Jasper stands sentry by the bougainvillea. Waiting. Watching. Must keep the humans safe.

Beautiful view from Wattamolla Beach

There is a lot of ground that needs patrolling. You have to use your nose to find out what animals have been around and what other dogs have been here. Jasper is on it.

Sydney Opera House

6 weeks old Australian Shepherd

It's important to Jasper that both of his humans are engaged in playtime. So he waits and waits and waits while Mom finishes something or other in the kitchen. A more considerate human would wipe the counters AFTER playtime, right Jasper?

Jasper keeps a keen eye on his humans in the evenings. If they move, they might be ready to play. Right Edward the Elephant

Jasper keeping watch over the neighborhood. Good boy. Keep us safe.

Jasper plops down in front of the fire with Betty Bunny and sulks because his humans have stopped playing. Poor Jasper only gets about 14 hours of play per day. 😜

Queried Jasper with a tilt of his head and a proffer of Betty Bunny

Jasper can sometimes be a little underwhelmed with our playfulness. Betty Bunny seems to have the same attitude. Jasper will keep his eye on me just in case I decide not to be totally lame.

another of my fave gold coast storm photos..queensland australia.

When patrolling the neighborhood a dog must remain vigilant. Jasper and I did a nice walk around the neighborhood this morning soon after sunrise. Be calm, we found nothing awry.

Jasper has to run perimeter checks. All is well.

Jean, Jasper and I had an opportunity to meet one of my Flickr / Instagram friends in the real world this weekend. Borzena joined us at the Riparian Preserve and we had a nice stroll, took some pictures (mostly of Jasper) and got to know each other. She's a very talented photographer so it was fun to share our love of photography. This is one of the shots I took along the way, Jasper posing with his usual grace and professionalism.

native wildflower of Western Australia.

With very pleasant weather, we've been playing in the back yard quite a bit. But at some point I have to tell Jasper we've got to go in. Got stuff to do, you know. But Jasper always gives me this totally disappointed look, like, "what do you mean we have to go inside? We were just having fun!" Well, kiddo, life has a few disappointments along the road. Took this shot blind as Jasper looked me in the face to communicate he wasn't ready to go in.

Jasper taking a brief respite from a rousing game of OddBall with both of his humans.

When we saw this pleasingly purple plant along our walk, we knew we needed a photo.

I think his coat is looking particularly full in this portrait. Poor guy suffers a bit when its hot. And it's very hot this week. Highs through the mid week are 117ºF (47ºC) and last night the low only got to 91ºF (33ºC). Jean said he was a trooper on their walk this morning though. A few stops to crunch on ice cubes, then soldier on. We don't bother with his after-dinner walk this time of year. Instead, we play in air conditioned comfort.

Here's Jasper doing his impression of a barrel cactus, like those behind him. Nice try Jasper, but you're just not prickly at all

On Sunday we went to Boyce Thompson Arboretum. They open at 6AM starting in May so we took advantage of the cooler early morning to check out some desert blooms. There were lots of these purple flowers about and Jasper agreed to pose for a shot or two.

Well looky here, Jasper bagged himself a rooster. Rebel Rooster that is. Poor Rebel, face down in shame. But, such is the life of a dog toy

Jasper at the riparian preserve wondering why Mom took his leash off and told him to stay. Humans are so weird!

My Vacation Cabin at Aussie Shores :)

Thanks Pris and Adam for this amazing vacation Feels at SL <3

Jasper came with us to the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch on Saturday. This is a 110 acre park about 15 minutes from our home. It features 7 recharge ponds that are stocked with fish for the birds. There is also a fishing pond stocked with fish for humans to catch. The park is free and ebird.org typically lists over 300 species of birds that have been spotted there. The park is a real gem in our community. Jasper has been birding with me his whole life. Fortunately, he's never chased the birds. Only watched them with interest.

A shot of one of the ponds in the first comment.

Waiting. Watching. Wondering. Betty Bunny at the Ready. A typical evening scene with Jasper

This is not an uncommon sight around our house. We were finishing up dinner and I looked over to see Jasper patiently waiting for the next phase of the evening (which is his after-dinner treat, then play, then tricks, then more play, then...)

So who do you think blinked? Well, OK, it wasn't Jasper. I sheepishly went and retrieved a toy to play with 😁

One good thing that has come out of the pandemic is that the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix have opened their gates to dogs more often. This month, you can bring your dog every Sunday morning. Jasper seems to enjoy it. Especially these shady respites where he can relax and do a bit of people watching.

Yep, Jasper is the king of subtlety. I have absolutely no idea what he wants ;-)

Jasper perches to take a look around at the water tower square in Gilbert, Arizona

Sometimes you just want to lay down in the grass and enjoy the moment.

Jasper looking rather austere or aristocratic or something. Lots of blooming bougainvillea right now with big bold color.

Jasper, Jean and I went for a hike at Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction, Arizona today. It's about 30 minutes from our home. It was 63°F (~17°C) when we started our hike about 30 minutes before sunrise. Gorgeous day. We saw a herd of deer bounding across the trail this morning. Jasper was so excited he almost lost his mind. Instinct was kicking in and he really wanted to chase one down. So he had to pull me up the trail at full speed for a little bit. This is precisely the reason we leave him on leash. It does seem a little weird seeing a herd of deer bounding through the cactus and scrub. A couple other photos for context in the first comment

Jasper just checking out a zigzag mesquite tree in the early morning light.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum has some mini canyons to explore. They're full of cactus and lizards and other interesting bits. Jasper likes to explore them.

Jasper turned 12 on Friday, July 21st. So we celebrated in grand style this weekend with toys, and treats and play. Such fun. A couple of new friends have joined the fray. The orange fella on the left is Mr. Gecko. And on the right is Mosely the Marvelous Moose, but his friends call him Moosey . Jasper is doing quite well for a 12-year-old. He maybe takes a few more naps but still has energy and playfulness.

Jasper keeps an eye out for lizards and ground squirrels and whatnot. All those creatures that inhabit the rocks and scrub of the desert

Mr. Jasper out being neighborly

Jasper spies something or other on his neighborhood watch. Good watchman.

Having successfully kept Rebel Rooster under his protective care, Jasper stood tall and proud. It was a rousing chase around the family room.

I use the term "under protective care" loosely. On Rebel Rooster's first day with Jasper, he lost an eyeball to Jasper's teeth. But luckily, in between being a fighter jet pilot and being a nuclear physicist, I spent some time as an eye surgeon so I was able to reattach Rebel's eyeball and he's fully stereoscopic again.

I was just messing around with the new sky replacement feature in Photoshop CS 2021. Apparently you can also replace a wall with a pretty sky. So here you have a very real Jasper on a fake sandy (or carpeted?) beach at sunset.

Jasper awaits the toy toss in our “official play area”. The games are so much fun! As long as the humans are actually 100% engaged. It’s funny, but if Jean and start talking about our day or discussing something human during Jasper’s play time, he just lays down and refuses to play until we’re done with the human talk. He wants us fully engaged in the play or he doesn’t even want to play. “Look! You guys are either playing or you’re not. Let me know when you’re done humanizing”. Geez, next he won’t let us look at our phones or watch TV during dinner 😜

Jasper likes to sniff around some of the neighborhood shrubberies. Sometimes we see bunnies. Or sometimes we see kitties. All very exciting