Summer in Texas

Summer is here and this week we officially reached 100 degrees.  Anyone who lives in Texas knows that summers here are hot, and even if you have been here a long time you don't get accustomed to the heat.  Summers still are hot!  (a humid heat, not a dry heat)

Chihuahuas are a warm breed dog, meaning they are intended for a warm climate.  However, the heat here is too much for even a chihuahua.

Stanley and I went on a 2 mile walk this morning just after 8am.  The walk was good, but Stanley petered out and I carried him home most of the last mile.  The temperature was below 90 and there was a mild breeze.  Still, I was soaked through by the time I got home, so I went straight to the showers to clean up!  Much better now......

Right now, he and I are on the sofa in a cool and comfortable house.  I love my house!!  Every now and then I let Stanley go out onto the back patio for a quick warm up (I keep the interior temperature at 73 degrees).  He sits in the sun for a short time then heads for shade.  Eventually, he comes back inside the house.

My back patio is large and I love how it's decorated.  Teak benches and chaise.  White Sunbrella cushions and umbrellas.  Flowering mandevilla vines, honeysuckle, flowering jasmine vines and lush green ferns and petite ivys....such a pretty look.

When the weather cools down Stanley and I sit on the patio and have snacks, chocolate milk and/or lattes.  Water from the water fountain gently trickles and makes a peaceful sound.  I have a cordless music system outside that syncs with my computers, laptop and iPad, so we have music to add to the relaxing moments.  ha.

As I write, Stanley is eating his breakfast.  He "hides" any uneaten snacks in the folds of his blanket and proceeds to arrange the blanket so that he has a nest for him to rest in.  Oh, the sweet simple things that our dogs do.  These are some of the many precious moments in our lives.

Hug and kiss your dog today.  Spread your love around.

A Walk on the Lakeside

Let me start this post with a story of what happened on our walk just now.  Stanley was touring the neighborhood and I was following along.  He walked to the side of our neighborhood that faces the lake....full of trees, grass, and wide-open spaces.  The lakeside also gives you access to the back yards of houses.  In fact, you can walk right up to their see through fence and see what's going on in their back yard.  Stanley likes to sniff along the fence line.  For some reason he finds interesting scents there.

Well, he was in a spot that was close to two back yards.  One house has two Scotties that bark, bark, bark, bark, bark when Stanley or anyone approaches.  The Scotties are more bark than bite.  However, the other house has a large dog (the breed escapes me right now) that is very persnickety about whom she likes around her (and her house).  Whitney is her name, and Whitney is the opposite of the Scotties.  Whitney’s bite is worse than her bark!

Whitney rushed to the fence in bullet speed....she came out of nowhere. I spoke sweetly to her, saying hello and asking her about her day (yes, we treat dogs like humans in my neighborhood!...Ha).  Whitney's guard came down and she just looked at me and stared.  She definitely was disarmed at this point.  Finally, Whitney walked back to the porch and sat down.  Stanley continued to sniff, acting as if he was the only dog around.  He was curious and didn't seem bothered by the Scotties barking or Whitney's charging.  

Well, Stanley moved to the side yard from the back yard and he continued to sniff along the fence line.  All of a sudden Whitney charged the fence again and with such speed and force that I was caught by surprise.  Whitney and I were only 4 feet apart but Stanley was right at the fence and within inches of Whitney’s face.  Whitney dropped her nose to the fence line where Stanley was and she bore her teeth and growled.  "Hey, buddy!...back off from my yard!"  LOL  

Stanley just stood there, looking to the side…he didn’t even flinch.  Stanley does that.  He will not look you straight on.  Instead, he looks to the side and watches you in his peripheral vision.  It's kind of like a snub right in front of your face.  Ha!

Whitney was not amused and was quite bothered that Stanley was not moving away.   I again spoke sweetly to Whitney and began to move away as Stanley followed.  As we walked away, Stanley began to pick up speed.  He wasn't running but he was moving with a steady pace.

Finally, we got to the winding street and he turned at the first corner into the cul de sac where (you guessed it) Whitney lives.  He walked down to Whitney's house and then proceeded to pee all over the bushes in the front!  Not just one bush...no.  Stanley peed at every bunch of bushes.  As I watched I tilted my head because it seemed to me that Stanley knew what he was doing.  

Could it be that Stanley was having his "take this, Whitney!" moment?  Who knows the mind of Stanley!

Until next time,

Love,

Car

Voice In The Night

As I write this I am sitting outside with Stanley.  It is 8pm and 102 degrees and HOT!  Stanley wants me out here with him...it makes him happy to have an audience as he chases the geckos.  Ahhhhh!, the things we do for our pets!

Now that I got that thought off of my chest, here goes the post.....

Before I go to bed each night I go through the same routine.  I check all of the doors and windows, I set the lights on dim and I set the house alarm.  We have a team of security guards that patrol our neighborhood but still I set my alarm.  At the end of the night, Stanley and I retire and lay our heads down to sleep.

My neighborhood is very quiet.  If there is any noise it is the ducks flying over or the sprinklers coming on.  It's sort of like "not a creature was stirring" kind of a neighborhood.  Before I got Stanley, I used to jog late at night or early morning.  Now, those days are gone...I have to go to the gym.  ha.

Last night (actually at 4am this morning), Stanley and I were sound asleep when I heard a faint voice.  Funny how you can be dead asleep but a soft sound can arouse you right out of the depths.  The voice was like a whisper and it was IN the house!  (Danger, danger Will Robinson!)  I heard it and on the one hand was awake and alert but on the other hand was still sound asleep.  It was weird.  I was waiting...would the voice speak again?  Stanley too flinched but he remained tucked under this blankie.  We both were in that foggy state of being awake but being asleep too.

Within 15 minutes, the voice spoke again!!!  OK, it is on!  Somehow, someone got inside my house without triggering the alarm!  Not only that...somehow, someone got passed the security guards!  Stanley rears up his head and manages to come out from underneath his blanket in 2 seconds flat.  Both he and I are on full alert and ready for action.

I have a silent alarm near my bed that has a separate line from the main house and I am about to trip the alarm.  That's one of the things I love about my neighborhood...the police don't play around.  They dispatch multiple cars whenever they are summoned and they respond lickety split.  Stanley let out a bark but I hushed him and, as if he knew my strategy, he quietened and stayed by my side.  As all of the adrenaline rushed throughout my body I was processing the voice while at the same time about to hit the silent alarm.  Before I pressed the button my mind caught up with my action and I realized the voice had just spoken, "low battery."  

Low battery?  LOW BATTERY?!!!!!  I've been home all night for hours and NOW you tell me at 4am that I have a low battery?  Where are you?....who has the low battery?  How can I have a low battery?...the technicians were here 4 months ago.  At this point I am very put out.  As I recall, the detection system beeps first for weeks before it starts speaking to you.  I have not been beeped at...there have been no beeps.  How can I be hearing this message now?

I get out of bed and walk throughout the house, listening for the voice again so that I can find the device with a "low battery."  Thirty minutes later, nothing.  The voice does not speak again and I have no explanation.  (Mental note:  call the service company to check the devices.)  How frustrating!  How am I supposed to get back to sleep when I have to wake up in only 2 hours?  I know how this story ends:  I am the one who will have the "low battery" today.

PS:  Stanley was an absolute trooper through it all.