How do you even train a dog to do that? Mine just stares at me until I move, so I started leaving my walking shoes right by the door as a signal. It took a few weeks, but now he brings me the leash when he sees the shoes (which is his subtle way of saying hurry up). It's less herding and more a weird little chain of events we set up.

Wait, you actually had a tug of war with the raccoon over the shovel? lmao that's wild, I can't get the picture out of my head. Poor little guy thought he found a new toy. I see what @lee_reed means about wildlife adding to the job, but that's just adding a whole mess.

I always heard that too, about a fresh coat of paint fixing a funk. I used to believe in those quick fixes. Then I spent a whole weekend painting my own living room a "cheerful" yellow and felt just as flat when I was done. It taught me that the mood has to come from inside, not from the walls.

Try aquafaba from dried chickpeas, not canned.

Ever have a friend who stuck with a podcast way too long? My buddy Mike got into this true crime series that promised a big reveal in episode one. But every week, it was just more talk about the host's dog or something. He kept listening, sure the next episode would finally get to the point. After two months, he said it was just a bunch of filler and no real story. Felt bad for him, because that's time he'll never get back.