D.O.P.-T.

[weofodthignen]

A third day of heatwave and bad air. It was so hot yesterday, I left walkies until late at night, by which time it was just bearable outdoors. After the dog startled something in the bushes and inclined in that direction, we walked around the block; many people had their doors open, one without even a screen door, and I held the dog back from many forays to find the origins of pet smells. Only one other dog started up barking, the pit bull up the street. This morning I walked her early; the park was already hot, the dance group packing up or waiting for the sprinklers to finish on the circular lawn, the few parents out hustling their kids to the playgrounds before the shade diminished.