August 27, 2018

White Dog watched Steve's yard cleanup through the sliding door; she could lie on the bed and see most of the yard activity. Zsofia, Bailey, and Roman chose a more paws and snooters on approach by following Steve all over and supervising up close. The three, and Nilla who was specially gated on the deck, were not happy when he protectively increased their distance from the action during weed whacking.

The group stayed out until nearly dark because of Steve's discovery that we once again have horse nettle creeping into the yard. Long term followers might recall that our Ferguson made himself catastrophically ill grazing on the needled, toxic member of the nightshade family. The plant is tenacious and spreads through the root system as well by seeds. Mowing and torching only temporarily end the scourge. Herbacides are mostly ineffective. Our drought had been a helpful friend in controlling the problem but recent rains have encouraged horse nettle growth.

Fortunately, most animals avoid the plant due to the stinging nettles and bitter taste. But there is a derived "high" that sometimes overwhelms good sense until the mouth and digestive tract become infected from the embedded needles. That is what happened to Quinn who cleverly ate just enough to feed his addiction without giving us a clue that he had a medical issue. He was, according to experts, unusual in his restraint; most horses or cattle (most often poisoned) binge until they are clearly in toxicity stages...falling down "drunk" if you will.

The White Dog Army seems uninterested, with the exception of Roman. Steve saw him eating a bit the other day; his hope was that that was a first time experiment for Roman who, based on the reaction Steve observed, did not like the taste.

But we can take no chances. Steve is on high destruction alert and we are doing new research to see if there was a solution we missed. In cattle country, the recommendation is to seriously burn the infected field to "deep char;" burning the yard offers too much danger to our house, outbuildings and deck...plus I am not sure our city fire department would cooperate. Removing the soil, up to a depth of 12" or more again does not seem feasible. Additionally, our neighbor's property is rife with the pretty little plant as well.

Steve is also trying to train the Army to avoid the plants. LEAVE IT! successfully gets a training treat. Autumn is the worst season for horse nettle so it seems as though we will increase our policing and training efforts and pray for the return of dryness.

"Why can't we have normal yard problems," White Dog listened to Steve complain. "You know, like dandelions and crabgrass?"