The Great Gatsby

Being essentially a 19th century man, I'm getting the bizarre nature of the new society evolving with the moneyed class of the 1920's. I've finished the first two chapters, and it reminds me of something Nathaniel West would have written about LA in the 20's.

The narrator has introduced Daisy, but as of now, Gatsby is just a shadowy figure pacing the lawn of his great estate.

Puppy After Extensive Feeding

I'm looking for a home for her.

Fahrenheit 105

This is the hottest part of the day, and we're hunkered down, with the swamp cooler on high. I'm limiting my sun and heat exposure, generally to walking the dogs twice a day, and watering the yard and garden in the morning.

Everything seems to be growing like crazy, even though I'm hearing that tomato farmers are trying to protect their crop through this hot spell. My Roma tomato hedges are really thick and tall. I'm going to have a crazy big crop. I even have one volunteer Brandywine tomato plant in the south bed that sprung up on it's own.

I gently warned the old man next door about the heat, and advised more water and less alcohol. He's an idiot, though, and in his book, beer is the proper drink for high temperatures. He doesn't have beer, but he has no end of cheap vodka.

He doesn't have food for his little dog. This dog, by the way, is fantastically valuable, worth thousands of dollars. He's interested in breeding her, of course.
Like there aren't enough dogs around here starving and dying in the streets.