The weather people call this a heatwave, but if it’s a wave why is it that the beginning feels like a distant memory and there are no signs of it breaking anytime soon? It was 34C today and tomorrow will be 35C and the following days will hover around 30C. I don’t want this to sound like a weather report, so I’m posting this to drum up sympathy for all the creatures who wear the same fur coats 365 days a year — including in these stifling temperatures.
In other words, how does Ice the Dog stay cool?
I can tell you how Ice could stay cool: if he liked water. Ice is afraid of water. (How’s that for a nonsensical statement?) He drinks it, but he’s not fond of baths, the Atlantic Ocean is scary (granted, those waves are), he refuses to step in puddles, streams or even slow-moving rivers at the shallow edge. Ice was nervous on the stepping stone bridge in Chaves, and Paulo had to turn back halfway.
I have a theory.
Ice accidentally baptized himself in a pond at Jardim das Virtudes a year ago, when he jumped on what he thought was a leafy surface that turned out to be a layer of vegetation on top of the water. I’ll never forget the look of utter shock when he propelled himself out of the pond, causing the water and green matter to surge up around him as he scrambled to get away from it. Ice looked like he’d been rolling in parsley and cilantro, the water making it cling to his fur. I couldn’t stop laughing!
And that may be why he hasn’t gone near water since…
July 16, 2016
Album: Portugal [Summer 2016]
