Another Hot Day

After the morning watering and chores were done, the dogs and I headed for the shade to hang out and try to stay cool for the day. My hammock is conveniently next to the pond.

 Bliss

By noon it was ninety-two, humid degrees out. The dogs were hot even in the shade.

Not a whole lot of Chinook Tag today.

 We did get in cooling swims.

 "Hey little buddy, you should really take a dip.".

 Trask is such a handsome guy. I just can't stop taking more pictures of him.

Dog Days of Summer

The daily weather has been in the 90's - unseasonably hot for the Willamette Valley, especially this time of year. Yesterday was 98 degrees. For dogs with coats better suited for winter snows, that is too hot.
I took the first group of pictures while doing the morning watering. Trask still has his "puppy" sitting posture.

 Then again so does mom Koyuk.

 As long as Trask drug out his favorite chew toy, I took the opportunity to pose him with it.

 "Enough posing."

With her thick, double coat, McKenzie prefers the shade at all times.

 Cedar alternates between sun and shade.

 The "charming" Trask look.

I finally got the yard littered with the summer lawn furniture, hammock and sculpture.  Trask spotted this guy and went nuts.I heard him barking and barking at something, only to find him about 20' away trying to scare away the monster intruder.

 I finally was able to coax him to make friends.

 A couple feet away was the real thing.

 Trask spends hours stalking the fish.

He has even taken up Koyuks whale, bubble-trapping, technique.

 No luck this time.

Our stove-vent, swallows nest is full again this year. Since the chicks are essentially in the wall, we can hear them chirping in the kitchen as well as outside. The parents are so busy feeding the big brood that they no longer dive bomb us while we are sitting on the patio - though the table, chairs and hot tub are on their poop flyway - thus the need for lawn furniture scattered about the lawn.

Enough Computer Time

As I aimed up the stairs to check FB and e-mail I was met by a formidable pair blocking my way. McKenzie on her Queen Dowager landing spot and Trask on the stair below.  Neither easily moved or stepped over.

 My aiming up the stairs anyway forced McKenzie to be more graphic: "Time to go to bed!"

Not deterred, I went up anyway. The dogs followed to lounge on the office dog couch while I typed away. I went down for a glass of wine and found Cedar manning the landing when I headed back upstairs.

"Come on. If you couldn't take a hint from McKenzie, here's mine."
(These guys really do work together be it: "get up!"; " meal time"; "what can we do for a treat?"; or "time to go for a run."  They take turns bugging me).

Blog post created. Wine finished. Koyuk already warming my side of the bed. I think I will follow the Nooks advice and head for bed.

Summer Sun

I may just have to quit complaining about the massive clear-cut next door.  I can now see the morning sun and...

evening alpen-glow over the cascade mountains from my fence line.

 Mt. Washington.

Not only did ol' sol provide for spectacular beauty this weekend, but she made for unseasonably hot days. Days when swim breaks are necessary for woman and beasts.

 Trask resumed his search for the "big one".

 "Come quick mom! I really did see one!"

 "Really"

Cedar is not big on swimming. She prefers to watch then retreat to the shade of the trees.

Trask taking advantage of height and the shade to continue stalking fish.

I am treading waater with my camera resting on a swim noodle while I photograph.  I couldn't resist trying to sneak up the iridescent dragonflys. A  close-up, with a point-&-shoot camera, actually produced an interesting photo. The camera battery went dead after this shot. I'll have to do more experimenting next time.

Today between cooling swims, I took the weed-whacker to the stinging nettles and blackberries along the fence line so I can have easier access to the cascade views. Now I just need to get the tree house done.

Happy July 4th

I took posed pictures on July 4th last year. It was a hot day and Koyuk was only two weeks from having her puppies.

 I moved the flag from the sun to the shade but by then, the dogs were tired of posing.

This year we all sat in the shade. The dogs alternately lounged and played while I read a book.

From a distance, Trask looks a lot like his mom Koyuk.

 Grandma Cedar with Trask.

 McKenzie anticipating left over BBQ.

Happy, very mellow, 4th of July.

Way Too Hot

Eighty-six yesterday. Ninety-six today. Even after recently providing a thick, tawny, undercoat carpet throughout the house, the Chinooks still have enough fur to be really uncomfortable in this heat. (After 3 1/2 years of working on it, the heat pump and AC still doesn't work - in fact the poor engineer worked on the system in the scorching heat today.) With the inside of the house as hot as the outside, the only relief for the fur kids - and me - has been frequent dips in the back pond. Fortunately I just happen to have a waterproof camera and could catch some of the action as I swam around.
McKenzie is always first into the water. Usually she just wades belly deep but this heat required full body submersion to cool off.

Duo-in-trouble, Koyuk and Trask, are always looking for adventure.

"Hey Trask, Let's catch some fish. When I was 8 weeks old I caught a 10" Koy in this pond and brought it to mom."

"The whales in the nature shows mom watches blow bubbles to trap the fish but these minnows just swim away."

Later in the day, after the bubble trap failure, Trask decided to try minnow stalking. First he crept in through the rushes...

 he located his prey...

and then maintained a proper Heron pose as the minnows swam around his nose.

 "What? It could have worked!"

"Fooled you. You thought we were fishing but we were just watching the fish to get some swimming technique pointers...

and all wet so we could go lie on your bed and cool it off too."

Even with a new set of bed linens and blankets, the house definitely has a wet dog smell tonight.