Mid-August

 "Freedom is the only worthy goal in life.  It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control" - Epictetus

July was a brutal month.  Too many tourists, too much heat, too much wildfire smoke, too much junk food, and too little time off and exercise.  On the bright side, we are in great shape financially.  No time to spend money, and everything is too expensive anyway!

The dog days of summer ended on August 11, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.  The term "Dog Days" comes from the constellation Canis Major (Latin for "Big Dog").  The brightest star in the night sky is the star named Sirius, which is in the constellation of Canis Major.  The ancient Greeks believed that the heat from Sirius was added to the heat of the sun during this time of year, causing the months of July and August to be extra hot.   Anyway, the dog days of 2021 are behind us, and hopefully the extreme heat as well.

Our daughter recently decided that she wanted to adopt a kitten from the animal shelter.  The shelter is awesome, and we donate both food and money to them.  They are a no-kill shelter, and they are constantly flying in cats and dogs from from kill-shelters in the deep south.  The life of a barn-cat might not be long or all that great, but it's probably better than being gassed in a room with a bunch of other dying animals.

Anyway, the kid chose a sweet little furball kitten (already spayed) and named it Tia.  She's really playful and full of energy.  The dogs are really interested in her, but she's not interested in them, so right now she's locked up in the kid's room.

Speaking of critters, I made a new friend at work last night.  That big fella would make short work of the kitten, I'm pretty certain.  Good thing she's not out on the prairie alone.

Thanks to the wildfires, we've had plenty of foul air.  I've not been exercising, because the air is causing enough congestion without gulping in extra lungfuls due to engaging in cardio activities.

One cool thing is how low the fire retardant jets fly.  You normally don't get to see jets flying so low unless they've just taken off.  I got a couple of nice pictures of beautiful T-Tail air tankers flying over.

Below:  Avro RJ-85 Air Tanker

Below: McDonnel-Douglas MD-87 Air Tanker

Doing the Lord's work, for sure.  Saving people's homes, our forests, and the critters that live there.