Day 2234

Yay. I finally managed to see all five visible planets this morning. I got up early and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. When I went outside, there was Mercury, right below and slightly to the left of Venus. Saturn, Mars and Jupiter were also easy to see, along with a waning gibbous moon. I continue to be surprised at how quickly sunrise occurs. When I first get up on a clear day, the sky is dark and there are lots of stars. By the time we walk the dogs, the sky has acquired a deep blue-black color with an orange glow along the Eastern horizon. As we walk, you can see the sky grow brighter and the remaining stars grow dimmer minute-by-minute. About halfway through the walk, only the planets remain. Mercury disappears first, then Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. Often Venus remains in the sky almost until sunrise.

Today was just as slow as yesterday, but I was in a much better mood, probably since it was clear and sunny outside. After breakfast, I decided to take a camera and retrace my steps in the park without the dogs. It was amazing how many more animals I saw without Dot and Dash barking and scaring them away. I saw a Red-tailed Hawk, several woodpeckers, lots of ducks, and a Great Egret. It was enjoyable to wander around and look for things to photograph. I need to do this more often.

I was having difficulty installing the latest system on my iPhone and then I read that one of the bugs that this new system was supposed to fix was a difficulty in installing upgrades. Hmm. What do you do when the old system doesn't want to let you install the new one. I kept getting error messages over and over again until I tried to do things the old fashioned way by plugging the phone into my computer and making the upgrade using iTunes. How quickly we forget. I used to always add new apps and make system upgrades while connected to iTunes. Somewhere along the line, the phone started upgrading itself and I forgot about iTunes. It's good to know it's still there when you need it.

Dot was restless today. I took her outside for short periods of time over and over again, but mostly she just wandered around aimlessly. After having at least half a dozen opportunities to do her business outside, she still decided to poop in her bed while I was out photographing birds. When I returned , she was standing in her pen, looking at her soiled bed like some other dog had made the mess. I guess Dot's accidents can't be helped. She doesn't want to have accidents, but with all the neurological problems she's having, she just doesn't have that much control. I never get mad at her for making a mess. The same thing is probably going to happen to me someday.

I was surprised to see that my trash can had been emptied this afternoon. Not only was it the wrong day for trash pickup, the trucks never come down the alley anymore. Maybe this has something to do with the road construction that's underway on our street. I wish the sanitation folks had told me they were coming. I would have taken the rest of the trash outside to the can. Maybe this was it for the week. The road crews are getting closer and closer. I have a feeling that the street might be blocked on Friday morning.

This week has gone surprisingly fast, considering how uneventful it has been. Maybe I'm getting better at amusing myself.

Sophie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day