Monday, August 3, 2020

Day 3875

Dalmatian day is here again. We didn't get to meet Marshall after all. Some dogs get lucky. We found out today that Marshall was only at the kennel for a few days and has already gone to his forever home. Charlie, Hank, and Luckie were still waiting for us however. Luckie seems more relaxed this week. She still had little interest in playing, but would come when we called and wasn't nearly as fearful. She definitely likes treats. Charlie and Hank were still happy and playful. One of these days, these three will find their forever homes as well.

It was hard getting up this morning. Another day where everything seems the same. I always thought I was well suited for monotony, but enough is enough. Janet and I are both having trouble remembering what day it is when we wake up. It's definitely time for something different.

I hope Dawn still enjoys her morning walk. The landscape is getting pretty familiar by now. I think I have memorized the entire route. When everything is the same, you start to notice the smallest changes. There was a guy who used to walk his cat on a leash who we haven't seen in a while. There were three Muscovy ducks who always used to hang out next to a small creek we always cross. The female has been gone for several weeks. Where did she go? I'm still trying to identify some of the trees we see everyday. I'm fairly certain that the fruit tree we have been speculating about is a Mexican Plum, but I'm not sure. The fruit is edible, but I'm not going to try it.

I still don't have a publication date for my Sky and Telescope article. The closest I've been able to get to a commitment from the editors was a mention of "early next year." I hate to bother these guys. I'm afraid they might get irritated at my impatience and not publish the article after all. It has been a long time though. It's been almost a year since I got the idea for the article and made my first trip to the Davis Mountains. I got rained out on the August 2019 trip and it took a second visit to McDonald Observatory the next March before I finally had an opportunity to look through the large telescopes. I never dreamed the whole process would take this long when I initially contacted the magazine over a year ago.

Life seems to be a waiting game these days. I'm still waiting for the Artemis Day article I wrote about my visit to the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to be published. I wrote that article last December. I think this piece is going to appear next month though. We'll see. I'm also still waiting for the Air Force to process my application for media credentials at Kennedy Space Center. How long ago did I send that application in? I'm waiting for the new Bronco to appear at Ford dealers. I'm waiting for star parties to resume. Most of all, I'm waiting for the pandemic to be over. In many ways, this has been a wasted year.

It's weird that all the things we used to worry about are still here. There is a hurricane on the East Coast and wildfires in the West Coast. The virus just adds another layer of bad news. It makes you wonder what we'll be dealing with this time next year. Sure would be a nice surprise if something good happened.

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