Our Saturday didn’t start slow, but it did start sunny. It has been a beautiful day – the temperature reached 68 making last week’s blast of wintry weather seem like a dim memory.

Karl and I rolled down the driveway at 7:40 in the a.m. on our way to Whitefish and the vet – no worries!! – this was a scheduled bi-annual “senior” checkup. Karl was 8 in March and is now a senior. But he checked out like the young-at-heart dog that he is getting a “Great Healthy Normal” on his report card. At our last checkup, it was suggested that Karl lose a bit of weight to ease pressure on aging joints. He weighed in down 4 pounds with 4 to go….which means at halfway toward his goal he is doing much better than Bob – or me!

We left early for our appointment so there was time for a long walk at the Whitefish soccer field park. We got there and done with our walk in the nick of time. By the time we left cars were streaming in for soccer and baseball. Kids, dogs, parents – yikes!

Going to the vet is exhausting. Karl gets anxious, I work on staying calm to help him, we wait, we both get too warm…by the time we left I wanted another shower and we both wanted naps.

The shade at home felt pretty good to a tired dog.

It is currently light past 9:00 p.m. Normally, we in the Summers household, are all abed and mostly asleep by 9:00 p.m. But the first weeks as we all get used to the extra daylight, some of us have trouble getting sleepy on schedule.

As the weather has been nicer, excepting a few moments these last several days, I have been outside in the evenings puttering about and not realizing how late it is getting. By the time, I round everyone up and we get settled it has been 10 and a couple of nights 11. This would not be a disaster if I could sleep a bit later in the morning, but my internal clock gets me up at 5 a.m. most mornings. It all added up and I think my last Friday’s meltdown was just Spring tiredness.

Karl has a similar problem. It is not dark, hence it is not time to go to bed. Therefore, the next best thing is to take a toy to where Bob and I are – the bed.

The bed is not off limits to Karl but it is only on the rarest of occasions that he is interested. He has his own bed at the foot of mine but mostly sleeps in the clothes closet – his own private den.

This time of year as he and I adjust to the extra light, he is not ready to settle down in the light evening. He will bring a toy or treat up on the bed. He is content to munch or chew on the toy. He just seems to want to be close to Bob and I. After a bit, he will jump up, go get a drink of water, come back and go in his closet for the night.

Eventually he and I both adjust to our normal 9:00 bedtime, even though it is still light.

Bob has no sympathy for our plight. If you close your eyes, maybe the dog really isn’t there. Bob is not fond of Karl’s visits on the bed and has no difficulty going to sleep in the broad daylight of late Spring and Summer…or ever!