It's raining outside. It has been raining, well if not for weeks, then it sure seems that way. I finally got the yard mowed yesterday, but storms opened up again last night, and the 'kids' are bored today.

There will come a time--any minute, in fact-- when I will close my eyes to the mud and simply open the door and let the dogs out to run. They will come in later, filthy but tired and happy. Fortunately, I can leave them in the utility room behind the dog gate to dry off and lose some of the mud. It will require a stiff brushing before they are allowed back in the house, but it is a process that seems to work.

As you can see, Angus and Freki have become buddies, and each one seems to delight in annoying the other when he or she is trying to nap or chew a favorite toy. They try to share the loveseat, but hilarity quickly ensues and off they go, chasing each other through the house.

Can you see how innocent they are? Uh, huh. Don't let their sweet faces fool you. They are plotting something. My guess would be a romp designed to get them tossed outside. Ben will take one face full of rain and sulk to come inside. Freki will dart off across the yard in search of her ball, and show up at the back door with a puzzled look on her face when I decline to join her. What rain? It doesn't faze her. Playing ball is obviously much more important.

The rain has been good for the garden. The beans are sprouted and almost doubling in size every day. The tomatoes have flowers on them, as do the peppers. There are tiny sprouts from the green onions and recently seeded carrots, and I harvested a bit of cilantro the other day to put in some meatballs.

It is so exciting to watch it grow! And if I have three muddy dogs, at least the garden is happy, too.

Gardening is fun. I love the colors of flowers. They are cheerful and something about tending them is very satisfying to me. If I lived in a closet-sized apartment with no windows (believe me, there would have to be windows), I would grow something under a florescent bulb. For a lot of plants, I have two green thumbs. I definitely have my limits, but we won't mention those poor plants.

At the new house, I have an opportunity to grow more than a couple of tomato plants in pots (actually there were a couple of pepper plants, several herbs and a watermelon vine that took over the patio, but that's another story). The problem is, I don't have time to weed, tend and harvest a large garden like my parents had when I was a kid. So, when 'square-foot' gardening was mentioned, I checked it out.

Above is the garden as it looked last weekend. I had started a few plants from seed, and you can see parsley, cilantro, oregano thyme, catnip, green onions and a tomatillo plant in these beds. Each bed is 4X8 with 1 foot squares marked off for planting guides.

Monday, I added a few more plants. There will be tomatoes (Roma, Big Boy and cherry), eggplant (I need to give you my recipe for eggplant patties), peppers (red, yellow and red sweet peppers, poblano- need a jalapeno), zucchini, yellow squash, sage, cucumber.

I hope to harvest on a rotating basis, adding more plants during the summer so veggies are available all season.

And of course I added flowers!

Do you have a favorite veggie to grow in the garden? What do you think about these planters?

The dogs have their newly fenced back yard, and are dutifully engaged in digging, chewing on sticks, and tracking various examples of dirt, leaves, twigs and other such things into the house. The chimes (hung well out of Freki's reach) toll their soft tones, and fresh green tree leaves are beginning to add their shade.

In the front yard, the sun warms the front porch and side yard, and only squirrels dig in the flower beds. I have lots of plans for this side of the house. The back yard? Not so much.

Freki believes the flower pots are her personal grab bags and all flowers are edible.

There are so many wild flowers in the front yard. I confess I mowed around many of them this past week. I just couldn't bring myself to eliminate their sweet faces, though I suppose they will quit blooming soon enough and I will no longer be torn between a smooth green lawn and the delicate tumble of tiny, colorful flowers.

I planted squash, sweet pepper and onion seeds a couple of weeks ago, and they are poking their heads through the soil in their little pots. I also planted rosemary, parsley, cilantro and catnip. They will be ready to transplant to the garden in the next week or so. Instead of using pots, we are building raised beds. I'll post photos once they're ready. We will add tomatoes, other peppers, tomatillos, beans, a cucumber vine and perhaps a melon or two. And there will be flowers.

Last week I filled the two pots on my front porch with Gerber daisies and alyssum- the pansies were left from last fall. The peonies are coming up and there are now caladiums in the flower bed under the trees. The roses have buds on them, and the phlox is blooming its head off. I can't wait to see what lies dormant in these beds. Mums are already poking their foliage through the layer of leaves and mulch.

In case you're wondering how the kitten is doing, well, he and Ben are currently curled up on the couch with me (yes, Ben sleeps with his head hanging off. I don't know why.), and Dixie is ignoring both of them. 

Freki is still fascinated with Angus and has abandoned her supper on more than one occasion to check him out if he runs through the house at dinner time.

She can be found watching him play, eat, and yes, doing his thing in the litter box. She is hooked.