Nico has a newfound appreciation for his Chuckit! Kick Fetch ball.

It’s so nice coming home with hours of daylight left. It means Nico and I get to spend time working outside together, which is good for both of us.

It’s so nice coming home with hours of daylight left. It means Nico and I get to spend time working outside together, which is good for both of us.

Nico is always on alert, watching everything going on in the neighborhood.

We pulled out all of Nico’s toys this evening to let him play with assessing which is currently his favorite. An oversized squishy tennis small proved to be his favorite, so we used it to play a game of Find It. Nico really likes this game and has been learning to rely on his sense of smell to seek out whatever is hidden. When he really gets in the zone he can find an object hidden anywhere in our house within two minutes.

It’s been raining all day and Nico is not a fan of going in the rain to go to the bathroom, though we did learn today that he’ll bolt right out the door after a squirrel.

Nico had a long day; he went for a long walk, hung out in the yard for hours, and went to the hardware store. He was sitting on the couch this evening, falling asleep with his head still up.

Nico on neighborhood watch from his sunning bench in our front entryway.

We found the secret to the licking mat, organic peanut butter that is a little dry. It sticks very well to the mat, significantly extending Nico's time licking it. Sometimes it lasts a few sessions throughout the day because we’re afraid his tongue will get hurt.

Nico has an extraordinarily long tongue. I tried capturing a shot of it at full length this evening, but this was the best I could get.

Those eyes! 😍

I think Nico’s favorite spot in the house is his bed underneath Shelly’s desk in her office. He hangs out there with her for a good portion of the day, often sleeps there at night, and sometimes goes up there all by himself to take a nap in the middle of the day.

Nico has gotten good at catching this particular ball, but other items are still challenging.

Nico spent the afternoon outside keeping watch as I worked on building a custom rack to hang my skis in the shed.

A beautiful afternoon to be watching over the yard.

Nico and I have been going for early morning walks these past few days. Walking through the forest is nice when all the human activity in the village hasn’t started, and we mostly hear the birds.

Beautiful warm evening light.

Nico basking in the glory of a living room full of toys.

Nico appears to be all ready for an adventure. He’s sleeping on our front bench alongside his Ruffwear Vert jacket and Dogtra 280C Tom Davis edition e-collar. We didn’t go on any adventures today, but I promised him he could come out to the field with me tomorrow.

Nico appears to be all ready for an adventure. He’s sleeping on our front bench alongside his Ruffwear Vert jacket and Dogtra 280C Tom Davis edition e-collar. We didn’t go on any adventures today, but I promised him he could come out to the field with me tomorrow.