Scenes from the backyard

Of all the things that belong in my backyard, a pink pound puppy is not one of them. Grass, trees, flowers, maybe an unwelcome raccoon or two but definitely not a stuffed animal.

For many years, basically since adopting Miss M., I dreamed of having an enclosed space in which my precious pooch would run freely and enjoy the outside without being on a leash. However, my status as a condo dweller rendered this dream as deferred.

Amazingly, with the move to California, I was able to find my dream space - a cottage for me and a backyard, all fenced in, for Mika. The first couple of months we lived here I despaired that she wasn't embracing the space. I would open the slider to the patio and she would stand at the threshold, observing the outside but not experiencing it. Watching her gazing at the backyard but not venturing into it, I might have muttered "ingrate" a few times but eventually, she accepted the new environment and learned to own the space. Joy, to me, is observing her as she takes full advantage of her outdoor space: dashing around the yard like she's running sprints, sunbathing in direct sun, and just wandering around in the fresh air.

Miss M. is not the average dog. She has no desire to play fetch nor participate in tug o' war. Well meaning friends brought her balls and ropes that never got used. What she loves are stuffed animals. Unlike many dogs that would chew and/or rip up such toys, Miss M. treats them as gently as a loving mother. She carries them from place to place and I can always tell where she has been spending time by where I find her toys.

Before she came into my life, Miss M. raised a couple of litters and using armchair psychology, I assume she's working out her maternal tendencies on her stuffed flock. I find it charming: I baby her and she babies her toys.

With her new access to an outdoor space,  I didn't anticipate that she would bring her inside world to the outside. I quickly learned that just like she would carry her animals around the house, she did the same in the yard. It's not unusual for me to find her toys outside: on the patio, under bushes, in the grass. It is both exasperating (the outside can be yucky) and endearing.

I don't know why I thought she would leave her toys in the house but since she doesn't, I just wish should pick up after herself!