Rubbing Elbows with the Enemy – Conversations with Stella

Posted on by H.J. Hill

Hello. I am Stella, Queen of the Olde English Bulldogges…

Me:        And I am not. What I am right now is amazed, startled, even shocked, because I just caught a glimpse of something on the patio, something surprising, staggering, incomprehensible…

Stella:    Okay. We get it. Something weird happened.

Me:        You should know. You were at the center of the weird.

Stella:    Let’s see. I was panting because it is hot.

Me:        That’s not weird. That’s normal.

Stella:    I got excited when the tiny human puppy visited again and I knocked my water bowl over.

Me:        You get excited whenever anybody visits, though admittedly not to the point of upsetting the bowls.

Stella:    Weird, huh? Oh, yeah, I had a meeting with Jerky McSquirrelyFace out on the patio. Nice guy.

Me:        You don’t think that’s weird after all the running and the chasing and him throwing nuts down on all of us and the saber rattling and the threats of all out squirrel/bulldog war…

Stella:    We talked. They’ve just about run out of pecans here. We made a deal. There won’t be as much nut tossing from now on.

Me:        You talked. Huh. So, there is an outbreak of peace between squirrels and bulldogs?

Stella:    No, not really. We are just on summer hiatus.

Me:        You know what a ‘hiatus’ is?

Stella:    Sure. Yes. No. Maybe. I am thinking it is like a vacation. Anyway, Jerky and I decided that it was too hot to fight right now so we are putting all plans off until the leaves start to fall and the air is cooler. And then, Jerky, watch out! Autumn is coming!

 

 

 

Copyright 2017 H.J. Hill All Rights Reserved.

Dog Days – Conversations with Stella

Posted on by H.J. Hill

I am Stella, Queen of the Olde English Bulldogges, and, as Queen, I have the authority to declare this: IT IS HOT!!!

Me:        Yep, if you say so, it’s official. The Dog Days of Summer have begun. You know how I knew it.

Stella:    Because it is hot?

Me:        Well, that, and I found Wiggles and Sweetie down in the hole y’all have dug under the picnic table.

Stella:    Because it is hot.

Me:        95 degrees at dusk. I guess that qualifies.

Stella:    Dog Days. Why can’t the Dog Days be pleasant? Why must Dog Days be hot? Not fair!

Me:        Some people count them from the rising of Sirius, the Dog Star, at dawn…

Stella:    Wait! There is a star that‘s a dog? Why didn’t you tell me? Can we go visit him? Where is he? Show me! This is great! I always suspected there were dogs out there.

Me:        It’s not a dog, honey. It’s just called that because it is the brightest star in a constellation that reminded ancient people of a dog. Like a picture in the sky made by stars.

Stella:    Ancient people? Just where are these ancient people because I have some questions.

Me:        They’re not around for your questions. Sorry.

Stella:    Typical. Humans playing with dogs’ hopes and dreams again. I don’t think these Dog Days have anything to do with us at all. Hmmmph! If these are true Dog Days, where are the treats and toys?

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2017 H.J. Hill All Rights Reserved.

…But You Said! – Conversations with Stella

Posted on by H.J. Hill

I am Stella, Queen of the Olde English Bulldogges, but that does not seem to make any difference. The humans pay no attention. They make promises that they don’t keep.

Me:        What promises have we not kept?

Stella:    You said we would spend more time together outside. You said we would cook meat on the fire pit and the air would be cool and we would sit in chairs.

Me:        Well, I said I would sit in a chair, but I know how much you all like to sit in chairs like humans.

Stella:    But we have not done it. Why? Why? Why?

Me:        Because, because, because it is still too hot for you all to be outside for long.

Stella:    What did you do with the cooler air?

Me:        Nothing. It just hasn’t shown up yet.

Stella:    But you promised. Waaahhh.

Me:        Stella, why are you whining? You don’t even like the outside that much.

Stella:    The others are whining and that makes me whine. I get tired of hearing it. When are we going to cook out? When is the cool breeze going to blow? When are the leaves going to fall on our heads? It’s not easy being the bulldog queen.

Me:        It’s not easy being the human in charge either.

Stella:    But you said…

Me:        I said what the meteorologists said.

Stella:    The meteor – who?

Me:        Weather people.

Stella:    Why did the meteor-who people lie?

Me:        They did not lie.

Stella:    But they said something that was not true.

Me:        They made an educated guess based on what they knew. They simply didn’t know it all.

Stella:    So what did they do with the cooler air?

Me:        They don’t control the air. They track it.

Stella:    Like those dogs who have really good noses.

Me:        Yes, if those dogs used computers and satellites instead of their sense of smell. Meteorologists have a notoriously hard time predicting weather in Texas, except in the summer when they can say “hot” and pretty much be right all the time.

Stella:    I will not depend on the word of the meteor-who people anymore so do not quote them again. I will use my bulldog nose to track the air just as any queen should.

Me:        Well, good luck with that.

Stella:    Wait! What? I think I smell a change in the weather.

Me:        What does your nose say?

Stella:    Hot and still hotter.

Me:        Keep sniffing. One of these days soon, we will not be having hot dogs outside.

 

 

Copyright 2016 H.J. Hill All Rights Reserved.

 

 

Conversations with Stella – We’re Melting!

Posted on by H.J. Hill

Stella, the Olde English Bulldogge, is here with me to have some questions answered about yesterday’s meltdown of the air conditioning.

Stella: Meltdown. Yes. That’s what it was. We were melting. Let’s not do that again. I didn’t like it.

Me: No one liked it.

Stella: The cat liked it. She was not panting. She makes me so mad.

Me: I personally have never seen a cat pant. And she was hot, too. Did you hear her meowing at me and see how she spread herself flat. That was her way of cooling off until the window unit got going.

Stella: The cat was yelling at you. We bulldogs were not yelling at you. Although I wanted to.

Me: Well, it wasn’t like it was planned.

Stella: Humans are in charge. How could it not be planned?

Me: Humans are not in charge of everything all the time. Even the stuff humans make can stop working.

Stella: Why?

Me: Parts wear out. They are not designed to last forever.

Stella: Why?

Me: Well, because they are made by humans and we don’t have the forever thing worked out yet. The Bible says in Psalm 102 that the heavens and the earth will wear out like a garment, but God will endure. The heavens and the earth have been around for a long time. He knows how to make things that last.

Stella: Can He make our A SEE last?

Me: Our air conditioner? If God were in the a/c business, He would make one that would last, I’m sure.

Stella: Is the A SEE fixed yet?

Me: Not yet. The window unit will get us all through until it is. The back part of the house is pretty warm right now so we won’t be spending a whole lot of time back there.

Stella: Oh, oh, let’s call God and ask Him to get into the A SEE business!

Me: He lets humans make machines. He set up the seasons. We have cooler weather in autumn, winter, and spring. Summer is a little more challenging for us. Remember, all of our ancestors, yours and ours, lived long lives without any air conditioning until this last century. None of my own schools were air conditioned until I went to college.

Stella: How did you all stand it?

Me: By the grace of God, we endured.

Copyright 2016 H.J. Hill All Rights Reserved.