Neon, like Photon, is a Miniature Australian Shepherd (aka Miniature American Shepherd for dog breeder political reasons, sigh). But he’s a very different dog.
Far more cuddly, not nearly as quick to housetrain, more physically adept, and very quick to begin to fetch balls and frisbees.
Very busy causing minor trouble around the house, but super social with both people and other dogs. Since he finally got the requisite shots to be allowed to run in the park, he’s a much more satisfied pup. All that running, wrestling and fetching (even in the -10º cold) really takes the edge off!
I was a gargoyle. I was made of rock, and there was a candy shoot that looked like a downspout. I had from horns, like a gargoyle from Notre Dame cathedral.
Rain began to weaken and destroy the paper-and-poster paint props over the evening.Aftermath, next day: most of the water-based paint has been stripped off by the rain.
Today we had to say goodbye to Photon: our dear, tough, gentle Miniature Aussie.
As freelancers and highly-engaged parents of a child with multiple special needs, we realized that neither of us were getting outside enough to notice the turning of the seasons. Suddenly it’s spring. How did summer come up so fast? Since when was the sidewalk covered in leaves?! So around when Jonathan turned 10, and multiple hospital appointments were fewer and farther between, we decided to get a dog to change that. A dog that needed a couple of decent bouts of exercise a day.
At the breeders
Mastering the basement stairs
And boy did she fit the bill. She insisted we go out in all sorts of weather, for an hour or more. Relatively tiny, but immune to the cold. Not a fan of the rain, but obviously someone had to go out in it. What, are you a wimp?
Walk…?Walk…?
Eager for learning, she did several dog courses before getting the best experience of her life, the Herding Instinct Test!
Laura teaches Photon how to stretch like ElastiGirl in her superpower lessonsHerding Instinct Test—no training, all mettle
She lived for the ball and the frisbee, super-competitive but never combative if another dog tried to make off with it. Gentle with kids, though not above physically getting in their way if she perceived they were in a risky situation.
One friend referred to her as “the best of dogs”, and as I sit here with tears down my face, I’m going to risk boasting that…yes, yes, I think she was. Farewell, our dear pal…
After 2 years without camp due to COVID-19, I finally got to go back to camp this summer. Unlike previous years’ camps, which were 10 days, this year’s camp was only 7 days. At camp I did lots of crafts. On Day 2 , I painted the stones of the campfire. We were Cabin of the Day on Day 3. On this day the flagpole theme was Animals and the song was the intro to the TV show Franklin. I made flower pots in pottery. We also had a campfire whose theme was water.
Day 4’s theme was the movie Jumanji. I created my own game called “Socky,” which was a combination of soccer and hockey.
On Day 5 we had a scavenger hunt. I had lots of fun! I quoted some lines from the Apple TV+ series Helpsters. As soon as I finished everything on the list, I said “All the jobs are done.” Afterwords, because it was hot outside, I played water games on the grass. My favourite water game was “Drip Drip Drop.” I got very wet!
Day 6 featured a talent show. During the show my counsellor Anna flipped her hand to create strobe lights for the song “I See The Light” from the movie Tangled. It was so nice!
The last full day was Day 7, which was the goodbye banquet. The banquet theme was “Enchanted Forests.” Because of that, I felt I had to incorporate light somehow. Anna and camper Riley made me a lantern like in Tangled as a souvenir. In the dining hall I was happy to see lots of lights everywhere, especially blue ones. It was very pretty and it looked like my skin was glowing all over. After dinner, we watched a slideshow of our camp week. Two of my favourite songs were in the slideshow, which made me happy. After the slideshow we danced, which was great!
This week was awesome and I’m looking forward to my next camp session!
