A nice afternoon walk at the Riparian Preserve found us at Pond 6, Jasper greeting folks from a safe social distance.

Sunset over Port Darwin, seen from Bicentennial Park, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

Jasper got 3 toys for Christmas. A monkey. A new Oddball. And this guy, Wuffy the wolf with six pack abs (kind of like me 😉) Wuffy brings out Jasper's inner wolf - tough and ferocious - the enforcer. Guess our home is safe 😉. We got in some good play on Christmas. Jasper was literally trembling with excitement about his gifts. He kept charging the camera so none of the videos worked out.

Watching TV in the evening, if one of us gets up, Jasper is at full attention, certain (or perhaps ever hopeful) that something wonderful and fun is about to happen. Sometimes its even true 😁

Sometimes Jasper takes it upon himself to take up the neighborhood watch, looking for ne'er-do-wells. This time hiding in the lantana flowers.

Ryder would love to sit for me but he has an issue with his back leg and sitting is hard for him. Of course he got a treat even if he didn't sit down like Della.

Hair // bonbon - aussie hair [unrig] ***Group Gift

Top // MIWAS / School love Strip top #A RARE

"we love football, meatpies, kangaroos and Holden cars."

While on shrubbery patrol, Jasper needs to remain alert, ready to slay any would-be dragons lurking in our neighborhood.

Ok Jasper, slow down! JASPER! JASPER! ... A near miss as Jasper catches the frisbee and barrels toward me. I had the camera on the ground, trying to get a low-angle shot. And Jasper thought perhaps we could get a nice shot to really show off the Hyper Pet flying disc.

This is Cal (Short for Calvados) who lives with my sister-in-law (Jean's sister) in Wisconsin. We've been getting text messages with pictures of Jasper from our pet sitter every day, but it was nice to visit Cal and get a bit of an Aussie fix. He's actually Jasper's blood-nephew, a big fluffy, goofy boy. Click on Cal's eyes to zoom in and see his poly-chromatic (multi-colored) eyes. Merry Christmas!

Last evening we had a bit of a monsoon roll through. Jasper heard it and went over to the patio door to check it out. I said to him, "You don't want to go out there buddy. It's coming down pretty hard." But he insisted he go out. Jasper does not like to get wet at all so I thought he'd just go out onto the patio which is covered. But no, he ran out into the yard and did a quick dash before coming back to the patio and shaking it out. From then on, I kept singing … If you like piña coladas, and gettin' caught in the rain (Rupert Holmes Escape song reference)

Jasper hangs on every word my wife says. He's a mama's boy for sure

Backyard frisbee can be tiring business. But a lay down in the cool grass rejuvenates for sure.

This is baby Sheriff, he's a 12 month old mini aussie, he loves to play all day long but also loves to give hugs. It's very hard for him to stand still for more than a few seconds since he has so much energy but we're working on it. He's just a goofy puppy that always puts a smile on my face

Big Welcome to all new members and welcome back to all the regular members I've gotten to know throughout my projects

Prowling the jungles of Phoenix, Jasper spies unsuspecting prey within striking distance. Or so the fantasy goes.

While on sentry, Jasper can look a bit stoic It's serious business though. Keep us safe boy.

Jasper checking out the neighborhood just after Sunday sunrise.

For some reason Sunday mornings are special for Jasper. It's the one day of the week that I take him on his morning "walk" alone. I put that in quotes because on Sundays, and only on Sundays, Jasper wants to run. We sprint the first block and then jog the rest of the way. 3 miles (4.8 km). I know I could insist on walking instead, but he gets so excited and seems to love it so much. So on Sundays we both get a little extra exercise.

Jasper is always such a considerate dog, making sure I have toys to play with should the urge arise 😁

Jasper employs this look of melancholy yearning to get his human's off their butts to play. Which of course we do. You can see his toy, Penny Puppy, has a bit of a slit throat. But she's still a player

After quite a bit of play last night I just had to ignore Jasper's taunts for even more play. So he went back by his toy stash to sulk. The poor lad never gets any attention 😜

Fun times in the back yard. Jasper loves his Oddball and we are out playing with it on a daily basis. Not sure what the Oddball rules are, but I am sure that Jasper always wins.

Jasper is sort of a self-appointed neighborhood watchdog. Don't want riff raff to sneak in and do evil

Jasper navigates the Shrubbery Labyrinth deep within the land of the Knights that say Ni (a Monty Python and the Holy Grail reference - you see, the Knights that say Ni will only allow Jasper safe passage if appeased by the gift of a shrubbery)

Jasper took a moment to contemplate life in the demonstration gardens at Boyce Thompson Arboretum. It's a really beautiful part of the park and a wonderful place to take a rest. Despite living his entire life in the desert with lots of prickly stuff Jasper has had very few issues with cacti.

(Just between us, I don't think he was doing to much contemplation. He was just actively avoiding looking at the camera. Even a modeling pro like Jasper reaches his limit, especially near the end of our visit)

Mom is checking sprinkler heads. Dad is reviewing photos on his camera. Come ON humans! This is about ME!

After the play subsides and starts slowing down we humans get distracted by stuff and Jasper doesn't like that. "Well, Jasper, you stopped playing so we thought you were done." "No, I was just taking a breather" replies Jasper. You can see his trusty Oddball on the ground to his right

For whatever reason I'm fascinated by the twisty trunks of the mesquite trees common to our community. Jasper posed for me but was really more interested in passers by than me and my infernal click box

Jasper in front of the infinity fountain at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden. We had a little outing there last weekend.

Jasper watching his human mom re-enter the family room. Hope springs eternal that she's bringing a treat or some delightful new toy. Alas, not this time. But we did play some more, so there's that

Just a backyard portrait of our pretty boy, Jasper

Foregoing the ottoman this time, Jasper brought Betty Bunny right to me on the couch. The technique is a little more "in your face" and has greater potential to incite a chase. I'm happy to report that Betty Bunny (that's her between Jasper's paws) is in pretty good shape. She came to us in July on Jasper's birthday and she has no open wounds and hasn't required stitches despite daily play.

(in case you're wondering, no I don't pose Jasper or the toy that way. It's all Jasper's doing)

Jasper out on patrol again, making sure the neighborhood stays safe. He deftly slipped behind this bird of paradise bush to spy on potential wrongdoers . (Yes, I know the bird of paradise plant in Arizona is weird, not looking at all like the "normal" bird of paradise)

Jasper knows that it pays to be a bit paranoid, casting a quick sideways glance to ensure his mom doesn't flank him and steal the OddBall.

We had to do a bit of yardwork on Saturday morning, trimming the bushes and tidying up. Jasper just kept dropping the OddBall in our path. And we'd dutifully pick it up and toss it every time. It does slow work progress a bit, but Jasper believes the primary reason to be in the back yard is to play. None of this "work" nonsense.

This is Cal, my sister-in-law's Aussie, and Jasper's nephew by blood. He has very interesting heterochromatic eyes. He's a wonderful, gregarious goofball.

..., cried Christmas Bear. Jasper seems to have chosen an unfortunate place to bite Christmas Bear for toting around. That's GOT to hurt! Poor Christmas Bear.

This particular bush was packed with beautiful blooms, both pink and others that were white, both of which stood out predominantly against the surrounding green foliage.

Jasper takes a breather from play to stand there and look handsome

Jasper gave the playground equipment a quick try. Fun, but ultimately not his bag. There's no Oddball involved - how much fun could it be?

Is it an optical illusion or is that right handle bigger than the left? Did the designer have no sense of symmetry? Just something I noticed.

Jasper finally settling down for the evening, perhaps frustrated that I've stopped playing. Sweet boy

Jasper on one of our daily walks showing off some of the lovely shrubbery that adorns our streets

Photo of Zara doing Toss and Fetch www.instagram.com/zara.blueaussie/

Sunset over Port Darwin, seen from Bicentennial Park, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

The reds, greens and blues of the outback make for a great landscape photo.

I asked Jean to go ahead on the trail a bit and pose Jasper on that protruding rock. She did, but Jasper just kept looking at Jean standing off behind the scenes. Despite calling his name and promising treats, Jasper refused to look at me. Finally Jean said, "Well if you want this to happen, it's going to have to be with both of us" So there you go. Jasper and Jean. It's OK, I like them both 😁

Well, almost 11 months after Jasper passed, we welcome Flint into our home and family. Flint is an 11-week-old Australian Shepherd. And what a sweetie! We can tell already he's a momma's boy. You should see his little butt wiggle when she walks in the room. (sorry I've been AWOL for a few weeks)

Found Jasper on the hearth, his arm around Betty Bunny, willing me to play. So we had a good chase. Ah, good times.

Hasselblad 500 C/M, Kodak Ektar 100