Three noisy nights

Margaret can be a fierce watchdog, and she has been very busy protecting us over the past few days. If an actual burglar were to visit us, she would wag her tail, say, “Come right in! You can have anything you like as long as you will pet me.” However, she is vigilant about the threat of thunder or loud bangs. Two days ago, Rebecca took me cherry picking at one of her secret places. This involved scaling fences, creeping past “No Trespassing” signs, and wading through waist high grasses. Actually we found a gate and did not have to scale a fence – a feat beyond me and my faulty knees - but the signs and grasses were all too evident. Due to the weird weather lately, Rebecca only got a quart of cherries, and I got cherry red eyes, a runny nose, and a body full of itch (vide waist high grasses). When I arrived home, I took a shower to rid myself of any speck of pollen, and settled down for a good read, swollen red eyes not withstanding. Seemingly out of nowhere, there was the most horrendous bang. At first I thought a bomb had gone off in my front garden. Then there was a rush of torrential rain. I called Rebecca, and she said the bomb had gone off in front of her house. Later, my aunt said that no, it had been in front of her house. At any rate, Margaret was right on it, and has been barking for the last three days. First the actual thunder, then the rain – a sign of potential thunder and therefore needing to be ferociously barked at, and then, of course, the dreaded evening and night-long Fourth of July festivities, about which our neighbors are extremely enthusiastic. Today, Margaret is exhausted, and her bark is a mere squeak. I am a trifle thankful about that, as there is still the occasional raindrop from which she must protect me!