Cucumber cool

Shades of gray all day, and occasional drops. Once again I went up to walk my friends' dogs, and once again they ran out enthusiastically only to balk at a spattering of moisture. I am a cat owner, and not a dog person, and dog behavior is so strange to me. Every splotch of birdshit and who knows what in the grass at the edge of the street act as magnets for dog noses and tongues and mouths. Even the wet spots left in the wake of a garbage truck draw them irresistibly. I found myself being uncharacteristically imperious and yanking the little darlings away from various nasty items. The chihuahuas dragged me back to their abode, and I unhitched them and gave them their vegan treats.
It's 5:30, and it's been raining gently for about a half hour. I wish it would whup up a storm down in California, where a lightning-engendered blaze has consumed about 40,000 acres near Joshua Tree National Park. Our son told me they have had fires there before, but I find myself hoping it heads towards the golf courses around Palm Springs, and leaves the park alone...