A warm and sunny September, a wet and windy October… somewhere in between some golden leaves and stunning sunrises. Its Fall, in Europe, a weird mixture of weather, with some storms thrown in.
Prune gave us all a scare last weekend. She stopped eating, even eggs, which meant something serious. She had a traumatic couple of days in and out of the vets; blood-tests, scans, injections, gross medicines. If we were distraught, little Suzi was worse. She struggled without her big sister, and knew straight away that Pruney wasn’t alright. When Prune came home in the evening, Suzi rushed to her side, put her paw on her, and spent the night and next day next to her. That’s Suzi for you. One hundred percent selfless and loyal.
I should probably have called this post The Hunt for Dry October. Because since September, you can count the number of days without rain on your fingers. So it was something of a small miracle that during my Fall break, it was sunny and dry. The week started mild, with golden and burnt orange leaves whipped through the air by the wind. The same wind howled through the night, driving in a cold front that parked itself over the land for the rest of the week.
I recently made a ‘Dogs’ page on my site. I thought that it would be nice to have all the dog-related posts in one place, to come back to. I write a lot about those two, since they are probably the best part of my life. I have quite a few posts for Prunie, but none for Suzi, just for her. Which doesn’t mean she is any less special. Its probably because in April, her birthday month, I’m either studying for exams or of late, writing reports. But no more excuses, its Suzi’s turn.
You’re sitting next to me, sniffing the air, ears pricked up. Was there an untoward sound in the neighbourhood? You get up, stretch, ask to have your chin scratched. Then you sigh, groan and lie down, letting the late summer sun wash over your fur. Not too hot, not too cold. Perfect. You sigh again. Its just another day to you, but for us, its a big deal. You are 10. Happy Birthday, Prune.
I never thought I would say this but, it can actually get too hot. Like when its 39.6 degrees and there is no air conditioning. When the air is so warm and dry, it settles on your skin like a blanket. When the sky is a consistent, indifferent blue, like even the clouds can’t be bothered with the effort of crossing the sky. When at three in the afternoon, it is still everywhere, and by sunset, it is still scorching. The European Heatwave, which brought record-breaking temperatures to Western Europe.