Nothing’s better than the wind to your back, the sun in front of you, and your friends beside you. ~ Aaron Douglas Trimble

The dogs days of summer have arrived.

The usual gorgeous summer weather in my part of the world has been replaced by miserable, sweltering heat that shows no sign of letting up. Luka has been monopolizing the AC unit.

To beat the heat we have to take our walks in the very late evening and go hiking in the very early morning. I’m not a morning person and have to force myself to get out of the bed. Luka is always ready to go.

I always start our weekend adventures with a long hike.

I love how the dogs always take off together.

The beginning of each hike always includes a lot of running.

Luka loves to wander and explore. He often wanders down the wrong trail and then when he realizes it he runs to catch up.

The highlight of each hike, especially when it’s so hot, is the water.

To encourage the dogs to swim, I toss treats in the water.

Here’s a video of Sadie swimming for treats.

Luka has started swimming more often (he used to just wade in the water).

This leads to his drowned rat look.

When we arrive home after our weekend adventure the order of the day is always napping.

Milo likes to join them.

Finally, I walked out the door for work the other morning and saw this: the moon setting at sunrise.