Day 798

It was an absolutely beautiful day. It's hard to believe this is still February and we could still have snow. Somehow, snow doesn't even seem a remote possibility when it's 75 degrees outside and you can see green buds on the trees everywhere you look. I'll have to admit though that maybe the trees are getting a little ahead of themselves. We've had terrible weather during the second half of February before. I can even remember snow in March, although it's been a long time.

If I had more time, today would have been a good day for birdwatching. I must have seen at least twenty different species of birds on my morning walk with Dot and Dash. Unfortunately, just because I can see the birds doesn't mean I can photograph them. Many birds have a habit of flying into thick brush just as I approach. My bird photography has no technique whatsoever. I never wait patiently in a hidden blind for birds to approach. Instead, I announce my approach with two barking Dalmatians who like to chase birds. Amazingly, I still get a good shot now and then.

I can tell tax season is approaching by the increasing number of envelopes that come in the mail with "Important Tax Information" printed on the outside. I seldom understand what this information means, but I put all the messages in a big manilla envelope for my accountant anyway. Since it was a holiday yesterday, quite a few things came in the mail today, including another package from Klout. This time it was a poster autographed by the cast of a TV show I had never even heard of and definitely never watched. I could understand getting the dog blanket. I write about dogs all the time. This poster was a mystery though. Why they thought I should have this, I'll never know.

Either I'm getting more work than I had last year, or I'm just getting slower at completing assignments. I can never seem to get caught up anymore. Just when I think I'm getting close to catching up, more things for me to do arrive in my in-box. I guess it's good to be busy, but I really don't have time to do anything new anymore. I get up in the morning, walk the dogs, fix breakfast, take a shower, write and update websites, walk and feed the dogs again, eat dinner, write the blog and go to sleep. This routine almost never changes.

Maybe if I was smarter with my investments, I wouldn't have to work so hard. The Dow briefly hit 13,000 today. It's been a long time since the market was this high. Sadly, I have less money than the last time the Dow hit 13,000. This is counter-intuitive, but I bet a lot of other folks are in exactly the same situation. I would have been better off if I had quit looking at my brokerage statements for the past three years, and instead of trying to course correct, did absolutely nothing instead. During the big financial crash of 1978, I did absolutely nothing. I just quit looking at my statements and ignored the market. Eventually, the market rebounded and I did just fine. It's hard to ignore the market when everyone around you is saying the sky is falling however. This time, I listened to my friends and my broker and tried to outwit the market. Bad move! I would have been much better off today if I had just ignored the big crash three years ago. Markets eventually rebound. It just takes a while.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day