Day 3587

I added the new Dalmatians to the rescue website this afternoon. That was about all I accomplished today. The rest of the day was spent walking and at the gym. As I was editing yesterday's photos, I kept thinking that this was the best looking group of dogs we've had in a long time. If you've been thinking about adding a Dalmatian to your household, this might be the perfect time to adopt one.

I just heard thunder outside. This wasn't supposed to happen. As recently as 48 hours ago the forecast showed clear skies for the next five days. Now, there's another cold front headed our way. All these cold fronts seem to be preceded by a line of thunderstorms. The rain doesn't last long, but it is often quite heavy. It's certainly been enough to disrupt my roof repair plans. I've had the silicon coating material for several weeks now and the roof still hasn't gotten dry enough to apply the coating. It's frustrating to say the least. Most of the roof dries quickly after I've swept the water away. Unfortunately the damaged areas retain moisture and are slow to dry. I"ve learned over the years that you can't fight the weather. You just have to be patient.

I hope the leak doesn't reappear tonight. I can't run the pumps when it's dry and if I'm asleep when the rain starts, the water can build up quickly. Sometimes the pumps get clogged and don't work anyway. I guess I'll strategically place a few buckets where water might leak before I go to bed tonight. It's better to be safe than sorry.

I thought the Great Egrets were gone for the winter, but I saw a ton of them at the lake today. I know these birds fly South for the winter, but maybe we are a southern destination for the northern birds. Truthfully, I know very little about Egrets and Herons. They come and go, very often surprising me. I guess they're kind of like the weather.

There were very few people at the gym today. This always happens when it is nice outside. For most of the day you'd never dream that we'd be under a severe weather alert this evening. It was clear and warm and the park was full of picnickers and bicycles. Things change quickly in Texas. According to the latest forecast the rain is supposed to start in six minutes.

Well, six minutes have passed and we're under a tornado warning now. I just heard the sirens go off. The weatherman on the television is telling people to go to their safe place now. Where would that be? I always worry about tornadoes because every room in our house has an exterior wall with lots of glass. There really isn't a safe space. I quit writing for a while and sat in the one corner of the office that wasn't right next to a window.

A tornado did hit the ground in Dallas and apparently did quite a bit of damage. I got lucky though. There was a confirmed tornado several miles to the north and another severe weather system to the south of us. Our neighborhood by the lake was in a little corridor between these two storm systems and we didn't even get much rain. So far, we haven't lost power either.

I'll have to admit I was a little nervous this evening. This was a very bad storm and the tornado came within several miles of the house. I'm sure some people I know in North Dallas experienced damage. It's over now. All is fine here and looking at the path of the storm, the Dalmatian kennel escaped damage as well. I think this is enough drama for one day.

Emily is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day