The Summer Ain't Over Until the Dog Says So

Last week, with September waning, Pa decided that it was the perfect time to declare Summer 2020 to be over and to put away all the air conditioners in the house.  Needless to say, I was devastated by this news (the pulling of the air conditioners that is).  I mean, yeah, the last 3+ day heatwave we experienced was back in July, but the summer really isn’t over for me until there’s snow on the ground (hey, I wear a luxurious and full fur coat every day…I get hot).  Anyway, I watched in utter sorrow and disbelief as he went around the first floor pulling out the ACs from the living room and the bedroom.  With two down and one to go, Pa started up the stairs to Sister’s room, but, getting wind of his intentions, Sister, my hero, came running out of her office screaming “no.”  Sister explained to Pa that it was way too early to take out her air conditioner; that there were plenty more warm weather days to come.  Pa scoffed at Sister, but ultimately gave in to her pleas probably just to stop her from whining (the girl’s got some serious talent in that department).

A couple of days passed with cool nighttime temperatures, but then, Sunday came.

As soon as I got home from a weekend out east, I noticed how hot the house was and expressed my displeasure by panting dramatically.  Sister, always on the same wavelength as me, also commented about the heat and complained about the lack of air conditioning on the first floor.  Later, as the family sweated over their ravioli and meat sauce dinner, Sister promised me that she and I would sleep upstairs in the air conditioning that night.

Later when bedtime came around, I refused to snooze in Ma and Pa’s room while I waited for Sister to finish showering.  Instead, I sprawled out directly in front of the stairs going up to the second floor to make sure that Sister did not forget her promise and sneak off to bed without me.

And you know what?  It worked.  When Sister found me at the base of the stairs waiting for her, she leaned down and asked, “You wanna go up in the AC?”  Well, she didn’t have to ask me twice. I jumped up and scurried up the stairs as fast as I could.

Me and My AC

Eventually, Sister also made her way upstairs as well (she paused to say goodnight to Ma and Pa…I issued a single warning bark to hurry her along).  Upon entering her bedroom, she turned on the air conditioner and, I immediately ran to my pillow and began taking in the cooling breeze and white noise issuing from the air conditioner.  An hour later, once the room was nice and cool and Sister was huddled under a sheet and two blankets, I was able to truly relax and fell into a deep sleep along side Sister’s bed (so she’s trip over me if she decided to turn off the AC in the middle of the night).

Snoozing

Monday night wasn’t quite as warm as Sunday night, but I repeat…24/7 fur coat.  While Sister dawdled in the living room watching the news, I took up my spot in the hallway blocking her from the stairs.  When I heard the footrest fold back into her chair, I played it cool and kept my head down so as not to appear too anxious.  However, as soon as I heard her say goodnight to Ma and Pa, I quickly lifted my head and gave Sister my big brown eyes.

“Rigby,” she said, “you can come up, but I can’t promise that I’ll turn the air conditioner on.”

My eyes darted once toward the stairs and then back to Sister.

“It’s really not that hot,” Sister explained.

My eyes darted once toward the stairs and then back to Sister.

Sister sighed.  “Fine,” she said, “I’ll turn it on for now, but no guarantees it will be on all night.”

My eyes darted once toward the stairs and then back to Sister.

“Well, go ahead.  You wanna go up in the AC?”

Jumping up, I propelled myself forward toward the stairs and scurried up them as fast as my legs could carry me.

Once upstairs, Sister turned the AC on and I threw myself down on the floor next to her bed.  Minutes later, Sister was huddled under a sheet and two blankets and I, well, I was comfortable (you might want to turn the sound up for this video). 

A Nighttime Mystery

Wearing Pa's Shoes

Click, click, click, click, click.

That was the noise that woke Ma up from a dead sleep this weekend. Without opening her eyes, Ma’s mind immediately went to work trying to identify the sound. Was it a woodpecker hammering on the siding of the house? She opened one eye and saw that it was still very much dark outside. No, woodpeckers wouldn’t be up at whatever hour of the night it was. Maybe it was an owl, she thought. After all, owls had repeatedly been heard in the area over the last handful of weeks. But owls don’t peck at the side of buildings, she concluded. So what could the sound be?

Click, click, click, click, click.

By this time, Pa was also awake. After a few seconds of contemplation, he sat up and looked down at the floor.

Snoozing

There I was, fast asleep, dreaming happy dog dreams of chasing stupid little bunnies and squirrels out of my backyard. And every stride I took in my dream caused my legs to twitch and my toe nails to click, click, click, click, click against the wall.

Mystery solved.