Day 3812

One of the best ways to make the world seem normal again is to visit the Dalmatian kennel. There were fewer dogs this week. Cinder has gone to her forever home. Her new owners renamed her Cinderella and from all we've heard she's enjoying her new surroundings. Murphy, Hank, and Charlie were all glad to see us. Each of these boys has their favorite toys and loves to play. They all seem remarkably well adjusted to life at the kennel, but I'm sure they look forward to finding their forever homes as well.

As usual, the day started with an early morning walk. It's always quiet and peaceful right around sunrise. We've started seeing lots of baby ducks near the lake. We also saw a young coyote running down a neighborhood street. Hopefully Mom can keep her ducklings safe until they learn to fly. The young owls I saw a few months ago have all learned to fly. I never see them any more, although I know they are nearby. I often hear them deep in the woods. This cycle of life repeats every Spring in the park. It's reassuring to see the wildflowers return right on schedule and a new generation of animals repopulate the park. If only civilization was as predictable as nature.

I continue to be amazed that nobody is talking about the virus anymore. Almost overnight we have gone from staying six feet apart to huge crowds milling about on city streets. It's almost as if the entire population has Attention Deficit Disorder. Apparently, we can only concentrate on one crisis at a time. The media certainly isn't helping. Everyone is still pushing their own narrative and suddenly all this unrest becomes about identity politics again. At any rate, it will be interesting to see if Dr. Fauci was right. If the virus is as contagious as he says it is, there are going to be a lot of sick people three weeks from now.

I think Dallas is still under a curfew. I wouldn't know. I haven't gone out at night in years. It's a shame to be nervous about going out at night when you are interested in astronomy. The park is a good place for star watching, but it also a popular place for drug deals. I'd be crazy to wander around in the park late at night. Police sirens routinely wake us up at night as they race down our busy street to deal with things that go bump in the night. All this is routine in a big city. One of the things I liked so much about Fort Davis in West Texas is that you felt completely safe walking down city streets at 11 PM. I can't say this about Dallas. Maybe I'm just a rural person at heart.

It's hard to believe it's June already. In early May, I thought that things wold be better by June. Now, I'm wondering what's next. At the rate we're going, there will be an alien invasion by August. I do wish that things would settle down. I'd like to go to the Mars 2020 launch at Kennedy Space Center in July and maybe head back to McDonald Observatory this Fall.

For now, travel is limited to visiting the Dalmatians on Monday afternoons. That's OK though. Murphy, Hank, and Charlie are all great dogs and we enjoyed spending time with them today.

Charlie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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