Miami is having a very hot summer. I know, I know, we always have hot summers. But this year seems particularly brutal. Or maybe it’s just that I’ve been focusing on walking my dogs at least two miles a day, outside, in the heat.
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This got me thinking about the fact that if you can hibernate in winter to survive the worst of the cold, you should be able to do the something similar in summer to escape the heat.

This random thought must have triggered waves out into the universe because — swear this is true — not two days later I’m doing the NY Times crossword and the clue was “Stay inactive over the summer”. Bingo. Answer was “Estivate.”

Perfect, now I can respond to those mad dogs and Englishmen who want to bike, hike, swim, rollerblade, or simply run around in the summer sun.
“Excuse me but I’m estivating. Call me in the fall and we’ll see.” (By then I’ll come up with some new excuses.)
Lena 1Charlie 1
Now if I could only convince my dogs to do the same.