Boy, this week went by fast! It must be because I was trying to hibernate during the hot spell. Now the hot and humid air is gone, and we have blue skies and fresh air again. I'll be so glad when summer is over.

The lilies are loving this weather, though. My daylilies have about a zillion buds on them, and my big oriental lilies are blooming like crazy. I wish I remembered what the name of them were, I bought them about 6 years ago and they have come up and been gorgeous ever July since. And they have a lovely scent, too! Here they are:




In other news, Wheezer has started to leave a little bit of food in his dish at feeding time, which is not good news At first I thought it was because of the heat, but its cooled off, and he's always in an air conditioned environment, so I am afraid the tumor is growing and starting to bother him. He other wise seems okay, though. This morning Marc came downstairs to find him and Trudy snuggled up together...Trudy popped her crate to go lay down with him, I don't know what that's all about, because they have never been together at all before. Trudy is a real sweetie and very affectionate, maybe she felt he looked like he needed a hug.

This morning I left Trick downstairs for a few minutes while I ran upstairs for something, and I came down to find egg shells and the styrofoam tray from the hamburger I used to make dog soup this morning, all shredded and all over the kitchen floor. Whoops! I forgot that his mother was Karma, the greatest garbage hound of all time, and his half sister is Paula, of the corn silk episode! He was quite proud of himself, the silly dog. Almost 8 years old and still acting like a puppy. He's like a baby Huey!

Our friends Steve and Miriam have a young Akita bitch they'd like to place in a good pet home. Belle is just over a year old, and would be happiest in a home with another dog to play with (male). She's a lovely girl but not quite what they were looking for to show. If anyone might be interested in giving this girl a good forever home, you can contact her owners at lisker@optonline.net. A photo of her is below.



I think that is everything today!

The last couple of days have been just miserable, and today will be the same - a cold front is supposed to come through late tomorrow afternoon/evening and give us some relief from the high humidity and 90+ temperatures. It can't come soon enough for me! While I try to stay cool by reading a good book and drinking iced tea in the air conditioned house, the pups like to play outside in the doggy pool. I took these pictures yesterday afternoon - note that the water in the pool had been changed less than 24 hours earlier.

First we have Peter looking cute, then Bugs getting ready to shake himself off. The last two pictures are the boys playing their version of doggy water polo.

Wheezer is feeling much better now that his arthritis pain is being alleviated by the Deramaxx. He's like a new dog! I'm glad we can keep him comfortable for as long as he may be here with us. Biz is our token Shiba (don't all Akita breeders have to have at least one Shiba?) and while he doesn't get along with most of the dogs, he and Wheezer have some sort of bond - they mostly ignore each other, but do occasionally sniff each other, and of course, have the typical male peeing contests. Must be some kind of male bonding exercise Here are the two boys.

Smiley is one of the silliest dogs we have. He got his name because he is always smiling! He's really cute, and is an eternal puppy at heart. He'll be 3 in August, but you would never guess it by the way he acts. This is how we usually see him.





Very rarely, he will act somewhat dignified and when he does, he is stunning. I was able to get these snapshots last winter through the back door, when he didn't know I was there - otherwise he'd be acting like a clown!

Last night while we were eating our 4th of July dinner - steak, potato salad, and corn on the cob, Paula decided to secretly check out the trash to see what she could find. We all burst out laughing when she came in from the kitchen with an innocent face....BUSTED!! She had corn silk hanging from her ears and draped over her muzzle!