After a wonderfully sunny spring week, in which it felt like summer was already here, reality hit hard today. The sky is fifty shades of grey, and as if that wasn't sad enough, the temperature has taken a free fall. Where I was still sitting in the sun in a T-shirt last week, I'm now shivering in my thick sweater. Below ten degrees, seriously? It felt like the perfect day to stay indoors and keep myself busy with pyrography. And to travel back in my thoughts to that wonderful weekend.

It was simply fantastic. The sun shone, the birds sang as if they had just received a bonus, and the thick winter coat could finally be put away. It's time to pick up the garden plans again! Unfortunately, our backyard is not a green oasis - it is a former farm and we rent the house, so simply pulling out tiles to reclaim a piece of nature is unfortunately not an option. But over the years we have learned quite a few tricks to get some green on all those stones.

This time, however, we had a different mission. Our Skipper, a dog with a calling as a town crier, urgently needed a limitation of his view. From his favorite spot by the fence, he can see half the street and the forest path. And believe me, a lot happens there. Every passing car, cyclist, walker, tractor, or moped is loudly announced. Don't get me wrong, a dog is allowed to have an opinion, but when absolutely everything becomes a reason for a barking concert, then it is time for a tactical intervention.

So, off to the garden center! Once there, the thinking began: we needed something that grows quickly, grows tall, is resistant to drought, and preferably also produces some flowers. While we were racking our brains about the ideal plant, I was distracted by a beautiful peacock butterfly sitting on a deliciously smelling flower. What kind of plant it was, no idea - but the price of 90 euros ensured that we quickly passed it by anyway. Fortunately, I was able to take some nice pictures and I was once again happy with my new shiny toy that I bought a month ago when my old phone battery died.

Our final choices? A butterfly bush in a deep red color, zebra grass, and sedge. For those who like Latin names: Buddleja Royal Red, Miscanthus sinensis Zebrinu,s and Miscanthus Sin Red Chief. If everything goes according to plan, they will soon grow to a height of one and a half meters and form a green barrier for Skipper, limiting his view - and hopefully also his urge to bark.

Of course, we couldn't leave the garden center without also taking something for Skipper. He had a hard enough time with the fact that he couldn't come along and had to stay home alone. So as compensation, he got a bar of dried meat that he could eat outside in peace. And a ball of string, so that we could play together for a while.

All in all, a productive weekend, with hopefully a bark-free (or at least bark-limited) result soon. And now let's hope that the weather will be nice again soon because I'm done with this autumnal time and I'm longing for much more spring!