Great pics of the furbies Woody! Love your corner with the giant hostas! looking really wonderful in your beautiful gardens and the puppies are so sweet. Thanks for sharing
Deanne

Aw shucks Woody, I hope Phoebe isn't pining away !

Phoebles must feel a bit adrift, Woody. Though I'm confident you and Randy will capably assist Misty in helping her settle right in for her stay. She couldn't be in more reassuring and capable hands. :)

(you really have a lovely property; I love the way you've created places to stroll and enjoy the plantings)

Phoebe is having no problems settling in! She clearly remembers us and our routines. She's a lot calmer dog than she was as a puppy/'teenage' dog. It's a bit surprising though that she seems to prefer being indoors than outside. When we're out on the back porch (where we spend a lot of time) she goes down to the yard to 'do her business' but then comes right back to hang out with us on the porch or lays down in front of the patio door waiting for someone to let her back inside. Charlotte used to spend a lot of time wandering around the yard, clearly wondering why it was so small! Phoebe is quite content to flake out on the floor by the desk. I bet she spends a lot of time with gb in a simialr spot!

There are two little dogs (smaller than Misty!) across the back fence. On the first day Phoebe was here, she went to check them out - and got told off right smartly by them that they took no nonsense for big dogs! Phoebe turned tail and made a beeline back to the porch! She's now reluctant to go too close to the fence - it was very funny! :-)

But she's made lots of new buddies in the neighbourhood. Dawn joins us for walkies at least once a day. Rambo has walked with us/her a couple of times, and she's met Charlie, Sammy and Tess. So she looks forward to hearing the word 'walkies' several times a day.

Chelone - the paths are a very important part of the garden! I love under the pines (except when the mosquitos are bad!) because the canopy of pine branches makes it feel a bit like there's a cathederal ceiling over the space. With the soft carpet of pine needles underfoot too, the space feels very peaceful.

Yes, it does look as if Phoebe is completely at home. She and Misty make a good pair-a little like a "Mutt and Jeff" combo!

Funny story about the neighbors at the fence. Wonder what exactly they said to poor Phoebe.

What a wonderful arrangement to be able to have your pet somewhere where she remembers the people and routines. It sounds like Phoebe has matured.

Your garden looks so restful and woodsy. You must be getting enough rain this summmer.3

The Wrecking Crew actually know when they're coming here. I think the smell of the ocean tips them off, but they will be asleep in the car and as soon as their mother turns down our road they get up and are on alert. :)

When you have pets one of the things you appreciate most are like-minded friends who will take care of your animals when you need/want to get away.

Michelle - we only had 10mm. of rain in July compared to our usual 70+mm. August has been a big improvement so far - ~40mm (1.5"). August rainfall varies extremely from year to year but has averaged about 80mm. over the past 10 years, so we're on target for an average August. Randy kept the newly planted things watered in July but most of the backyard has survived without water. The shade from the ash and oak is very important - we never watered the lawn at all and it stayed green through this terrible drought! I've noticed this summer that lawns in the neighbourhood that were not watered stayed green under the canopy of shade trees while any bits in full sun have long since turned brown and crispy.

Chelone - Copper's owner says Copper's like that - as soon as she turns the corner onto our street, Copper gets excited. Liam's owners say just mentioning 'Susan and Misty' gets Liam excited :-) Actually Liam arrives early Wed. morning for a week or so. Phoebe will be happy with that - she was getting a bit bored and restless yesterday afternoon. She was trying to get Misty to play with her but Misty is too old now to want to play vigorously with her big buddies. Liam, however, will gladly chase and be chased...

Yesterday Phoebe met Zoe (Rottweiler). They've met before, but it's been a long time since Phoebe stayed here. Zoe was not full grown when they met before and Phoebe was bigger than her then. Zoe is now a slab-of-muscle fullgrown Rottweiler and is definitely bigger than Phoebe! Zoe is very friendly and sociable with both people and dogs, but is a bit intimidating to look at :-) Phoebe hid behind Randy when Zoe approached! As soon as Zoe stopped moving towards her and sat down, Phoebe came out from behind Randy and started to approach Zoe. When Zoe got up to meet her, Phoebe zipped behind Randy again! I dispensed cookies all round and we walked on - they will undoubtedly meet again and Zoe will look more familiar to Phoebe next time. This morning she met Crosby (half-grown chocolate Labradoodle). They got along well, although Crosby was more interested in getting cookies than meeting Phobe :-)