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

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