The cooling boulder is a blessing. Just a rock, but we'll get to that.
It's a bit dull out there, and even rained a bit. Should we cheer? It seems so, although I tend to like sunny days better. No matter. Sometimes cooler is better. Moderation in all things comes to mind. The extremes are too much like yesterday.
A couple of days ago it was 88F-- in the shade yet.
Out in the direct sun that makes it a scorcher. Perhaps 95F. That brings to mind a few million Americans- and friends-- currently suffering without electricity and air conditioning in temperatures closer to 100F, maybe even 105F--that would be American heat --with higher humidity to boot.
It seems to me that kind of heat is more than enough to glue brand-new boots to the sidewalk while frying eggs. We thank God it doesn't get that hot here daily. Can it? Without forests? Of course!
In NW Ontario yesterday-- out in the blazing sun-- it was too easy to just give up and head right back into the delicious cool of air-conditioning. Too warm to work out in the garden patch without dehydrating in a wink. That kind of heat makes it a little too easy to dive nose-first into the beanery or collapse in the cabbage patch.
When it's this hot, Tilly the Tall and Ebony the Short (T.T.T & E.T.S.)-- smart pups they are, --head for the cool air in the basement, flop out, flattening magically on the floor-- like flat, furry puddles. Just as it does to us, the heat exhausts them.
We do have an alternative solution awaiting us in the great outdoors. The cooling boulder.
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| The Cooling Boulder, Whitewood Creek Photo by w.l.kukkee |
Our daily excursions down the trails to the Whitewood Creek, our brook trout stream, usually results in a detour, a dog-paddling, serious water-snuffling expedition, and might be equated to a visit to an automatic dog-wash complete with pleasantly-cool water happily sans soap, -depending upon the point of view taken. If the mosquitoes and blackflies don't convince us otherwise, we might dally at the cooling boulder for quite a while watching the pups enjoying the cool water.
Have you ever seen a dog lay down in water trying to grow fins? That's T.T.T. to the letter. A true water dog, she almost smiles as she lays down in the fast water with purpose, facing upstream into the current. She's long-legged, but there's a deep spot to dog-paddle in place.
E.T.S. isn't quite as enthusiastic. The short one is more inclined to stay in the shallow water, washing her feet, elegantly cooling her low-slung carriage and tasting water as royalty might daintily sip tea.
We cool our feet. We watch minnows too. It's one of the finer things in life that happens at the cooling boulder. Helps the muse --and is amusing too. Creates photo ops. We sure do have a cool cooling boulder. It might be just a rock, but don't you wish you had one?
Watching the minnows gives me an idea. I'm going fishing next, how about you? What's life for anyway? At Incoming Bytes we think everyone should go fishing next. Let's go!
Is that Incoming I hear?
