Loving the Good Life

No one has loved the recent heatwave as much as the pets.  Toffee, who up to now had been mostly an indoor cat, demanded full equality with Fudge, our Labrador, and insisted on going out in the garden (under strict supervision).

He enjoyed the warmth of the sun,  chasing butterflies, listening to birds, and getting a new perspective on the world.

There was so much to see and experience, that he made a bolt for freedom at every opportunity.

And when it got too hot or he suspected we wanted him to go back inside, he took refuge under the wheel barrow.

Fudge, true to Labrador form, just wanted to play ball.

And sometimes he wanted to play with Toffee who found a new escape route from unwanted attention!

Summer Time and the Living is Easy

It's  summer, a  real summer, a summer of long hot days and warm breathless nights, not the disappointing, cool, damp Irish summers that we have grown accustomed to.  It's the summer of childhood memories, with the air  filled with the scent of honeysuckle and freshly mown hay.  Our usual Irish palette of lush greens has given way to Mediterranean ochres and reds.

It takes time to adjust to this new way of living. Summer dresses are pulled from suitcases, salad and barbecue recipes are perfected, windows thrown open and curtains pulled to keep out the heat of the mid-day sun.
It's time to adopt a continental way of living, to slow down, adjust our time table, take a siesta, sip cold drinks, and save the evenings for energetic chores.

I am reluctant to spent more time indoors than I have to.  Household chores are abandoned for time in the garden.  Blogging and other social networking is on hold.

And if I find myself wilting and beginning to mutter 'it's too  hot', I remember all the wet summers, when we looked out at the rain and wished for sunshine