What?? A Franklin THURSday?? Yes. I have the Alkema-based project to share with you Friday, as it is not quite done. So today, here is my happy pup, looking as he often does these summer days: tongue out and squinty, a little bit like he's laughing with joy. 

xo!

It was definitely hot enough to swim on Saturday, so I took Franklin down to the off-leash park and threw a stick for him. He will wade, but not swim, unless he has an incentive. This trio of shots show him returning with his stick, then doing some shoreline stick assessing, and then some proud stick carrying. 

xo!

Or maybe you want to share? I don't need the whole thing, just a bite. You like sharing, right? Good people share with their dogs, hadn't you heard? It's the "done" thing. 

(I never feed him from the table, btw. He just thinks I might want to start. xo!)

As soon as I sat down after returning from my partner's graduation (as a PhD! Woohoo!), Franklin curled up on my lap and fell asleep. So sweet. 

Happy weekend to all! xo

It's beyond "feisty," really; a more scientific diagnosis would be "stick-induced mania." Down by the little river behind the house, Franklin likes to select a stick from the mucky whorl and then drag it onto the sandy bank. Then he plays with it, dragging or carrying it from spot to spot, then dropping it and pawing frantically at it, with occasional breaks to chew off small pieces. During all of this he makes growly and whiny sounds, like he's both excited and kind of anxious about whatever it is he's doing.  
​In short, Franklin is a mystery. 

Franklin loves his rawhide bones SO MUCH you guys. He will sometimes just hang out with one stuck in his mouth like an unlit cigar. 

Yes, that is my house in its authentically cluttered state. 
​xo!

There's a small river way back behind our house, and over the years, many trees have fallen over it. One of them makes a nearly-perfect bridge (for the brave and well-balanced) to the other side, though you have to climb awkwardly over a near-vertical root ball to complete the journey.  

...and chickening out at the last second, turning around (he hasn't fallen doing this — yet), and running back to home turf.

He'll get there someday. 
xo

My little guy found the perfect perch at my parents' house: the back of a sofa. It's the best place to catch the rays from the skylight.

Photographs by my niece Tallulah! 
​xo

After living here several months, I finally got hip to a weekly "dog meetup" at a park a couple of miles from my house. Though Franklin is one of the smaller dogs there, he is very quick and nimble, and enjoys being chased. He just has a good attitude about it all.
​Here he is during a quieter moment, mellowing out by chewing up a stick.