Dog days?

Welcome. Please join me as we experience the present, or rapidly approaching, dog days of Summer. As we avoid perspiration by turning the fan up and the air conditioning up and the thermostat down, we might want to consider at least one basic alternative: slowing down. Can you tell me what a sunrise smells like? Have you listened to the sound of s Summer zephyr playing the leaves of a field of soybeans? Have you looked out your window and seen "the sun pour in like butterscotch and stick to all [your] senses?" Can you describe the mist rising over the local pond on a damp and humid morning? Aren't these the days you dreamed about last January and February as the cold and snow encapsulated your life like a mausoleum? How good, or great, or new does something have to be for you to really appreciate it? What's sufficient? How much is enough? Is anything short of perfection a failure, to be thrown on the trash heap? Is you iPhone the latest? Are your clothes the hippest, most fashionable? Do you actually enjoy a cup of coffee or tea in the morning or do you just go through the motions from long established habit? Is walking the dog a chore or a pleasure? I've heard there's a saying among small plane pilots that "any landing you can walk away from is a good one." Would you be happier and you life more satisfying if you believed that any day you've lived through is a good one? By the way, have you read any poetry recently? Who's your favorite poet? Who have you helped in the last twenty-four hours? Who have you thanked? Summers are short enough we might want to seriously consider enjoying every bit of them, whether they meet our standards of perfect Summer day, or not. Thanks for listening. Come again when you can. Rants, raves and reflections served here daily.