This was my first time to try one-handed gardening. There was nothing physically wrong with me, but I didn’t have the heart to leave a dancing dog inside. As soon as I went near the back door, Kacey began jumping and trying to stand on her hind legs, her usual routine when she wants to go outside. The occasion was a happy one – removing screens that had covered the areas where daughter Lise and brother Bob planted tulip bulbs she bought in the Amsterdam airport. There were several tiny bits of green pushing through the dirt, and I knew I had to remove the protective screens before the first shoots were stunted.
Kacey would go as far as the leash would reach without jerking me off my feet. I was able to move the anchoring stones and the screens with one hand. She went back in the house while I moved the scratchy things into the garage. David plans to put a heavy stake that screws in the ground near the garden so that she will have some freedom when I begin pruning things in February. I’ll admit that gardening is not my favorite pastime, but having doggy company might make it more fun.