It’s raining again. I know that April showers are supposed to bring May flowers and when walking Nia I can see the flowers getting ready to bloom. There’s a senior housing complex down the street and some of the residents have gardens in front of their apartments. You can tell that these ladies have a real talent and passion for their gardens. Their gardens are beautiful and I always pause to see what’s getting ready to bloom. The crocuses (croci? crocus?) are in full bloom and it looks like the daffodils are next.
The other thing I’ve noticed in cruising the neighborhood is how few of my neighbors recycle. Most stick a few milk jugs, cardboard and newspapers into their bin but I can see cans, water bottles and other recyclables clearly in trash bags and trash cans. Some people even put electronics out on their curb. A) You have to recycle electronics separately because the trash collectors won’t take them and B) Do we really need an old vacuum cleaner or coffee maker sitting in a landfill until the end of the Earth? My city makes it very easy to recycle. We have curbside pick-up and we are not required to sort. I’m tempted to knock on my neighbors’ doors to explain how easy it is to recycle. It’s actually easier because you don’t have to take the trash out as often. DH is all for that 
Nia is thriving despite our mistakes. They haven’t been too serious but we’re apparently lacking in the house training department. To be fair she doesn’t always give a warning sniff before she pees so that makes it extra challenging. We try to solve this by taking her out more often then she probably needs. We’re also spoiling her because we don’t make her pee and poop in our yard. We walk her around the block. She’s especially fond of pooping in the senior complex. We get some nasty looks but I make an elaborate show of whipping out the blue poop bags and picking up after her. That’s going to have to change because of days like today. It’s raining “lightly” and will become steadier as the day goes along. She’ll get a walk tonight when it slows down but for today she’s going to have to squat her fluffy little butt down on our grass…or stay in the kitchen all day.
She’s doing pretty well in her Beginners class. Nia is very smart and picks things up easily but it’s mayhem during the class. There are five other puppies and it’s very loud and distracting. We hired a trainer to come to our house when we had Ivy and the class is a lot different and it’s harder to figure out what to do. I’m practicing as often as possible but her attention span isn’t that long. I know her it will grow as she matures. She’s got one foot into doggie adolescence which isn’t pretty but I’ll take it every day over people adolescence.
Nia is going to be spayed on Wednesday. I don’t think it will have much affect on her energy level but it is one less thing to worry about. I’ll have her micro-chipped then, too. The chip has to go under the skin between the shoulder blades and the needle that is used is very thick. It’s about the circumference of a pinkie finger so we’ll take advantage of the fact that she’ll be under. My cats didn’t flinch when they were chipped but I did! I think it’s very important to have pets chipped even if they don’t go outside unsupervised. You never know what can happen and I’ve heard about lots of happy reunions for lost pets and their people thanks to micro-chips.
I’m really supposed to be cleaning and doing laundry and shopping for bday gifts for DH. That in itself is infuriating because he doesn’t have any ideas for what he might like for his bday, not even for a gift card. Men.
I hope you have a great weekend!
