Texas is heating up and Griffin the dog is starting to pant in his winter coat. Time for a shave. I do it myself because he is not a show dog and the clippers pay for themselves after only a few trims. Since it is hot here I take his fur down quite short. He is usually very laid back, he knows how much better he’ll feel when the heavy layer of hair is gone. This time, though, halfway through, he had had enough.

I gave him a break, cleaned up three whole dust pan loads of fur, let the clippers cool, and later I coaxed him back and finished the job. I missed a few spots, and there are uneven areas, but he is a much happier dog.

No, I didn’t save the fur to spin. His hair is wiry, short, and stiff, which does not produce a nice yarn.