Day 4064

We spent some extra time with Clyde at the kennel today. He's still very shy but he is making progress. Since he has already bonded with one of the kennel attendants, I think he's going to be OK. Charlie and Cooper have no problem with shyness. They both love to play and are very motivated by food. Cooper likes to chase a ball and Charlie prefers his octopus toy. Both dogs got a good workout today and were ready to go back to their kennel runs for a long nap by the time we left.

Even though Dawn prefers Janet, there are certain things she expects me to do. I always feed her dinner and I usually hold the leash when we take our walks. Today I was having trouble with my foot and wanted Janet to hold the leash while we went down a steep hill. Dawn wasn't having any part of this. She let us know that she wanted things the way they usually are. As soon as Janet returned the leash to me, Dawn immediately resumed walking normally. 

I don't know what is wrong with my foot. It feels almost as bad as it used to be before I started wearing the special supportive running shoes. I still walked another five miles after Janet and Dawn returned to the house, but the last mile was a struggle. I may have to put a temporary hold on these long walks while I give my foot a chance to rest for a while. Things could be a lot worse, but I hate to give up walking, even temporarily. This is the one thing that gives some structure to my day.

My editor at Sky & Telescope told me that he is looking for more of a nuts and bolts type of article than the one I proposed. Interesting. I was initially going to write a basic "how to" article about astrophotography back in the beginning. Then I started reading other articles about the subject and realized pretty quickly that this territory was pretty well covered. The article I was thinking about writing had already been written quite a few times. I thought my chances might improve if I wrote something original and different. Apparently not. I guess I could still write a "how to" article, but I don't think it would come out well. I would feel compelled to celebrate the weird and quirky ways I tend to do things rather than clearly and concisely articulating how everybody else could accomplish the same thing. Somehow it's always all about me. With the exception of the many advertising messages I was paid for, virtually everything I have ever written has been some sort of personal narrative.

Apparently bad weather is headed our way. It is supposed to get very, very cold later this week. We are definitely going to get some rain and there might even be snow. Yikes. All I can think of is that I hope the furnace  keeps working normally and the roof doesn't start leaking again. Household problems always seem to happen at the worst possible time. I don't know how Northerners can stand this type of weather. Every time I see someone celebrating snow, I wonder what is wrong with them. Snow and freezing weather are just a big nuisance.

Maybe I just like to complain. Later this Summer I'm sure I'll be complaining about how hot it is and how much I hate all the Texas bugs. If you ever find me writing about the pure joy of doing something, bookmark it. I'm sure this happens occasionally, but it is a very rare occurrence. In my world, complaining is perfectly OK as long as you keep slogging forward through the mud. In the words of Larry the Cable Guy, Git-R-Done.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day