Where have I been?

In another life.

Back home, omigod it's HOT -- 112F just for me. House hot, dog hot, mess of doghair tumbleweeds all over. I guess the neighbor didn't figure out how to switch from evaporative cooler to A/C. I think evap was pooping out when I left, barely working, and when it's this hot it can't cope anyhow. Oh, well, no disasters. First move, A/C on!

This morning my eyes popped open at 5 am. That's 1 pm Irish time, so reverse jetlag keeps me on my Irish sleep schedule, which is about perfect. It's the only time of day any sane person can justify living here.

I sat outside in the back yard, enjoying the temporary not-quite-as-hot, wishing I'd increased the watering frequency before leaving. The citrus trees look stressed.

One doggie mystery solved. In the frantic days before taking off for a month, I'd been puzzled why the dog's water bowl was inoculated with potting-type soil several times a day. There, right before my eyes, went his muzzle into the garden dirt (supplemented generously with potting soil by a previous tenant), followed by eating motions. Repeats, same spot. Investigation revealed turds in the dirt. Ah. Recalled observing grey cat occupying fence directly above the spot, closely watched by dog. So that's the game. Cat feeds dog. [Dogs are nasty.] Covered the spot with flat stones lying around uselessly. Too hot to do a good job; finish tomorrow. It'll still be too hot tomorrow. Damn.