Parker had just about the longest day of his life yesterday when we drove up to Devil's Lake State Park, near Baraboo, Wis., for a 9 km hike. That's a lot for a dog of any size, not even counting that it involved a 150 m climb at one point. Fortunately there were stairs, courtesy of the Civilian Conservation Corps circa 1938:
He had, I think, the best walk ever. He met other dogs:
Found enough to drink along the way:
And discovered a hollow tree:
Finally we reached the top of the ridge to rest. He initially seemed nervous about the height but, with a few scritches behind the ear, relaxed:
Also, I'm happy to report, he had a restful car ride in both directions:
Parker will destroy just about anything he discovers in the back yard. Like this welcome mat, for example:
Or this flower pot:
Yesterday I also spent several entertaining moments removing children's bath toys from his mouth. I would take the boat, or scuba diver, or whatever, put it beyond his reach in the play house, and then go back to him and repeat the process until the kiddie pool was totally empty. He thought this was a fun game.
Yeah, you the dog:
No ParkerCam tomorrow, so tune in now while he's there.
I need a caption for this:
Possibly, "I am never drinking again..."
Parker is at day camp today, but he's not feeling great. I'm waiting to hear back from the vet on what, exactly, he ate last week. Our money is on rabbit poop, again.
Warm morning, park, big stick. Parker is happy:
And because everyone is back home, the ParkerCam is on today.
Nothing like a happy puppy running across a field at 6:30 in the morning...
No ParkerCam until next Thursday, and possibly no Daily Parkers until then, either. Sorry. Rest assured that Parker will be having as much fun as his fuzzy butt can handle at Day Camp during his absence from the Internet.
And come to think of it, with The Daily Parker around, on the Internet everyone does know you're a dog...
Watching for his buddies at the morning play group:
Yes, it's a holiday, but when you own a small business sometimes you work seven days a week. Yesterday, for example, Parker came in to help with my filing:
I don't think I'll staff the job out to him just yet, however, given his propensity to eat the files.
I'm still looking for cicadas, though none seems to have emerged near me. Yesterday riding my bike I heard one in Highland Park and one in Winnetka, but so far I haven't heard any, nor seen any nymphs or shells in Evanston. If Parker only knew they were coming, he'd be pretty excited.
No photo today. Instead, yesterday's message from the dog-walking service: "He was excellent today. He even had a crap, which is getting to be rare."
I'm so glad someone else is as interested in my dog's bowel movements as I.