A Great Day

I was driving home yesterday, feeling hot and uncomfortable when I heard the radio announcer say that it was 39 degrees Celsius, that's insanely hot for Toronto in September, it's over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which is just too hot for me. It was the highest temperature ever recorded in Toronto in September (according to the radio, which is the best source of reliable information ;) ) and it was the hottest birthday I've ever had.


It was my birthday yesterday, and I had a great one, C and her husband B invited me over to their place for a nice dinner in the backyard, so we sat and had a visit while the dogs played, it was great, and the best birthday present was not having to walk the dog in 39 degree heat.

A Cool Respite

Cadie is much smarter than I am, I am struggling with the heat, but Cadie has found the perfect solution. She insists on going out for a good long walk, even with this heat and humidity. She still insists on having her ball thrown for her, and she chases it with the same gusto she uses during cooler, happier seasons. How does she do it? She uses the ground to cool herself off. She walks for 45 minutes or so, then chases the ball for 10 or 15. But then, just as I am starting to worry that she might overheat, Cadie drops to the ground, and spends some time lounging in the tall, cool green grass...with the pink tongue hanging out.

It's really remarkable how intuitive animals are, or rather, it's remarkable that humans aren't as intuitive as animals. We must have had these instincts at some point in our development, but they are now gone, and we are left hovering, several feet from the cool ground, and a couple of inches from inadequate fans. Oh well, this can't go on for ever, fall is just around the corner.

A stroke of luck

The temperature in my apartment has become unbearable. Cadie spends most of her time flaked out in the coolest room, the bathroom. I am trying to spend most of my time asleep so that I'm not focusing on the heat. Uter is alone in loving the heat. Her tank is as a warm as a bathtub.

It's been a busy week. Salt was over for a sleep over last week, Wednesday was my last day at my old job. It was very hectic, but there's no end in sight, I start at my new job on Monday, and although I am very excited, I am also hoping for some slightly cooler weather. I've been fighting a migraine for the last 2 weeks, and I'd really like to feel "normal" on my first week.

In spite of not feeling well, Cadie and I have had some luck this week. I woke up this morning and knew that I didn't have the energy to walk up to Sherwood Park, instead we headed over to our usual park. It closed Monday for construction, but I thought, let's just try it. As I said, we got lucky, Cadie had a good romp and we were back home by 7:30. Already by 7:30 the world was so hot and humid I just couldn't stand it. Except for a quick trip to Davisville Park late in the afternoon, that was all the exercise Cadie needed. Which was great, I had lunch with a good friend, then came home and went right back to sleep.

Anyhow, I'm off to bed, I'm hoping that tomorrow will be the kind of day when I can get some housework done without feeling sick.

Surviving the Heat Wave

The worst thing about a heat wave is talking about how hot it is, and, in the interest of focusing of the positive I try to avoid talking about the temperature. Just for the record it was 33 degrees C, in the shade, 43 with the humid ex and 50 in the sun. That's far too hot for anyone who likes snow. And unfortunately the temperature has become a bit of a problem for those of us who own fury little ones. Cadie likes a good chew, so yesterday I took her to the park, and she chased the ball and then dropped to the ground and proceeded to chew on it until she was warn out. We had met Salt at the park, but she didn't find an alternative way to wear herself out, and she had a very bad night. Salt and her mother came over tonight for an indoor dog park, but it was pretty obvious that she needed more than just a ball to chase, but it was so hot, we couldn't ask the dogs to walk today. In the end we decided to take them down to the parking garage. We started with sled dogs, pulling and straining at the end of their leashes, and after only 5 or 6 trips up and down the parking garage we had tired dogs. By this time a nice breeze had blown up and the shade was very enjoyable, so the dogs also had a chance to sit in the grass.

Uter, being a tropical sort of turtle is loving the heat. The water in her tank is up at 28 degrees C, a nice hot bath really. She is watching me as I type this. That's the problem with prey animals they never really love or trust you. Oh well, I can't complain, happy turtle in "the bath" exhausted dog passed out on the cool floor. Off I go to cool off myself.