Day 3421

We enjoyed visiting with the rescue dogs this afternoon. We'd do this more often if it wasn't such a long drive. Some of the dogs were new and some we'd seen before. They were definitely all Dalmatians though. Although each had their own personality, they were all charming, full of energy, and eager to play.

I photographed the new dogs for the website and we played with the others. Several of the active dogs were obsessed with chasing a ball. A small, quiet one just wanted to crawl in your lap. It was good to be around Dalmatians again. The kennel staff was nice and let us stay as long as we wanted. I think we all knew that being around people was beneficial for the dogs.

Visiting the Dalmatians was the big event of the day. Everything else was pretty routine. I made my fruit smoothie and slowly drank it with a cup of coffee while watching the morning news. After I did the dishes and checked the mail, I took my morning walk. My allergies were worse today. It was a windy day and pollen was definitely blowing in from somewhere. The White Pelican is gone. My three mile route provides a good view of the lake and I couldn't find the bird anywhere. I did see a lot of turtles though.

The band on my Fitbit broke this morning. Luckily, you can buy replacement bands for these things. When the strap on my old Jawbone UP band broke, the whole thing was toast. I wish fitness trackers were more durable, but nothing is durable these days. My boots need to go to the shoe repair guy as well. I was pleased that the shoes don't hurt anymore, but the heels are already getting worn. Things just don't last very long when you're active.

It was weird that the stock market did pretty well yesterday and terrible today on exactly the same news. I wish people would hurry up and get all the China trade jitters out of their system. Maybe a few things get a little more expensive in the short term, but nothing is going to fundamentally change.  Tariffs don't worry me a lot. I get more concerned about headlines that say thousands of animal species will become extinct within 50 years. It's also a little troubling that NASA thinks the chances are good that an astroid could hit  Earth during our lifetime. I'm glad that I've lived most of my life in simpler times. Pick any scenario you want. The future just doesn't look that promising.

I almost got caught in a bad storm on my evening walk. It was sunny when I left the house, but the wind picked up quickly and I could tell that something was about to change. Pretty soon I saw very dark clouds to the West of me and it was easy to see that heavy rain was falling downtown. The park was full of joggers and dog walkers so I definitely wasn't the only one caught by surprise. I tried to pick up the pace a bit and managed to make it home again before the rain arrived.

Tonight's rain didn't really amount to much. It looks like we are going to get a lot more tomorrow though. What else is new. We've had a very wet Spring. Despite my watering eyes and runny nose, today was a good day. I hope all the dogs we saw today find great homes. They certainly deserve it.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day