Day 2302

The landscapers were here all day. Dot barked a lot, but it really wasn't as bad as I expected. We go through this ritual every year. The landscapers don't add anything new. They just replace the stuff that died during the Winter. This year we lost quite a few Liriope plants and of course all of our St. Augustine grass. I've become resigned to the fact that the grass is going to die, no matter what we do to take care of it. One year I thought seriously about putting in artificial turf, but I've see a few installations and they all look cheesy. Artificial turf also starts to smell after dogs pee on it for several years.

So here we are again. I feel like I'm paying way too much to have a small yard look nice for eight months out of the year. What's the alternative though? Years ago, I filled up my car with heavy squares of St. Augustine turf every Spring and installed the grass myself. It's just not worth the trouble anymore. I really didn't save that much money anyway. The landscaper gets a much better wholesale price on grass and plants than I could and this savings pays for a big chunk of his labor. I guess it's worth it.

Since I had to stay home all day, I actually got quite a bit of work done. I finished two new articles today and shipped them off to the client. There was even time left over to complete some minor website updates. The dogs were surprisingly good today. I was expecting total chaos, but Dash largely ignored the landscapers and Dot couldn't even hear them. It's sad that Dot is growing deaf, but it can be a blessing on days like this. She would bark whenever she saw the guys working out the living room window, but when I turned her around so she was facing the kitchen, she would immediately forget what she was barking about and start thinking about food again.

Since I upgraded the operating on my phone yesterday, I thought I'd upgrade the operating system on my watch today. The procedure took over an hour and the only difference I've noticed so far is that my maps app doesn't work anymore. This is par for the course with Apple upgrades. They add a bunch of features I'll never ever use, while quietly wrecking essential things I use everyday. You should never upgrade a computer operating system just because you're bored. It never ends well.

Now that there's new grass in the yard, I'll have to remember to water it everyday. For the next month or so the yard will be damp and soggy and the dogs will have muddy paws every time they go out to pee. Maybe that artificial grass wasn't such a bad idea after all. Even though it will involve some extra work on my part, I think today was a success. The yard looks great now. The lush green grass, trimmed hedges, and healthy ground cover probably won't last long, but at least we made an effort.

I took my evening meds this morning again. Now I need to remember to take my morning meds this evening before I go to bed. One of these days I'm going to end up taking the dogs pills by mistake and then I'll really be in trouble.

Dottie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day