Auburn Clean Sweep at Lea Hill Park

I was a volunteer today for the City of Auburn Clean Sweep project. After doing morning pet sitting visits, I checked in at the Park at about 9AM. The Yount family was checking in at the same time I was so I got to see their baby! I hadn't seen them since I did a pet sit for them at Christmas time in 2006 and the baby was not born yet so this was a real treat for me.

After checking in, getting instructions and a big pair of loppers, I went right to work. My job was to chop down the blackberry bushes that had completely taken over the wetland area of Lea Hill Park. I had plenty of help too! We all sort of found our own spot and started hacking at the thorny branches. As we chopped, we talked. I got to visit with the principal of Rainier Middle School, several ladies wearing T-shirts that declared they were "Working Democrats" and several Cub Scouts. There were photographers from the City of Auburn and people from the Parks and Rec department and about a million GRCC students.

And there was treasure to be found under all the thorny bushiness...I found a baseball which I immediately handed to the boy working quietly next to me. Someone found a volleyball and there were several golf balls retrieved from the thorny masses and I think someone even found a bat. Then as the blackberry branches began to lose their stronghold altogether, we found the trash. A rotted wooden traffic sign, two big iron pipes, lots of plastic and lots of empty beverage containers. The trash was gathered up into bright orange bags for disposal and we kept on with the blackberry chopping.

The Democratic ladies and I worked next to each other until we had hacked our way under some overhanging tree branches. The blackberry vines had climbed high into the trees above us. So we pulled them down. We'd just cut the thick trunk of the vine at the ground level and then yank the vine down. They were twenty feet long or more and on atleast one occasion, the branch came down with the vine so we scattered to avoid getting hit. But when we came to a vine that was growing through a bird's nest, we just trimmed it and let the high part stay put. None of us wanted to displace a bird from it's nest!

All in all it was a fun experience and I'm glad I had a chance to participate. It was nice to see such a good turnout of folks willing to help and the next time you go by Lea Hill Park, I'll bet you will notice a difference!

Dogs - Different than Cats

Here are our Springers enjoying their new cushions after they fluffed and pawed and thoroughly bullied them each into his own preferred shape...



Oh, and you should see what they've done with the cushions in their "mud room"...the decor is just doggie heaven for mud magnets, which these two certainly are!

It never fails. I will be feeling so proud of them. They are running through a field of green grass at the unofficial off leash park on the Weyerhauser grounds in Federal Way, their coats shining white and liver, moving gracefully when suddenly I'll notice that they are making a bee line for a huge patch of black mud with a tiny pool of water in the center of it. Ben hits it first and lays down stretching his front legs out, immersing the entire lower half of his body in muck. Casey is not far behind and he imitates his brother with flare.

Sometimes they are jumping in the mud to cool off but most of the time they are just having fun. For me, the Springer Mom, it's always a reminder that Pride comes before the flop into the mud...