Puppy Love in the Flower Garden

Before BigLittleMeals there was MiniBlooms – our post-retirement gardening business.  I use “our” loosely. Ann was the brains, creative force, and much of the brawn;  I was the utility clean up and drip irrigation lackey.  I barely knew the difference between an aster and a geum but could carry a ton of clippings in one load.  

Don’t tell our kids or grandkids, but Ann’s love of plants is only surpassed by her passion for pets (“human companions” as they are now known).  We have never been without such companionship in our 50+ years of marriage.  So when Rio, our beloved Australian shepherd, was getting on in years and Ann learned that our favorite Aussie breeder in Colorado had a pup available, it was a no-brainer.  Who cares if the puppy was pricy and that it will have had to be in flown to Glen Ellen from Colorado (pricy just got  pricier!)?  Hence, in 2011 Oakley Devine became a part of our family.

It didn’t take long for Oakley to get involved in our MiniBlooms gardening business.  Fortunately I was there to record a video of Oakley’s first MiniBlooms puppy moment.   It happened when Ann was mulching one of our flowerbeds and Oakley saw an opportunity for some serious play time. The video speaks for itself.

Now that we no longer have our MiniBlooms business and Oakley has matured into a calmer dog,  Ann has turned her full botanical energy toward developing our yard into a showcase fit for a Better Homes and Gardens photo shoot. I am still on call to be the clean-up and repair-the-drip guy – which is a great incentive to find opportunities to spend more hours on my road bike.