(69) It's Raining Cats and Dogs or my Scaredy Dog

It rained cats and dogs today. I mean it was a sunny and bright warm day here until about 1:00 this afternoon and then the clouds in the north west got black and slowly moved in and then the thunder shook, the lightning zapped and the heavens opened up and down came the rain! It was one of those great Spring thunderstorms that let you know you are happy to have some where to get out of the rain. The smell of a hard rain is like no other clean earthy smell anywhere.

Unfortunately Beeks doesn't like thunder storms at all. They make him anxious and they are loud and they are unpredictable from his point of view. When this storm headed our way he was upstairs with me in the office. I think Beeker really wants to be the strong fearless canine. He tries to be strong all the time. When Max is around, he tries to be the "big Dog on campus". He acts like he knows how to get what he needs. A real dog's dog if you know what I mean. However, when this storm hit he was less than happy about the sounds. I know that dogs have much more sensitive hearing and I am sure that what ever we hear during a storm they hear it louder and probably more of it. Anyway, Beeks almost shook with fear. I had the window open and he laid his head on the day bed looking up at the rain and darkness, almost like he was in a trance. He panted the kind of panting that dogs do when they aren't hot or tired but overwhelmed and anxious. As the storm continued I realized how tense he was and stopped what I was doing and shut the window. Beeks followed me back to my desk and sat as close as possible to me. In fact, if he could have jumped into my lap he would have. As it was he sat on my foot and leaned up next to me. I stroked him behind his ears and under his chin. In a way I loved this rhythmic action as well as he did. It is easy to get into petting him and forget that I am doing it. I was working away and petting this leaning dog when my computer shut down. I thought it was caused by a power surge or a lightening strike. But something was wrong. No other power source had gone out and so I couldn't figure out why my computer went off. Then it went back on but went off again. Then it hit me. Beeks was leaning up so hard against me and I was so close to my computer that he leaned against it and turned the power button off on the hard drive. That is pretty hard leaning. After I moved him away there was a loud crack of thunder and Beeks went under the desk. It was a better position anyway. He was out of the way and in a safe comfort zone for him as well.
One of my past dogs, Berek, got so anxious during loud noises that once on the Fourth of July he broke out of the yard but then got back in and broke a toenail, so bad he bled all over and hid under the bed. After that we got doggie downers and things were much better for him. The reason I share this is because I know that dogs ears are much more sensitive to vibrations and thunder and lightning really can hurt their ears. Max was hunkered down in the laundry room and didn't come out until the sun emerged about an hour later.

From the backyard...
Brad put the hummingbird feeders out and this morning we already saw a hummingbird at one of them. I use to think it was too early for them but I guess most all of the flora and fauna are here early this year.
Although the plants all loved the rain, the hostas really look beat. i hope they buck up and do better with a little sunshine.
There is only one place that we are able to get a good look at GeorgenGracie's nest anymore. From our screened in porch we still have a little wedge of view, She has weathered the storm well. I do worry about her. She's probably been through this before.