Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Day 3008 - Vernal Equinox

I'm starting to get the urge to do things again. I guess this is a good sign. From time to time I still see opportunities to view NASA launches. There have been several opportunities to apply for credentials to view Space X launches in Florida. Recently, I just missed the deadline to apply to view the launch of the InSight Mars Lander at Vandenberg Air Force Base this May. It's still too complicated to leave Dash and way too expensive for me to become a space groupie, but where there's a will, there's a way. If NASA continues offering bloggers a chance to view and write about their interplanetary missions, I'd like to do this again sometime.

Some days I think I'd like to write songs again as well. My interest in recording has returned. Mostly this just consists of reading old instruction manuals and trying to figure out how to use my aging equipment. It would be a long journey to get back to where I was in the mid-1970's. Not only would I have to brush up on multi-track recording, I'd have to learn to play my keyboards and guitar again. My interest in space is genuine. My interest in music might just be a sneaky way to convince myself to buy more gear. We'll see if any of these latent desires come to fruition. Right now I'm still bogged down with toilets that run and a roof that won't drain properly.

I certainly didn't embark on any new adventures today. It was just a pleasant Tuesday. I'm starting to see wildflowers, but I can only photograph the ones along our path. Dash doesn't take detours anymore. I'm so happy if I can get hm to walk at all, that I don't try to push things. Today was a good day. Dash took a nice afternoon walk for the second day in a row. I never know if he's going to walk when I put his gear on. Some days he'll walk confidently to the back gate and other days he'll just stick his nose out the door and refuse to leave the house. Afternoon walks are much slower than morning walks. I don't understand that either. Dash doesn't seem uncomfortable or tired, but he just inches along.

My morning smoothie tasted like pudding this morning. Why? Little inconsistencies like this drive me nuts. I've been making this thing the same way for several years now, but it never tastes quite the same. I think this week's bananas are too firm, but maybe it's something else. I could try just using half a banana tomorrow, but then what would I do with the other half? Dash won't eat bananas anymore. This is probably why I need to go to Vandenberg Air Force Base again. If you spend too much time thinking about the consistency of your breakfast banana, your world has become too small.

I saw the season's first Evening Primrose this morning. I could have got a better photo is Dash would have let me climb down the small ravine where the flowers were. He was headed in the opposite direction and I though he might fall on the uneven ground anyway. Luckily, I have a telephoto lens.

The emerging wildflowers make our morning walks more fun. I've learned the names of most of these flowers by now. I can even tell you when each variety will start to bloom. Maybe we'll see something interesting tomorrow. If not, I can always check the temperature in the refrigerator and pay a few more bills.

Baxter is today's Dalmatian of the Day
Watch of the Day