Dan, wake up!

Here's Frito, trying to roust Dan out of his mid-day nap. At the cottage. On the dock. In the sun. In a zero-gravity lounger. With a beer, cheese, and crackers. Dan has a tough life.

Actually, we took a drive up north and hiked up Mt. Kearsarge after stopping at the cottage. We had a great day. Dan is in training to be a Frito-sitter. Frito thinks he's coming along nicely.

How cute is this?

So tell me, can you get any more cute? Yes, I know you already saw a photo in the long grass -- but not with my tongue hanging out just a little -- so cute. Don't worry -- I personally give my paw-print of approval for every photo Alpha shows. I'm not going to let down my fans with duplicate postings.

Coming out of the light

I look like some alien pooch -- check out my eyes -- the seem to glow. Well, you never know ... Just remember, I may be the superior race. So you have better be nice to me -- and keep feeding me that expensive dog food, got it?

Somewhere on a path, far, far away

Another day, another path. I just luv paths becuase I don't need my leash (no cars, you know; and no other people or dogs for that matter -- we live in the boonies, man). So you can see how happy (and cute) I am.

Walk softly, but chew on a big stick

This should scare away the big dogs. Look at me -- I'm one ferocious beast. They had better let me pass, or I might shake this stick at them. Growl.

Finger lickin' good

Yummy. Alpha's got something on his fingers, and I like it! It tastes a little like strawberry jam. My skills de palette are quite amazing.

Lovin' my Dad

Look, another shared photo. My generousity surprises even moi. And look at my Dad -- isn't he the cutie-pie here? Nope -- just kidding -- still me. But I do love him, even if he makes me pose for photos all the time! I know it is to make Alli happy. And maybe Greg if he ever visits -- do you Greg?

Me and my Mom

Hey look -- finally someone in the shot other than just me. See I'm not the camera hog -- it's all Alpha's fault. But Mom was giving me a hug, and Alpha had his camera at the ready (big surprise there). And look -- no blink! Yeah.

Some froggy leg action

Oh you know how it goes. After I get a bath, and get dried off, I still need to wring out the belly fur. So out come the froggy legs and some petting by Mom. And that makes me very happy. Not to mention cute and adorable.

Did I mention cute?

Sleeping with (on) my Mom

One of my favorite positions in the evening. I join my Mom on the sofa -- then on her footrest -- and then on her legs. This way she can't move at all. I've got her pinned. It means I'm superior (was their any doubt?). Not to mention cute.

Waiting till Alpha says 'break'

After being a good boy and walking on my training leash, Alpha stopped at the apple orchard. He tells me to 'sit' (and I do). Then he takes off my training collar and tells me to 'stay' (and I do). Then he takes his sweet time until he finally says 'break' which means I'm no longer under voice command, and now I can run around like a maniac (and I do).

Squinting at the camera

Yes, once again, Alpha has posed me like some vapid model. Hey, I've got my pride. So I squint when I see the flash go off. But it doesn't work -- I'm just so naturally cute, I can't even spoil the picture. Sigh. I guess I'll have to play along.

Field of dreams

Check out the field behind me. Blue sky atop rolling green grass, dappled with split rail fences (and real horses). This is very picturesque -- I call it my field of dreams. As you saw yesterday, it even has a pond in the lower forty. What more could you want? (Alpha says to own it ;-)

Another pond

Look what Alpha found on our walk -- another pond. (This is really good becuase mine looks really yucky these days.) And this one has a big granite island that Alpha and I jumped on to.

Long wet grass

Alpha took me through a bunch of fields near our house. This one had long grass that still had lots of morning dew. So I'm a little bit disheveled as a result. But I'm still cute -- I'm always cute!

The parents return, sans Alli

Well, the parents returned very late tonight (actually, the following morning). Frito was very excited to see them, but of course is still missing his girl. Alpha took Frito out for a long walk in the morning, through lots of fields, so he could run free. You can see that is always a high-point of his walk.

Snoozin' all the way home

All in all it was a great road trip. I got lots of walks and activity, so I'm pretty tuckered out. Which is good, given the long car ride still ahead of us. I think I'll just take another snooze in the car. Now I'm officially a road-trip pooch.

Post-trip update: Alli liked Dalhousie, and Dalhousie liked Alli -- so she is going to go to school there beginning this fall semester. So my parents and Alli get to make this drive all over again. But this time, I think I'll stay home. That's a lot of driving!

Guess where I am

Well, now were at the border with the good 'ole USA. One last picture to prove I was in Canada.

Tiptoe through the kelp

Alpha wanted to look around the bend; the girls thought he was nuts. I think they were right. Have you ever tried to walk over kelp? Very slippery. Alpha even took a dive (aka fall), but my four-paw drive proved quite stable.

Now that's a lot of rocks

On our final day, we left early in the morning to see some sea caves at low tide. That was a bust, but check out this beach -- now that's a lot of rocks. Imagine this as a jigsaw puzzle.