Temperatures here in Texas are reaching 100 degrees most days, now. Summer seems brutally hot every year. The horses have salt lines on their backs, and the cats and dogs just lie around in the shade.
On the weekends, we work outside around the farm and the house. We get up around sunrise, have our coffee and breakfast, then head outside. By noon, I am soaked wet with sweat. Often, I get the feeling that I am going to pass out when I stand up too fast. That is an indicator that I am dehydrated. It is very hard to drink enough when it is that hot.
We do as much as we can by noon, then spend the rest of the day inside. Last weekend I over did it. I started the weekend slightly dehydrated, and I worked hard in the flowerbeds. I just couldn’t drink enough. On Sunday, I ended up with a headache that forced me to lay around Sunday afternoon. That’s the major reason I missed posting last week; looking at the computer just made my head pound.
When I get in that shape, it can take weeks for my body to completely recover. This weekend, I have not been able to spend very much time outside before the heat really started to affect me. This is the hardest part of the summer—late July, and August. It’s just so oppressively hot; it even affects my motivation for doing basic things. Some days I want to lie around like the dogs and cats outside. Hence, the dog days of summer!
The brothers 3 that we adopted 6 weeks ago, are now 4 months old. So far, they have been house cats. We make sure they get their playtime outside on the weekend. They are very comfortable outside and love climbing trees. They are trying to get to know the other cats, but the old ones are not amused by the rambunctious youngsters.
They are really too rambunctious to be in the house, but I can’t make them outside cats when they are not used to the heat; that would just be cruel. In the house, our little babies are continually getting into trouble these days. There is almost nowhere they can’t go. They have discovered that the kitchen counters are an interesting world to explore. They get swatted with whatever magazine or piece of mail I can quickly get my hands on.
Training cats is not an easy task. Even when you start with kittens, it takes much persistence and consistency. It is a battle of wills, and you will not achieve victory until the cat decides that it is not worth getting in trouble. Kittens have short attention spans and everything seems to be a game. Three kittens playing is like a tornado going through the house. I am sure I will not be getting more than two at a time in the future.
I am sad to say that our oldest kitty has disappeared. Gray was the first kitten we adopted to live with us here on the farm. She was this sweet little gray kitty that had the most melodious voice I ever heard in a cat. She was feisty and intense (a bit like me), and she was the best barn cat ever; nothing ever escaped her. Gray had just turned 14 a couple of months ago. She is greatly missed.
I hope that you are surviving the summer wherever you are. Make the best of your situation, and remember to take care of yourself. Manage your stress with healthy things like meditation, yoga, inspirational music, essential oils, mineral baths, or even a nap. We all work hard, and sometimes it seems that the to-do list never gets any shorter. Make sure that taking care of yourself is on your to-do list (somewhere close to the top). Especially when others depend on you, you need to make sure that you are not too run down to meet other’s needs. Treat yourself with kindness, respect, and compassion.
Psalms 119:114 You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope.
