Sunday, September 20, 2020

Day 3923

What a beautiful Fall day. The temperature was in the mid-60's when we went walking this morning. The smoke disappeared overnight and the sky was clear and blue. There was a nice breeze and my allergies weren't bothering me at all. A lot more trees are starting to turn and we noticed that two more White Pelicans have arrived at the lake. We counted five of the birds today.

We also found the lost female Muscovy Duck this morning. Janet and I were convinced that the duck was dead since we haven't seen her in over a month. She is very much alive with six brand new baby ducklings. The ducklings explained a lot. The mom probably just found a safe place to make a nest and it's just now that the ducklings are getting old enough to rejoin all the other ducks. The reappearance of the female duck probably explains why the two male Muscovy Ducks moved to a different section of the lake. All three were together again today. It made me feel good to see the three ducks reunited. Muscovy Ducks are ugly, but we've become attached to them.

After our regular walk this morning we took Dawn to a different park in the afternoon to continue our efforts to get her used to riding in the car. She's still nervous about car rides, but she always enjoys the destination. She got a special treat today because we stopped for ice cream on the way home. I've never met a dog yet who didn't love ice cream.

I was going to make roof repairs today but when Janet suggested taking Dawn on a car ride that seemed like a much better idea. I don't know if there would have been time to apply the silicon coating anyway. It really needs 48 hours to dry completely and it's going to rain again tomorrow. It's looks like there is rain in the forecast for several days. It must have something to do with the next hurricane headed for the Texas coast. We are pretty safe from the hurricanes themselves, but we often get rain from the outer rain bands.

I joined my very first Zoom meeting today. I can see now why the software is popular. It was easy to use and the whole experience was more enjoyable than I thought it would be. Maybe I won't be so reluctant to join these things in the future. It took less than an hour out of my day and much to my surprise I enjoyed talking to these people again.

It appears that there is going to be a rocket launch next Saturday. Now I just need to decide whether I'm going or not. One of my Florida friends said that if I have confirmed press clearance I ought to go. He said that the Covid rules change frequently and nobody with credentials really knows if they are going to get clearance again. We'll see. I'll try calling the Air Force again tomorrow. I suspect that the launch will get postponed again anyway. There are a lot of hurricanes in the Atlantic right now.

There might be a new Dalmatian at the kennel tomorrow. I know that we have a new dog in the program now, but he might still be at the vet getting his initial exams. I'll take my camera just in case. Hopefully, we'll be able to take our walk with Dawn in the morning before the rain arrives.