Day 1524

Dash is a smart dog. When he was having his incontinence problems recently, he learned that if he scratched at the back door with his paw, we would come running to let him out. That little scratching noise would wake me from a sound sleep, because I knew that if I didn't get there in time, Dash would poop in the house. Now that Dash is completely better, he has remembered what a quick response he gets from scratching at the back door. Now he scratches at the back door whenever he wants anything. It's irritating. Since his bowels have been a bit unpredictable as long as he's been with us, I still come running, only to discover that Dash has cleverly gotten me out of bed for a dog treat or an early walk. He has become particularly bad with this behavior on weekends when the rest of the family likes to sleep in a little longer. Although Dash spends half his life sleeping, he apparently doesn't understand the concept of sleeping in. Sunday's are a great time to sleep in, but Dash was determined to get us out of bed and walking in the park by 6:30 AM. Eventually he won this battle.

It was a nice day, but Dash still should have cut us a little slack. Would it kill him to sleep a little longer on Sunday morning? Jeez, doesn't he know that he gets to go to the dog park on Sunday's anyway? At any rate, the day got off to an earlier start than I had hoped, but it wasn't a bad day. The dogs got their walk. Everybody had a nice breakfast. Janet and I did a few chores around the house. And then we all went to the dog park.

On days like these, you can be easily fooled into thinking that Spring has already arrived. Almost every year, there is a week in February when the weather is so nice that trees start to bud and a few hardy flowers begin to poke through the soil. Inevitably, just when things are starting to look green, there is a final Winter freeze that kills all the early growth. It happened last year, and it will probably happen again this year. That's just the way it is in Texas. Eventually, it all gets sorted out and by April the meadows behind our house are thick with wildflowers. April and May are usually wonderful, but by June I will be complaining again about how hot Texas gets in the Summer.

I made it back to the gym this afternoon and started doing some of my old routines again. It's amazing how quickly a few idle weeks can throw you off your stride. It hasn't been that long, but I can already tell that my strength and endurance aren't as good as they used to be. The shoulder still hurts a bit, but the inflamation is all gone, so I think it's time to start working on the muscles again. If I waited for my shoulder to feel completely normal again, I'd be waiting for a long, long time. It's never going to be completely normal again.

Janet has the day off tomorrow. I hope she decides it's a lazy day instead of a housecleaning day.

Joshua is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day