a respite from politics

ok, so.....i have just planted 125 bulbs in my expanded bed.....25 city of haarlem hyacinths....and 100 mixed red tulips...they will be a stunning mass come the spring.....when i will surely have recovered from digging 125 small holes....i am saddened to learn from our next-door-neighbor that the yellow dog we 'share' may be on his last legs....literally...the dog has gained so much weight from under-activity and overeating that he cannot get up to go outside and the neighbor called to ask our permission for treatment and/or euthanasia....the dog was outside on their stoop when i went to the grocery earlier today.....with the neighbor petting him, but i am unsure if he got to that part of the porch on his own or if she helped him.. so sign of him this afternoon......an odd death watch in that the neighbors do not acknowledge us in public or in private over this dog...that the appear to love dearly.....ah well.....the roofers have finished replacing our 20 year old shingles...in a mixed grey rather than black this time around.....i have great hopes of picking out the next shingle shade in 20 years.....the roofers were kind enough to reshingle the dog's new house, which we have placed on the brick walk about the spot where the red Adirondacks chairs stand during the summer...it is a sunny location and flat enough for the purpose.....now that the planting is done i am heading out to the deck to bask in the autumn sunshine while i plod through yet another book club selection that features a dysfunctional family.....