Day 2647

I like days when something actually happens. Yes, the trees got trimmed today. That's a good thing, because now I can call the landscape guys and have them replace all the grass and plants that died during the winter. The good news is that I'm a little more confident now that a huge dead branch isn't going to fall on my head and kill me. The bad news is that one of the large old oak trees is dying and will need to be removed within the next year or two. As usual, when one problem is solved, another quickly emerges to replace it.

It is fascinating to watch the tree cutters. It seems like very dangerous work. They climb the trees with no safety ropes and a large chain saw attached to their belt. Often they use the saw with one hand while holding on to a branch with the other. I doubt that I could even hold one of these heavy chain saws with one hand. I certainly couldn't see myself making a one handed cut while dangling 50 feet above the back yard. I have a healthy respect for chain saws. A friend of mine slipped once while using one and seriously injured himself.

Luckily no one got injured today, although I heard a supervisor laugh and say "I don't think OSHA would approve of that" as one of the climbers casually lowered himself from the top of a tree with a rope. I asked one of the guys how long it took him to learn his trade and he told me about eight years. Sounds about right. I have a feeling that these tree climbers don't make as much as they deserve, but I hope they earn enough to make it all worthwhile. This is definitely not easy work.

Last night was a disaster. Dot had a bout of diarrhea just before bedtime and dropped her load all over the living room. While we were trying to catch Dot and contain the damage, Janet stepped in the poop and spread it around further. It took forever to clean this smelly mess up, but eventually we all went to bed. Sometime during the middle of the night, I noticed that Dot was awake and I went to grab a coat so I could take her outside to pee. While I was putting my coat on, Dot somehow managed to get up on her own and headed straight into my office where she peed all over the carpet. Live and learn. It was really cold last night, but it would have been better to go outside naked than to have Dot pee on the carpet. Carpets are the worst. It's easy enough to clean up the surface, but the pee quickly seeps all the way through to the carpet pad. There's no point to get new carpets now though. This will happen again.

I didn't work on my taxes today either, but at least I had a good excuse. Tomorrow, I'd better get organized. I used to take a huge stack of file folders and ring binders to my accountant every spring. Now I just burn a copy of my Quickbook files to a CD. My income is so small now that it's hard to even care about taxes. Sometimes I pay a little. Sometimes I get a little back. It's mostly just a big nuisance.

I'm so tired now that I've started taking little naps during the day. I don't think it makes any difference though. I'd have to sleep for a week to regain my balance at this point.

Humphrey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day