Day 3547

The big tree that fell in our yard is gone. The falling tree also knocked over a large Photinia that we had let grow into a small tree. That tree is gone as well. The yard is starting to look bare now that we have lost our Elm tree and a large portion of one of our Oak trees. I'm afraid more trees will go when the tree guy returns later this month to remove what is left of the Elm tree and evaluate the rest of the trees. These are all very old trees that are near the end of their natural life. I guess I'd rather lose them than have one fall on my house.

I was glad the tree guy was able to come out today but apparently my neighbor wasn't. Less than fifteen minutes after the chain saws started, he was complaining about the truck blocking the alley. Jeez. It's all going to be over in an hour. Couldn't you just chill out and wait to park your car for a few minutes? Neighbors are one more reason the emptiness of the Davis Mountains seems so appealing.

I'm glad I called to confirm my appointment before I left for the doctor this afternoon. The lady who answered the phone told me I didn't have an appointment. "What do you mean," I asked. "Just two days ago you told me that my appointment was for 1:20 this afternoon." "I'm sorry," she told me. "That was last year's appointment we were looking at. We never made an appointment for you this year." Once I confirmed that I actually needed an appointment, we rescheduled everything for next week.

I finally finished my article about McDonald Observatory and sent it off to Sky and Telescope. I think it was a pretty good article, but I'm not sure if people are going to be interested in reading about a rainy day at an observatory. The finished article was certainly a bit different than what I had proposed to the editors. Oh, well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I gave it my best shot. I hope the editors find the article interesting and decide to publish it. At any rate, I plan to return to the observatory. Maybe someday I can actually write about seeing distant galaxies through these telescopes.

We found out that Hank has Inflammatory Bowel Disease. I'm glad that he doesn't have cancer, but this disease has no real cure and can be difficult to treat. Not all dogs respond the same way to the disease either. Treatment often involves experimenting with special diets, antibiotics that can reduce inflammation like metronidazole, and probiotic supplements until the right combination is found. Hopefully Hank will respond quickly to treatment. He is too young to be having these problems.

Even though it was a very busy day, I still managed to take my five mile walk. With a long walk under my belt, I always feel like I have accomplished something even when the rest of the day is a disaster. I'm certainly not planning on tomorrow being a disaster, but you never know. There have been a lot of surprises lately.

Cleo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day