We are well and truly into monsoon season and triple digits here in the high desert of Southern Nevada. The weather is the kind that encourages afternoon siestas. I’m good at giving in to that encouragement.

On the writing front, I completed the two short stories, made significant progress on Book 2 of “The Thulukan Archives” and worked out several parts of  “THE JOURNAL”. I continue to write my column for Corellian Run Radio and last week marked  my 35th weekly article on that site.

The girls are doing well and got their annual shots last weekend. Chloe has created a new motto for herself called, “I am poodle, hear me roar.”

A neighbor’s dog dug under the fence and when Chloe went outside, she immediately attacked. The fact the other dog is easily twice her size scared me. Not that I want to see any dogs fight. I called her back in immediately. Fortunately she obeys very well and came right back in, but she’d already been bitten. One bite was deep and took over a day to close up. At the vet’s suggestion, I cleaned it with soap and water and sprayed it with Neosporin. It’s now healing nicely.

However, the attack mini-poodle now sits and watches the back fence – a lot. She also stalks back and forth in front of the sliding glass door, staring out and growling when she sees the other dogs. And, of course, she still terrorizes the poor bunnies and quail in the yard. With the heat though, she seems happier sitting at the door and looking threatening (she thinks). I think the wildlife in my yard are very thankful for the heat.

Writing, gaming and mostly taking it easy is pretty much de rigueur for my lazy summer so far. I’ve watched some movies and my favorite summer TV shows. I play with the dogs and take Chloe for walks when it’s cool enough. I even got in some Tai Chi classes before the heat got too bad. All in all, a lovely summer so far. And that’s it from my corner of the world.