Sorry to hear the weather has affected your garden dreams! We just had unusual rainwater here too but it was welcomed at this time. You sound fairly philosophical though .. and I'm glad you find stress relief in the garden anyway. I'm busy repotting aloe Vera currently as it got waterlogged!
That dog would have given me a fright too haha.. I bet you jumped!
Ya, It definitely frightened me, because there is actually another real dog by an owner, and I thought, it was a new addition