Too hot

It was hot, and LT was feeling all his years.  When he was a kitten he didn't mind the heat - he swore he used to run so fast that the breeze he generated cooled him off.  Not anymore.  Sure, he could still run, but he ended up hotter than when he started, not to mention out of breath.  

There wasn't a bit of breeze today and the sun was beating down mercilessly.   LT wished for a moment that he was a white cat so his fur wouldn't absorb the heat, but rather reflect it.  Well, at least he wasn't black, like the Peep.  She was currently under the porch with the loaf cat.  She'd created a small wallow in the dirt to leach the heat from her body, and she said it worked pretty good.  

Although he supposed he could do the same, LT preferred to sit somewhere padded, like in his new summer house or in the grass.  Today, though the pine needles seemed to be holding the heat, so he'd opted to lie on a part of the lawn where the grass was nice and cushion-y.  

The Daddy was working at home today on somebody's truck.  He had it in the yard and was fiddling with something in the engine, occasionally making rude comments about how *some* people didn't know how to maintain their vehicles properly.  LT knew that Daddy was very careful and took care of his trucks, making sure that nothing bad happened to them.  He knew he's just have to fix them himself, and he didn't want to have to do that.

As the Daddy went back and forth from the truck to the garage or to the house to get something to drink, he'd look over at LT and say something to him each time he passed.  A couple times he stopped and scratched LT's head.  It was nice when Daddy worked from home.  As the day got hotter, LT assumed the pose that exposed the maximum amount of belly fur to the air, hoping that it would help to cool him off.  It helped, but stray sunbeams that filtered through the leaf canopy kept hitting his fur and kept him hot.  Bother.

LT watched Daddy as he went into the house for lunch.  He knew that because Daddy had invited him to come in and keep him company, but LT was too hot and lazy to move.  He tried to doze, and thought it would be nice if someone would bring him a cold drink and perhaps fan him with a big palm frond.  That would be cooling, but there wasn't much chance of that.  

When Daddy came out again he had a small container of water.  He put it down near LT and said, "Here you go, little guy."  As he scratched LT's head, he shook his own and made a tsk-tsk sound.  He went in the garage and emerged a moment later with a very large yellow and white checked beach umbrella.  LT watched while Daddy opened it, and then carefully placed it on the ground so that it provided maximum shade for him.  He then moved the water a little closer, and positioned it so that it was in the shade also.  Daddy stepped back and said, "Well, LT, that should keep you cool, if anything can.  Try the water, it's cool but not too cold, so that it won't give you brain freeze."

Daddy went back to work and LT took a sip of the water.  Interesting flavor - he'd never tasted water like this before.  He looked carefully at the container and noticed a crushed sprig of mint suspended in the water.  LT sighed contentedly and took another sip of water.  He could get used to a life like this.  He dozed off, knowing that he was a very Lucky Tiger indeed.