I have always wondered

what the dog days of summer meant. It made no sense to me. It is hot, sticky, and not much fun.

why label it that way?

Then, last Thursday, Darrell and I were out playing horseshoes. We were sweating and hot. I happened to look up and I saw Sam. He was laying in the rusty rainwater filled cement mixer you can see in the background of this photo. He just put his chin up on the rim, and smiled. Of course, as I went to get the camera , he jumped out and followed me. He thought we were going for a ride.

Well, we did, but much later in the day. As we drove with the windows down, Sam stuck his head out. His ears went flapping, the smile was larger as his jowls blew up like balloons. He snorted boogies into the breeze. It made me realize what the term meant. Smile and enjoy life to the fullest. Summer only lasts so long.

We went to the pond to help Sam's "little sister", Kacy, learn to swim. She was ours for about 2 weeks before we made a difficult decision to let my friend, Meg, and her family adopt her do to financial reasons. I don't know that Sam taught her swim, as Ruth didn't give her much choice while pulling her leash into the water. :)

Then, it turned especially humid and yucky out. Do you know where Sam is? Each day, he lies in front of the fan letting the breeze cool him off.

I should take a lesson from "the dog days of summer".

Relax. Don't worry about what others might think. Enjoy life while you can.