Category Archives: outside

Dear Friends

Posted on July 6, 2011 by wendy| 4 Comments

Thoughts on Friendship

“True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice.”
- Samuel Johnston

“My friends are my estate.”
- Emily Dickinson

“I count myself in nothing else so happy
As in a soul rememb’ring my good friends.”
- William Shakespeare, Richard II

“Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.”
- Woodrow Wilson

Friends, they get us through rough patches; they celebrate the sunshine with us. The dearest ones see through our bullshit outward mask and into our true being and still drink with speak to us anyway.

What can possibly be better than having good friends?

I’ll tell you what–
Having good friends with chickens!

Thank you, good friends! This egg lover feels grateful for you every morning!

What do you think? Should we get chickens at chez Let the dog in?!

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Posted in animals, Bainbridge Island, WA, food, life is good, outside, questions

Summer is a Battlefield

Posted on June 30, 2011 by wendy| 2 Comments

Last weekend, I dragged the Let the dog in! household to a civil war re-enactment, but since the civil war was more sad than funny I know nothing about the civil war, how’s about we talk s’more about summer with the kids out of school, ‘k??

It starts off with a gorgeous image, a vision of calm, peaceful order and an appreciation of community and the natural beauty in all life.

You imagine you’ll have lovely, relaxing chats with your friends and neighbors.

As the natives declare they’re BORED get restless, you quickly realize you have a big, white target “X” on your back.

You scramble to entertain the enemy your kids with music and fun, perhaps an outdoor concert.

But even the littlest soldiers revolt.
(with the very littlest fighters yelling, “BANG,” instead of firing an actual gun)

Before the actual altercations began, you fashioned yourself the guy with the biggest, loudest gun on the field, but, alas, you need to fix a martini a reality check.

In the end, your fate turns out more like the band.

And your living room, strewn with popsicle sticks dead bodies that no one is picking up…

If you’re lucky, some summer camp instructor angelic vision will come to pray for your soul.

What month is this? September, right? Whaaa?

Do you have war on your hands or a peace treaty?

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Posted in creativity, events, growth, outside, parenting, venting, weirdo

Summer Imagined v. Summer Real

Posted on June 24, 2011 by wendy| 7 Comments


Are you having this problem? In your head, you figured when school let out that you and your kids would do all kinds of amazing projects, day trips, maybe even camping?

Then, two days into it you realize you have serious crankiness issues.

And not just with the kids, but with yourself.

We were going to make art books. Instead, we are making ice cream runs.

We were going to go to the beach. Day 1, we got the bottom of our foot scraped by barnacles and are “never going back to the beach again!”

We were going to read, read, read. Instead, we are marathoning Phineas and Ferb.

I guess there is still too much time to correct course, but each summer I forget my margarita recipe the uphill battle from the year before. Same soldiers, different battlefield…

So, how’s your summer going? Are you doing what you intended to do?

And most importantly, do you have a good, strong cocktail recipe to share?

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Posted in Bainbridge Island, WA, growth, kid, outside, parenting, questions, venting

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At the Speed of Squirrel

Posted on May 31, 2011 by wendy| 2 Comments

We had a little visitor today, an uninvited guest, on the deck. An unusual occurrence, just when I happened to have my camera handy.
The Douglas Squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii).

John Muir wrote of these native guys:

A King’s River Indian told me that they call him “Pillillooeet,” which, rapidly pronounced with the first syllable heavily accented, is not unlike the lusty exclamation he utters on his way up a tree when excited.

I wish I could report that I heard a “lusty exclamation.” Who wouldn’t, right? From a squirrel or anyone else…

He paused to scratch an itch. Don’t tell Becca, but this guest didn’t give a tail’s flip seem too concerned about the wirehaired pointing griffon who presides over this household.

I was concerned that the new herb garden the Hubs installed this weekend (and what do I do with five varieties of sage??) was about to get devoured. But once again, I was wrong.
This guy was all about the seeds. And yes, that would be the very post chewed on by our fierce protector when aggravated by birds on her deck.
Once realizing the Cirque du Soleil-like requirement to get to these particular seeds, he gave up.
And left as fast as he came.

And where was our fierce protector all this time, you ask?
Here, in the office, thinking about licking her butt really important thoughts.

*****************************************************
Did you know you can “like” Let the dog in! on Facebook? You can!

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Posted in animals, Bainbridge Island, WA, outside

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Spring Has Sprung

Posted on April 28, 2011 by wendy| 3 Comments

I hate to jinx it but I think that spring has sprung here on Bainbridge Island. All the signs are there.

Plastic eggs have been discovered.

The lawnmower is out.

We’re already missing tennis balls.

And best of all, my boyfriend is back!

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Posted in animals, Bainbridge Island, WA, life is good, outside, regional

Battle at Bainbridge Island’s Battle Point Park

Posted on January 24, 2011 by wendy| 6 Comments

Normally, the fights that occur at our local park, Battle Point Park, are between me and my kid children and parents.

But this last time the Hubs took the dog to the park, he let the dog off leash (shhhhhhhh) to get some extra exercise that he in his recovering state could not offer.

Okay, yes, it may be true that her running around involves rabbits and scaring the crap out of them. Don’t yell at me, rabbit fans. I didn’t do it.

So the dog took off on the usual chase, and all the bunnies perked up. They might initially stand up tall, like Peter Rabbit with his little front paws clutched to his chest (minus the blue jacket), but they always end up in high-speed hopping and take cover in the thickets, a place our dog amazingly enough will not enter.

But this last time, after all the bunnies scattered, one dumb bunny remained.

And only after the dog ran instinctively after the scurrying rabbits, did that bunny realize the dire situation he was in, alone, many feet from his safe haven.

Gulp.

So that little rabbit to his credit flattened himself down, way down, like a black furry pancake (something we never have in our fridge from breakfast leftovers…), down into the ground. Trying for invisibility.

And only after she made all the other rabbits disappear, did our dumb dog fly by and do a double-take on the pancake rabbit.

What the–?

A chase ensued, and you’ll all be glad to know that the pancake rabbit, while a creative contortionist turned out to also be a speedy runner.

Rabbits: 1
Dog: 0

But we imagine once he arrived in his cozy brier patch, he immediately checked his cottontail’s completeness.

And our almost-got-it-again pooch was left eating sticks.

Which probably don’t taste as good as pancake rabbits.

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Posted in animals, Bainbridge Island, WA, brilliant ideas, life is good, outside, weirdo

Snow Day, Bainbridge Island Style

Posted on January 13, 2011 by wendy| 5 Comments

We had a bit of snow here the other day, so naturally the power went out just long enough for school to be cancelled.

Kids rejoiced; parents, not so much.

But this island sits in a funny little spot between ocean and mountains. We’ll get a dash of snow often followed by a high-speed melt-off.

So, when it snows, this is the protocol:

1. Yell “SNOW“!!!!!!

2. Children everywhere, day or night, north, central or south end, stampede outside like Fred Flintstone when the factory whistle blows. Ya ba da ba doooooo!

This week the forecasters said it’d warm up within a day, and shockingly they were correct.

So that big temperature shift left the Kid building snow creatures in mud.
Exhibit A, the snow dog sitting in mud puddle:

Photo courtesy of Kid (Our dog would like you to know she would never sit in mud; roll in it, possibly.)

The Kid even screamed from the front door things like, “Mom! I need raisins and carrots!! Hurry!! Mom!!”

Yes, doctor, right away! Anything to help with the snow births! That mud was gaining on us.

Granted his raisins blend into the mud, but the Kid was nonetheless pleased.

More snow people were created throughout the yard. So what if these snow people preferred to sit in mud?

That’s just the way of the Bainbridge Island snow people.

Perhaps most of Kitsap County snow people, as well.

If you’re getting slammed with snow where you live, and schools are cancelled and the commute is a nightmare and you’re plain tired of it all, just think of us and try to appreciate your lack of mud.

At least, for now, before the slush comes.

Have you been playing in the snow?

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Posted in Bainbridge Island, WA, kid, life is good, outside, weather