It was a jet-blue broiling summer morning; so hot, even the flies seemed to be lazy and wallowed in the sunshine reflected off the windowpane. My brother and I, under the supervision of our dog Lappa, were soaking in our pond to avoid the sweltering heat. It was the peak season of the blue color: lapis-lazuli lupines and blue flag irises were in full bloom. The sky, reflected in the water, was cobalt, enhancing a cyan colored inflatable sea-lion, Dolphy, on which my brother was sprawled.

Even the tormenting heat rarely gets our St. Bernard, Lappa, into the water on his own. When he swims (an ocurrence to celebrate) he looks like a half-submerged tank, ochre in color. Gulping berry-blue pond water on his way, he cools off after a minuete or so, gets out, and shakes crystal-clear droplets on everyone and everything.