The old man was tickling me so hard it was driving me crazy. But I couldn't get away from it, it was just too much. I thought if I could just wiggle enough, my belly would get away from his tickles long enough to get my bearings back, but it wasn't working. I was trapped with no escape.

Finally I had outlasted the old man. Enduring so many tickles is no easy task, it takes a super puppers like me to do such things. It was break time and I was released from my bonds and allowed to stand on my own paws at last. Well, sort of stand, mostly wobbling around and trying to find a good place to sit down for a while.

I can tell the old man is excited about today. It's not just any ordinary day, it's the day he gets to start making the plants grow. I already sniffed some of the fresh grass sprouting up in the yard and the trees are getting some of their leaves again. And the birds are back to making their songs in the morning too, which is neat. All sorts of good stuff. But mostly the plants are good. That means we'll eat some melons in the end.

But first, we gotta make everything ready so the dirt will be nice and soft. And then we'll worry about the guard duty. That's my job, I gotta keep the squirrels and the birds out and away from the plants so they don't eat them before we do.

After we'd calmed down for a bit, it was time to get to work. The old man was using his little digger to loosen things up while I made some of the holes and got around the edges. After inspecting for the insects, all those buggy things that crawl around in the dirt, I sniffed out a big one that wanted more fight and kept swinging his arms at me. Barking didn't scare it off so the old man used his digger to throw it out somewhere in the yard, lobbing it like a ball I'd like to fetch. Other than that feisty rascal, it was just a bunch of wiggly worms.

After we'd made a big mess, it was time for planting, yes? But no. My friend just wanted to play in the dirt today apparently. He'd even dumped more dirt on top of all the holes we'd made, a dirt that smelled very dirty. Sometimes I wish I could understand what my friend was saying so I would know what the plan is. He really needs to learn how to bark fluently or something. I heard him meowing at Mister Goodcat the other day, so I know he's got the mind to learn how...he just needs to learn MY speech instead of some silly cat mews.

But it was a good day to work outside and I think we got a whole bunch of very important things done. The air was nice and cool and the sun was just so warm. Almost warm enough to nap on the grass if it was a little fluffier. Maybe soon it will be. Everything will be nice and ready for the growing time soon enough. For now, it's back to tickle battles while the old man tries to snip the stickers out of my fur. I can't let him though, that's just how the game is played.