Summer treats for dogs and their people

Stella barked at a little boy on a tricycle a couple of days ago. I should say she barked at the tricycle. The little boy who was all of about three years old said: "Hush you dog" and despite my giggling, she did. We went for a ride to Percy Priest Lake where there appears to be a good place to swim a dog. At least Stella thought so even though we weren't exactly prepared for such activity. Not sure if she was trying to make up for the swimming pool debacle or not but she walked into the lake, just ankle deep (for her) and laid down in it to survey the landscape. It wasn't fifteen seconds before she got up and walked us about eight feet off to the side and had a squat pee right in the water; took two steps and got herself a drink.

"Dogs are gross," I said.

Then she walked back to where she started at the edge of the lake and again laid down in the water, presumably staking some claim on the entire panorama.

In the spirit of summer and lake water in general, here's a recipe for Lemon Shake-Ups that comes straight off the midway.

Lemon Shake-Ups

2 C sugar
1 C water
1 C fresh squeezed lemon juice

Combine sugar and water in a pan and boil 5 minutes. Cool the (sugar/water) to room temperature and add lemon juice. Refrigerate any unused portion. Add 2 Tbs. of this mixture to each glass of ice water put a second glass over top and and shake it up

Here's another single-serving take on it.

1/4 C sugar
16 oz cold water
half a lemon (squeezed and dropped into the glass)

Let the sugar have a minute to dissolve, add ice and then turn a glass over the top and shake it up.
Street value: $4.00 (We're thinking of opening a stand).