Day 3708

I woke up in plenty of time, but failed to see the moon pass in front of Mars this morning. The sky was overcast and it was starting to rain. I kind of expected this but I had to give it a try. I turned on the roof pumps and went back to bed.

It rained pretty hard for several hours, but so far there have been no additional leaks. It's far too early to say whether my recent repairs were successful. If a leak is small, it can take several days for the water to find its way inside. I discovered that Dawn doesn't like rain any more than I do. It's hard to get her to go outside and pee in the morning when the yard is wet. This morning, some water fell on her from the trees when the wind blew and it sent her racing for the back door.

After breakfast Dawn and I took a long nap while Janet was at the gym. It seemed like the right thing to do. The house was warm and there was no point in getting wet. I've learned that when a dog feels like napping, it's often best to join them. There's always time to be productive later.

I actually was fairly productive today. I finished my article about the Solar Orbiter launch. It wasn't the best article I've ever written, but it was far from the worst. Maybe I can still find a publication that is interested in publishing it. I've sent query letters to a few magazines, but interest in these types of things fades quickly. We'll see. It's too bad that SpaceFlight Magazine only wanted pictures this time. They're still my best hope for stories about rockets.

Dawn loves a walk. When the rain eventually stopped, we got out her harness and leash. As soon as she saw these things, she immediately started smiling and wagging her tail. She was ready. Dawn is wearing Dot's old harness and it fits her perfectly. It's nice to know that a simple thing like a walk in the park can give a dog such pleasure. I have a feeling that Dawn never got taken on many walks before. Those days are over.

I've got to keep moving, so I put on an extra coat and headed out again after we returned home with Dawn. We didn't want to walk her too far, since her injuries are still healing. There's nothing wrong with me, so an extended walk still sounded better than staring at the ceiling and waiting for the roof to leak. I needed my steps as well. I do wish that we could just fast forward to Spring. I'm really tired of all this rain.

It looks like the weather is going to be even worse tomorrow. I hope the forecast is wrong because cabin fever is real. Even though I spend most of my time around the house anyway, I always feel trapped on a rainy day. Blue sky improves my mood enormously. At least I've got a dog to curl up with on a rainy day. Dawn has her priorities straight. According to Dawn, on a rainy day you just don't get out of bed.

Bailey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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