An Exception to Every Rule

Barley, a dog, splays out on shady concrete to shed some of her body heat into its cool expanse.

Paved surfaces are, reliably, not fun surfaces. Of course, they’re not the worst - Barley will happily walk on them and all - but during a heat wave, it’s clear that she light-steps to get clear of the too-bright concrete and too-hot asphalt. However, in this particular instance, she and I were in a park with (a) no tall trees or grassy spaces (instead favoring an ecologically-minded low-water-consumption model), (b) near-constant winds coming in from an adjacent body of water, and (c) a fiery sky orb. Given the concrete’s tendency to reflect the incoming energy back at you from multiple angles, this had the effect of trying to take a stroll across a slow-cooking skillet. Fortunately, a maintenance/restroom area at the edge of the park had broad overhangs, keeping swathes of street in permanent shadow. Without any direct exposure to the sun, and continuously swept by a water-cooled breeze, this patch was legitimately cold to the touch. Realizing she had finally found a valid heat sink, Barley plopped her belly onto the ground with reckless enthusiasm.