Songstress Ella Fitzgerald described the weather here in west central Alabama exactly in that song. Yesterday it was too darned hot to do much of anything outside. The temperature got up to 89o but the heat index said it felt like 94o during the afternoon. Except for taking Alli out for a few potty breaks, during which I threw her ball a few times so she could do some chasing and retrieving, my chubby butt stayed inside near the air conditioning.
If there’s one thing I know from owning many German shepherds over the years, it is that they have to be busy all the time. They need both physical exercise and mental stimulation or they will get bored, which can lead to mischief. Since it was too darn hot to be outside for very long, I spent some time playing tug of war with her on the floor with her Kong Flyer frisbee, which is her favorite toy. After a rousing game of that, we both had to chill out and snuggle for a little bit. She wears me out more than both of my granddaughters did when they were little.
Later on, we played hide and seek. Terry kept her in the office while I would hide in a closet, and then she turned her loose to come find me. This is a great game to play either indoors or outdoors with a dog. It helps them build their scent skills and it’s good mental exercise for them.
But life can’t always be all fun and games, so I wrote another 3,000 words in my new Big Lake book while Terry was editing and proofreading previous chapters. Then she made delicious chicken fajitas for dinner.
In the late evening we had a strong thunderstorm come through the area that provided a heck of a light show and dropped some rain on us. As I write this about midnight, we are still under a thunderstorm warning until 3 AM, but nothing nearly as severe as what we experienced a couple of weeks ago.
Congratulations Wilmer Olsen, winner of our drawing for a copy of the new hardcover edition of the RV camping journal donated by Barbara House. Barbara makes several variations of these, and they all have pages where you can list the date, weather, where you traveled to and from that day, beginning and ending mileage, campground information including amenities at RV sites, a place for campground reviews, room to record activities, people met along the way, reminders of places to see and things to do the next time you’re in the area, and a page for notes for each day.
We had 28 entries this time around. Stay tuned, a new contest starts soon. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books and audiobooks to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.
And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.
Thought For The Day – Taking time to do nothing sometimes brings everything into perspective.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
I love hearing about Alli’s exploits and seeing your photos of such a beautiful dog.
I am built a lot like you, sans beard but am all of 84. I can still get down on the floor but why would I, I would never be able to get up again. Beautiful animal. I mean the one in front of you. lol
I used to have a collie that I’d walk in the woods next to our house. He’d frisk around, and every once in a while I’d stop and step behind a tree: he’d always then come running back and right up to me LOL. He also loved to play fetch, which is unusual for a herding dog. He was awesome, I still miss him sometimes.