It’s hot.

I mean H-O-T.

Yesterday we hit 100 for the first time in three years. Not that it hasn’t felt like 100+ weather for the past two months. It has. The heat index has regularly been between 110 and 115.

But it finally is 100 on the thermometer, with a heat index near 120.

That’s so hot that our dogs don’t want to go outside. They literally walk down the stairs of the deck, do their “business” in a ring of (now dead) grass that extends about two feet away from the bottom step, and wearily climb their way back up.

These are dogs that usually LOVE to be outside. They patrol the borders of the fence diligently. They chase off intruders such as squirrels, birds, rabbits and even the occasional ‘possum.

But not anymore. Now they prefer to be inside. Specifically, they prefer to lay around on the cool tile floors of the kitchen or bathrooms. Sometimes I catch them walking in front of a fan to catch a nice breeze.

Hootie, aka Big Dumb Dog, has proven himself to be quite the doggy genius. He has taken up residence in front of an A/C vent. It’s a prime spot, with a nicely chilled floor beneath him and a steady flow of cold air across his big, burly 100 pound doggy bod.

Yes, these are the Dog Days of Summer.

And here is my smart, dumb dog…