Weeding? Never mind that, mom. You have to stop and smell the flowers sometimes. Like me! (Yesterday when I got home after an exhausting day at work & lay down on the sofa to rest, he crawled into my arms & licked me all over my face. He's usually not big on affection. It was just what I needed ❤️❤️)

Brought my FujiFilm camera to San Juan Island in the Salish Sea last week. Hoping some nedwalkies pics are part of a relaxing Sunday for you 🧵

The local dog rescue had a stand at the flea market yesterday and I HAD to buy Lumi this scarf. It says "Nice" on the flip side. Maybe one day I'll have reason to flip it! 🤞 (The scarf looks like it's choking him because I didn't pull his fur through it properly. It's not actually that tiny)

You'll never guess why from the photos, but Lumi had to have an unscheduled bath after this walk. It was unpleasant for both of us.

I must have been a dad in a previous life because I love dad jokes.

"Look mom, I'm a dandelion! Yellow and fluffy and invading people's lawns everywhere!"

Too warm to play in the garden. That doesn't mean we can't try, even if it means mostly lying down or looking for shadowy, cool spots.

A wonderful time was had by all, in between the traumatic experiences of car trips and staircases and water pumps in the basement that turn Lumis into sausages, judging by the loud, mechanical sounds it made. Spending the night at an old lighthouse unlocked new levels of fear...(1/2)

Have you ever wondered what a dog who thinks I'm about to force him into the horrible, terrible, dog-eating car to go and spend the night away with me at a beautiful place with lots of interesting scents and wild animals to photograph looks like? Like this.

We definitely shouldn't. We're in Austria, did expect about 15 to 20°C. Received a butt load of snow in a storm last night, instead.

They're unionising now 😩

"HEY GUYS, IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! I TURN TWO YEARS OLD TODAY! MOM SAYS I STILL DRIVE HER CRAZY BUT ALSO SHE LOVES ME UNCONDITIONALLY EXCEPT FOR THE CONDITION WHEN I BITE HER! THEN SHE STILL LOVES ME BUT ALSO SHE SAYS SHE WANTS TO MAKE A FUR COAT OUT OF ME! I HOPE SHE'S BLUFFING AHAHAH"

Did you know I'm a magician? I can make a dog and a cat appear out of thin air. Just by making an egg sandwich!

💞 Oh such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you 💞 9 km in my favourite nature reserve, with a very, VERY good Lumi. He had so much fun, and so did I. Everything is better with him, every experience, every adventure, every second of every day ❤️

Well at least one of us was happy to wake up to this this morning. The other one was me.

He's such a good boy, and he gets even gooderer the older he gets. A bit overstimulated by the smells, sights and noises of the town centre (we usually stick to our suburb) and the car trip there, but still able to listen to me and relax (well, "relax"; after all he's a Finnish lapphund) at a café.

Spring and summer Sunday mornings, when the rest of the world is still asleep, are pure bliss. I wish he agreed with me, and didn't think I'm the meanest mom in the world for not letting him chew on sticks. He's such a good boy when he's not biting me 🥹

Lumi would forget all about me and happily wander around trying to herd kiwi

🎶 It's the most wonderful time of the yeeeear 🎶

We played with a new friend today who showed us what it REALLY means to be a barky breed.

They might look innocent but they are in a cutthroat competition to see which one can commit most crimes and get away with it. Guess who's leading.

Sunday vs Monday 😹

Lumi is learning how to talk through buttons instead of screaming like a banshee until I correctly guess what he wants. First up, the "play" button. Unfortunately, the button itself is more fun to play with than the actual toy, but at least he got the general idea? 😂

Lumi joined me and some friends for coffee today. The last time I attempted to take him there he barked for 10 minutes straight until I gave up and left before I got banned from the café. A year later, and he was SO good, calm and quiet and very appreciative of the meatballs that fell from the sky 😍

I chose to only document the 1st half of our long hike this morning because that's the one when Lumi was still a perfect little angel. I don't know what demon suddenly possesses him as I reflect on what a lovely time we're having, when we're as far away from home as we can be & I start getting tired

School torture photos.

Lumi thought jumping on me and play-biting me during our long hike this morning was acceptable behaviour, I thought it got old after the first 10 times. He might have trying to get me to take the leash off but after his little detour to chase a moose last week, no chance buddy (I was tempted)

I think maybe he wants the pretzel but I'm not sure, there's no way to know really, maybe I should put it away in case he's not interested

Looking for his missing dog at the cross-country ski course, possibly

Get a dog, they said. It'll be fun, they said. Can I get a refund, please? This one is broken.

You'll NEVER guess what happened between the first picture and the second and third ones, so let me give you a clue: it does not involve Lumi being a good boy.

First sunny day this year I think, so spent a lot of it outdoors! 10 miles of trail running through craggy woodlands and mucky fields, then back home to pick up the dog & camera before heading out again :')

Even Lumi thought it was a bit chilly today (-27°C, ~-17°F) and I could feel neither my fingers or toes, but he still wanted me to hide treats in the snow. This time of year is absolutely gorgeous here and I want to spend all my free time outdoors with this dork, cold or not 😍

This is how we spend our days.

Frenemies

A made-to-order elephant sculpture that recently flew the nest, and three little ones just added to my shop today! :) All made from paper mache and air dry clay, and painted using acrylics with a sand effect medium.

A shortbread biscuit for a job well done

I've only been away from him for 6 hrs and in a couple more I'll be home and able to squeeze him again, so I feel very silly for missing him as much as I do. But there was another lapphund on the bus and it made me think of him. I'm worried there's a co-dependency situation developing here

Ridiculously beautiful (and cold) day and we went exploring. Lumi was definitely better dressed for the cold than me 🥶 Other than an unfortunate reactivity incident at the end (I'm SO over his leash reactivity), a perfect walk that helped recharge my depleted batteries a bit. More of this please ❄️😍❄️

The Liberation of Joan d'Shark

Sometimes I look at him and my heart explodes with love. "How can this beautiful creature be mine?" I muse, happy tears in my eyes. "How can we be so in sync, how can he forgive my many failings, how can he be so perfect in spite of them?" Sometimes I look at him and his mouth is full of cat poop.

Someone is going through a period of Big Feelings right now. Barking, humping, whining, jumping on me and biting...Is it the fresh snow? Is it our holidays routines giving way to boring back-to-work ones? Is it hormones? Is it a mystery ailment? Idk. But it's driving us both a little crazy.

20 months today. Why do they grow up so fast 🥹

Last day of the year, bud. A year that was so similar to the last 4 ones in that it brought more and more suffering and pain. 1/7

The weather is dreadful, the snowmobile tracks all but gone, I've an annoying cold, and any plans of using my time off to bond with Lumi through long walks in the forest are put on hold. I try to keep a bored pup happy by hiding treats in the woods. He's getting better at finding them 🐽

After a year like this, Lumi knew she would need as much support as possible for the Winter Solstice Howl. So she asked Pollox' for help.

Guess what happened between the first and the second picture.

Took a slightly longer lunch break so that I could take this guy out on the long leash and wade through the snow in the woods. Funny how the ice that gets stuck in his paws only bothers him when we're almost back home 🤔

Boop 🐽 #dogsofbluesky

Lumi and I have invented a new sport, iceskatejoring: you wear your Icebugs and go for a walk. He'll do the work pulling the leash, but you'll still break a sweat, because he'll take you places you could only imagine. You have no choice but to follow; you have literally no traction on the black ice.