March 11, 2013
If you live in Gwinnett County, or anywhere close, you are just coming off a spectacular weather weekend. Wasn’t it great? In my opinion, there aren’t many things better for the soul – more healing, more hopeful– than the first warm, sunny days of Spring. If those days fall on a weekend, that’s just a bonus.
My family spent the entire weekend together; if you have children who are young adults, you know what a rare treat that is. We barbecued and ate dinners together; we worked together in the yard, and when we came in the house and cleaned off the dirt and grime, we piled up in the family room and watched a movie on which we all agreed (another rarity).
I felt happy, very content, by the time Sunday evening rolled around.
I’ll tell you something new I learned this weekend, probably because we did spend so much time together outside. Have you ever heard the old adage about ensuring a rainfall downpour by simply washing your car? Here’s another one for the books: If you want to be sure your dogs find the one pile of poop you overlooked scooping in the back yard, give them baths.
As we were building our own “Leave it to Beaver” moments this weekend – clipping herbs, planting flowers, grilling steaks – our dogs did a little reconnaissance, reported back to the others, then each took turns making sure they wallowed completely in their favorite eau de toilette.
I expect such behavior from our two big retrievers; I think it’s actually bred into them. Someone once told me it’s an old hunting trick. But my little petite Chihuahua? With her bows and rhinestones and her freshly shampooed fur? Of course my first reaction was to jump in and stop the nonsense, but they were having such a good time, getting along so well (another rare occurrence), that I stopped myself. Why shouldn’t they have a little fun, too?
Since I’m being so blunt and honest, I have something else to admit, besides the fact that I put bows and rhinestones on a dog that looks like a well-coiffed rat. While my husband and I were making one of the several required big-box home improvement store runs on Saturday, I was perusing the selection of herbs for sale in the garden department. Believe it or not, there was an “herb” (it looked like grass to me) for pets. The label claimed that pets love to chew on this particular herb; they enjoy the taste, and it’s fun. I laughed, scoffing at the idea (“How do they know when to stop eating the pet grass rather than continuing on to the Bermuda?” I asked my husband. “I thought dogs aren’t supposed to eat grass, anyway.”) How ridiculous. People will fall for anything if it’s packaged well enough.
I bought two containers and planted them in my herb garden when I got home. I’ll let you know how it goes.
•Carole Townsend is also a Gwinnett Daily Post staff correspondent and author of two books: “Southern Fried White Trash” and her newest, “Red Lipstick and Clean Underwear” (released October 2012). Townsend has been quoted on msnbc.com, in the LA Times, USA Today and the Christian Science Monitor, been featured on FOX 5 Television News and CNN, and is often a guest on television and radio shows nationwide. She currently travels throughout the southeast, meeting readers at festivals and book signings, and speaking publicly at various events.•
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