Oh Jackson...

I have to admit, Jackson and I have been at odds over the past several weeks.  Some days, I am tripping over him at every step.. or playing referee between he and Lily... or even scolding him for waking Lily up from a nap because he is barking too loud (three days in a row last week he woke her up!).  But then, there are moments like this, that remind me that he is such a sweet dog... 

This was where I found him yesterday morning, curled up on his bed underneath the coffee table.  I had slid his bed under there to make room for Lily to crawl around and never moved it back.  Yes, Lily started crawling last week, Thursday evening to be exact! 

Oh Jackson...could I just make one request?  Would you please stop licking Lily in the face?     

What's blooming in your yard?

Is it just me or is the pollen terrible this year?  Last night, as I was making my way to bed, I looked out onto our deck, and in the dark, it almost looked like a light dusting of snow.  But no, it certainly was not snow, it was just the pollen that had accumulated on the deck.  Bring on the rain!

One of the things that I love most about our house is the back deck.  We have three huge blossoming cherry trees that grow right up through the deck.  During the summer, they provide some much needed shade, but for a few weeks every spring they have hundreds and hundreds of beautiful pink blooms.  This is what I see each time I look out into the backyard right now.

Now, the flowers will stay on the trees for a little while longer, then they will start to fall.  And, this is another beautiful sight.  It looks like it is raining flowers and there are petals everywhere floating through the air.  I hope that Lily will get to enjoy the flowers falling this year.  I have been known to pose Jackson for a picture or two in the flowers...it is not a very masculine-looking photo.  Ha!

(this was taken in 2005)

The only downside to all these flowers is the mess they make once they have all fallen onto the ground (and especially if it rains).  Tim might have a different slant on these flowers, as he is primarily responsible for the cleanup.  But, it sure is a beautiful sight for a few short weeks!

"Break open a cherry tree and there are no flowers, but the spring breeze brings forth myriad blossoms."
- Ikkyu Sojun

"Where flowers bloom so does hope."
- Lady Bird Johnson

Spring is just around the corner

Tim and I have had a swingset in our backyard ever since we moved into our house...which was many years ago. Up until now, Jackson was probably the primary user of the swingset. No, Jackson cannot swing, but there is a ladder that goes up to a covered fort which he used to climb up and act as guard dog. He didn't seem to mind sharing the swingset with Lily the other day. He relaxed in the sun, while Lily took a turn in her swing.

She smiled at almost every push.

Look at how well she is holding up her head while she is sitting.

The beautiful weather reminded us that spring is just around the corner.

Petting Jackson

One of Lily's new interests this week has been Jackson. She started watching him quite a bit last week, and this week she was ready to pet him. She's been rather intrigued with textures of all sorts...soft robes, sweaters, feathers, hair, etc. I guess she decided she was ready for some fur.

I have to say, Jackson has been so awesome around Lily! He is extremely gentle. Lily was poking and prodding his eyes and mouth and he didn't flinch. He seems to understand what toys belong to him and what toys belong to her. This is amazing because her toys are everywhere around the house, and I don't think I've seen him pick up one of her toys yet. He loves to sneak in a lick or two on her face when we aren't watching (or even when we are watching). And sometimes, I'll catch him taking a nap in her room. I think they are going to be buds!