Uncomfortably warm...

94 deg (f) and 71% humidity. OK, it's been hotter - MUCH hotter - but still... Quite uncomfortable. Even the weeds were wilting.

Dakota didn't much feel like doing anything but drink and hang in the shade. She didn't actually lay down in her play-pool, but she did stick her entire face into it. Suka couldn't be bothered to actually get wet, but did her best to match Dakota slurp for slurp.

Hot dog!

Yes, she *did* come out of the shade to see what lunatic game I was playing with the weed whacker. Mad dogs, Englishmen, myself, and apparently, Dakota. Suka was too smart to come out.

So, now that the day's heat is past, and the house is quiet, I was poking through my library of images. What should my wondering eyes behold, but a winter video of Dakota lurking in an obscure directory on my computer. So, with out further ado, and to remind us that summer (which isn't even officially here yet!) is only temporary, I present:

Stay frosty, friends!

Still dang busy...

I work hard - Not much choice otherwise, in this day and age, I suppose, but still - The hours are long, and sometimes intensely frustrating. Work can be intensely fiddly. Sometimes with damn good reason, but just as often simply because someone is too lazy or too ego-bound to do things differently. I get tired of it.

It's such a relief to come home to uncomplicated demands. The dogs don't require conflicting walk specifications, nor do they much care about order of operations in assembling their meal (though order of service *is* enforced. :-p ), nor do they care about smoothing inconsequential details. That's not to say that they don't have their quirks, nor that you can get away with ignoring anything below the surface - It's just that they don't lie, they don't fiddle, and they don't give a damn about the stupid shit. Get the big details right, pay attention to the emotional climate, and all is well.

Suka doesn't care if we walk the neighborhood to the right or to the left. Dakota doesn't care if I use the black lead or the red one, the nylon, or the cotton, or the leather. If the wet stuff in their meal is on top of the dry stuff, well that's every bit as good as the dry stuff atop the wet.

Do I sound fried, burned out, weary? Well, that's because I am. But the Girls bring me out of it - When I've had enough and too much of family, other people, or work, I can count on them to be simple, happy, loving companions.

It means a lot.

Creeping out from under

...those things which bear me down.

Too much activity, too little of it of my own choice. Too many commitments, too much work, too much of other peoples' priorities .

I saw that Suka was starting to blow coat this AM, and it pulled me up short... I spend so much time looking at what *must* be done, that I forget those things I love to do. It's been weeks since I gave her a really thorough brushing. Not the lick-and-a-promise brushings necessary to get mud out of her coat, but a really deep-down get-ALL-the-dead-coat-out kind of going-over that leaves you with a bag of fur and a contented pup sitting at your feet.

No, I haven't been neglecting the girls. But I haven't been enjoying them as much as I should. I take them on walks downtown, by myself or with my wife. I mow the yard in their company, and ruffle their fur and feed them and watch them, but I haven't really played with them recently. Not in any meaningful sense. I haven't taken the time to just *be* with them - not recently. So maybe, yes, I *have* been neglecting them - at least by the standards I like to believe I hold.

I have family to care for, and work to be done, and events to drive people to, and.. and...

I have excuses.

Time to climb out from under my excuses. Time to seize a little of my life back. Time to do the things I love for a change. Even if only in small doses. Small doses are better than none, and "none" is what I have right now. Time to call Sarah down at MABCR and see what she needs done. Time to take the dogs for a walk in the woods. Time to break out the brush and create me a bag of dog fur. Time to spend a little less time 'running' and a little more time 'being.'

Appologies.

My comments section has become a magnet for spammers, so I've had to shift to 100% moderated comments.

We been inconvenienced by assholes..

What a life...

Suka and Dakota are doing well. Very well. :) Recent checkup shows them both to be in perfect health, and they charmed the socks off the vet & staff. As usual. ;)

On walks downtown, they do the same to passers-by, every time. Between Suka's lively charm, and Dakota's calm dignity, they've something for every dog lover. :)

I'm not doing entirely so well, though... Family issues (no, no one is getting divorced!), and work... I'm responsible for items that could literally cost my company a billion US Dollars, if I were to fail. Plus cost my job. ;) Family comes first, but clearly, the job is running a close second. :p

When I have time, I'll add more. Until then, just know that I have my nose to the grindstone and, to a degree, my back to the wall.

First snow of the season.

Wet, sloppy snow today... Essentially no accumulation, as anything that built up was so wet that it washed away in short order. But for a short while, there was some slushy snow on the grass. It was coming down so fast that for a while the rain mixed in with the snow couldn't quite wash it away as fast as it was falling. Only for a while, mind you. :-p

That was enough for The Girls - Much running about, mixing the scant snow liberally with mud, rolling in the slush, and stuffing their faces into the deeper spots. Dakota, especially, made a point of plowing snow with her face... She's undoubtely been missing the white stuff!

Sorry, no pics - Between the rather heavy rain admixed with the snow, and muddy slush being flung about, I didn't dare chance the camera outside. *shrug* It was a dark grey overcast day anyway. I doubt any pics would've turned out well.

Still, The Girls got a good workout just prancing about in the cold and wet. :-)

Let sleeping dogs lie...

One on my left foot, and one on my right.

Not quite snuggling up with each other, but darn close.
:-)