There has always been a gorgeous little body underneath all that hair, and now the whole world gets to see it. Bao, shorn. I keep telling him how beautiful he is. Well, he is beautiful. It's just that there's a bit less of him, now.

We didn't have a choice. All the time we were away I brushed and brushed and brushed, but even so, his undercoat was hopelessly matted. And he hates having the mats brushed out. Besides, I think the Brittney Spears look is sort of cute on him. And it'll grow back. Meanwhile, it's summer and short is cool.

And guess what? Bao got a Birthday card from his Aunty Char and Uncle Bill. He was thrilled.

Tucson has had quite a bit of rain this summer. We drove through a very violent thunderstorm yesterday afternoon, just when we were almost home. Then this morning I read in the newspaper that during the same storm, a Tucson motorist drowned in one of the washes. Even six inches of water is enough to carry your car off, they say. It also plays havoc with the roads. A couple of miles from where I live, a sink-hole swallowed an entire intersection, and there's a gaping hole where the road used to be. I almost drove into it this morning. Never a dull moment.