Day 2651

It's hard to believe that it's still snowing in some parts of the country. The temperatures reached the high 80's here in Dallas. Unfortunately, this is already too warm for Dot. I'm dreading this Summer. Dot never liked hot weather even when she was young and healthy. Now, high temperatures are punishing. Even though there was a nice breeze, Dot had trouble on her afternoon walk. She seemed exhausted. We had to stop and rest several times, even though all we did was walk to the end of the block and back. We probably should have just stayed home, or waited until dusk when the temperature started to drop.

It looks like working on weekends is going to be a regular occurrence. I don't really mind. It just seems odd. Years ago when I was busy all the time, I never worked on weekends. Now, when virtually nothing happens at all, weekend gigs are common. It's not so much that my clients have changed. The entire workplace has changed.

The park was full today since the weather was so nice. There were hammocks everywhere. I still don't understand the popularity of hammocks. To me, enjoying the outdoors means taking a hike or paddling a kayak. Apparently, an entire generation thinks that enjoying the outdoors means lying in a hammock while looking at Snapchat on your phone. Older people still hike and bike, but the young ones are all lying in hammocks.

I'm surprised at how predictable Texas wildflowers are. Often if I look at a previous years blog post, I'll find a picture of exactly the same flowers I'm seeing now. Today, the Blue-eyed Grass emerged. The little blue flowers were everywhere. I don't know who named these things. They aren't in the grass family at all and the eye in the center is yellow instead of blue. Next week there will be a whole new batch of wildflowers to photograph. Things are starting to get colorful.

It was overcast this morning, but the sky cleared completely by sunset. This was a pretty good evening to look at the stars. Tonight there was a conjunction of Mercury and Venus that was visible right after sunset. After dinner, I took my binoculars to a nearby hill to look for the planets. I found them both, although if I'd waited another ten minutes they would have been lost in the haze near the horizon. Venus was a thin crescent and Mercury just looked like a bright star. I need to start looking for Saturn now.

It just occurred to me that I hadn't seen any White Pelicans this Winter. These large migratory birds are a common site at the lake and usually arrive in late Fall. I didn't see any this year. It's probably too late for them now. They usually continue their migration and move somewhere else in late Spring. I wonder where they went? I haven't seen the green Monk Parakeets this year either. It's probably a sign of the apocalypse.

It's time to go to the gym again. I should be developing some serious upper body strength, since I'm having to support more of Dot's weight as her legs become weaker. I used to just guide and steady her as she walked. Now, I need to lift the rear part of the harness a bit to keep her rear legs from crumbling under her. I need to take weight off her legs while still letting her feet touch the ground to provide tactile support and encourage her to move her legs. It takes a while to learn to do this so she can still walk naturally, but we're getting there. We'll do a lot better tomorrow if we get some sleep tonight.

Nick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day