showing off for their portrait sittings. Whatever the reason I'm ok with it.
But she is crafty. Part of our yard is enclosed with metal chain-link fence and this dog has decided she is going to check the stability of every inch of the fence. She's worked out that she can poke her nose at the bottom edge of the fence and push through between the ground and the flexing fence links. Our yard slopes away from our home and in the years since the fence has been installed the earth has begun to slip away from under it.
She's weaseled through the fence in five spots to date, including two new ones yesterday and today. And the only reason I knew she had escaped is because Henry was barking the spazziest barks I've ever heard. (Henry doesn't join her because he isn't inclined to squeezing through small spaces as he once got stuck in our front gate and has never tried to even put his head through a slightly open door since then.) I ran out to check on him and there on the other side of the fence was Lola chasing squirrels through the neighbor's yucca. Thomas walked down, put her on a leash and brought her home. She doesn't run away, it's almost like she thinks she's just hanging out in a part of the yard that Henry can't get to. She must look over at him and say, "See that squirrel? I'm gonna go catch it without you!"
I really love the clusters of pink flowers that fill this plant for most of the spring and summer months. I bought it on a whim not knowing what kind of habitat it needed. Much to the plant's chagrin, I planted it in direct, all day sun. It's taken a few years and a lot of water but this year it seems to be very happy with its home.