i hate spring

Before I get mauled by the masses… just hear me out.

I spent over two hours yesterday picking up the back yard. I collected hundreds of three to four inch pieces of the once 10 foot long garden hose we forgot to pick up before it snowed. Obviously we forgot to pick it up again once the snow melted, and Gus got a hold of it. I also ran across two screw drivers, three pop bottles, seven old bones, a cotton rope, and lots of paper and plastic. It would have made an interesting sculpture. And that only took a half an hour.

I spent the remaining hour and a half picking up four months worth of dog crap. Last year we didn’t have this problem. Last year Gus was in his kennel during the day while we were gone. This year we decided to see if he would behave himself in the back yard. He only escaped once and seemed to leave things alone. So we gave him a little more freedom. Mostly it alleviated our guilt for leaving him in his kennel all day. The problem was further compounded with our decision to switch him to a cheaper dog food. Cheaper = more ruffage = more crap. We have a compost pile (which I’m not a huge proponent of despite knowing the environmental benefits) and an elaborate dog poo septic system. But you still have to pick it up. I’m really curious to know how other people with dogs in town handle the poo problem. Any ideas?

I love Gus, but I really want a nice, well-kept backyard. I suppose it’s impossible to have both, and Gus isn’t going anywhere so I just need to suck it up. But thanks for listening.