Lamb Chop

Last week, Megan bought Duncan a big Lamb Chop toy. At first, he treated it like all his other toys, killing it and grabbing it when he needed something in his mouth to greet people with. But last night, tired after his excellent day, he discovered that Lamb Chop is also useful as a pillow, and for snuggling with while lying on the air conditioner vent.

Duncan's Most Excellent Day

What a great day! We started off well, lucking into a dog party in the park on our morning walk. There were at least 8 other dogs (it was hard to count!), including his friends Watson and Ruby, and they were able to play off-leash, though it was too hot for running around much.

Then – O Frabjous Day – we laid the sod!! The end of the long, long, pool project. We officially have a lawn. Duncan seems pleased, and was lying in the shade for a while enjoying the cool grass.

And – best of all – Aunt Marnie brought puppy Cerys for a playdate. She's 5 months old now, and already outweighs him by about 10 pounds. And more important, she mostly stands up to him and gives as good as she gets. They had a wonderful time playing together, and the new sod survived remarkably well:

Chewy Bamboo

So after moving 50+ cubic yards of fill and topsoil, we finally have a flat backyard. All it needs is a last-minute final smoothing, and it will be ready for sod next week.

Why does the smoothing have to be last-minute, you ask? Well, we raked and we rollered, and we ended up with a nice smooth surface. And then we let Duncan loose on it. It's no longer smooth!

He's having such a great time playing in the bigger space. We've played ball, tug, and frisbee (he prefers the purple one that Owen gave him to the blue one Santa gave him) as well as kill-the-bamboo.

Here are a couple more pictures from the last week or two. Look at those paws!

Wash? Why?

Duncan's grass provides convenient morning shade to supervise from.