The Three Amigos

Tim came up with Olive the dog to help John set up his new chop saw. Since they were working in the driveway, the dogs were all in the house watching them with varying levels of interest....Now that Maya is a teenager and Owen is, well, Owen, the kids have a lot to do at home and probably weren't too interesting in building cages to keep rodents out of the garden.

The goal is to build another 'cage' to keep the ground squirrels out of the veggie beds.They've been at it all day, but I don't think they have quite the style that Dan, who built the original for us, has. We didn't see him actually do it, but I'm pretty sure his method didn't involve getting down on his hands and knees in the driveway. 

The weather is cold and cloudy. We had a little bit of rain yesterday and although it wasn't much, it was enough to make us feel that we aren't sitting in a tinderbox. The weather has been so strange and unseasonable that I have to stop and think about what season it is. Today was the first day of Daylight Savings time, but now that it is almost officially springtime it feels more like winter.

I could smell woodsmoke from somebody's fireplace as I walked Ozzie down the street this evening. There aren't many wood burning fireplaces left, so It's another one of those smells, like that of freshly cut grass, that may not be around much longer, but brings back fond memories to those of us who actually remember the smell of freshly cut grass. When I was quite small I used to 'help' my dad mow our huge lawn. (I wonder if I would still find it to be huge if I went back there tomorrow?) The lawnmower had a grass catcher behind it which my dad would empty periodically into a wheelbarrow. When the lawn was finished, he would let me ride in the wheelbarrow full of grass clippings to wherever he took it to dump it. I don't remember where that was, but I still remember the smell of the grass. 

In light of the cold wind and cloudy skies, I've made a big pot of stew...with cognac in it...and some wine. It's making the house smell good.

I read somewhere that scents have more memories associated with them than any of the other senses....