Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Sturm und Drang

I’m going out for lunch tomorrow, but picking out the restaurant was the easy part.

What’s tricky is figuring out how to get there since a major artery flooded a couple of days ago.

     Saying it’s been a rainy July here is like saying Baba the Hutt is a little overweight. And rain I could deal with, and dreary day after day I could deal with. But these recurrent thunderstorms day after day are what’s bringing down morale here at Casa de Mamie.

     I used to find thunderstorms exciting. I even remember sleeping out on the screened porch of my grandparents’ house in Oklahoma during a storm, safe on a rollaway bed up against the house and plastic sheeting tucked around my feet.

     Now the magic has faded. It could be that lightning strike that blasted a tree near the house, elevating us out of our armchairs for a moment, and then again as one of the big branches WHOOOMED! to the ground. Next thing to look forward to is  when the scarred top of the tree comes hurtling down when we least expect it.

Mamie using the shower as a bunker.

 

 

 But the real issue is the dog.

 

 

    That love of a dramatic storm  tends to fade when you’re lying in bed from 2 am to 5 am clutching a hysterical dog. On her own, Mamie goes into a manic spiral, digging, digging, digging to China through the blankets. The only solution is to hold her against you and just wait for the storm to pass.

What's this???
  

 

   In desperation, I’ve bought a Thunder Shirt.


 It arrived today and I’m hoping it will get us through the next summer tempest.


 

 

7 comments:

  1. I like thunder storms but we don't get the large storms.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, I hope it works, too. Let us know.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Poor Mamie. You're a good pet companion. I hope the shirt helps. Some dogs do well in an (empty) bathtub, something about different sound waves, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Poor pooch ... and you too, I guess.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't see how those thunder shirts work. She is tightly wrapped as if being held, but she still trembles with fright while you are tightly holding her, so what is the difference there? A soundproof room might be a better option, although harder to come by.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At this point I’m willing to try anything.

      Delete
  6. Well, whatever the actual use of the thunder shirt, she looks adorable in it.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and I'd love to hear what you think.