Day 3252

I think bulky trash pickup is tomorrow, so I thought I'd join my other neighbors in piling old junk on the curb. I certainly have enough junk. Hmm. Should I start in the back yard, the greenhouse, or the utility room? There was a heavy steel cargo carrier I used to use with the Defender that I wanted to get rid of, so I thought I'd start with the utility room. This thing attached to the trailer hitch receiver on the Defender, so there was no way Janet or I could use it with our current cars. Neither of us has a trailer hitch installed. I can't believe I used to haul heavy St. Augustine sod and buckets of river rocks with this carrier in an attempt to do my own landscaping. I remember spending three days a long time ago transporting tons of smooth river rocks to create decorative areas around the base of our Oak trees. How did I manage to do something like this? Now, even the empty steel carrier seemed almost too heavy to drag to the curb.

I managed to get rid of quite a few totally useless things, but the utility room still seems full. Where did this stuff even come from? There were bags that attached to the lawn mower to catch grass clippings. I never used those things even when new. The lawn mower they belonged to is long gone anyway. There was a huge sacks of old towels that must have had something to do with animal rescue at some point. Why didn't I throw these away years ago? There were lots of disintegrating canvas tote bags and old paint cans. Eventually I gave up. There was just too much junk. Hey, I made a start. If I do this every month before bulky trash pickup, someday it will all be gone.

Dash did a lot of pooping in the house today. Some days are better than others. Dash tries to head for the back door, but I don't even think he's even aware that he needs to poop until about two seconds before everything comes out. I try to be optimistic. At least he didn't poop in the bed last night.

Since I'd already started the day by cleaning up poop, I thought I'd tackle a few other loathsome tasks as well. I cleared out a slow shower drain and cleaned the filters on the bathroom sink faucets. A few weeks ago, I listened to a program on NPR about all the microscopic creatures that live in our houses and cleaning suddenly seemed prudent. Evidently tiny creatures live in our water pipes, our air vents, and even our hot water heaters. The scum that forms on your shower head and tiles is called a biofilm and it provides nutrients for the little critters. Our house must be a luxury hotel for these organisms. because there are biofilms everywhere.

I'm almost caught up watching the National Geographic Channel show about Mars. The show has become a little preachy for my taste, but it is still very interesting. I wonder if we'll ever get to Mars? It's so easy to get distracted by problems right here on Earth. I hope I live to see the first humans on Mars. It's a long shot though. At the rate we're going, we might not even make it back to the moon.

I did my best to apply a disinfectant to Dash's gums today. His teeth are terrible and I worry that he's going to get periodontal disease. Dash hates the medication, so it is very difficult to do this everyday. Janet distracted him with a cookie while I cleaned his mouth. I need to do this every day. I need to clear away a little junk everyday too. There are so many things that need to be done and none of them are particularly pleasant.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day