Sunday, April 22, 2007

When the yard melts through...

The "S" word is getting the best of our kids and pets. Hyper activity seems to be first on every child/pet agenda - or was that food first, then hyper inattentiveness? I forget. We should have a grasp on the "complete" thaw - after snow in May - because we already got a start picking bikes, balls, tools, logs, carpets, helmets, handlebars, etc. out from under the edges of "Soup Trauma Central". Our yard problem (hole to China) has escalated since '06 - probably because of our warming trend (and cheap dog food).

We could have done more research (like Kentucky) on how to prevent sinkholes - due to last year's melt-through - but it seems we found little time for prevention and will pay for it this year. If we do not get control of this phenomenon, the neighborhood will suffer the consequences in 2008 (rendition below). The city of LA, more than likely, has fines for this kind of carelessness.

Something is in the air, for sure, that allows no more than 20 seconds of attention spanned at any given time. This year's thaw is brutal on mental wellness.


Matilda just sits and looks out the window - almost as if plotting a timely escape when the door is ajar.


The porch was getting so warm in the sun, my dachshunds melted together during their nap. Remember the cartoon "Cat Dog"? This is Dog Dog. It's much easier to catch them when they bolt out the door and try to run for the hills. The old shoes in the background were rescued from LAST years soup. They were frozen through '05 - '06 winter under 8" of ice by the porch and were used for the remainder of '06-'07 - still ticking. Kind of a "cryotherapy" for shoes. It's almost a shame to replace them at this point. There was a contest they could've been entered in for the worst sneakers for a $2500 first prize...next year, maybe.

5 opinionated prattle:

VA said...

Jim Bob, his brother J.B, and, Billy stand at the edge of the sink hole wondering how to get cousin Jimmy out of the hole after the ill fated plan of throwing him down, followed by a ladder. Jimmy was to raise the ladder and climb up with the merry kentucky cash crop they had been tending to all season long but the muck at the bottom was so soft that every step he took up the rungs sunk the ladder just that much more. A rope was now out of the question because by the time they figured this out they had loaded the last of it into their pipe. After a little more debate it became obvious that their mother/sister would have to be notified of the dilemma. Jimmy felt instantly relieved that he would not have to receive the same spanking as he was younger than the rest and still in the bottom of the pit. At a mere thirty years old he was still eating worms anyway so he figured he could survive until the dry season when the ladder would quit sinking.

Stan Harrington said...

The "dotsons" look well and happy after enduring the long winter and deep snow in their play area. I am assuming that they to will be making the trek to the HITW this spring. I will let the bar at the Anchor River Inn know so they can stock up on "doggy treats" for the "dogs night out". Perhaps if we shuttled them to the bar this year instead of making them run, they would be more inclined to "party down". You may want to take some preventitive measures this summer concerning your sink hole, perhaps haul some gravel and cover the back yard with ten inches of gravel will prevent things getting so wet.

VA said...

My previous comment is of course in reference to the 1st picture in your post.

P.S. The dogs melting together in the heat had us both in stitches I'll tell ya.

john r mclay said...

One thing for certain - I have an idea where the rest of my missing "fort tools" went this winter. I was lucky to find the 6 shovels, 2 brooms, 1 rake, and a timing gun. I might use this opportunity to get rid of a bunch of unwanted junk before we fill it in, again.

john r mclay said...

...what's wrong with eating worms? Good mineral supplement.

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