Long Days!

We've been out for sunset many evenings lately. Some evenings, there's even some sun that we can see! R was gazing toward it last evening.

Then, we try to get up early for a bike ride the next morning. I'm afraid that "burning the candle at both ends" has caught up with Shyla, and maybe me too.

I love the long days, with late sunsets and early sunrises, but seizing each one can leave me yawning, just like Shyla!

Today, we continued learning our new game, where sometimes Shyla retrieves her toy and sometimes she runs past it to come straight to me. She is definitely still in the learning phase.

On our first try of a "recall" where she was supposed to run past the toy to me, she stopped next to it and did a tongue flick, a classic sign that she was uncertain and a little anxious about what to do.

Of course, I helped her out by reminding her to "leave" the toy and come to me.

On the next one, I asked her to bring the toy. I loved how she sneaked a peek at me as she picked it up.

She loves retrieving much more than ignoring the toy and coming to me. She is a Labrador Retriever, so that makes sense.

She did a whole series of repeats perfectly, either leaving the toy or not, depending on what I asked.

Then there was one that made me laugh. I had asked her to "come" - which means leave the toy and come directly to me. She tried to sneak up behind the toy.

I reminded her to "leave it", and here was her reaction.

 She quickly righted her course.

What a good dog!

With Shyla, the most important thing is that I keep everything fun and upbeat so she doesn't get worried about making a mistake. So, I cheered her on as she retrieved the toy on the next repeat!

We had a super fun time playing our game.

After I left Shyla at home at the end of our short ride, I headed out for an easy ride. I'm hoping that some easier-than-usual rides will alleviate my fatigue. I stopped a lot to look at beautiful flowers. A wintergreen in bloom...

I love this time of year... I had a nice easy ride, and I'm hoping to feel some zip in my legs during my bike ride tomorrow!