let's celebrate.

Today marks the day Hannity is finally allowed to go on long walks again. After two weeks of making sure he stays off all couches (because little did we know... you can injure an ankle—or a hock in Hannity's case—when romping and jumping off pieces of furniture), this morning the three of us (Augustus included) strolled over to a park with a field for plenty of hurtling, chasing, and tumbling.
It was windy.

Embracing the wind.

Pondering.

Augustus looks like he's either singing, crying, or cracking up
while Hannity is all seriousness.

Augustus thinks he's their leader. 

Hannity has other plans. 

He doesn't know what's coming.

Hannity can't be left out.
This is his way of thwarting Augustus's newfound leadership.

Leaps, bounds, and all ears.

charmed... i'm sure.

Dignified.

Sophisticated.

A few moments later... not so much.

Hannity's signature move: Hurtling.

because he's just too adorable.

puppysitting... it's kinda my thing.

Meet Teddy, our weekend guest.

He's a bolter, so the leash stays on... I think Augustus
felt especially grown-up without his leash.

Augustus jumps like a little show pony.

He's been working on this bully stick nonstop.
It's gone now.

My absolute favorite boys.

all it takes is a hot day, a garden hose, and some dog shampoo.

Sailor and Prairie had baths today. It was my solution for getting some sun while having a source of water very conveniently placed- in my hand.

Plus, I was making myself useful. They needed those baths.

Prairie loved it. With all that golden retriever hair, how could she not?

  Sailor endured it gallantly. Shivering, but brave.

My only mistake was thinking that they would dry off quickly running around in the sun...

Sailor's quick-dry method was to roll in freshly mowed grass clippings.

How predictable. Should've seen that coming.

Prairie was thinking along the same lines, as you'll see below...

This pictures is funny to me for two reasons:

1. Prairie's face is squashed into the ground.

2. Augustus is just sitting there, watching in fascination.

NOTHING beats a good roll in grass clippings after a refreshingly cold bath.

Prairie may not be graceful, but she always looks content with how things are...

Wait... maybe her lack of grace is inherited from me.

Just a thought.

a dip in the sea.

In Avalon, the signs say "no dogs allowed" on the beach.

But after the lifeguards leave, it's a whole different matter.

Our friend Kelso the Alaskan Eskimo (aka Ultimate Beach Dog) showed Augustus what he was missing.

On Tuesday, we went to the ocean. Yesterday, we tried out the bay marina.

Some photos of the kiddos at the marina...

Bravely, Augustus tests it out with a toe.

Kelso trots right in... he'll go up to his chin.

the water is sparkly in the sun... but just not tempting enough to go farther.

"see? i did it!"

Kelso & Auggy are amazed at Holly's brilliant shaking ability.

They seem to have momentarily forgotten that they are capable of doing the exact same movement.

unproductive

today i'm feeling incredibly unproductive.

i have things i could be doing...

but i feel the most accomplished after i've played with the dogs and taken plenty of pictures of them.

augustus is easy. he loves the camera.

sailor is tricky. mostly because he's comparable to a small black torpedo.

then out of the blue, he tries to climb up my leg, just wanting to be picked up...

doesn't work for a photo.

prairie should be easy. she's just not as photogenic as the other two.

she's best described as sweet and lumbering.

but she's a dear.

since the beginning...

For me, I think it's always been about horses and dogs. When I was in kindergarten and the class went to the school library, I remember the two books I checked out the most:

Lonesome Little Colt written and illustrated by C.W. Anderson

and The AKC Complete Dog Book (the Irish Wolfhound was my favorite because it was the biggest. still want one. certainly Augustus would agree.)

C.W. Anderson wrote and illustrated a seriously long list of books about horses and ponies. I love these drawings. I'm putting some on the next post.

skipping away

monica rich kosann photography

It took me forever to learn how to skip when I was a kid. I could only hitch up one leg for some reason,

so I probably looked pretty peculiar, determinedly trying to move quickly, but just not getting it right.

Last night, I used my now fairly adequate skipping as a defense mechanism against mosquitos while I was letting the dogs out before bed. It was a way to swiftly dodge those vicious insects, and I was actually really enjoying myself. So now I'm going to remind myself to skip daily... it creates a smile.

The pups were riled up by it too... which is always amusing.

But skipping always reminds me of childhood and my favorite form of movement when I was little.

To me, these photos represent the carefree days when skipping was almost always appropriate.

(this one could be my brother and his two best friends. the puppy's a perfect touch)

these photos are by monica rich kosann. she's amazing.