Landscaping Architect

Dair loves to putter in the yard. She picks up small limbs and tosses them into the woods. The dogs and cat follow her around and keep her company. It's good exercise for Dair and keeps her occupied.

Unfortunately, she also likes to rearrange my collection of "yard art." One day I discovered a little terra cotta bunny had moved from his normal spot to the middle of the birdbath. I put the bunny back where he belonged, and later the same day he was sitting on a garden wall. A large seashell that I placed on the ground near a planter keeps getting put inside the planter.

One day I discovered that Dair had blocked the small gaps on either side of the gate at the back of the yard. She had noticed that our kitten could get through these openings and head out into the woods. He always came back, but it bothered Dair that he could get out, so she decided to fix that problem. She rounded up an old wheelbarrow tire, a citronella candle, some clippings from the Christmas tree, and a half rotten ear of corn from the compost pile and stuck them into the gaps at the gate.

Something about the whole "white trash" look of the arrangement just set me off. I immediately tore the mess down and threw it away. Dair saw me do this and got furious. She stomped away, whacking things with her walking cane and muttering, "s**t, s**t, g**da**it."

Guess we have different tastes when it comes to landscaping.