the neighbors

We love our neighborhood and our neighbors. Max's best friend, Trooper, lives kitty-corner behind us. We tromp across a little bridge over a drainage ditch to cross from our backyard over to Trooper's, and then we toss Max into Troopie's fenced area. If he's not out already, Bob or Dolores will usually let him out within a minute, and the two best buds romp around for awhile. Here are some shots of them from today:

It's been a real blessing to be able to toss Max in Trooper's yard for some exercise on days when I'm too wiped out to give him a good walk. I get a kick out of watching them from our kitchen window. Bob and Dolores also love it when Max comes over, as they are in their 80's and Trooper is still a pretty high energy pup. :)

We also love visiting with Bob and Dolores. Bob is one of our two avid gardener neighbors. His vegetable garden this year is really impressive. He says he's never had one do this well, and that it's likely due to the amount of fertilizer he used this year.This photo just shows part of his garden:

He works hard on it, and we see him out there all the time as soon as the weather starts cooperating. I know he loves to deliver fresh produce from his garden to some of the other older folks in the neighborhood. So sweet!

Here is Bob looking proud of his fine garden:

You can note the drainage ditch that we pass over to get to Bob, Dolores, and Trooper's house, as well as a couple of the bridges. Bob calls this the "best raised-bed garden ever." I would have to agree.

We don't see Dolores out of the house much, but sometimes she'll come out in the yard to visit when I drop Max off, and sometimes I'll stop in to visit with her. She's quite the character, the self-proclaimed "matriarch of the neighborhood." She teases that we spend too much time curling Max's fur and tells me stories about raising her three boys in the neighborhood. (They are the original owners of the home and have been there about 60 years!). She made quite the campaign to convince Bob to build a fence for Trooper, and I think they're both happy that he was finally convinced. Needless to say, Max and I are also very happy about this.  

We sure are happy to have these folks as neighbors!