Marley meets the kiddie pool

This week has been hot again.  Yesterday our outdoor thermometers both got to 100-101 when there was no direct sun on them.  Today, I looked mid afternoon and it's 95 in the shade.  So, it was time to break out the kiddie pool.  There was one in the tool shed, left from Lois' dog, Missy. 

I left Marley in the house for a few minutes, to go get the pool, bring it into the yard, unhook the sprinkler and start the water running into the pool.  Then I brought him out.  Since it was something he'd never seen before he was skeptical.  He circled it.  He drank from it.  He circled it.  He tried to bite the grasshopper floating just out of reach.  He circled it.  He put a foot on the rim, then pulled it back and circled some more. 

Every now & then he'd look at me for reassurance.  At one point he got both front feet wet.  Then he circled some more.  He looked like he was going to hop in, then circled again.  He really didn't trust this new thing.  I used a yardstick to flick the occasional wasp or yellow jacket out of the pool.

Finally, I picked up his front end & put both his feet all the way in.  He didn't much like it, but he didn't move away from the pool.  So, I put all of him in the pool.  At that point he decided the lawn was more interesting.  Every once in a while I'd splash the water with the yardstick.  All that did was get him interested in the yardstick as a stick. 

Next time we'll take his little (used to be almost 2 feet long) stick and toss it in the water and see what happens.

He also got his first peanut butter jar today.  I finished the little bit that was in the bottom of the jar and put it on the floor.  He got a bit nervous.  He barked at it, and barked at it until I put it on its side.  He must have thought I killed it because he moved in and cleaned the top inch or two.  He carried it into several rooms while he was working it over.  Maybe when he's all grown up, he can clean our peanut butter jars for recycling.  (Our first dog loved peanut butter and could reach to the bottom of the 40 ounce jars - they were squeaky clean looking when she was done.)

Today he also cocked his leg for the second time.  Unfortunately, he was in the house, by the furnace.  I'm so looking forward to the consistency that's coming.