Frogs on guard

When Nellie and I set out today, I allowed her to lead the way and I'm so glad I did. She decided to to go UP a street we usually walk down. OK - interesting choice. Then she took a sharp left and we were on a short street that had some eye-popping yards. My favorite was a house with guard frogs -- well that's what it seemed like from the way they were placed at the entrance to the home. Now I have a real fondness for frogs - both living and statuary - so I had to share:

In addition to the wonderful sculptures, that block had a garden that was a vision in purple:

And not to brag, but my garden is no slouch in the purple department:

But back to the fun street, one of the most vivid hibiscus blossoms I've ever seen:

On our next walk, Nellie should lead the way again. She seems to have an eye for fun stuff and wonderful gardens. Or maybe she just wanted to explore a new street. Whatever - it's all good.

Blossoms are popping out all over

Walking around the neighborhood it's hard to tell we're in a serious (and getting worse) drought situation. Lake Meade and the Colorado River are at all-time lows and the snow pack isn't so great either. The flowers blooming in gardens don't seem to know the dire predictions about our water shortage though. It may be that this year I've just noticed them more, or they truly are more spectacular. Somehow, they draw me to commemorate them.

Now this is Nellie every time I stop to take pictures:

 Of course, she hasn't yet learned to stop and smell the roses:

Whoa Nellie (pt.2). Get out the champagne.

Nellie has done more than smitten long-suffering partner and me. She has now successfully charmed our big bear Kuma. And by charmed, I mean she has told him firmly, but not overly forcefully, that she demands respect. And it was all her idea. Thank goodness the trainer was here to help out!

Since we knew Kuma can be overly enthusiastic (which is code for a jackass), we kept Nellie in my office with the door closed until she could chill out a bit. The first night I had to sleep in the office chair to stay with her (not comfortably I might add). The next night at least I was able to actually go to bed, but being an overly concerned new mom, of course I kept an ear out for any distress sounds. By Wednesday I found a sturdy grid to fit across the door. It would keep the fur-babies separated but they could get acquainted nose to nose. That's also the day we realized that when the Shelter said they groomed her, what they meant was they got rid of the excess hair and mats, but water and soap were not introduced in the process. Trying to give her more time to acclimate, the bath waited for Thursday. She wasn't thrilled with the idea, but fortunately she was willing to tolerate the madness for the sake of her new digs. 

Friday morning the trainer arrived to assess our situation and guide us through the safe and sane steps for doggie introductions as well as giving a lesson on setting physical boundaries so there was no chance she'd bolt out a door or a gate. Kuma was in the backyard with us and Nellie was safely behind the grid in the office. Or so we thought. Just as we were coming up with the game plan for an introduction, who came bounding out the back door into the yard? Somehow Nellie, who had exhibited zero jumping capabilities in 4 days, had managed to scale the barrier and decided to join us. Thank goodness the trainer took a very Zen approach and there was no drama. Not that there wasn't a tense moment or two, but within minutes, they realized they were going to be together and they may as well make the best of it. Big sigh of relief. 

And today, a mere 6 days at her new home, she is settling in, allowing perfect strangers to pet her, dealing calmly with other dogs, and figuring out how to best boss us around for the duration of her very long stay.

Thoughtful neighbors, more blossoms, books and little Nellie

Our neighborhood seems to have little libraries on every block. And little libraries are a great way to share books and the love of reading. But how many little libraries have a reading area set aside for passersby? Just one that I know of. Some fantastic people decided to create a rest stop for walkers on their street.

Speaking of little libraries, most are house shaped and not particularly remarkable. Except for this one. It has glitter all over it. And it's purple. Now that's fun.

Speaking of fun, two more examples of Ms. A's wonderful mosaic work:

Some more beautiful blossoms:

Haven't a clue what they are, and after cosseting one extremely anxious dog for the last 3 days, I'm too tired to look things up. But Nellie is doing her best to settle in and after her bath today, she looks shiny and fluffy, and more importantly, smells good. She is such a dear and tries so hard. We'll all be happy families soon enough.