Summer!

It's been just lovely weather-wise the past few days. I'm savoring every moment of these breezy, lazy summer days. The weathermen have promised hot, hazy, and humid days this week. Doggie loves to look outside to watch the neighborhood kids play and other neighborhood dogs walk by. She secretly wishes that a squirrel might come by for a visit, maybe even a chipmunk or two (she smells a family of them living underneath the deck). This is one of her favorite shady trees. The squirrels know better to scamper up this tree at the sight of Miss Doggie. Doggie would love to get her paws at one of these stinky squirrels, preferrably one that is height-challenged. What would she do if she actually catches one? Last summer, she managed to catch and kill 4 or 5 mice that got into the house. Doggie's definitely got the prey-predator instinct in her. Maybe she just likes the challenge of catching something small and furry.

Thunder and lightening

Doggie is scared to death of loud noises and sudden flashes of light. She runs away from clanging pots and pans and gets startled when dishes are being washed. She is terrified of thunder and lightening. It's kind of cute and all, except when she disturbs my slumber and jumps on my bed in the middle of the night. That's when it's not so cute. If she's by herself during the day when everyone's at work, at the sound of thunder, she'll clear a 4-foot gate and scampers around for help that she will not find. With her keen sense of hearing, she'll hear thunder coming from Pittsburgh (OK... maybe Harrisburg). Fourth of July and New Year's Eve are not on her list of favorite holidays. Firecrakers sound too much like thunder.