In the beginning there was a backyard

In October 2004, my (now) husband and I and dog (Enzo) moved into our Brooklyn row house. I'm looking for pictures from that era, but so far, the earliest I can find of the yard is from February 2005 -- a shot from the second floor rear of house.


The green thing was sort of a ramshackle shelter, on a patio, in the rear of the house. In the back, there were two poles in there sticking up, maybe for a laundry line? In the rear, there is a bricked over patio, it's raised up about a foot. The pile of stuff that looks like old plumbing? That's the old plumbing.

A friend, who gardens well, told me to watch the yard -- you never know if there are some perennials that are going to come back and be beautiful. So in the summer of 2005 all that happened in the backyard is that I watched weeds grow. Here's some of them, from June 2005:

Eventually they overtook the backyard, we got a weed whacker, and whacked. And then discovered that pulling was just as fast, less messy, and more effective. Whatever.

Of course, the garden was really about Enzo. It's his outdoor space. He's an anxiety-ridden mutt rescued from the streets of Red Hook, and well, however sweet to us and great with kids, he's pretty dog aggressive. He doesn't get to go play in dog runs. So the backyard is really about him. It's his yard. Luckily, he likes to garden. Here he is, helping out with a little digging:

It's all about dog butt for the canines -- but you probably want to see his mug: therefore...

Introducing

Enzo

Born: Red Hook, Brooklyn. February 1999.

Kicked out of pack and rescued from the trash, aka the feed trough.

Enzo's favorite things:

- Steve

- Everyone being home at the same time

- Human food (not allowed)

- Sleeping on the bed (not allowed)

- Squeaky toys

- Lunch delivery

- Rolling in the grass

- Scavanging for garbage.

Enzo's least favorite things:

- Being left home alone

- Mango (arch enemy dog).