Dog Days

The Texas heat dropped in last month and seems to have taken up residence for the time being. By noon it is really too hot to do much of anything. Even the water in the pool is too warm! About the only things stirring are the lizards and the birds around the feeders. And thus, a new obsession is born in my Westie. She has spurned the pool and Mr. Polaris for the less taxing job of staring at lizards.

First, she discovered the lizard crawling along the brick outside the front door. So it was easy to just leave the door open and let her gaze through the glass. Nice and cool, and provided hours of uninterrupted obsessing!

Then, when she was in the backyard, she discovered the lizard crawling around on the storage shed. Now there's a new location for obsessing. Trouble is, it's so very hot outside and she doesn't mind hanging out in the dirt and leaves back there. So what I get when she comes in for a water break is a very stinky, dirty dog! Happy, but dirty! But that's okay, because, after all, these are the "dog days" of summer.

Meanwhile, I'm staying inside and trying to find activities that don't bring a sweat to my brow. I'm reading about my daughter and niece who are busily cooking and canning and thinking that I could be doing some of that myself. Years ago I cooked up a batch of bread and butter pickles that were pretty good, and we did have a pretty nice crop of small cucumbers this summer. So I googled up a recipe and sliced a bunch of cucumbers and, presto!, out came some beautiful pickles!

This is actually the second batch I've made. Most of these cukes came from the Farmer's Market as my plants have succumbed to the heat. Spurred on by Meredith's salsa and Barbaranne's jams, I think this could be a very productive summer after all.