Saturday, November 2, 2019

Day 3600

There was very little to complain about today. It was a beautiful Fall day. I filled the car with gas, did my Saturday shopping, and took a long walk. Life seems less stressful than it did last year at this time. I was moving into a new storage warehouse, Dash was having alarming vestibular seizures, and the roof was leaking. The roof is still leaking of course, but some things never change.

I've been following the progress of Union Pacific's Big Boy 4014 as it makes a commemorative journey through the western United States to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad. The Big Boy was the largest steam locomotive ever made and number 4014 is the last one still running. I was hoping that this journey would take the train through Dallas, but the closest it's going to get will be when it arrives in Palestine, Texas next week. Is it worth a trip to Palestine to see this impressive old steam locomotive? I'm still trying to decide. I guess I'd still consider myself a railfan, but trains aren't nearly as important to me as they used to be. I suspect I could say the same about a lot of things.

If the weather stays nice tomorrow I might go up on the roof and see if I can find the source of the current leak. Since the leak is small and the area directly above it appears solid, this task may prove impossible. I've still got some of the silicon material and I might as well use it. Once you open the container, the material won't stay liquid forever. I'm not sure what will happen to the stuff after our first freeze either. Since the water is coming through a can light in the ceiling, it is probably following the metal electrical conduit lines. The actual source of the leak could be anywhere.

Yesterday, all the White Pelicans were gone. Today, they were back again. I wonder where these birds go when they are not at the lake? The Double-crested Cormorants seem to do everything together as well. Sometimes I see huge groups of these birds leave the lake to go somewhere else. I rarely see Cormorants fly anywhere alone. The Raptors in the area always fly alone. I saw a nice looking Red-shouldered Hawk today. It's easy to see why small animals are wary of hawks. They are always looking for food. Although the birds in the park are interesting, I'd never make a proper birder. I see lots of birders with their long telephoto lenses, binoculars and note pads. I'm just not that obsessive about counting things.

Truthfully, I'm probably the wrong person to be calling anyone else obsessive. I've been making a blog entry every day for 3600 consecutive days. Why? I complete my five mile walk even when the weather is terrible. I'll go to the gym tomorrow as well, even though I don't really enjoy exercise. It's probably best that I don't question these things. There doesn't have to be a reason for everything.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day
Watch of the Day