LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Friday, June 3, 2011

Fridays are Golden

How can time be passing by so fast?  It's June already. The weather in May and June is usually perfect here in the mountains.  Highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s.  Nice crisp morning air.  The key word is usually.  This May gave us record highs and June is starting out the same.  Our average temperatures for May were twenty degrees above normal!  Needless to say, Golden Retrievers with their two coats of hair do not do well in the heat.  They get their long walk early in the mornings now.  As the day warms up they go out to do their business and immediately turn towards home as if to say, "Can't we go back in now?"

We sit outside with them in the evenings and no one is interested in running and playing.  They just enjoy walking around the yard.


There are always really good smells by the walk.








Even fireball Lucy is not running around.




Ellie jumps on a chair to look over the yard.  Often I will sit on the bench and she will climb up, lie beside me and put her head in my lap.  She really would love to be a lap dog.




She sits and thinks in the evening shadows.  Does anyone besides me wonder what the dogs are thinking?


This week has brought even more disastrous weather across our country.  I look at the videos and cannot imagine the horror the folks are going through.  I have tremendous admiration for so many of our fellow citizens who speak with hope in their voices as they start the long road to recovery.  We should all learn a lesson from them...that we can always have hope no matter how dire the circumstances might be.

From Harvey Milk:
The important thing is not that we can live on hope alone but that life is not worth living without it.

And from Martin Luther:
Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.

And so we must never lose hope.


HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE...FULL OF HOPE FOR BETTER TOMORROWS.

21 comments:

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

We give our Golden a summer hair cut ... actually, it's just a trim and a little thinning. I don't know if it really makes much of a difference, but I hope it does. She likes to lay on the air conditioning vents in the house when it gets hot. It got up to almost 95 over the weekend, so we turned on our air conditioner ... not because we humans needed it but I just felt so bad at how miserable our Golden was.

Golden Samantha said...

A gorgeous post! Sooooo sorries we've been away so long! Ditto feelings on so many folks facing such awful weather. (and we're complaining because we're still getting snow out here... - still wish we could have a bit of yours and you a bit of our coolness!) Ellie sounds like such a love - truly hope the temps come down a bit for everybuddy's sake!
Hugs xoxoox
Sammie, Avalon, Oz and Mom

Rudee said...

It feels like we went straight from remarkably difficult winter weather, and straight into a trying spring. I hope summer sees things settling down.

I can't imagine trying to keep cool under a coat of fur.

Toni aka irishlas said...

I've often wondered what my dogs were thinking or if they were just having a good stare :0)

Have a wonderful weekend.

Nellie from Beyond My Garden said...

Beautiful dogs. I knew someone who shaved their golden retriever down to a short buzz cut every summer. The dog looked really good though I didn't recognize the breed when I first met it. The dog seemed to love it. We've had the terrible hot weather too. It was supposed to wait until August!
nellie

Ms. A said...

It's already sweltering here, I can't imagine August.

Cicero Sings said...

Hope is a wonderful thing.

I too wonder what goes through those dog minds.

Mingus doesn't do well in the heat either and we switch to early morning walks too, when things heat up. He didn't get out yesterday OR today. Titch. Yesterday because of the continuous showers that were passing through and today I had to meet someone for tea in the morning, then mow the lawn etc in the afternoon. The bugs have risen and so I retreated indoors once the chores were done.

Always look forward to "Fridays Are Golden". Pets are wonderful

How Sam Sees It said...

We hope the weather settles down and give some of these people are chance to relax.

Have a great weekend.

Sam

Vicki Lane said...

My late mostly Golden girl suffered in the summer heat. I bought clippers and gave her a haircut which seemed to help.

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

Good morning!! I wonder where the year is running off to as well. I also wonder what my pups are thinking. Especially Hamlet; when the wind blows he'll stand there, close his eyes as the wind blows on his face--Is he remembering something from the past, or is he being told of what's to come?

I hope you have a great weekend!! THANK YOU again for your friendship and your kind thoughts you've left on my blog, I so appreciate it, and it helps!

D.K. Wall said...

It has been hot. The Herd gets their wrestling matches done early in the morning.

I saw several commenters talk about trimming the hair. I can't speak to Goldens fur - I know nothing about it - but Siberian Huskies actually should never be shaved or trimmed. Because of the layered nature of their fur, they actually stay cooler WITH the fur then without (insulation works both ways). Plus their skin has no natural protection against sunlight without the fur.

Cheryl said...

Yes, I do. I often look at Nella and wonder what is going through her mind.

I always feel so sorry for dogs when the summer heat is extreme.
I have a friend who has goldies and hers always lie under the shade of a tree during hot spells.....

Our temperatures are way above average for the time of year.
My lawn is now crisp...Ha!
I am just praying for rain........

Jayne said...

Way too warm here too Carolyn, with the past ten or so days above 90 and no rain in sight! By mid-day, it's too hot to even breathe outside. Smart girls you have there!

carolina nana said...

I know what you are saying about the dogs, mine do their business in record time outside these days.
I am just wondering what the rest of the summer is going to be like here in these supposedly cool mountains !
Thanks for your thoughts of my son as he faces another major surgery.
Marilyn

100 Thoughts of Love said...

yes, we have the heat too...only june and its 100 already. Don't like it a bit! Time to stay indoors in the AC!

troutbirder said...

Sometimes it's hard to hang on to when family members leave forever but we keep it close and keep on going.... Now my lap dog does the same thing and to my spouses chagrin, when the big guy is snoozing on his rug in the living room, I get up from my easy chair and put my pillow and head on him, to join in the relaxation. :)

troutbirder said...

Sometimes it's hard to hang on to when family members leave forever but we keep it close and keep on going.... Now my lap dog does the same thing and to my spouses chagrin, when the big guy is snoozing on his rug in the living room, I get up from my easy chair and put my pillow and head on him, to join in the relaxation. :)

KB said...

I often wonder what my dogs think about, just like you do.

I'm sorry that it's been so hot there. I think that you stole 20 deg from us... because we spent the past month freezing!

I loved your Cowboy comment. I knew exactly who you were referring to.

NCmountainwoman said...

Thanks for your comments, everyone.

Kathy - We also tend to turn on the air more for the dogs than for ourselves.

Samantha - Ellie is indeed such a love. I love Lucy too, but Ellie is my soulmate.

Rudee - Me too

Toni - I'm sure that Lucy does think. She will raise her head and stand still, then go look in several places for a favorite toy. I know she is thinking "Now where did I put that?"

Beyond - Oh, I do hope this awful weather is not going to be our new normal.

Mrs. A - I'm thinking August won't be a whole lot worse. I can keep hoping.

Cicero - Yep. The bugs are back as well. Good for the birds but not so much for us.

Herd - We do not clip the dogs because we have also heard that the outer coat provides some insulaton from the heat.

Troutbirder - Same here. We don't let the girls on furniture inside so we spend a lot of time on the floor with them. Ellie will lie as close to me as possible and put her head on my shoulder while we both snooze.

Barb said...

HI Carolyn, The Girls do look like they're panting in their fur coats. My friend has a therapy Golden and shaves him fairly close for the summer. They live in an area where he picks up ticks, and they want to be able to see them immediately. He looks like a Lab when shaved! Stay cool!

Busy Bee Suz said...

I often wonder what my dogs are thinking...and then I realize they are mostly thinking about cookies and dinner. :)
The heat will drain the energy out of the best of us.