Long Sunny Days...

I don't know about you but I couldn't be happier that summer has finally arrived. The Boy breaks up from school for summer holidays this week and a couple of months of lazy days stretch happily ahead of us. The Boy, being the boy he most definitely is, has already got Monday training sessions with Sarah Miles very firmly in his diary. Weeks of cuddles with Sarah's happy band of four legged wonders is heaven to The Boy.

I love sunny days. I am not designed to live in cold and grey and I feel like I come alive in the sun so, as you can imagine, the last week and the promised forecast ahead is music to my ears.

But this year, I have a whole new consideration - Storm. Black dogs just aren't designed for soaring temperatures and  I have a different agenda now on sunny days. To keep Storm cool and happy.

So, my alarm is now set for 5.30am. This means I can get her out, walked on a four mile walk and be back in time for breakfasts & school runs. But, most importantly, it means we get home before the heat really starts kicking in.

And I am loving these early morning walks. I don't love them when the alarm goes off to be honest but I love being out and about as the world is waking up around us. We have the fields, lakes and woods where we walk all to ourselves. Storm leaps through the long grass, snuffling happily, detonating pollen bombs and emerging covered in a coating of grass and flowers. I laugh at her as she kangaroo leaps so she can keep an eye on me and when I duck and hide, she hunts me out, pleased with the cuddle she gets for being so clever.

At home, she gets wiped down, brushed and checked for any unwanted remnants then, she breakfasts like a Princess and retires for a well earned nap.

I watch her, envying the deep sleep she falls into on my office floor while I get back to my laptop.

Storm smiles in her sleep , stretches and cracks an eye open as I step over her on my way to the kitchen. Coffee has become a staple of these long long sunny days. I might love the heat but I'd enjoy a lay-in a little more.

Honestly, there's just no pleasing some people.

Storm & I, ready for our early morning exercise...

A Storm In The Garden...

The title of this post might be in slightly bad taste given the fact that the rain is stair-rodding down outside my window as I type this but yesterday afternoon, there was a little patch of sun and Storm and I popped into the garden for a game and a few photos.

So, here's Storm in the garden...

These photos make me smile - Storm's just 13 months old now and the pics show her alternately as a dog with a mature face or a complete puppy look. I've been told that Labrador's from Storm's breeders are relatively slow to mature and I like this very much. Because we got her when she was 11 months old, we missed out on the puppy stage so I'm pleased there's still more than a bit of it left in her for us to enjoy. Her gangly legs and funny play poses are utterly charming and totally endearing.

Let's face it, she doesn't need to be in a hurry to grow up. I think she's perfect just the way she is.