The Dog Days

Well, the heat is here, as usual, as are the hard afternoon rains. Last night a T Storm stalled over Pinecrest, and before I went to sleep I stood out on our balcony watching its power. I never tire of that.

It's also the dog days for us as we are Spoiled Spaniel sitting. D1 and Joey are in Europe, and Madeleine is at our hotel for dogs. She loves it here -- chasing lizards and lounging with the Special Needs Spaniel and strange rescue dog.  D1 is in London, and Joey joins her from Bulgaria this weekend, and then they spend a few days in Amsterdam before returning July 4. Not a bad summer gig...

Things at the office are going well. My partner Stu is having the best run of his career -- settling major cases left and right, including one of ours. I'm thrilled for him -- this sort of thing has been a long time coming -- I make sure he savors it. And as for us, well, it's nice to know we'll be able to afford fine dog food for awhile...

Mike and Loni are going to the Biltmore for the 4th, and we may join them. They have shuttle buses from the U, so we can avoid the traffic nightmare that follows the fireworks and classical music on the golf course.

Many years we'd book rooms there -- the Ds count those as some of their best childhood memories, but this year I think we'll just go for the show.

When I was a kid, July was my favorite month. First, it was summer on Long Island, a cold climate where we really appreciated the warm season. I loved July 4 -- my favorite holiday. It was the middle of baseball season, and I actually was excited about the All Star game -- always thinking not enough Mets had made the team. And my birthday is in July -- always a big deal to a kid.

In Miami, I prefer the winter months -- the gorgeous weather, and so much more going on. But summer is nice -- much less traffic, for example, as you really notice how many people stay home when school is out of session.

So summer glides on, languidly, as it should. When I fetch the paper in the morning, I smell the breeze coming off Biscayne Bay -- with its heaviness. Dad used to love that -- when I was home from college, we'd go to Delray Beach a lot -- often early to walk for miles.

He died in July. Maybe that's another reason the month is no longer my favorite.