It was a pleasant late-summer morning and early enough in the day to still be cool. HairyFace and Jasper worked the garden while Blondie Bear snoozed in the cabin. Lulu looked on from her pen. She wanted to be outside, but Jasper still spooked her: he’s a little too enthusiastic for her tastes. Me? I was attending important business inside the house: I was making sure the snuggle-beds didn’t escape and run off while everyone else was goofing off outside.

Jasper likes working the garden with Hairy and will raise a fuss if Hairy heads down to the barn without him. Jasper feels it’s his DUTY to help (and he likes to eat cherry tomatoes).

They spent quite a while watering, and weeding, and harvesting. When it was all done, HairyFace took his basket of produce and headed to the house. But Jasper had other ideas.

Jasper came galloping past Hairy and stood in his way, holding the pinkie-ball in his mouth and looking hopeful.

“Ohhhh, you’d like to play some fetch before we go inside?”

Jasper dropped the ball and it rolled down the hill almost to Hairy’s feet. Hairy set the basket of garden goodies on the roof of the cabin (where Blondie Bear was still snoozing). And picked up the ball. Jasper got set to run.

Hairy tossed the ball out along side the walkway, Jasper tore out after it. He snagged the ball as it rolled down the hill, tossed it in the air, caught it, tossed it again, pounced on the ball when it hit the ground. Finally he grabbed the ball and came running back to where Hairy waited for him. He dropped the ball at Hairy’s feet and Hairy tossed it again. More antics, then the return. This time Jasper added a new twist to the game.

They played fetch (with this new twist) for about twenty minutes before Jasper finally dropped the ball and let it roll away, “I’m done paying now, lets go inside.”

Hairy just chuckled, Jasper’s a funny fellow. Smart, athletic, and loving, but also such a clown. He’s quite entertaining.

On most days NiceLady leaves us a little after breakfast and goes on a long car ride that lasts the whole day … until just before dinner time. We miss her terribly while she’s out having fun.

HairyFace stays with us to keep us company and open the door for us when we need to go in and out. And to give us lunch cookies. And to scratch us and pet us when we need it. He does some other strange things during the day, but mostly he’s here for us to look after him and keep him safe while he does those little trifles for us.

On Sundays they BOTH leave us at home by ourselves and that’s really awful. But that’s not all day, just long enough to get a good nap in.

When NiceLady has been gone all day we get excited about her coming home.

Sometimes it takes her a while to come in and we get impatient, but we’re always happy to see her.

Jasper and Blondie are sitting together, enjoying a pleasant July afternoon at the cabin.

They sit quietly for a while, then Jasper decides to show her how dogly he is by trotting off to patrol the fences and be sure their play space is secure. Blondie just smiles: Jasper can be sweet when he wants to.