The observatory needed my help for their annual Spring Break festivities when hundreds of people would converge on the visitor center every evening for the largest star parties of the year. I did see several Asians wearing masks when they visited my telescope at these star parties, but I didn't think anything of it at the time. Covid still seemed to be something happening a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
It's amazing how much has changed in a year. The observatory has been closed to visitors for months and it is very difficult to get press accreditation at Kennedy Space Center these days. I'm not even making plans anymore. Every time the world seems to try to return to normal, the virus says "not so fast" and introduces a whole new set of problems. My daily routine hasn't changed much at all, but I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. When I turn on the TV in the morning I always expect a surprise and often wonder how long this madness can continue.
One good thing about having dogs is that it gets you used to a fixed routine. Dog expect consistency. They like to be fed at a certain time, walked at a certain time, and even go to bed at a certain time. Add this to my own desire for consistency and you've got a day that is very regimented. I get up. Dawn eats her breakfast while I make the bed. I fix and slowly drink my humongous fruit smoothie. I check my e-mail and pay bills. We walk Dawn and then I continue on a much longer walk that can take two or three hours. When I return there's usually time for a few chores before dinner and then I write my blog post. Repeat this routine day after day and you can see why I'm ready for a trip.
There was an injured bird in the yard today. It didn't appear that the bird had been attacked by another animal, so we decided that it had probably flown into one of our large glass windows and was just dazed and confused. This has happened before and I've learned that it is best to just leave the bird alone for a while. The bird must have knocked itself silly, because it stayed in the same place for over three hours. Eventually it hopped up on a nearby ledge, looked around, and then flew away completely normally. I'm glad we didn't try to intervene. Trying to move the bird would have just made the situation worse.
Maybe I'm imagining things, but Dawn seems more relaxed with me lately. She followed me out to the kitchen when I was fixing her dinner this evening and she even hung around for a while when I was having breakfast. She's still pretty jumpy, but I think we are making progress. People occasionally ask me what happened to Dawn while I'm taking my long walk. I tell them that she's getting older and just doesn't like to walk as far any more. I imagine that's pretty close to the truth.
Thursday evening still seems like the end of the week to me. I've taken this week's trash to the curb and was very happy that it didn't include a dead bird.
Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day |
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