I, being a dumbass, decided it was a great day to go for a hike in a place without shade! Poor Starbuck, with her thick, black coat, could have gotten heat stroke due to my stupidity! Fortunately, I did turn around when we got to half our water, and I did continue to offer her water every half an hour in a shady spot the whole way back to the car, but still. It was Not Good. When we got home, it was about 2 p.m., and that is when I snapped the above photo. Needless to day, Roo was Not Delighted, and flopped on the floor for the following 36 hours (although she did leap up for meals, and at every opportunity for a snackie...)
So... Lesson: Just because your elderly, non-heat-tolerant dogs have passed away, and your comparatively youthful remaining dogs are MORE heat-tolerant, it does NOT mean that you can take said dogs traipsing through the sun in record heat. I'm so sorry, Roo. (Cricket didn't seem to mind at all though.)
When we started out in the cool morning, there was some shade and a slight breeze:
But when it came 'round noon, the temperature climbed easily 20 degrees, and we were over five miles from the car:
These photos are very beautiful, but they sting my heart with guilt.
Fortunately, there were spots of shade in the shrubbery, and I gave the Roo water and rest for ten minutes every half an hour for the long, hot slog back:
When we got home, I saw that it had been so hot that this awesome spider, whose diligence and cleverness I had admired over the last several days, had died. A victim of climate change!
On Sunday, clouds gathered, and it proceeded to rain in a cool, steady pour until Tuesday, when the storms took a turn for the violent! Bolts of lightning came down, and thunder crashed overhead!
Today, it's cool and sunny, but we are looking at a forecast for frost tonight!
2 comments:
I thank whomever (God, Gohonzon, Buddha) for protecting you from heat stroke too. You take care the dogs, who takes care of you out there! Thank you
I wasn't overheating...
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