Siri in Isolation

It hasn’t rained for a while and everything is very dry. The temperature is easily 35Cº (95Fº) and we’ve slowed down, living life in the shade, away from the glare. In the mornings the rays from the white-hot sun slant sideways across the hill in front of our house and illuminate five tall palm-trees, planted in a row. The fronds catch the breeze from the sea in the far distance and shiver and tremble, making the treetops seem hung with lights, as if for Christmas. I watch this from my seat at the big table on the veranda where I sit under the slowly turning fan, dogs rummaging around me. They run, pant, growl, drink water noisily until Loki sticks his big paws into the bowl and splashes with gusto until only a brackish puddle remain. Then they pass out and sleep for while on the cool stone floor. Victor sits across from me and we’re both writing in our journals, a habit which we’ve kept up since the beginning of this year.  Our house faces SSE and until noon our pool has no shade ...