It was a wet stormy day the other on Independence Day. Usually we get hit by a passing storm in the evening. Sometimes we just get “heat lightning.” Other days we get the whole kickass “boom- booms- light- show” and then no rain at all.

On Independence Day, we got the whole show and we kept our fingers crossed that it would wash out the neighborhood armageddon of fireworks. It didn’t, but gratefully it wasn’t as bad down here as it was when we lived on Long Island.

Chloe and Mack do not like “boom boom’s” of any type. Chloe shivers the whole time and if a thunderstorm happens during the weekday, either John or myself get a Chubby Chi cemented to our lap. Mack barks at them as if that actually would make them go away. Doesn’t work. Don’t tell Mack. He thinks he does a great job protecting the realm.

This has been a difficult time for us and we know we are not alone. We are doing the best we can and trying to be smart about when we leave the house. We stick to a routine of working from home (my temp studio is in the garage) and around 4:30-ish we make dinner. After dinner we might take a ride to sit by the Indian River or the beach (it’s usually empty later) and sit until sunset. Sometimes we take Chloe and Mack. We have our daily routine, with or without rain.

Below is a page out of my sketchbook. The furred babies would not be happy to be out in the rain. Although Chloe does appreciate umbrellas. Mack could care, wet is wet. He’s a pig, he’d roll in the mud if we weren’t watching him.