Day 3993

I thought I had gotten everything we needed for next week's Santa Paws pictures from the storage warehouse a few day ago. Not so fast. I was looking at my gear today and it felt like something was missing. What was it? Jeez. I had forgotten the two large steel stands and aluminum crossbar that holds up the backdrop. How could I forget this? These three items are the largest, heaviest parts of the entire setup. I'll go back to the storage warehouse tomorrow and retrieve these items. I'll also take a good look around to see if I've forgotten anything else. I need to make a checklist when I get up in the morning. I forget everything these days.

I wish I could forget about all the water on the roof. Since it looks like the weather has cleared up for a few days, it was time to remove all the standing water from yesterday's rain. I've grown to hate this job, but it needs to be done. It must have rained a lot last night, because there was a ton of water on the roof. The water never evaporates in the Winter and falling leaves from the large Oak and Pecan trees form little duck ponds that hold the water in place. It took me almost two hours to remove all the leaves and standing water. While I was working, I found a few new areas that need to be repaired. Why can't I find these things in the Summer when it much easier to patch the roof? If there's ever a warm, dry day in the next month or so, I know what I'll be doing.

We slept in a little later than usual this morning and by the time we were ready to walk, all the rain had stopped. It was still wet and muddy however, so we tried to stick to paved roads. Dawn enjoyed the chilly morning, but I wished I had dressed a little warmer. It's hard to decide what to wear on days like these. When it's windy down by the water it can seem ten degrees cooler. When the sun comes out on a cloudy day, it almost instantly seems ten degrees warmer.

When we were taking inventory of our props for next week's photoshoot, we tried a few hats on Dawn. She was a good sport, but I don't think she likes wearing hats any more than our other dogs. We seldom get Santa pictures of our own dogs because Janet and I are both working at these events. I'm sure that Dawn would much rather stay home and take a long nap on our big bed than be in a kennel run while we were taking pictures. We did take Dot and Dash to a Santa Paws event once and you could tell that they almost immediately wanted to go back home again.

I attached a strap to the new camera and charged the batteries. That's as far as I got. I'm in no particular hurry. I still haven't even finished unpacking from my trip to Florida. It's taking me longer and longer to accomplish anything these days but I keep plodding along. Eventually, everything gets done. I'm going to use an older, more familiar camera for the Santa Paws photoshoot anyway. I learned long ago that the worst time to try something new is when you need everything to go right.

When I was taking my afternoon walk, I watched the sky change from heavily overcast to completely clear in less than an hour. It was really quite beautiful. I enjoy being outdoors. When I was looking up at the sky, I could imagine I was anywhere. The recurring sounds of police sirens and fire trucks quickly reminded me of where I actually was though. I miss the solitude of the Davis Mountains.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day