The Hamster Cage

That, (the hamster cage) is how we now refer to our backyard. It is one sea of straw:

No, we have not planted grass seed. The straw is an attempt to get the dogs to stop laying on the red clay that was all over the yard as a side effect from the wholes that have been dug...

They never dug holes like this at the other house. Could it be that maybe they get bored here so they dig holes? I have no clue but the cycle goes something like this:

Dog digs hole
Dog lays on freshly dug up dirt
Dog gets red clay on feet, belly and other random areas
Dog goes inside the house
Fern/Norm attempt to clean dog's feet
Dog gets red clay on the carpet, the floor and it's bed anyway
Fern/Norm cleans up red clay stains off carpet
Fern stresses out

Every.Single.Day.

The straw seems to be helping... until they realize that the nice red clay sits only fractions of an inch below it. We will cross that bridge when we get to it.