a dousing in off to take out the dog.

after we got married, landon and i lived in a one bedroom apartment. it was mine before we got married. it was on the third floor. when i brought home our puppy, doc, it didn't occur to me how annoying (and basically impossible) it would be to potty train the poor thing up and down three flights of stairs. if you ever visited that apartment, you know it wasn't all that successful.

so though doc is beautifully behaved (er, most of the time) in that area these days, a first floor apartment was non-negotiable when we moved to this place.

it's fabulous because there is this huge field grassy area right outside our door -- literally, five steps from the doormat. it's really great, and lots of times we just let doc run around out there without a leash. the only problem we've had is when he over-excitedly races to see this man who has three little dogs on leashes that he walks at one time. he smokes a cigarette while walking them, and when doc is sprinting over, barking, he freaks out. he yanks the poor animals up by the leash, trying to save them but nearly choking them in the meantime. the chihuahua dangling by it's neck at the bark of my wussy dog is comedy at it's best.

but i try not to laugh.

anyway!

this grassy knoll is fabulous except for the fact that it's low-lying. it's sinks down in the center, and, with all this rain we've had, it's a veritable marsh.

just now i took doc out. thunder is rolling in the distance; it's like there's a huge humidifier over plano, and the clouds are ready to let loose at any moment.

and there are mosquitoes. swarms. literally.

i was swiping them non-stop while i was out there. i could see them landing on doc.

it's horrible. i'm going to have to hose myself down with off before i go out the next time.

and i'm going to politely request that the managment spray.

otherwise we're gonna get west nile up in this piece.

there has to be a good chance with the 80 bajillion blood-sucking bugs out there.

no joke.