Last night while out on the sippin' porch I listened to the rain fall and worried about damp undermining the foundations of our house. You can worry too much, I reckon.

So I thought about dog urine burning caustic destruction in the lawn. I'm advised to fence off an area for the dog (when we get one) so that not all the grass is ruined. This is a good idea. I will also fence off an area at the bottom of the garden for house guests who aren't worthy of using our indoor facilities. They can huddle down there like we huddled in the beer garden during Renn Fayre my freshman year at Reed, slopping in the mud at the bottom of a field, drenched, freezing, plastic cups of warmish beer in our hands, unrealized hopes of hedonism in our hearts.

My step-grandfather had his dog trained to piss on a gravel bed in the backyard. While I admire this, he also had that dog within an inch of being trained right out of the canine species. There must be limits to training and worry.