Illustration Friday and doggy surprises!

I'm really glad that Illustration Friday has started on Friday and ends on the following Thursday. It's so much better because you just have more free time on weekends to work on your illustration or just think about the topic. I really like it. Well, here is my submission:

Titled "What a surprise"

This is actually from a dream I had about 2 weeks ago. Being an Eastern person you really start to think/desire the Spring and all that it entails...pollen and bugs, etc.

About this illustration. I planted about 6 tulips in the front yard and I have been waiting impatiently for them to start sprouting. I fear the worse...that they didn't make it through the winter. However, I will be planting more. I will keep trying until my yard is full of tulips and other bulb plants. Last year, our neighbors tore out tons of bulbs and rose bushes. I was so sad as this, I thought, was the most beautiful yard on the block. They had just moved to that house and didn't see the beauty. So very disheartening. Plus, they said they threw all the flowers away and if they had known would have given them to us! Talk about salt in the wounds. Ah, well...

Now, I will tell you an odd story that happened to me and the stuff I found today. This is what happened. About a 4 or 5 weeks ago, I went for a walk with my dog, Mr. Nelson, in the pouring rain. I mean it was pouring and I had my big old umbrella and poor Mr. Nelson didn't have anything but his soggy fur (I have to buy or make him a little dog raincoat). Anyway, we were trudging through the rain for our daily duty. Mr. Nelson meandered around his favorite haunts, sniffing and marking as we went along. He walked onto this little piece of grass and sniffed the bushes like usual. We were walking on, when I heard this buzz. It's pouring rain and I hear this woman's voice buzzing. I look up and around and start walking thinking it's someone else. Then all of the sudden there is this woman shouting at me, "MA'M, Don't let your dog run around on my grass..." I couldn't make out what she said after that. So, I said, he doesn't do anything (meaning poop) and then she starts shouting at me and I can't understand a word she is saying so I say, "I'm sorry, but I can't hear you!" and walk away. The odd thing is she was wearing rollers and shouting from behind her fence on her covered porch. It was odd and I was very insulted. For one thing, if Mr. Nelson did poop, I'd have cleaned it up. Second, I felt like she was blaming me for something Mr. Nelson would never do. So, I avoided this area like it was the plague for the following weeks.

Now, this brings us to today. I was walking my gals and dog and as we approached the alley and started down, I see something like 50 turds on the ground. It's like dog poop was sprinkled all over! Certainly, the thought of putting dog poop on her grass patch (it's smaller than 6 feet by 6 feet)did cross my mind, but this was incredible! Poop was everywhere. So, I guess this nutty lady probably has quite a few people she "blames" for deposits on her lawn. The sad thing is she does have a dog and I'm 100% sure she has had it's vocal cords cut. It NEVER barks, for any thing. It definitely looks like somebody dumped the poop there.

Another annoying bit about this person is she and the people across from her are buddies. The guy in the other house has a bunch of crazy bumper stickers about guns and stuff on his car and they both give evil eyes to us. They act like we have the plague or something. So much for love thy neighbor...

My husband just confirmed that the stuff I saw on the alley is indeed, poop. This makes me laugh for some reason. It looks like a parade of dogs pooped in the front of the alley by her house. Looks like she swept it into the alley...