Day 2922

When I went to the gym this morning, it was closed. Weird. I can remember going to the gym on Christmas Eve before. I guess I should have checked to see if there were holiday hours this year. Since this was the only thing I had planned today, I came home and wondered what to do next.

I decided to take a camera and photograph wildlife in the park. I hadn't done that in a long time. The weather was cold and windy, but the light was perfect so I decided to go anyway. Typically, I would see a lot of small animals on a day like this, but all I saw were birds. I think things have changed since the coyotes returned. The rabbits are probably wary now. We frequently see carcasses on our morning walks. Dash is a little too interested in these dead rabbits, but they make me feel sad. The bunnies don't really have a chance against the coyotes.

One thing you notice about wild animals is that they're always eating. Looking for food appears to be a full time job. This was certainly true today. The ducks, the cormorants, the pelicans, and even the little sandpipers were all looking for their next meal.

I used to take longer walks in search of a good photograph, but it was very cold, the camera was heavy, and my foot hurt. I'm getting old. Today's excursion definitely burned just as many calories as I normally expend at the gym and the pictures I came home with were more interesting than the basketballs I photograph at the gym. I should do this more often.

The house smelled good this afternoon. Janet was baking a pie to have with our Christmas dinner tomorrow. When the baking was finished, we gave Dash an afternoon walk. All in all, it was a very quiet day. We used to wrap packages at local bookstores on Christmas Eve, but I don't think Dalmatian Rescue does these type of fundraisers anymore. Once or twice, I remember being caught in nasty snow or ice storms coming home from these Christmas Eve events. Luckily, we don't seem to have this type of weather anymore. The world does seem to be getting warmer. Just not today.

It's a pretty safe bet that the gym will be closed tomorrow too. I'm not sure what we'll do on Christmas Day since we can't spent the entire day eating. Sometimes Janet likes to go to a movie on Christmas. She's mentioned wanting to see Murder on the Orient Express. A lot depends on how Dash is doing tomorrow. A movie seems more interesting than the Dr. Who Christmas Special. Who would have thought that I'd totally lose interest in Dr. Who. Things change I guess.

Whatever we end up doing, I hope that each of you has a very Merry Christmas.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day