V-Y Day!

We have been talking for a long time about V-Y Day, and it finally arrived on Sunday (just in time for Zrbrt's 6th birthday on Monday). V-Y stands for Victory-in-Yard. After lots of work greatly prolonged by bad weather and other complications, the yard was finally enclosed, ready for the doggies to go out into. There is still lots to do before the yard is done (as you'll see), but from the dogs' perspective, this was a huge milestone. It's been a long road for them after losing their yard at the old house (for Zrbrt, this happened in the summer before we moved, when her ACL woes began and she had to be restricted), to having a very, very small and unsatisfactory yard at the loft, to no yard access at the new house until now (but lots of walks, lots, and lots, and lots, of walks). Here is the moment of victory:



The video only catches the last bit of Zrbrt's huge leap over the block wall upon getting down the stairs. The wall is, unbeknownst to her at the time, much higher on the other side, where the ground is graded lower. She handled this unexpected fact gracefully as always. After the first couple of days in the yard, they are calming down, and have managed to avoid injuring themselves doing crazy things. Phew.

Next steps: finish the last bit of fence, put down the floor in the secret cave, get gravel under the deck, sod in the yard, and finish the cob wall!