desert pet care tips (reprise)

We got lucky, weird, or both this past week: our first official hundred-degree day, followed by a thick blanket of soaking thunderstorms three days later, cooling us down into the 70s. Seasonal transitions here in the Sonoran desert are rarely boring....

So enjoy the brief taste of Pacific northwestern weather while it lasts - another day or two, probably - and remember that once this cold front passes it will be the beginning of the Sonoran Summer. Meaning, of course, intense ultraviolet rays for fifteen hours a day, every last strip of shade a little oasis, and that northeastern or midwestern hellhole you had to go visit over the winter holidays is looking just a little friendlier as July looms on the calendar.

So once again I redirect your attention to DesertUSA's summary of Desert Pet Care Tips. Last year they waited until September to post this excellent resource; fortunately it's still on their website.

The only thing I'd add to the article is that when considering shaded areas in your yard: measure it. Mark off the area that you think provides shade with chalk or lawn stakes at least three times during the course of a day: morning, midday, and late afternoon. The nice shady spot on the patio at nine a.m. may become an open barbeque pit at one p.m. Don't guess, make sure your pets have shade all day.