Day 2497

I should move to rural America. I dread going out on weekends now. There are simply too many people in the city. The roads are crowded with careless drivers. I see so many accidents when I'm running errands that I often wonder when my own luck will run out. There are way too many loose dogs in the park on weekends. Loose dogs make me nervous. I've worked with dogs for most of my adult life and have been bitten five times. Any dog will bite you if the circumstances are right. I don't know what people are thinking when they let their dog run loose in a public park. Their dog could get run over by a car. It could get in a fight with another loose dog. Even a friendly, playful dog could injure a child or elderly person. Dash was almost killed by an aggressive, loose dog many years ago and I've never forgotten it.

The city makes me long for empty country roads and neighbors that are at least twelve miles apart. I miss taking long walks with my dogs where I don't encounter a single other person. I have a telescope that I never use because there is too much light pollution in the city to see anything except the moon. City people aren't as nice as country people either. That's not just my opinion, it's my experience.

I mowed the grass this afternoon. Every time I mow the grass in October, I think I can put the mower away until next year. It would be reasonable to think that I've mowed my last for the year, but Texas is full of surprises. Sometimes it gets real warm in November and the grass starts growing again. I can recall even mowing grass in December on rare occasions. Hey, maybe I'll get lucky this time. I clipped things a little shorter today, just in case.

A belt loop came off a pair of supposedly indestructible pants I bought at the REI store. Admittedly, this is a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things, but I've still got half a mind to go back to the store and demand a refund. The only reason I buy things at the REI store is that they look indestructible. I doubt that the store would give me a refund anyway. These pants aren't exactly brand new.

I'm sure you guys get those notices from Facebook urging you to re-share your old memories. I got one today reminding me of a video a friend took last year at this time showing Dot working out in the underwater treadmill. I was surprised at how much has changed in a year. Dot was much stronger then. Her gradual deterioration has been so slow that sometimes I don't even notice that she is getting worse. It's hard to even remember the days when she could run like the wind.

Dot definitely won't be going to the Dalmatian Rescue Golf Tournament tomorrow. Those days are long gone. Everyone used to bring their dogs to the tournament and it was fun to see all these Dalmatians in one place. I'll be staying home with Dot and Dash tomorrow while Janet goes to the tournament to help with the silent auction. I hope everyone enjoys themselves, even though I've never understood the attraction of golf. It still seems like a very strange sport to me.

I have no plans for tomorrow at all. I'm sure that Dot and Dash do however, which means that I'll have my hands full.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day