Dog day afternoon

Today I got to spend a fun and relaxing afternoon with my family over at my aunt and uncle's place. The weather was terrific, the food was plentiful and delicious, and the company—consisting of my folks; my brother; my Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Bill; my grandmother; my three cousins Emily, Katie, and Anne; Anne's husband Dmitri; and my aunt and uncle's neighbors Don and Mori—was outstanding. Plus we had plenty of entertainment in the form of Kaylee, Bonnie and Bill's dog Molly, and Anne and Dmitiri's golden Lab Butter. The three of them, needless to say, make up the majority of today's photos. But before I inundate you with cuteness, a few other photos I took while I was there...

My aunt and uncle seeded a small field next to their house with lupins, a move that I'd say worked out beautifully for them:





Later in the afternoon, my uncle took me over to their neighbors' place to check out Don's poppies, which are quite justifiably his pride and joy:





Given the number of people around, not to mention the three dogs, we didn't see a lot of birds over the course of the day. And I very much doubt I'd have spotted this female cardinal at all if Greg hadn't seen her land, given how well she blends into the tree she'd chosen to perch in:



The only bird brave enough to come in and eat from the feeder while we were all sitting nearby was this woodpecker:







And now it's time to go to the dogs:

Kaylee:



Molly:



Butter had a run-in with a sharp bit of metal about two weeks ago, which is why her side and parts of her forelegs are shaved. No need to worry, though—from watching her today, I'd say she's definitely well on her way to a full recovery:





Talk to the paw:



I liked how they looked against the lupins:



Time to just let the adorable speak for itself: