Our 15-year-old Pomeranian Sadie died this week and our other dog, 7-year-old Labradoodle Ruby, is finding it kind of rough without her “little sister.” Ruby had Sadie from the first day she stepped into our house. Although they always had their squabbles – mostly over food – the big and little got along most of the time. For the past five days, we’ve noticed Ruby staring at Sadie’s usual resting spot beside the couch and when I’ve taken her on walks, Ruby has stopped several times, looking down the driveway to see if Sadie would be coming up the driveway, using her little legs to travel 100-plus feet to the house.

My wife has convinced me – there, I said it – that Ruby needs a younger dog to keep her young and, in good time, we will probably get one. Perhaps it was the song I heard on the radio coming into work – “It Takes Two,” sung by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston – that convinced me to change my mind.

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Hard to believe that Labor Day is less than three weeks away. Summer has been nice, weather-wise, but these past couple of weeks of heat and humidity haven’t been my type of weather. On Friday, when the wind switched to northwest, Robert Mitchell expressed his pleasure in the change by sending me a photo of a flag blowing in the wind.

So soon, it will be back to school for area children, the nice September breezes will arrive and then we can all enjoy the less hectic pace of fall.

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Thought about the future this week and what types of hobbies I might like to take up when this job doesn’t take up as much time in my life as it does now. The obvious ones are writing, reading and photography, but I have always wanted to do something else. Fishing – fresh water – is something I have always wanted to do but never got around to gearing up for. Perhaps taking a painting or drawing class is in my future. Gardening and woodworking are not on the list. If you see me on the street, fields or in the store, feel free to offer me some ideas for taking up a new hobby.