It's HOT

Yup. A heat wave. Temps approaching triple digits (Farenheit) and heat indices between 105 and 115. Our digital thermometer read 117.5 (F) in the sun on the back deck yesterday. It was almost 90 degrees already at 10:00 this morning.

If you've read Lab Tails for any length of time, you already know how I feel about heat, let alone heat + humidity. And the swelling in my hands and fingers from the heat isn't helping my broken finger's recovery any.

Should I serve you some cheese with my whine? :o)

Okay. I've complained enough. It's only a few days, and we've had a fabulously cool spring and early summer. And we've had plenty of rain. And I have an air-conditioned office, and air-conditioned bedroom, and an air-conditioned car. I truly have nothing to complain about.

But the kids...the canine kids...that's another story. My office may have an air conditioner, but the rest of our house's first floor does not. Elsie, Baxter, Ridge, and Gracie (our visiting Golden) have to hang out in the heat. Yet, they don't complain.

They just sleep. Or pant. Or lounge on the cool brick floor in the family room. Or scramble for ice when I use the ice-maker on the fridge door (yes, our guys LOVE ice cubes...it's a great way to keep them hydrated when they don't seem to be drinking enough).

Nobody, and I mean nobody, ventures outside.

At least not until I hose the decking down with cold water and refill the kiddie pool with the same. THEN they'll consider going outside. And once there, they'll swirl their faces in the pool, dunk their paws, then go lie down in the shade. They stay out of the sun (Baxter especially with his black coat) and take it easy.

Smart dogs. They know instinctively when to limit their activity. They seem to understand that it's hot and their bodies need rest.

Contrast that with the middle-aged guy I saw at noon today (high noon, in the heat of the day) riding his bike as if he were in the Tour de France: pedaling furiously, wearing long sleeves, a full helmet, and gloves. There was no shade where he was biking, and I didn't see a water bottle on his bike or back. Talk about risking heatstroke. I hope he made it home okay.

We humans are silly sometimes--especially when we think we have no limitations. I'm still learning as much from my canine kids. It's okay, I'm learning, to listen to my body. It's okay to pay attention to my physical needs. So if I need to nap, I do. If I need exercise, I find a way. If I need to watch what I eat; I'm careful. Yes, this stuff takes time, but it's wise stewardship of that time; it's not wasted time.

So today I'll take it easier than I do most days. I'll drink tons of water and stay out of the heat of the sun. I'll work, but maybe not as intensively as I normally do. And I'll put my feet up, turn on a fan, and hang out with the kids (human and canine).

Sounds like a plan! Maybe summer heat isn't so bad after all.

'Til next time,
Joan