{"id":4281,"date":"2021-05-26T08:44:01","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T12:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=4281"},"modified":"2021-05-26T08:44:31","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T12:44:31","slug":"outside-my-window-part-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2021\/05\/26\/outside-my-window-part-15\/","title":{"rendered":"Outside My Window \u2013 Part 15"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is another in the series about life in Pataskala, and because it\u2019s us \u2013 dogs.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

High Summer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s only May, but it feels like \u201chigh summer\u201d here in Pataskala.  The thermometer topped ninety degrees yesterday.  I could hear my air conditioner groaning \u2013 we keep the house at a constant sixty-five degrees all four seasons.  It\u2019s great for Jenn and I sleeping \u2013 but that\u2019s not the main reason.   Sixty-five degrees keeps the four dogs in our house happy, especially the senior citizen, Buddy.  And what keeps Buddy happy, keeps us ALL happy \u2013 at least that\u2019s the operating system here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve lost three of our big trees in the past few years, and what used to be a shaded home now gets full sun.  The morning is no longer blocked by the old oak in the east, and the noon sun is hardly touched by our new young maple out front, replacing the original.  But it\u2019s in the afternoon that the west side of the house cooks, the stump of the other old maple now covered by our \u201csun deck\u201d.  Right now you could fry eggs on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the indoor temperature creeps up into the low seventies by late afternoon, and Buddy climbs into the bathtub, trying to find the cool.  It\u2019s always good for a \u201csurprise\u201d for visitors using our facilities:  they hear a groan from behind the shower curtain just as they get seated!! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use the Force<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The mosquitoes must think it\u2019s \u201chigh summer\u201d as well.  Right now, the three in the morning walk (one dog on steroids \u2013 he has to go!!) feels like that old commercial \u2013 the Raid \u201cYard Guard\u201d test.  That was the one where the man put his arm in a tank of mosquitoes, and they completely covered his skin.  Then \u2013 with the \u201cRaid\u201d on his arm \u2013 they left it alone.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if you see a hooded figure looking like a Jedi Knight wandering our backyard in the middle of the night, now you know.\u00a0\u00a0That isn\u2019t a light saber for protection, it\u2019s a flashlight carefully guiding the path around the \u201clandmines\u201d of four dogs.\u00a0\u00a0And it\u2019s not a robe, it\u2019s a full jacket with hood, zipped up in the middle of the night heat, the sole protection from blood loss due to mosquito penetration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foster Pup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Did I say four dogs?\u00a0\u00a0Right now, it\u2019s actually five.\u00a0\u00a0Our organization,\u00a0Lost Pet Recovery<\/a><\/em>, rescued this incredibly cute Pit-mix puppy from a drainage pipe near Dayton.\u00a0\u00a0There was a foster placement all set up for the girl, named CeCe (pronounced CEE CEE), a home with young kids to fit right in with the young puppy.\u00a0\u00a0But she proved to be too much:\u00a0\u00a0four kids under nine and a puppy was overwhelming, and we had to do an \u201cemergency\u201d pickup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Cece is now here, learning how to deal with four other dogs, and Jenn and I of course.\u00a0\u00a0She had a bit of a scare early this morning, when she decided her food bowl wasn\u2019t near as interesting as that of our Lab, Atticus.\u00a0\u00a0Atticus is a wonderful guy, but he doesn\u2019t do \u201cfood sharing\u201d very well.\u00a0\u00a0He didn\u2019t hurt CeCe, just reminded her that it was HIS bowl and HIS food and SHE was not welcome to share.\u00a0\u00a0CeCe escaped unscathed, but definitely got the message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the \u201cbackdoor\u201d way to becoming a \u201cDahlman Dog\u201d \u2013 foster \u201cfailure\u201d leading to adoption.\u00a0\u00a0We have two other dogs who came in under the guise of fostering, and now they have a permanent place.\u00a0\u00a0But five dogs, and one a puppy at that \u2013 CeCe will get a great (and hopefully short) education here, then find a final home somewhere else \u2013 I hope.\u00a0\u00a0If you\u2019re interested in the cutest puppy ever \u2013 let us know!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spring Growth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Besides mosquitoes, early \u201chigh summer\u201d in Ohio also means outbreaks of dandelions, seventeen-year cicadas, and orange barrels.  Right now, the main north\/south highway out of Pataskala is closed.  One of the main east\/west highways has gone from four lane to two, full of semi-trucks trying to reach Amazon and the other \u201cdistribution centers\u201d in nearby Etna.  Today I\u2019m starting a four-day track meet in Chillicothe, seventy miles south of here.  I don\u2019t have to be there until two or so, but I\u2019m already plotting how I can get out of Pataskala, without getting stuck in a local traffic jam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It feels like high summer in Ohio today \u2013 but it\u2019s still early.  High in the eighties today \u2013 but by day three of the Chillicothe track meet, the low will be in the forties.  The meet bag is stuffed with every type of clothes imaginable.  One day this week might be a \u201croof-down\u201d Jeep day \u2013 but another will require the heat on the way home.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orange barrels, thunderstorms, heat stroke and shivering cold:\u00a0\u00a0outside my window it\u2019s May in Ohio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n