Can’t even remember how the sky and clouds looked this morning. I was too excited picking the first squash and counting the little bell peppers. My tomatoes are still just blooms, same on the cucumbers. The cucumbers are beautiful, filling up the bird trellis with their vines and blooms. After lunch I sat in the swing and watched some purple finches and cardinals and chickadees frolicking on the feeders. Penelope napped in the playpen. The breeze, though light, was cool, pinging tunes from the wind chimes.

Oldest brother came over and we sat on the porch till the torrential rain sent us inside to the lady den. The clouds were so beautiful as they gathered to empty their bellies, colored in the purples and mauves and deep blues of Father Sky’s pastels. The rain started down the street and we watched it race to my yard. After brother left, I read in my quote books and watched out my reading chair window as the bamboo square danced in the heavy rain. After the rain stopped I went back to the porch swing and watched the sun burst through the remaining clouds making the pansy blooms glow golden in the sunshine. The sunflowers blooming around the bird feeder poles were kissed by the sun’s rays, too, the deep yellow blooms so pretty contrasted against their dark green leaves.

I laugh every time I come across this dog quote. “Handle every situation like a dog. If you can’t eat it or play with it, just pee on it and walk away,” Anonymous. I’m still laughing!

Been trying to remember the names of the dogs we had when I was a little girl. We had Ella and Sputnik, short hair pointers. Then came Joe, an English setter, with his crooked teeth. When he shut his mouth his canine teeth stuck out. Looked mean but he was a sweet boy. He would have showed the burglars where the sterling silver was kept. He went to the farm a lot with daddy and my brothers. He was on the back of the truck once while they were loading hay bales and he just kept jumping on top of the bales till the truck was full. He rode home standing up on the top of the load of hay.

Our next dog, Red, showed up at oldest brother’s house one day, had puppies, and eventually moved to our house. She was a beautiful Irish setter, affectionate and sweet. She wandered around town so much two stores kept a bowl of water for her at their back door. She might have gotten a bone occasionally at the downtown grocery store. Small town dogs used to be everybody’s friend and enjoyed their wanderings. No more family dogs after Red.

Now I’m thinking of all the dogs Chief and I and the kids had — Rosco P. Coltrane, Oliver, Henry, Ruff, Gus, Lucky, Okami, Coonie, Growleth, Rusty, Goldie, and Red. Can’t remember the name of our dog who had ten puppies but Thomas and Rosie spent many happy hours with her and the puppies. Red and Ruff would race each other to Chief’s truck every day, hoping to be the first one to greet him when he came home from work. Sometimes they’d stop and fight each other standing up on their back legs and miss greeting Chief. Soon as he stepped out of the truck they’d look contrite.

My dachshund, Penelope, is a lot of comfort to me. She knows when I’m sad and will hop in my lap. Never had a house dog till she came along. She used to sleep on the foot of the bed with Chief and me. She loved Chief and he spoiled her. I made vet brother write out a prescription stating she couldn’t have table food. I put the prescription on the refrigerator but Chief ignored it. Chief would give her a tiny bowl of ice cream at night when he ate his ice cream. First time I ate some ice cream after Chief died, Penelope gave me the pitiful doggy face the whole time I was eating. I gave her a teaspoon of ice cream. She’s high maintenance with her flea pills and her pedicures and her allergy shots and her prescriptions for her occasional goose honking cough but I love her very much. Thank God, my middle brother is a vet!

Thought about Penelope when I read this quote. “If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater, suggest that he wear a tail,” Fran Lebowitz. Penelope hates a dog sweater and when I put one on her she acts paralyzed. She won’t even walk the first few minutes.

Dogs are such agreeable, faithful friends, comfortable companions. Theodore Gaza called a dog “the most precious and valuable possession of mankind.” You look deep into a dogs dark eyes and you can almost see their soul. Nothing can make you smile more than looking into the face of a dog that loves you. They bring us joy and laughter, listen to our conversations like they know exactly what we’re saying. Dogs really trust us with their hearts. They give us unconditional love. They never judge us and are always glad to see us. They truly are “man’s best friend.”

“No matter how you’re feeling, a little dog gunna love you,” Waka Flocka Flame. God bless the dogs!

“There is nothing truer in this world than the love of a good dog.” — Mira Grant