Hot Dogs and Hot Weather

After lots of false starts and just in time for my Mum and Dad's visit, Summer's finally here in the Horowhenua. After months of wind and rain we've had unbroken sunshine for the last two weeks.

It's all too much for Jake, the shaggy and confused Cavalier King Charles Spaniel whose thick black coat is long and fluffy, ready to keep him warm as toast in the cold English winter. Here in the strong Kiwi sunshine he has been flopping around on the kitchen floor trying to keep cool, and shedding black clumps of hair all over the carpets. So we've given him a drastic haircut and he looks like a puppy again. And under all the hair, we can see enough of him now to be able to tell that, in spite of months of dieting, he is still a bit fat.

Summer also means that the beaches are (relatively) full. At Foxton Beach today the water was sparkly blue with waves gently lapping onto the grey sand. Still a bit cold mind.