Day 3629

Another active Sunday. I managed to put 22,000 steps under my belt today. It didn't hurt that it was a clear, sunny Fall day. Janet and I took turns being away from the house, so someone was always home with Ginny. When I returned from the gym this morning she gave me one of those Dalmatian smiles. This was the first time we'd seen Ginny smile. I think she likes me.

Some days it's hard to take my five mile walk after I've been to the gym, but today I seemed to have more energy than usual. I even managed to clear the water off the roof as well. When I was walking, I saw my first Kestrel of the season. You never see these birds in the summer, but the American Kestrel is a frequent visitor to the park during the winter months. These small falcons always seem to be looking for food. I also saw a formation of White Pelicans returning to their winter home on Pelican Bay. They approached at a high altitude and then descended in a concentric circle. They almost looked like little airplanes on final approach.

I've decided that I like walking toward the end of the day. As the shadows grow longer and twilight approaches, everything changes quickly. If I start my walk at 4 PM, I can go from full sunlight to darkness in less than two hours. Sunsets are always beautiful on the lake on a clear day. As I approached home in late twilight, I was able to see Venus and Jupiter again. Venus was higher in the sky while Jupiter had moved lower. I was surprised at how much their positions had changed since the last time I saw them.

I was also surprised at how well my roof repairs have held up. We have had a significant amount of rain since I made the repairs and so far there have been no leaks. When I cleared the remaining standing water away this afternoon, everything looked pretty solid. I think my technique in applying the silicon material has improved. This stuff is very expensive and I used to apply a thin coat to cover a wider area. That was a bad idea. You need a thick coat to be effective. It's almost best if you just pour the stuff on the roof and let is flow, rather than try to spread it thinly using a paint roller. I'm learning. I have about a gallon to the silicon material left. I'll try to use if wisely the next time we have a really warm day.

We got another pet monitor to replace the one that broke recently. This probably means that we will be fostering more dogs in the future. Ginny needs to return to the kennel tomorrow afternoon. We've really enjoyed having her as a house guest, but she needs to go to her forever home soon. I used to think that it would be impossible for me to foster dogs because I would want to keep them all. Ginny is near perfect, but I am glad she has already found a good home. I don't know what has caused me to become a little less possessive but it's probably a good thing. Maybe we helped prepare Ginny for the journey she has ahead. On the other hand, maybe we just spoiled her. Either way, it was a very pleasant week. I'm going to miss this girl.

Jada is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day