Day 4115

The star tracker I ordered arrived today. I looked at the instruction manual just long enough to realize that it's going to take me a while to learn to use this thing. I've got a month or so to master assembling and operating the tracker in complete darkness. This is not easy. When I was out at McDonald Observatory last October, even setting camera exposures in the dark was a chore. I spent a lot of time looking for little things I dropped on the ground. It was way too easy to throw off your polar alignment by bumping the tripod in the dark or spoiling the focus that took you forever to get just right by accidently touching the lens. Astrophotography is not an avocation for the clumsy. Unfortunately I am very clumsy. We'll see if I can be more careful this time. The last time I was on the mountain, I almost fell in a hole and broke my leg.

Maybe I ought to stick to photographing dogs. I'm pretty good at photographing dogs. Getting a good picture of the Andromeda Galaxy or the Orion Nebula is much harder for me. The night sky is interesting though and there are very few things that interest me anymore. Hey, if other people can do this, I should be able to take good night sky pictures as well. I'll figure out this star tracker in the weeks ahead and I bet my photos will be a lot better this time than they were last October.

I resumed my long walks today. It was very windy which made it almost impossible to dress for the occasion. When I was near the shoreline and the wind was blowing in my face I was cold. When I was out in the meadows and away from the water I was hot. I don't know where the ducks were today. I saw very few. Pretty soon the pelicans will fly North for the summer. There are already a lot fewer of them at the lake. Another week of two of warm weather and they'll be gone.

I see a few new wildflowers blooming every day now. It's interesting that the blue and purple flowers bloom first. Then the yellow flowers start blooming. The red flowers are almost always last. In April and May you see all the flowers at once and then they slowly start to disappear. It's not as much fun to photograph these flowers anymore because I've already captured every variety that grows here many times. April used to be a time for photography. Now it's mostly a time where I don't need to wear a coat and I don't get sunburned either. 

I was going to go looking for an Easter ham today but I forgot. I need to do this tomorrow. I've learned to ask for a Chop at the smokehouse. This is a small boneless cut that the store uses to make ham sandwiches for customers. A regular ham is way too much for two people and this small size is perfect. If you vacuum seal the meat in a boil-in bag you can keep it nice and juicy by just heating it in boiling water instead of putting it in the oven. Did I mention that I love a good smoked ham?

It's hard to believe that tomorrow will be April 1. It's getting harder and harder to separate the April Fool's jokes from reality. Life is so strange now that I'm having a difficult time telling the difference. The fact that Covid is still with us after an entire year seems like a cruel joke, but I guess it's real. I don't need any more big surprises. I'm waiting for life to become simple and predictable again. That wish is probably an April Fool's joke. I don't think that life will ever be simple and predictable again.

Smiley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4114

The arboretum got hit pretty hard during the big freeze. I don't know why I thought this place would be exempt from all the carnage, but mother nature definitely had the upper hand here as well. As Janet and I walked through the gardens we kept saying "look, their's died too." Strangely, I felt a little better about our own pitiful yard after seeing that even dozens of skilled gardeners couldn't save these plants.

Even though almost all the Azaleas and Rhododendrons died, the Spring celebration was still pretty spectacular. Thousands of seasonal flowers made the well manicured gardens seem even more colorful than usual. Janet and I always get lots of ideas for our own yard when we visit the arboretum. Somehow we never follow up on these ideas though. When you have large dogs and thousands of squirrels in your yard, it's easy to lose interest in gardening. Usually we never get beyond cleaning up all the dog poop.

I didn't bother to take a long walk today. After stopping for a beer and a cup of tortilla soup at a patio restaurant inside the arboretum, a stroll through the gardens seemed like all the exercise I needed. Maybe it was good to take a break. My foot didn't hurt at all today. It's too bad you can't take dogs to the arboretum. Dawn would have enjoyed this afternoon's outing.

While I was eating breakfast this morning, one of the TV stations I was watching showed a supposedly live broadcast of the latest Starship launch at Boca Chica. Something seemed vaguely familiar about this launch, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Later in the day I realized that the broadcast I was watching wasn't live at all. It was footage from several weeks ago with a "live" caption pasted over the top. The real launch today was much different. It was very foggy outside and the rocket blew up in midair. This makes four Starships in a row that have blown up. I have a feeling that the first person to ride in one of these things is going to be pretty nervous.

Although I didn't take my long walk today, Dawn did get her shorter walk. She always seems eager to take these walks, but some days we don't get very far. Today was a good day. We completed our short one mile loop with no strange behavior at all. Some days Dawn walks like a normal dog. Other days, she freezes in place for no apparent reason. We still can't figure out her many moods. She certainly doesn't seem sick. Every time we take her to the vet, everything checks out fine.

I thought about taking a good camera to the arboretum, but I'm glad I didn't. I find that a lot of experiences are more enjoyable without a camera. I always have my phone in my pocket, but that's a lot different than lugging heavy professional equipment around. I find that I remember things better if I just take the experience in with my eyes instead of constantly trying to compose a scene for the camera. Oddly, I still haven't used my new camera. Maybe I should have just got a better phone.

Today seemed like Sunday for some reason. I hope that won't make tomorrow feel like Monday. One Monday in any week is plenty. I have no idea what I'll be doing tomorrow. I"m still trying to avoid climbing up on the roof. Maybe if I wait long enough, the water will just evaporate.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4113

Somebody bought Charlie and Cooper a yellow football with a squeaker inside and it was their new favorite toy this week. We discovered that both dogs would make pretty good wide receivers because you could toss them the football and they would catch it in the air surprisingly often. We met some new employees today. Like most Dallas businesses, the kennel seems to be slowly returning to normal. I'm glad they survived the pandemic.

When we returned home I went out and got a new pair of walking shorts. I was down to a single pair and I knew they wouldn't make it through the Summer.  Amazingly, I found some shorts that were exactly the same brand and style as the ones I bought three years ago. In theory, buying something that I didn't need to try on first should have saved me time. It didn't. There was only one person working at the checkout counters and the person ahead of me in line was trying to return something without a receipt. It took me forever to get out of the store, but I still like to support local business whenever I can.

Dawn did well on her first walk this morning, so we thought she'd enjoy a second walk after we returned from the kennel. Apparently not. We couldn't even get her down to the park. She froze in place and wouldn't go any further before we had even gone three hundred yards. Oh, well. At least she got a good walk this morning. Janet returned to the house with Dawn and I continued walking.

I wonder how long this nice Spring weather is going to continue? The weather has been almost perfect for over a week and there is no rain in the forecast. The pleasant weather is probably why I thought about getting shorts today. I've been wearing shorts and a t-shirt all week. Right now, the heat comes on when we wake up in the morning and then the air conditioner comes on later in the afternoon. I'd better enjoy this while it lasts. Pretty soon it's going to be way too hot.

I had a good walk this afternoon, even though I am still embarrassingly slow and every step reminds me that I'm almost 73 years old. I have so many aches and pains that I feel like an old rusty machine. I think things would be a lot worse if I didn't keep moving. Would I feel more fit if I moved even more? I guess I'll never know unless I return to the gym. When am I going to find the time though? I'm so slow that a few chores and a long walk fills my entire day.

I'm surprised that I still haven't heard from NASA or the Air Force about the launches I've applied to attend in April. Jeez. It's almost April. I hate to make plans at the last minute. I haven't heard anything from the magazine I write for either. It's starting to feel like everyone has forgotten about me. I'm torn between wanting a full schedule and the realization that I could never afford a full schedule anyway. I do get published, but the magazine never pays for my expenses when I travel. Does this just make my space journalism quest an expensive hobby? Who knows. 

I'm thinking about getting a smoked ham for Easter again. Janet thinks about the true meaning of Easter, but I usually just think about smoked ham. I'd better go look for something tomorrow. It may be too late already.

Elliott is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4112

Today was busy. I helped Janet clear away more of the dead Asian Jasmine in the back yard. It's becoming more and more apparant that this stuff is not going to turn green again. My only hope is that the roots are still alive and that we might get some new growth next season. I ran the vacuum cleaner because I promised Janet I would start doing this every week again. I've always thought of dust as a protective coating, but apparently most people don't think this way. The hardest task today was giving the atrium a spring cleaning. It's is almost impossible to pry the broken sliding glass door open wide enough to get inside the atrium these days. If I'm lucky, I can just manage to squeeze through the narrow opening. I'm always afraid that I won't be able to get the door closed again, but with enough pushing and shoving, I"ve been successful so far. I've tried for several years to get the door fixed but parts are no longer available. Nobody makes a replacement for this oversize door either. I never realized how much trouble I was in when the last guy in town who worked on these things died.

The saga of old impossible to replace things continued when I discovered that the video component that I accidentally threw away is no longer manufactured. It's not available anywhere. I even looked on the eBay used market and couldn't find it. Come on guys! It hasn't been that long. It really is frustrating that everything becomes obsolete so quickly now. I've stopped upgrading the system on my computers so I can still run the last stand alone versions of Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite. I'm old school and don't want to pay for subscription software or save my files in the cloud. As a result, I can't use a lot of new software. The industry standard for processing astrophotography files won't run on any of my computers. 

We thought we'd do something different with Dawn today, so we drove her to a different park for her daily walk. This actually worked out pretty well. Dawn is a strange traveler. She is terrified of riding in the car, but is always excited when she arrives at her destination. We had a nice walk. Dawn had lots of energy and wasn't interested in eating grass at all. Janet walked Dawn, because I can never keep up with her when she is excited. I walked along behind and Dawn and Janet were kind enough to wait in the car for me when they were finished. To make the ride home less traumatic, we stopped for an ice cream cone along the way. Dawn loves ice cream.

I didn't take my own longer walk until later in the afternoon. The park was even more crowded today than it was yesterday. On a nice Spring day, it feels like I'm the only one who doesn't believe that Covid is over yet. Luckily, the park is huge and it is quite easy for me to keep to myself. I just don't understand why people like to gather in large groups. I can see getting together with a friend for coffee, but the whole concept of parties has always seemed strange to me. I never had to give up parties for Covid. I never liked them in the first place.

I keep getting messages that time is running out for me to use my 20% off coupon at REI. Today I got an e-mail saying that my discount expires tomorrow. In the past, messages like this would send me directly to the store. Not anymore. I don't need anything from REI. I think it is an encouraging sign that I'm slowly learning to resist the urge to buy. I did get a camera earlier this year and I got that start tracker recently, but I know I'll use these things. The star tracker is practically a requirement for attending the advanced astrophotography workshop later this Spring.

It's going to be a busy week. We'll go visit the rescue Dalmatians tomorrow and then go to the arboretum later in the week. One of these days I'm going to have to go up on the roof. The catkins have started falling from the Oak trees and they can make a huge mess on the roof when it rains if I don't remove them. The catkins are also responsible for the thin layer of sticky yellow dust that covers everyone's cars at this time of year. I like watching all the wildflowers bloom, but a lot of other things associated with Spring are a nuisance. What's the biggest nuisance of all? It's time to mow the grass again.

Doc is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4111

I think a lot of people must have moved here during the pandemic. The traffic is horrible now. Every time I go out, I feel like I am driving in Los Angeles. Dallas was never a small town, but it wasn't always this way. I remember when there was a farm with livestock right across from Northpark. Maybe I'm just getting too old for city life. It's getting harder and harder to find anything positive to say about all this congestion. 

Shopping was relatively easy today. I found everything on my list fairly quickly and was home well before noon. I used to think that the pandemic would be over when I started seeing Clorox wipes again. The wipes are everywhere now, so why does it feel like nothing has changed? Even getting vaccinated didn't change much. I still wear a mask whenever I go out. I seldom eat at restaurants anymore. When I pass someone while I'm walking in the park, I make a conscious effort to move way out of the way. I might never go to a large gathering again. I could go on and on. I doubt that this behavior is going to change any time soon. I've never trusted people all that much. Now I have a reason not to trust them.

I do trust dogs, which is why it bothers me that Dawn doesn't seems to like me. Dot and Dash would follow me everywhere, but Dawn still hasn't set foot in the office. The whole room seems off limits to her. We are making a little progress though. When I take a nap on the bed, she no longer leaves the room. She seems content to share the bed with me now, but she won't follow me outside even when I know she wants to go. The only way I can get her to go in the back yard with me is to lead her out on a leash. Dawn is an entirely different dog when Janet is home. She is much more confident and very little seems to bother her. Oh, well. I guess it's just me.

My long walk was a little slow again today. I felt fine, but I could tell after the first 300 yards that I wasn't going to set any records. It's still a mystery why on some days I have a spring in my step and on other days I don't. I used to think my slow days resulted from a lack of sleep, but I've been sleeping well lately. I doubt that any of this even matters. I should just turn off the Fitbit and enjoy the view. On today's walk I noticed that one of the Muscovy ducks and three of the geese were missing. I saw two Monk Parakeets which was strange since these birds usually fly together as a large group. There were lots of people in the park, which was understandable since it was a nice Spring day. For the first time in over a year I saw some of the baseball diamonds in use. School sports have definitely returned. The soccer fields in the park have been in use for quite a while now.

I'm spending way too much time looking at telescopes and other astronomical paraphernalia online. This usually leads to buying things which is probably unwise. I'm never going to spend much time looking at the stars here in Dallas. The light pollution is terrible and I don't feel safe going out at night in the city anyway. This leaves the occasional trip to West Texas, which might actually be all I need. It's too bad I can't just rent the equipment I need the same way I rent a car for these trips. 

I may be forced to do some yard work tomorrow. The yard still looks terrible after our big freeze, and neither of us want to spend the money to hire a lawn service anymore. I guess we need to clean up the place for Dawn. She loves being out in the yard.

Chloe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4110

I took a few things to the storage warehouse today and while I was there, I looked for the missing video component. Maybe I moved the thing there and just forgot about it. Nope. I really did throw it away with the empty boxes. Oh, well. Kind of an expensive lesson to learn, but I doubt that I will be making corporate videos again anyway. While I was searching through my storage unit, I found an entire case of yellow tennis balls. Why? I don't play tennis. We must have gotten them for some dog related event in the distant past.

Spring is here. Everything is turning green except for our Asian Jasmine ground cover. It still looks brown and completely dead. I wonder why this stuff fared worse than the rest of the plants? We have a lot of ground cover in the back of the yard because it grows well under our large trees. I have a feeling that the yard is going to look pretty ugly for a while. It's kind of amazing what a week of freezing weather can do.

It was a beautiful day for walking, but my feet didn't get the message. Yesterday, I had a spring in my step and walked briskly. Today I felt like I was carrying a sack of rocks. I got plenty of rest last night, but I just didn't have any energy today. I kept walking and completed five miles, but my time was a lot slower.  Before I started wearing my Fitbit, I wasn't even aware of these changes. I've done this walk so many times now that I can calculate my pace just from the sound of my footsteps. I can pretty accurately guess how many calories I'm burning as well. The trade off is that I don't stop and take pictures as much as I used to.

Dawn likes being outside, but she still won't go outside with me unless I take her out on a leash. As soon as I attach the leash, she hops off the bed and follows me out the back door. I take the leash off as soon as we are in the back yard and she is very comfortable staying out in the yard with me. She wanders around the yard barking at things and will occasionally come over to the chair where I'm sitting to be petted. When we go back inside, she heads straight for the bedroom and waits for Janet to return. It's very strange behavior, but it's starting to feel normal.

The star tracker I ordered has already shipped. This flies in the face of everything I've been reading on the Internet about having to wait months for astronomy equipment. Hopefully, I can learn to use this thing before I go out to the observatory. The trick will be finding any stars to track. You really can't see much of anything here in Dallas.

There was supposed to be a Starship launch today, but it got canceled for some unknown reason. I've known several people who travel down to Boca Chica to watch these launches, but I haven't had the nerve to go myself yet. You could end up waiting for days because Space X schedules change frequently and they are never published ahead of time. There also seems to be a major influx of people crossing the border around Brownsville, so this might not be the best time to visit the area. I'm still amazed that they launch these rockets within a few feet of a Texas state highway and visitors can walk right up to it. This is bound to change soon, but for now it's still the Wild West down in Boca Chica. I really need to plan a visit before the whole compound becomes a restricted area.

I need to plan a lot of things, but I'm finding it extremely difficult to get motivated. It's easier to just get up, fix my smoothie, and repeat the same things I did the previous day. There's always tomorrow, but usually it's just like yesterday.

Bubba is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4109

I think one of the worst habits I ever acquired was meticulously recording every transaction I make in Quickbooks. I have a category for everything and even divide grocery shopping into numerous sub-categories. It takes an enormous amount of time to enter everything correctly and I'm getting tired of it. I really should have just made two categories: stuff I really need and stuff I don't really need. Today I entered three months worth of receipts and am finally caught up for 2021. My accountant tells me that I've made Quickbooks Pro ridiculously overcomplicated and he doesn't even look at most of the entries. Old habits are hard to break though, and just like my daily blog entries, I continue to categorize everything.

Nesting season has arrived and I'm seeing pairs of duck in places where they never usually go. They leave the lake at this time of year and you see them in fields and meadows throughout the park. I even see pairs of ducks in people's yards. You'd think the ducks would be more careful about where they choose to nest. The coyotes get a lot of the eggs and sometimes the ducks as well. It won't be long before we start seeing baby ducks though, and some of them always survive.

They say that if you spend an hour a day studying something, you will become an expert within three years. I try to spend a little time each day learning more about astrophotography. Today, while I was doing my Google searches I stumbled across a very desirable star tracker that was actually in stock and ready to ship. Anything related to astronomy has been almost impossible to find since the pandemic started. I guess people have more time on their hands and interest in the hobby has exploded. A lot of things are on back-order for months now. When I saw the iOptron tracker, I felt it was a sign and that I needed to act quickly. The tracker is on order and I should be able to take it with me when I go out to McDonald Observatory in May. I'll never be able to use this thing in Dallas, but when people start doing things in person again, I may join a local astronomy club that owns a nice dark sky site in southern Oklahoma. On the other hand, the tracker may end up in the storage warehouse with a lot of other passing fancies.

Janet and I made reservations to see Dallas Blooms at the arboretum next week. We always mean to go to this event but for some reason something always comes up and we end up being too busy. They say this event is one of the 14 best places to see spring flowers in the world. I don't know where the other 13 places are, but we really enjoyed going to the arboretum around Christmas and we've heard that Dallas Blooms is spectacular. There are 500,000 tulips for starters, along with 100's of varieties of flowering plants and trees. Hopefully, it won't rain.

We must have gotten some rain last night, because the yard was wet in the morning. We totally avoided the severe weather though. There was bad weather to the North and to the South of us, but all we got was a little rain. I didn't even hear any thunder last night. The only thing that woke me up was the sound of Dawn snoring.

Dawn continued to walk well today. She's been doing well on her daily walks all week. I did pretty well today too. I kept up a decent pace for five miles and didn't have a lot of foot pain. I still have no idea why the foot pain varies so much from day to day. I'm very consistent about the way I walk. You'd think the way my foot feels would be consistent as well. It's a mystery. I"m just glad there are good days as well as bad days.

The trash has been taken to the curb, the refrigerator is almost empty, and I feel like the week is just about over. I don't know why my week always starts on Friday, but it's been that way for a long, long time. Hey, when you don't work in an office, you make your own rules.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4108

I got a chair mat this morning. When I got home I discovered it was too small. Jeez. I thought these things were all the same size. I guess I'll live with the smaller size though. It's too much trouble to take the thing back. I also got the 12 month accordion folder I needed for receipts. How could a cardboard folder be worth $22? They say we don't have inflation, but I don't believe it. Everything seems a lot more expensive than it used to be.

My train dealer friend told me that he finally sold another of my trains. This was the first sale in about six months. Business hasn't been good during the pandemic. I was happy to see the sale, but I'm not expecting much in the future. The best items in my collection are already gone. I hope business picks up for my friend. I've decided that this is a good time to be retired. I would have had a hard time keeping my own business going during the past year. 

We're under another severe weather alert. This is the time of year when we get a lot of bad weather. I'm watching a storm head our way on the weather radar and hoping that the power doesn't go out. Isn't there somewhere that doesn't have any bad weather at all? We have tornados to worry about. Other parts of the country have hurricanes, wildfires, dust storms, or too much snow. I'd really prefer not to worry about bad weather at all.

The Purple Martins have returned to the park. I'm kind of glad that we don't live near these birds. They are considered very desirable, but they are also very loud and you could hardly call the sound they make a song. It's more like a loud, angry squawk. I'd rather have the Pelicans live nearby. I've never heard them make any sound at all. Pelicans poop a lot though, so maybe this wouldn't be a good idea after all. I guess our resident possums aren't so bad after all.

I was hoping for three consecutive nights of restful sleep, but it wasn't meant to be. I woke up at 4:30 AM and couldn't get back to sleep. Maybe I'm taking too many naps. When I was working, I seldom had problems sleeping. When you are really tired, sleep is almost inevitable. I wish it were easier to keep a dream journal. When I first wake up I'm always aware that I've been dreaming. The dreams fade quickly though. Many of my dreams involve being lost in mundane situations. I'm looking for my car in a parking garage. I'm trying to find my room in a hotel. Sometimes I'm in an ad agency but I can't find my office. There are other dreams where I'm living in a house I have never seen before. If I could remember these things clearly, I might know what they mean. Occasionally, I have had a dream that felt so real that I've wondered if it was something that I actually experienced. Vivid dreams and a poor memory make a strange combination.

I'm mesmerized by the weather radar. It looks like the storm where tornados were spotted is going to the south of us. It will be close, but I think the storm will miss us. Dealing with weather makes you realize that much of life is governed by luck. It helps to be careful, but you've got to be lucky as well. Every time you go to get groceries you could get hit by a drunk driver. Your house might be a tornado target. I'm convinced that a lot of the people who got Covid just had bad luck.

So far, I feel like I've been lucky in life. I hope my luck continues and I never become paralyzed by fear. I'm on the home stretch now, but there is still lots to be done. Right now, I'm optimistic. Reaching Day 5000 seems like a piece of cake.

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4107

Another beautiful Spring day. In theory, I should get a lot accomplished on days like this, but I seldom do. Things are moving along slowly though. My 2020 taxes have been submitted, so I don't have to deal with that for another year. The Kickstarter project I backed has funded, so it looks like the product will go into production. If all goes well, I should get my hands on one of the first available versions sometime this Fall. One of the tree trimmers I called finally returned my call, so it looks like I'll be getting a bid on removing the Oak tree in the back yard. Janet wants to remove the tree more than I do, but I would hate to have it fall on the neighbor's cars and have everybody tell me "I told you so." The tree will probably be gone before the Kickstarter project ships.

Dawn did well on her walk today. There was no hesitation or freezing at all. I still have no idea what influences her behavior. She did get excited by another dog and tugged on the leash hard enough to make my hip hurt when I walked. I have so many aching joints now that I have to walk slow and steady. Sometimes I feel like that slow walking Duane Toddleberry character created by Tim Conway on the old Carol Burnett show. It's hard to believe now that I was ever nimble and agile.

I haven't heard anything from the Air Force yet about getting my credentials reinstated for 2021. We were supposed to hear something by the middle of March, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised that things are running late. Everything seems to be running late this year. It's just as well that I won't be tempted by launches in Florida for a while. My trip out to McDonald Observatory later this Spring is all I can afford anyway.

I need to get a new plastic mat to put under my office chair. I've worn a hole in my existing mat and the wheels of my chair get stuck in it all the time. It's irritating. I used to see these mats everywhere, but now I can't find them. I probably haven't looked very hard. That will be my task for tomorrow. I also need an accordion folder for my 2021 receipts. I usually get one of these every January, but it's March already. I'm slipping. Looks like a trip to Office Depot might be in order.

It must have rained a lot last night because the water level in the lake looked a lot higher today. If there's more water in the lake, there's probably more water on the roof as well. I really should get up there and sweep the standing water away, but it is supposed to rain again tomorrow night, so maybe I'll wait. The way my hip feels right now, I probably couldn't make it up on the roof anyway. It sucks getting old. All these things that used to be easy aren't all that easy anymore.

Something weird is happening with our mail. Instead of getting a single batch of mail once a day, we are getting several deliveries during the day. Today we got three deliveries, each with a few letters and flyers. Is the mail actually getting delivered more often, or is our mail just getting misplaced in neighbor's boxes. Maybe neighbors are just returning misplaced mail. I really don't trust mail deliveries anymore. We used to have the same mailman for decades. Now there seems to be a new delivery person every week. 

I've slept well for two nights in a row. What changed? Probably nothing. My nights are probably just as random as my days. I hope this trend continues though. It really makes a difference.

Ariel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4106

Charlie and Cooper were both glad to see us today. These two have boundless energy and race around throwing their toys in the air until they are completely worn out. Both dogs will bring rope toys to you because they want to play tug. They won't release the toys however until you throw another toy for them to chase. Charlie becomes so fixated on killing the squeaker in these toys that you have to be careful not to let your hands get too near his mouth. The mouth is constantly moving. These energetic males are the complete opposite of Dawn. We haven't seen Dawn play with a toy yet.

It was a rainy day, but we were able to give Dawn two short walks between the storms. I have a feeling that Dawn is a lot easier to walk than Charlie or Cooper. They are both smart dogs and do listen to commands, but they are so strong. I'm not sure I could even walk Cooper at all with my bad shoulder. They would be great companions for an active family though. I hope they find their forever homes soon.

It wasn't dry enough to take my long walk today, but I was able to squeeze in a little walk after Dawn's afternoon walk. I walked just long enough to get ten thousand steps on the Fitbit and close all three activity circles on the Apple Watch. My foot didn't bother me today. Probably because I didn't really go very far. Maybe my foot is trying to tell me something. 10,000 steps might be enough. I do like long walks though. We'll have to see how I feel tomorrow.

I'm so glad that Dawn isn't scared of storms like Dot and Dash were. There's been lots of thunder and lightning today, but it hasn't bothered her at all. She can certainly hear the thunder. Dawn hears everything.   She can hear people walking down the alley behind our house long before she can see them. Her new favorite thing is to stand in the yard and bark at these people, especially if they are walking a dog. Dawn must have spent a lot of time outdoors in her former life. When the weather is nice she likes being outside more than being in the house. I didn't think anything could compete with the big bed in the bedroom, but sunning herself on the grass runs a close second. I really need to plant some new grass for Dawn. The grass we have now is fairly pitiful. Maybe today's rain will help everything in the back yard turn green again.

I called my accountant to review my taxes along with two different tree companies to get bids on removing the damaged Oak tree and all I got was voice mail. It's really hard to get a live person on the phone anymore. Nobody seems to have a receptionist these days. Nine times out of ten you will just get a voicemail message if you call a business. Voice calls have definitely gone out of style. Maybe you have to leave text messages for businesses too. You certainly have to leave a text message for personal calls. The world have definitely left me behind. I still write letters and I still prefer voice calls.

The pumps on the roof aren't working very well today. This is frustrating with so much rain, but I'm definitely not climbing up there to inspect things right now. I'll have to trust that my repairs keep working. So far, so good. There haven't been any problems with leaks for over a year. I still wish I could find someone to put a slope on the roof, but it is a complicated, oddly shaped roof and nobody seems up to the job. If I was convinced that the roof would never leak again and we got rid of the old, damaged trees in the back yard, I might install solar panels. It would be nice not to worry about power outages again. This is all fantasy talk unfortunately. It will probably never happen.

I finally got a good night's sleep last night. Hopefully, I will be able to do the same this evening. A good night's sleep can make even a dismal, rainy day seem a little better.

Brooke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4105

I think I accidentally threw away an important part of my video kit while I was attempting to clean up the office a few weeks ago. I threw away some empty boxes but neglected to check and see if they were really empty. I was pretty sure the boxes were all empty because I knew what used to be in them and they all felt really light. Now, I remember that I kept this component in one of the boxes. The component was really light too. All this makes me mad because there is nobody to blame but myself. It just goes to show that you should never throw anything away. It's always possible that the missing component is in the storage warehouse, but that doesn't help much. I have no idea what is in the storage warehouse anymore.

I vacuumed the house today and I couldn't figure out why the vacuum wasn't picking up much dust. It turns out that Janet had already vacuumed the house a few days ago and I didn't even notice. Oh, well. The house is even cleaner now. It won't stay that way long though. If you have a Dalmatian there is always an enormous amount of dog hair. I don't know how these dogs manage to keep such a nice looking coat because they are constantly shedding.

The weather continues to be almost perfect. Dawn is enjoying spending more time outdoors. She took two short walks today, but we still can't get her to take a longer one. I continue to take my long daily walk although my feet are screaming at me to quit. I don't know if it would prove anything to go to the gym instead of taking these daily walks. If I did more upper body exercises, it would be my shoulders and wrists screaming at me to quit. I walked a lot slower today, but I did manage to complete five miles.

I watched a few more instructional videos about my new camera this afternoon. I'm finding that I learn a lot more watching YouTube videos that reading the instruction manual. Instruction manuals for Japanese cameras have always left a lot to be desired. One of these days I'm going to have to actually take some pictures with this camera. I've basically just been using my phone for photography all winter. I'm planning on taking the new camera to the astrophotography workshop, so I'd better become proficient in using all the fancy new features. I thought I knew everything there was to know about cameras, but that was before they all turned into computers. I think this new camera is a lot smarter than I am.

I promised Janet I'd get some bids for taking down the damaged Oak tree in the back yard. I should have done this months ago, but I hate to lose these old trees. This tree does need to come down, because it probably won't survive another really bad storm. It's such a hassle though. The tree is near power lines and has branches that extend over the neighbor's yard. Oh, well. It needs to be done. Dealing with an old house is discouraging. It always seems like a losing battle. I remember how nice things looked forty years ago. I probably looked better forty years ago myself.

I'm not sure if Spring Break is over yet, but we'll probably go visit the rescue Dalmatians again tomorrow. I think we've skipped two weeks now and Charlie probably misses us.  

Big Boy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4104 - Vernal Equinox

It definitely felt like the first day of Spring. The weather was beautiful and that meant the park was incredibly crowded. It seemed weird to see so many people out and about when the commentators on television are still talking about social distancing and Covid spikes. People aren't listening anymore. I think they've had enough. It also seems weird that only a little more than twelve percent of the population has been vaccinated when every single person I know has had at least one shot. Even younger people seem to be getting vaccinated now. Apparently it is still hard to get an appointment in some parts of the country, but the whole process is relatively easy in Dallas. I'm still glad I live in Texas.

My grocery list was longer than usual this week, but I managed to find everything. When I was getting blueberries, the ink was smudged on all the bar code labels and I had to learn to enter the information by hand in my handy shopping app. I kept getting the SKU wrong because there is one number way to the left of all the other numbers. The produce guy finally showed me how to enter the information correctly. I bought some LED bulbs for a burned out lamp in the bedroom, forgetting that we already had plenty of spare bulbs at home. I also bought some more Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, forgetting that I'd already gotten some two weeks ago. I'm not really a very good shopper.

We slept in late this morning, but I'm still not getting enough sleep. I need to get to bed earlier. It's taking me longer and longer to write the blog each night, even though I have less and less to say. Sometimes I seriously wonder if I'm going to be able to complete my 5000 day goal. I keep plodding along one day at a time, but a little voice in my head keeps telling me that this strange journey doesn't even matter anymore. I'm certainly not writing for an audience. I think only about ten of you are regular readers.

Dawn seems to like being outside more than our other dogs. We leave the back door open for her on these nice Spring days, but that's not going to last long. It won't be long until the air conditioner starts running continually and all the windows and doors will be sealed shut again. It's a shame that Spring doesn't last longer in Texas. It's easy to forget how nice it can be when the temperature is reasonable.

I keep bookmarking articles and videos about astrophotography. I'm learning a lot, but still feel like a beginner. It's amazing to me how many people around the world have chosen this complicated activity as their hobby. There must be thousands and thousands of them. I took a telescope out occasionally over the years to look at the planets and the moon, but never really got serious about astronomy until I started spending time out at McDonald Observatory. It's fascinating to look at the sky at night and realize how truly insignificant we really are. It's a shame that so much of the night sky is invisible to Dallas residents. Maybe all the light pollution is for the best though. I don't feel safe going out at night in this city anyway. Somebody seems to get shot every night.

My feet weren't my friend today. By the time I finished my long walk, every bone in my body seemed to ache. I'm not very fast. On a good day it takes me about 19 minutes to walk a mile. On a bad day it can take me up to 24 minutes. People pass me all the time. I don't really care. Most of these people are in their 30's and 40's. Let's see how fast they move when they're 72.

Baxter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4103

Today I found out that the electrician I've used for many years has died. I'm getting older. Many of the best service people I've used over the years have passed away. Nobody seems to replace these people. Their skills and expertise just seems to disappear forever. It's kind of sad to see a generation of people who could fix everything be replaced by a new crop of folks who can only replace disposable components. Looks like I'm going to have to find a new electrician. I just hope that nothing breaks for a while.

I have so many unanswered questions that I'm beginning to feel like I'm invisible. I write people, fully expecting a prompt reply and then I never hear anything back. I still don't know whether my press credentials have been approved by the Air Force. I never received a confirmation about my stay in West Texas in May. I've been waiting for months for author copies of some of my articles. Questions about my new camera have gone unanswered and the dehumidifier company hated my continual questions so much that they wrote me a check for the machine instead of fixing it and told me to throw it away.

I got Dawn to go down to the park with me this morning while Janet was away. We didn't go very far, but it was a start. After she peed in a field immediately behind our house, she quickly turned and immediately headed for home. I didn't try to make her walk further. I want her to learn to trust me, so this will be a very slow process. Janet wants me to work with her every day, even if I don't make much progress. Right now, Dawn won't even eat when Janet is away. This makes it very hard for Janet to make any travel plans. It's all very weird. I'm used to being the one who takes care of the dogs during the day because I'm always here. If Dawn could just learn to trust me, she would have so much more fun.

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring. It's certainly starting to look like Spring has arrived. Wildflower season is still a few weeks away, but I see a few new blooms every day. The trees are definitely looking greener. I've even started seeing turtles sunning themselves on logs at the lake. Pretty soon I'll start seeing baby ducks again. I enjoy seeing this seasonal rebirth. It's especially nice this year after the big freeze where everything appeared to have died. It's amazing how predictable this cycle of life is. I've seen wildflowers reappear in exactly the same spot year after year. There are winter animals and summer animals and they never seem to get the seasons mixed up. I guess there is that one Pelican that always refused to fly north with the others in the Spring. I wonder what the Pelican will do this year?

My foot still hurts when I walk, but there are plenty of reasons to keep walking. I don't want to wind up like my electrician. He was younger than I am when he died. I really should start going back to the gym. I'm fully vaccinated now, but I'm still a bit reluctant to spend time around a bunch of sweaty people. My gym reopened their pool recently, so they're clearly not worried about much anymore. I don't know why they're still closed on Sundays though. Janet has been going to her gym for weeks now. Maybe I'm just lazy.

It's time to make a grocery list again. It's amazing how quickly these weeks go by. It will be Summer soon and I will be wishing for cooler weather again. Hopefully 2021 will be a little more interesting than 2020. I applied with NASA to attend the Space X Crew-2 launch today. Who knows if I'll get approved, but eventually things will start clicking together.

Pringles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4102

I trimmed all the dead leaves off the hedge at the back of the yard. There isn't much hedge left. This year's big freeze really did a number on our backyard plants. I have a feeling that some of them just aren't going to recover. At least the hedge trimmer works well. I probably should have bought one of these a long time ago.

Today was slow and the highlight of my day was watching the Artemis-1 live fire test. The test went well and it looks like the rocket will be heading to Kennedy Space Center soon. The eight minute test was surprisingly interesting, considering that the rocket was bolted to a test stand and didn't go anywhere. The cloud of steam the rocket produced was so large that it showed up on weather radar. Stennis Space Center was created during the Apollo era and is pretty impressive. I'm glad I got a chance to tour the place before Covid hit. I'm sure it would be much harder to get access to the facilities now.

Dawn is eating normally again and didn't show any hesitation on her daily walk. Who knows what happened yesterday. We'll probably never know. She probably ate some disgusting dead animal in the yard. There are lots of feral cats in the area and we frequently find dead birds and mice in the yard. I've never seen Dawn eat anything bad, but dogs can be sneaky. Dot killed a squirrel once and Dash was obsessed with eating cicadas. The one good thing about all the feral cats is that we seldom find rats in the yard anymore.

I really need to find a new place to walk. I have a high tolerance for boredom and even I'm starting to get bored. I've memorized every inch of my journey now. I keep walking the same familiar paths because the distance is just about right. Even with my painful foot, I know I can complete the walk. On a good day, the foot doesn't even hurt very much. I watch the trees start to bud and keep track of where the resident ducks and geese are located. The ducks move around quite a bit. There are several old buildings in the park that were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps that the city is restoring now. Every day there is a little more progress and I've been impressed at how faithfully the crews have been recreating the 1930's era buildings. There's a lot of stone masonry involved that you seldom see anymore.

I'm still debating whether to get a star tracker for my trip back to the observatory. I keep looking at these things online, but I can't decide. The device would definitely improve my pictures of the night sky, but it is awkward and bulky to carry around. I like to travel light and I know I would never use this thing in Dallas. I really need to stop getting things I only use a few times a year. I have a bad habit of doing this. Even the hedge trimmer I used today probably won't get used again for a long, long time.

Janet and I were just about to put our winter coats away for another season, but today we needed them again. How did it get so cold overnight? I kept waiting for things to warm up, but I still ended up wearing a down ski jacket on my long walk. It probably would have felt warmer if it wasn't so windy. It's hard to decide what to wear at this time of year. When the sun goes behind a cloud, I'm cold and when the wind stops and the sun comes out, I'm hot.

When I took the trash out to the curb tonight, I looked up and saw the Moon, Mars and the Pleiades very close together in the sky. I went back in the house and got my binoculars. When I looked again I saw a satellite cross through my field of view. That was my five minutes of astronomy for the night. Now, I'm ready for bed.

Nick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4101

We had quite a storm last night. A strong wind and the sound of thunder woke me up and I had trouble getting back to sleep. I checked my phone to make sure that we weren't under a tornado watch and then I checked on Dawn. For a dog that is scared of everything, she is remarkably unaffected by storms. Severe weather doesn't seem to bother her at all. Eventually I dozed off and when I woke up this morning, the sound of thunder had been replaced with the sounds of the bulky trash trucks picking up all the junk that had been piled at the curb.

It was too wet to use the hedge trimmers I bought yesterday. I made sure that the pumps on the roof were working and then slowly drank my morning smoothie as I looked for something interesting to watch on TV. Dawn wouldn't eat her breakfast this morning which kind of worried me. Whenever a Dalmatian won't eat, something has to be wrong. I remembered hearing her stomach rumble when I woke up in the middle of the night, so I suspect that she got into something bad in the yard. Janet and I decided to wait and see if her appetite returned for dinner before becoming too alarmed.

The sky looked unusually dusty this morning, but the wind was blowing so hard that all the dust disappeared by mid afternoon. When I went on my long walk, I almost got blown over a few times. With the wind in my face, today's walk was quite a workout. I saw five large trees that had gotten blown over in the park and was extremely thankful that none of our own trees were damaged. Over the years we have lost about half of our mature Oak and Elm trees to storm damage. The trees are old and nearing the end of their natural life. Sadly, I think the rest of them need to be removed to insure that they won't fall on the house during a future storm. Violent storms are just a fact of life in Texas. Luckily, the worst of last night's storm went to the North of us.

I've got to think of something interesting to augment my daily walks. The walks eat up a lot of time, but they aren't like the many projects that used to occupy me for months at a time. I've lost interest in so many things. When I look around the office, it feels like a stranger put a lot of the stuff here. I'm no longer interested in making large Giclée prints or having gallery shows. I don't think my large production printer even works anymore. It's been decades since I've played in a band. I don't even write songs or play musical instruments these days. I don't collect things either. In fact, the last several years have been devoted to getting rid of many of my collections. I don't even find these waning interests strange. It's been this way my entire life. I don't expect my current interest in space and astronomy to last forever, but I'm sure I'll always be interested in something. I wonder what comes next.

Luckily, Dawn's appetite returned in time for dinner. She was eager to eat the same things she refused to touch for breakfast. Who knows what was wrong earlier today, but I suspect that it was an upset stomach. Dawn seemed kind of moody today as well. She gets that way when Janet is gone for any length of time. It's a shame that Dawn has decided to be a one person dog, especially since I spend a lot more time around the house than Janet does. We're working on becoming friends, but it is a very slow process.

I guess I'll watch the Artemis-1 static fire on NASA TV tomorrow. At one point I was planning to go down to Stennis Space Center to watch this in person, but I'm glad I never pursued it. With Covid restrictions still in place, I probably wouldn't have been approved anyway. Maybe by the time this gigantic rocket makes its way down to Kennedy Space Center things will be back to normal. This is one launch I'd really like to see. Until then, I'll continue walking, keep learning more about astrophotography, and keep trying to win Dawn's favor with cheese.

Alison is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4100

It's been two full weeks since Janet and I received our second dose of the vaccine. In theory, we should have acquired immunity to the virus by now. Do we really have immunity? I don't think anyone knows for sure. I do feel safer now, but not a lot has changed. Until a lot more people get vaccinated, we're still going to be dealing with masks, dire warnings from Dr. Fauci, and a tendency to avoid people who cough and sneeze. I guess I'll feel more comfortable about traveling now, but I never really stopped traveling. I went out to McDonald Observatory last October for an astrophotography workshop and then to Florida in November for the Space X Crew-1 launch. At any rate, I'm ready to put this weird chapter in my life behind me. I'm going to miss the airlines flying with the middle seats empty. That was nice while it lasted.

I changed the sheets on the bed today and finished washing the bedding that Dawn got dirty the other day. When did changing a fitted sheet on a low platform bed become an athletic event? This used to be an easy, somewhat routine minor chore. Now, the combination of a bad shoulder and weak unstable knees have turned changing the sheets into a nightmare. When old people get down on the floor, you have to think carefully about how you are going to get up again. Stand up chores like mowing the grass seem much easier by comparison. I guess I shouldn't complain. I'm still moving.

The bulky trash trucks didn't come today, so we raked a few more leaves and I cut down some small trees that actually died last year. I went to Home Depot and got a hedge trimmer to cut the dead growth off a hedge that runs along the back of our yard. I think this hedge will come back later this Spring, but the dead growth definitely needs to be removed.  Next up is replacing the grass. The dead grass has nothing to do with the big freeze. We always have a lot of dead grass in the Spring. I think Dawn will appreciate the new turf and it should keep her from rolling in the dirt so often.

I saw some Periwinkles blooming on my walk today. One by one, the Spring wildflowers are starting to appear. The Redbud and Dogwood trees are in full flower now. It won't be long before the Bluebonnets start to appear and in less than a month the meadows behind our house should be covered in colorful flowers. This spectacle doesn't last long, but I always enjoy it.

I was glad to see the Muscovy Ducks again on today's walk. The last time I saw them, they were being chased by a large dog that had gotten loose from its owner. The dog almost caught the female duck and all three ducks disappeared for several weeks. All is well now, but two of the ten geese I see everyday have disappeared. The two missing geese disappeared during the big freeze. I wonder if they died? I ponder things like this while I walk the familiar trails. Keeping track of animals and looking for flowers keeps me from getting bored. 

Dawn took a normal walk today. She didn't hesitate at all. Maybe I overthink her behavior. Janet and I wonder if she has brain damage after a vet raised this possibility, but it's entirely possible that she's just another stubborn Dalmatian. It would be nice if she enjoyed her walk everyday, but I certainly don't enjoy things everyday. Why should she?

They say we'll be getting our stimulus money tomorrow. I won't be buying Bitcoin or Gamestock shares with mine. It will just gradually disappear paying routine bills. I can't even remember what the last two stimulus checks got used for, but they're gone now. I'll take the money, but I think a lot of this stimulus has been wasted. We should have kept it simple and just helped the restaurant owners, out of work musicians, bartenders, flight attendants, gym instructors, and others who actually lost their jobs during the pandemic. 

Ruthie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4099

What a weird day. We were getting ready to go visit the rescue Dalmatians when Janet discovered that she had a flat tire. Neither of us could remember how to change a tire, so we called AAA. A guy came out to the house and put on the strange little skinny tire that a lot of cars have nowdays so Janet could go to a garage and get the flat fixed. On the way to the garage, all the warning lights lit up on her dash and she had to have the car towed to the dealership. This all took a long time, so we didn't go visit the Dalmatians at all today.

It was a nice day, but I knew that Dawn wouldn't walk with me if Janet wasn't around. I left the back door open so she could go in and out and sun herself in the backyard when she felt like it. Unfortunately, what she really felt like doing was rolling in the dirt. When my back was turned, she managed to get absolutely filthy. She also came back inside and hopped on the bed. I had to get her cleaned up, but I knew it wasn't going to be an easy task. When Janet isn't around Dawn becomes very wary of me. I got some wet towels and gently began to clean her off. Not surprisingly, this frightened Dawn and she began to whine and cry. It's sad to see how easily Dawn can get herself in a panic. I managed to get Dawn reasonably clean, but I still have to wash the bedding. I don't know why Dawn is so fearful, but I don't think it is going to change. I'm learning to live with her weird ways.

I called Janet and asked if I could come pick her up, but she said that the dealership was going to look at her car soon and she was going to stay until it was finished. I didn't understand why all the warning lights came on at once, but apparently they just needed to be reset. I left Dawn to chill out in the bedroom and went on my long walk. It was a windy day, but very warm. I think the temperature got up to eighty degrees today.

I hope that we don't get any more freezing weather because the trees are definitely starting to bud. Every day I walk, the park looks a little more green. Our own trees are starting to bud as well, so I think that everything with the exception of a few shrubs survived the freeze. The yard could definitely use some sprucing up though. The house could use even more. I don't know if I have the energy to do anything substantial, but I'll give it a try. 

By the time Janet returned with her car it was almost dinnertime. We took Dawn on a short walk and called it a day. Dawn is starting to freeze on her short walks now. We got her going again and completed our short one mile loop, but it is frustrating to realize that we haven't really solved anything. Janet did manage to get Dawn clean again though. She doesn't seem to mind Janet cleaning her with wet rags. We should have just hosed her down, but that would have brought on a major panic attack. 

Very little was accomplished today, but there's always tomorrow. I need to make one more sweep of the yard and see if there is anything else that I can take to the curb for the bulky trash trucks. The trucks might actually come tomorrow. At least the washing machine is working well again. I'd better go wash the bedspread while I've got a chance.

Carmine is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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