Even the dog conspires against me .........

If I had my way I would live out of suburbia. I've never been someone who likes the city very much, or crowds of people, the hustle,  the bustle and all of that. It's not that I think Ballarat is a huge city - I don't, but I really just want some space and quiet and a little veranda I can sit on and breathe in a view.
I feel happier and calmer when my view includes either a paddock or two and some hills, or some bush - not a road, or someone else's yard. I can't help it, it's just the way I am. I want chooks, a big veggie garden, a couple of fruit trees and somewhere you can see a lot of the sky - to be not closed in by houses. I would love for the kids to grow up with a better connection to the earth and the peace that comes with living out of town.


A few months ago in an attempt to sooth my innate need for a country life I started our veggie patch. It wasn't very big, but at least I could grow a few things and enjoy it. I could show the kids how things are grown and we could pick herbs and things for the kitchen. 
Then we got a dog.


My beautiful veggie patch with tomatoes, peas, beans, celery, herbs, strawberries and salad greens quickly turned into the best place for the dog to dig and worst of all - to poo! What is with that??? This dog has the entire back yard  - it chooses my veggie patch. It was my one little patch of paradise in our yard. I haven't been able to harvest a thing since. I can't even think about it. I now have tomatoes about to ripen on the vines and the thought just makes me ill. So... it can all just stay there. .
One day, I hope, I will get my little bit of earth with a view. I will treasure it, even if I have to build a big old fence around my veggie patch. In the meantime I'll just grow some weeds amongst my wasted tomatoes and the dog can do whatever the heck it wants.