Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever possibly suspect’s something’s up. The suitcases haven’t come out yet, but clothing is piled in strange and unlikely places, and yesterday the house- and dog-sitter (whom Scout already knows from camp) came by to get the lay of the land. You could look at Scoutie’s face and tell he was thinking something like, “Huh.” I’m trying to keep things as normal around here as I can for these next few days ahead of launch. Yesterday morning we went back up to Mile-Around for another off-leash adventure. Except for a couple of tail wags and butt sniffs—and two separate deer encounters—we were alone, had the place to ourselves. It was a damn-near perfect summer morning in southern Vermont.