Why don’t people use an umbrella to shield themselves from the sun when they’re out for a walk? It’s a perfectly natural item to use if rain is falling from the sky, but if it is the UV radiation of a sunny day, there’s none to be seen.
It felt weird, but I took my dog for a walk and I used a black umbrella. OK, it felt more than weird. It felt stupid. I mean, it wasn’t raining. There’s hardly any cloud in the sky. I had an SPF 50 mineral sunscreen on already.
But, you know what? I realised I was a lot more comfortable than I normally would be. My dog, Diego, sniffs around in the grass, forcing me to wait around on the other end of his leash. There are trees about, but not enough shade. I had a black umbrella over my head, covering my upper torso and arms. I took my baseball cap off because I didn’t need it. It was nice.
Diego was happy, reading the unseen and unsmelt messages we humans can’t perceive.
On the way back, he stopped, and wagged his tail slowly when I asked him if he wanted to be picked up. He is a 2.5 kg chihuahua, after all. He lay on my arm, and cooled down in the shade cast by me and the umbrella!
I’m not a huge fan of the sun. You’ll never find me sitting in a chair soaking up the rays, so when I do go out in it, it’s nice to be prepared.
PS. I realise 19C (66.2F) isn’t that hot, but I’m melting here!
