The last few days have been very humid and hot and sticky. The laptop generates its own source of heat, and I cannot bear to have it on my lap even though I have a chill pad underneath it. Working in such hot conditions is distracting and uncomfortable, so I gave in and shut up the house and turned on the a/c.
Yesterday I worked in comfort all day. The animals all enjoyed the cooler air too - they were full of new-found energy and chased each other around for a while before finding a suitable sleeping spot, where they pretty much dozed the day away.
The heat and humidity spawns the odd afternoon and evening thunderstorm. Loco is terrified of the boom of the thunder, it makes him shake all over. He won't go outside for his food or toilet, and if he can, he'll hide under a bed.
Often a wicked wind will kick up and that is a warning that a summer rain is about to pour down on us. Out of nowhere it howls and blows, and then we get a drenching rain for a few seconds or minutes. Just enough time to ruin the almost dry clothes on the line and get the windows closed. Sometimes we are still in the process of closing up and the rain has already stopped and the sun is back out. The terraces are littered with flowers and leaves that were torn from the plants, and the little towels we use to wipe off our feet are dripping wet. After coming in from outside our wet shoes leave imprints and debris on the floor. If Loco has been outside he makes a nice pattern on the floors with his paws. Time to get out the mop to wipe up. The place is a mess after such a rain, but without carpets, it's easy to clean.
We get a pretty amazing display of lightening from our upper terraces, but since we are so close to a nearby cell phone tower, we don't dare stand out there if the storm is nearby. I have been inside the house when lightening hit the tower (or sounded like it did), and the crash almost made me want to hide under the bed. I'd have to fight Loco for the space though, as he will always get there first. Hard to remember that this is the dog we expect to protect us from all danger. Loco might prove himself under normal conditions - just not during thunder or fireworks or around back-firing cars or popping balloons.
6 comments:
Your garden looks great Sue. It's such a peaceful spot to sit (or lay and take a siesta). Also, that was a great picture of Loco on the Moped.
Tell Loco to move over and let you under that bed with him. Geez this is the dog you found during a hurricane. I can understand why he hates those sounds.
What a beautiful view out your door, I would want to sit there too.
Well Sue it's about time we had a Loco post. The kitties have been stealing the limelight.
Odd - I used to love it when we got a brief rainstorm every afternoon at 3 p.m. - it cooled things off and cleaned the air....but with climate changes we don't get those anymore - I miss it...our older male dog (who at one point was chained to a carport for a year) doesn't mind T&L, but our younger female goes spastic...go figure...
I miss the lightning, thunder, and rain and can't wait for the monsoons to arrive. And Saby is the same as Loco about thunder, fireworks, etc... She has no inclination to be a lapdog, but she literally crawls up on top of me during storms if I'm sitting on the couch. She shakes all over. And she sheds horribly when she's under stress. I try to be home in the late afternoons when storms usually hit in the summer. We noticed her cowering in the closet last night and sure enough, the wind suddenly picked up. She's our barometer.
Bennie - yesterday Miguel took Loco for a moped ride up and down the street, just to keep him in practice. And you're right, I forgot he was out in the elements during Emily, and of course he was here with us during Wilma (and THAT storm was enough to traumatize us all).
Jonna - thanks, I do love my view, plants add such life to the surrounding concrete.
Jeanie - with a baby kitty in the house, there's a story every day (if I had the time to write about it). But yup, it was Loco's turn.
Leslie - odd that you have lost your afternoon downpours, it does help a lot to wash things down and cool the heat. I think dogs that are used to being outside in all the elements probably learn how to deal with the storms better. I know Negra doesn't make a fuss being outside in the storms, she just finds a spot to keep dry and sits it out.
Beck - read your blog this morning so looks like you got your monsoon yesterday (to mess up your gardening efforts). And we too listen to Loco's 'forecasts', because he knows before we do that there is thunder out there, or that rain is coming (when he used to sleep outside on the second level, if he detected rain coming he would scratch at the door to be let in. He was always right, within a few minutes the rain was upon us). Our pets are smart, we need to pay attention to what they're telling us.
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