I purchased a couple rose bushes off the street earlier this month and I should have known that if I left them anywhere that Smokey could reach them, he would be tempted to chew on them. Well, luckily he did one evening and I discovered that one of them had started growing. I took Emin out with me and we planted a row of flowers along the house and sporadically along the sidewalk where his father and Nena like to sit. My blooming rose bush went in the ground next to my door and lo-and-behold, I had tiny little roses the next week!
As for my planters on the balcony, I am having some trouble with Smokey going outside and coming back with muddy paws when I'm not watching him. I don't know how many times I've had to replant my bulbs after finding half of the dirt on the balcony and bulbs under the coffee table of my living room! I hope that the flowers will bloom :) I think next year I will have to find some larger planters or find the hangers for the railing to get them out of his reach.
I've also been taking walks with Smokey in the evenings when I get home from work. I've been walking down the road into Gracanica and then turning off to a dirt track that goes along the fields behind our house. He loves running around and sniffing (and peeing on - what a man!) everything :) He did manage to roll in what I believed to be cow manure while I was inspecting some flowers so I am keeping an eye on where he is going from now on *eww* He made friends with some other dog near the fields and spends a little bit of time frolicking around with the group that lives there. I'm just a little worried that he might get fleas from the other dogs :-P~ Rabies is not a problem in Kosovo, in fact, according to my vet, there haven't been any cases in the region for quite a few years.
