I've seen the International Space Station fly over the house for two nights in a row. Last night it passed directly overhead and was very bright. I thought it might pass in front of the moon, but the station ended up traveling a little to the right before it was eventually obscured by clouds. Tonight the ISS appeared a little earlier while it was still twilight. It wasn't nearly as bright as last night, but was still easy to see. It's kind of amazing that there are five people aboard this swiftly moving bright little dot in the sky who are probably looking down at me. I think there will be a few more opportunities to view the station later this week. Maybe next time I'll try to view it with a telescope.
I noticed that Christo died a few days ago. He was one of my favorite artists. I met him once and still have a photo of Running Fence that he signed for me hanging in my office. I remember telling him that if he tied a string around this picture, it might become very valuble and he just laughed. I always admired Christo because his art was temporary. He and his wife often spent years getting permission to undertake one of his elaborate projects, but they only lasted a few weeks and then they were gone. Christo's projects were totally unnecessary, but grand in scale and strangely inspiring. This art also introduced me to the Maysles Brothers, who filmed many of his projects. Watch their Running Fence documentary sometime. The almost insurmountable struggle to build this beautiful 24 mile white nylon fence will make you realize that almost anything is possible.
Not a whole lot seemed possible for me today. It was simply too hot. We got started very early on our morning walk, but Dawn was panting by the time we returned home. We may have to shorten her walks soon. She loves being outside, but Texas Summers can be brutal. Maybe three miles is plenty. We'll figure something out. I guess we could start a little earlier, but I do need some sleep. I'm still having trouble getting to bed at a reasonable hour.
This would be a good time to finish repairing the roof or plant some new grass in the back yard. It's hard to get motivated though. Most of the projects around the house don't really fix anything permanently. They just postpone the inevitable a little. Big home projects are for young people. When you are older, you realize that none of this really matters. It is the nature of things to wear out and fall apart.
It's time to go to the grocery store again tomorrow. Shopping has more or less returned to normal, except that there are still no Clorox Wipes and everybody wears masks. I wonder if wearing masks will last forever? I didn't think that taking your shoes off at the airport would last very long, but here we are. I have a feeling that some of the changes we are experiencing now will be permanent.
When I was out looking for the space station I noticed that some of the exterior landscape lighting had burned out again. One more thing to add to a very long list of stuff to fix.
Scooby is today's Dalmatian of the Day |
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