I am still recovering from my all-out gardening marathon this weekend. Ripping out overgrown ivy and green growth like we get here in the Pacific Northwest, all to make a lovely little space for a small flower and herb garden. The new garden spot is right next to a Rainier cherry tree and I'm planning to add a stone path to separate the planting beds. All that strenuous trimming and clearing that made me think about my pioneer ancestor's homesteading efforts. My dogs stayed nearby, acting like they were not sure what to do. It was seemed like they thought they ought to pitch in and help, so they ate grass for awhile, and stood around to keep me company.

Dogs seem to want to involve themselves when you're working outside. Many years ago I had a German Shepherd who watched us gather driftwood at the beach for a campfire. Ever after he'd bring whatever pieces of wood he could find in the yard, sometimes even snapping off branches of shrubs. A Border Collie we had long ago used to eat blackberries off of the bushes we were picking them from. I can't think of what useful thing a dog could do in the garden, but I'm happy if mine just stay around. Not amble away into the neighbor's yard, like the poodles tend to do. The elderly man who lives next door is one of their favorite folks, and he always delights them by saying their names. (It doesn't take much to delight those two.) Much more interesting than watching me yank out another wheelbarrow full of errant ivy. What do your dogs do while you work in the yard?

When you work at home dogs somehow just find their way into the organization. Our Aussie considers himself something of an onsite supervisor. When product is delivered he uses his deepest bark to scare off the guy in the brown uniform. (Works every time, the man seems to just light out for the truck the minute he drops off the box on the front porch.) Of course, the Aussie is getting too old to bother to go down the stairs to really investigate. He’s at that age when he figures a bark from him should be all it takes. The poodles lie around while I wrap packages. They have their own cushy beds in the ebay room. Once in a great while they get the unexpected surprise of a new toy. (Quality control toy testers that they are.) Then when it is time to load things up and go to the post office, they are right there, eager and anxious to get everything safely out to the customers. I cannot imagine what it would be like to work at home with no dog staff. Fortunately, I don’t even have to think about it. One of the great things about having an online business is being home all day with my dogs. Now if I could just teach them to print out the shipping labels…