So, we're past the worst of our summer heat wave and temperatures have dropped a bit. The mornings have brought the hope of relief with some marine air and a little fog along the water. 
Fog that obscures the horizon with its mountain peaks and
threads its way among the trees. But by 11am, it is gone and all that is left is the heat. It has been a time of simplifying and paring down to the basics. For me, that means no real cooking or eating. Salads, fruit, light sandwiches, icy drinks or just icy water. On hot summer days, I'm reminded that calories are linked to energy and heat and the more that I take in- the hotter I feel. The same is true of alcohol (unfortunately)- so no 'cooling' beers or margaritas for me.
Even my morning walk with Jack which for almost all of the year starts my day with a feeling of warmth and energy seems to push me over the edge into too hot. And, as in the depths of winter, that 'warm' glow stays with me for hours.
But, that is behind us for a couple of weeks- today was the first day in weeks to stay below 80 degrees. And we have a week or two of cooler temps and maybe a little rain forecast.
In Seattle, unlike much of the rest of the country, our lawns are brown in the summer and green in the fall, winter and spring. It's take a while for residents to get used to not watering enough to keep their lawns green but after 15 years or so, the idea has finally taken hold. Except, maybe for this homeowner. They must be new to the region and haven't noticed that even most of our parks are brown.
I had such a bit of fun taking photos of Jack and his shadow. I've always thought that if a child were to draw a picture of a dog- they might draw Jack. With his curled up tail and big pointy ears- he's almost like a cartoon character. The same is true of his shadow. 
12 comments:
Hello Blackbird, Yes, the past two months have flown. We're still hoping for more rain but it's been a dry winter, yet again.
We've just got home from a lovely walk with our dog, Taj. Hubby's 'sawing wood' on the couch and I've just struggled with another post. I'm not blogging every day now; I just couldn't keep it up and now I've got a nice balance of everything.
Love your photos of Jack.
Cheers,
Alaine
Hi Blackbird, this is much better isn't it! We even have a little wind here tonight. Not too much really, just enough to cool things off and inspire me to have hot tea. I love those photos of Jack too. Great idea!! Take care, xxx seashell
Oh how funny Karen. I just posted pictures of shadows too. The photos of Jack's shadow are wonderful. I hope you are enjoying the cool weather. Personally, I miss the heat. Call me crazy...
So pleased things are cooling down. Stiffling heat is most unpleasant. We have had a glorious early Autumn day today! Love this time of year. Soon your lawns will all be green and then white!
Jack could also be an anteater, from that long shadow picture. I love the pic of him looking out the window. Gracie does that a lot too, but she is looking for people to bark at. She barks at squirrels when she is in the back yard. They tease her mercilessly.
Jack really is a picture-book dog - at least in these photos, he is.
I enjoyed your long shadow photos - always something interesting to look at in your posts.
Up here it has cooled down too, and we're hoping for a little rain - nice to take big breaths of cool air!
I get upset when I see people spraying water to clean leaves. These changes in extreme weather always give us a little bit of paradise by contrast.
I love the last photo so much - Jack's shadow looks like some fabulous beast from a Tim Burton film or something.
Jack makes a very elegant shadow!
I HATE brown lawns in England. They're just so wrong. (Like you, we know our rain will return again so we can wait it out.)
word verification is booze: come to think of it, didn't you mention margaritas? (my favorite)
What a great dog Jack looks - I think he and B Baggins would have a wonderful time together if they met. I can't imagine a whole summer of the kind of heat and humidity you have in Seattle - looks like Jack copes OK but B Baggins doesn't like the heat so would really struggle I think. No danger of brown grass over here, it's hardly stopped raining all summer!
Hi Blackbird.!
I so love the pictures of your gorgeous dog Jack.
Hope it still remains much cooler for you, it is very hot in Norfolk at the moment, I am wishing for milder days and cool breezes.!
xx
Love the pics of Jack. We are very very green with all the watering from the sky we've been having. At least it is one job off my list of things to do!
CKx
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