the yard

the baron and the husband were delighted with the yard at the west willow house. the front yard boasted 4 orange trees; the husband would make fresh orange juice every morning. the back yard was not VERY large, but was perfectly sized for three dogs. there was a nice patch of lawn for them to play, and to, ahem, do their business. additionally, there was a diving pool, and room for a box garden and an herb garden too. it was quite the life!

here is lettuce the husband was able to grow early in the spring and long into fall... the best thing about phoenix, it turns out, is the length of the growing season.

lavender, gifted to the baron and the husband by the baron's mother. the baron's mother gave them two tiny plants which, aided by the good phoenix sun, grew into monstrously fragrant bushes.

the pool, and in the corner there you can see the vegetable boxes built by the husband. also, to the left of the pool is the herb garden.

and speaking of the herb garden, here's a closeup. there's a rosemary hedge to the left there, with cilantro, lavender, basil, oregano, parsley, peppers, oregano and a dwarf lemon tree all planted behind it.

those vegetable boxes? here's the closeup... they've been built, though not filled. and in the middle there? that's collard greens and one tomato plant.

here, tucker helps the husband built the patio around the vegetable boxes. eventually, and despite tucker's 'help', the patio would be entirely filled in. the baron and the husband placed a bistro set in the center of this patio and would often take their morning coffee there.

one of the many planting beds in the back yard. here, the dogs take a break to pose for a photo... but doesn't harlan look like his image should be titled 'thug life'?

baron's big day, winding down

reader, this morning the baron took baron to the vet, to meet with a doctor who would give him an ultrasound. the ultrasound would determine whether baron's cushing's disease was pituitary gland dependent or adrenal gland dependent, the former necessitating medication, the latter, surgery. the ultrasound, the baron learned, is a live test, one that enables the doctor to see RIGHT AWAY whether or not there were any tumors on baron's adrenal glands; if there were not, the doctor's assumption would be that the cushing's was pituitary dependent.

so. that ultrasound seemed to take a LONG time. the baron had her fingers crossed for no tumors, no surgery.

some conversation during the ultrasound:
doctor (while rubbing the sensor around baron's belly): you can see some gas in his stomach there...
the baron: yeah. that's as per usual.

doctor: so, baron's quite thirsty. any accidents in the house?
the baron: not so much accidents as... purposeful.

doctor: his adrenal glands and his liver are enlarged, which is consistent with cushing's. i see no evidence of tumors on either of his adrenal glands, so we can assume that his cushing's is pituitary dependent. the tech will see you into an exam room. i'll be in to talk to you about medication for him.
the baron (heaving a sigh of relief): ok.

the dogs

the west willow house was a nice change for dexter. she was adopted by the baron and the husband from the san francisco animal shelter; she had spent her whole life - all three years as of 2004 - in northern california. the last two years were spent in a very small apartment on the lower haight, in walking distance to alamo square. while city life afforded her the chance to meet lots of interesting people and lots of interesting dogs, the baron imagined dexter was glad to have her own yard. below, sexy dexy shows the tennis ball who's boss.


tucker was adopted from the county pound. the baron has no idea where he came from, if he was surrendered or was a stray, but she does know that she and the husband lucked out... tucker is the happiest dog around. below, he gets his lounge on.


harlan was a stray, and the baron and the husband are VERY thankful that they were able to adopt him. below, he catches some sun... though doesn't the photo look like it should be titled 'thug life'?

phoenix, i hardly miss you

has the baron mentioned that she and the husband once lived in phoenix, az? they lived there from 2004-2006, and reader, those were LONG years. phoenix is good for gardening, but not much else as far as the baron could tell. they picked their house based on it's affordability rather than it's location... it was their starter house, after all, and - coming from san francisco - money was tight. the house, on west willow avenue, was $130,000; at the time, the sum staggered the baron. over time, and especially after the purchase of their maryland home, 130k began to seem reasonable, so reasonable that the baron and the husband decided to keep the west willow house as a rental property. 'maybe we'll use it in the future,' they said, 'and anyway, the market in phoenix is tanking. may as well keep it, right?'

they found renters pretty quickly, and for the past two years things have run fairly smoothly (though the husband will shake his fist in the air and bemoan the state of their formerly beautifully landscaped yard). four weeks ago, though, the renters gave notice that they had bought a house and were leaving. sigh.

the renters left the house in rather poorer shape than they found it. the landscaping IS an issue - not only for the work the husband and the baron put into it, but because a dirt front yard will make the house harder to rent. also, the carpet - newly installed by the baron and the husband four years ago - needs to be replaced. this information, about the state of the house, comes second hand to the baron and the husband from their property management company. the husband will fly to phoenix next week to suss it out for himself... and to meet with contractors to spruce the place up.

the baron, this morning, was thinking about that house and about all the work she and the husband put into it. about how they thought it was their forever home, about how they customized it for themselves, with crown molding and new bathrooms. this was, of course, before things fell apart. for a time, though, it was a happy and hopeful place. the baron has decided, in her reminiscing mood, to post some pictures of that house. reader, bear with her.

rakey rakey

last weekend, the baron was in the mood to rhapsodize a little over the trees in her yard. they were, after all, turing colors in a very beautiful and striking way: yellows, crimsons, burnt oranges, and even some brilliant inky pinks appeared on the trees. it's startling to see all that gorgeous, natural color!

but.

the baron's love for fall foliage ended abruptly saturday afternoon. reader, she realized that all those pretty, pretty leaves would, in fact, not be staying on the trees.

instead, they would, in short order, fall onto the lawn.

so.

the baron's new attitude is 'screw you trees! drop those leaves somewhere else.'

outside living, on hold

it occurred to the baron that she never completed her thought regarding the newest of the new retaining walls. reader, the wall is done, though the project is not... the patio, shed, and formal garden will wait until spring. the baron and the husband have run out of time (highs in the low 50s this week!) and money (their rental house is recently vacated, which means the baron and the husband get to carry two mortgages until the house is occupied... yay!), so the back of the yard will just keep looking like this until the spring thaw:

this latest wall taught the baron and the husband a couple of lessons:
1) don't start a MASSIVE yard project with winter just around the corner
2) masonry saw blades are a real and helpful thing: see the corner, below

and the closeup (see those cut pieces? pretty nice, right?)

the long shot: if you squint, reader, you can see the wall at the back of the yard.

the baron's new favorite thing

recently, the baron discovered something new and exciting in the world of dog accessories. well, maybe not NEW, since this product has been around for at least a little while, but it's definitely EXCITING!

reader, it's the furminator.

the baron had heard about the furminator from friends, and had read about it on the interweb. she had doubts, though - could anything really remove THAT MUCH dog hair? also, 'furminator' sounds complicated, like a magical, dog-hair-eating vacuum or something, right?

in reality, the furminator is a teeny, tiny, fits-in-the-palm-of-your-hand, rake-esque brush. she finally decided to order it last week. see how small it is, below.


when the package finally arrived at the baron's house, she tore it open and wielded the furminator at her two furriest dogs. 'i am going to furminate you so good!', she said. they blinked.

below, see the results... dog hair, dog hair everywhere.