JULY, DOG COOLING POOLS, AND CLOTHES LINES

 I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned how much I love shopping at Tractor Supply (TSC).  I absolutely hate going to malls in general, but love going to a Tractor Supply.  This spring when we were cleaning out the garage we discovered Tip's wading pool had cracked so we had to throw it out.  I'd gotten to the point I wasn't paying for another wading pool to have it crack and knew that Tractor Supply would have some type of container that Tip could cool off in without me having to constantly replace it.  To your left you'll see Tip in his new pool cooling off from our hot July weather.  If you look even closer you can see his tongue sticking out at us because nobody else can get in his pool with him.  This is a heavy rubber material that I guarantee is not going to crack or break.  I'm assuming it's some type of watering or feeding container.  For $29.99, it works wonderfully.  Tractor Supply always comes through for me.  Of course I picked up some other items while there including a new bird decoration for the flower beds.  Matt and I both lucked out and found a bunch of clothes on clearance.  There's a 12' windmill decoration I'd love to get to grow some type of vining plant on.

Tip overheats really easily and loves laying around in a tub or pool of water to stay cool.  If we're hiking and come to a stream he'll immediately lay down in whatever water he can find to cool off.  Some dogs like water and others don't.  Lacey is the exact opposite, she hates being submerged in water.  Tip is actually quite intelligent that he knows he'll cool off quicker if he lays down in water since it cools the stomach/chest area.  In the show/competition circuits, owners will frequently use various cold mats to help keep the dogs cool.  Our dogs never liked the mats and they were a pain to travel with so we quit using them.


One thing I've been asking Matt to do for me is to put in a new clothes line.  There was one behind the garage when I moved in but the poles were rusted.  The first time I tried to hang clothes on the line the poles bent and broke off.  This spring Matt bought me some new poles but due to the wet weather and other things never got them installed.  It took a while, but he never fails me and he finally got the poles put in and the rope strung.  I love hanging my laundry out, especially my sheets for the clean sunshine scent.  The lines typically hold at least two loads of laundry.  I had Matt install it on the opposite side of the yard across from our garage and next to the fence by the neighbor's garage for several reasons.  There's a blackberry tree on the fence line behind our garage and I didn't want to chance blackberry stains on the clothes, bird droppings from birds eating the blackberries, or blackberry mash on shoes behind tracked into the house.  If we decide to stay, the area behind the garage is the only section that doesn't have electrical/cable wires running overhead so I'd be able to put in a fire pit.  All very logical explanations I think.