A Glimpse of Summer

Nani photographed Nalle yesterday in beautiful autumnal settings here in Vanhalinna. I bet the photos of Nalle among yellow leaves are spectacular, and that reminds me of the fact that also Luumu was shot by Nani - and I haven't shown you the pictures yet! And that was in August! We got to enjoy a long and a warm summer this year, and now that the autumn has come, it came really suddenly. This morning, a lunatic woodpecker woke us up trying to peck a nest in our housing. Also the thrushes have gone wild with all the apples that have fallen onto the lawn. This morning was a crispy one, and I tried to search for playing squirrels in the trees with no luck - the yellow and reddish leaves were falling so fast all of the sudden. 

Although I do enjoy the sunny autumn days and almost look forward to the upcoming winter with its woollen socks, spiced tea, candle light and fire in the fireplace, this is a perfect moment to go back to the summer in our thoughts, and savour the memory of sunburns, heat, sand, water and dogs running rampantly in the woods, beach, garden... where ever!

I love how Nani takes pictures that make Luumu look exactly how he really is.
A happy little boy without a care in the world. 

This is how Luumu is sometimes when we train obedience.
One ear with me, one ear listening to the distractions of the surroundings :) 

His coat's colour matches with all sorts of backgrounds! 

One of my true favourites!
What a happy little Stafford! 

Mommy I cannot give you the paw any other way,
so I'll just roll over here, okay? 

This photo is like an advert of Luumu starting his own life coach business.
If I can - so can you! 

Haa, this is the face he makes when I sometimes need to tie him up in a tree. 

Mommy's little obedience trainee. 

Here, he spotted some walkers down the path. 

Luumu was really suspicious at this point.
Why do you lure me onto these rocks with a treat?
Where's the catch? 

Pusipusihalihalinaminami.
Mamin pieni pusunaama. 

Pieni ruttupuppe, oma uninalle. 

After spending some time in the forest, Luumu got to go swimming!
What a handsome dog I have, right? 

Luumu does his best to be the best retriever staffy there is! 

Left something behind..? 

Luumu has been photographed by Nani before, and these photos can be seen here, here and here. Someone asked me when we participated in this Kuono ja Tassu -photography day that what'll I do with all these pictures taken by Nani. I really don't know, but I cherish each one of them as my most precious memories. Everyone who takes photos of dogs knows how difficult it is to make the dog look like himself but in an aesthetically appealing way. Nani can really capture the essence of the dog in the most beautiful way.

What else than autumn in our lives at the moment? Obedience! I am battling in my mind whether or not to enter us in an obedience trial in the beginning of November. Basically all the parts are there, but we would need some training in the disturbance, when it comes to laying down in a group. We really don't have a rush, as Luumu is not even two years old yet, but we have been training so hard this summer for the trials, and I don't think I manage to keep my own motivation up, if we need to wait for the first trial much longer. As our laying down (paikallaolo) has developed in such a speed during the past few days, I decided that I'll see in a couple of weeks where we are and make the decision based on the situation then. But if we don't make it for the November trials, there's always the chance for me to drive to Pori to compete. The November trial in Turku seems to be the last one this year (at least for us, as the December is out of question for us), but there are some trials during the November and January organized in just a couple of hours' drive from here. If I travelled a couple of hours to a dog show, I can definitely travel a couple of hours or more to a trial!