Day 4206

No rain today. There was an abundance of heat and humidity though. Even though the sky was pretty with lots of big puffy clouds, it wasn't a great day to be outside. That didn't stop us from walking of course. We got up early and walked Dawn before the heat became opressive and then I ate my breakfast. I didn't really feel like going to the gym again, so I convinced myself that it was still cool enough for a walk in the park.

It's too bad that sweating isn't as beneficial as elevating your heart rate when you exercise. If sweating was the goal, I'd be in great shape. Today would have been better if there was a breeze, but the air was pretty still. I completed my six miles, but by the time I returned home I was beat. Maybe I should have gone to the gym after all. I've finally learned the importance of hydration and drink a lot of water while I cool down. As I was returning to normal I watched a repeat of yesterday's Space X Transporter 2 launch on the streaming channel. This time the rocket got off the pad without incident and everything worked like clockwork. The booster landed back at Kennedy Space Center which doesn't happen very often. Seeing the booster return is pretty exciting if you are watching the launch in person. Maybe someday. I definitely don't have any plans to travel this summer. It's going to be a while before travel seems normal again. Hotels and air fares still seem way too high to me. 

I watered the new grass this afternoon. It's hard to tell if I'm watering too much or too little. When it's hot, the water seems to disappear pretty fast. I hope I can keep this grass alive. It was a lot of trouble to put it in. While I had the hose out, I watered the plants in the atrium. There's an outlet inside the atrium, but I haven't used it since there was a severe plumbing problem years ago and we almost flooded the house. Now I just use an outside hose and water the plants through the screen wire wall that forms one side of the atrium area.

On days like these I wish I could sleep soundly during the day. I take short naps, but I don't really go to sleep. If I could get the sleep I need during the day, I wouldn't feel bad about staying up late at night. I've always been able to get more done at night. It's quiet and peaceful. When I was working, I did a lot of my writing jobs at night. It's unfortunate that writing at night and stargazing aren't really compatible with each other. One activity is inside and the other is outside and both require a certain amount on concentration. Oh, well. At least I'm wide awake if there is a good opportunity for stargazing. I do pretty well out at the observatory.

I really need to make another attempt to find the source of the roof leak tomorrow. All the forecasts say that it's going to start raining again later in the week. I'm probably going to end up just pouring some of the silicon material over random spots as a futile gesture. I really did look carefully when I was up on the roof the other day and couldn't find any obvious place where the water might be getting in.

Janet and Dawn went to training class again tonight. Dawn certainly seems excited as they are getting ready to leave the house. I'm not sure that Dawn is wild about being trained, but she sure seems to like to go places in the car. Hopefully she will learn to heel eventually. She still pulls pretty bad when she is on a leash. Pulling on the leash is a lot better than panicking and freezing in place though. I think we are making progress. 

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4205

Every once in a while I do something unpleasant just because it needs to be done. Today I bought a bunch of St. Augustine sod and covered all the bare areas in the back yard. Today seemed like a good day to put in new sod because the ground was still very wet and made it easier to prepare the soil for the new grass. I haven't put in sod for a while and had forgotten that this is a tiring, messy job. I used to put in a new turf almost every year. Then we started using a landscape company for a while. Lately we have done nothing and I just mow the weeds. Wet, muddy sod is messy stuff to carry around in a car. The old Land Rover Defender was certainly easier to clean up afterwards. It was probably good that the sod was wet though bacause it won't dry out as fast when we are trying to get it established. Wet sod is very heavy. Each square seemed to weigh twice as much as I remember.

I think I did a good job. The yard looks presentable now and Dawn will be a lot less likely to roll around in the dirt. Like other outdoor chores I've attempted recently, installing the sod reminded me that I'm well past my prime. My hands still hurt from carrying each piece or the heavy, slippery sod from the car to the back yard. I thought it would be easy to carry a square of sod in each hand while I was moving the stuff to the back yard. I must have been dreaming. I had to carry one square at a time. I definitely have some arthritis in my fingers now. The old joints don't move like they used to. I got the job done though and now there is one fewer item on my to do list.

By the time I was finished with the yard work it was way too hot to take my long walk in the park. I did a load of laundry, took a short nap, and then went to the gym. I got a notice the other day that my gym no longer has a mask requirement. Nobody was wearing masks today. This was quite a change from a few days ago and seemed to prove that everybody had just been following the rules without any strong feelings about whether masks actually worked. One old fool was wearing a loose fitting cloth bandana while he was running around the track but that was about it. Now that the mask mandate is history, I hope that the gym brings back the basketballs soon. I really used to enjoy shooting baskets on the court. They said I could bring my own basketball, but it would be a lot easier to just use one of theirs.

Dawn had a day of beauty at the vet while I was putting in the new sod this morning. Janet discovered that the price included a nail trim and getting Dawn's anal glands expressed, so the deluxe bath was actually less expensive than taking Dawn to one of those self-bathe places and then having a vet do the nails and anal glands as separate items. We still need to figure out why Dawn is obsessively licking her feet, but that's going to be a lot more complicated than getting a bath.

I watched the Space X Transporter 2 launch this afternoon on the streaming channel. The launch got scrubbed with ten seconds on the clock. There was a range violation and apparently there was a boat or an airplane in the restricted zone. Every time a launch is scrubbed it reminds me that a trip to Florida is never a sure thing. When a launch gets delayed, suddenly your trip becomes much more expensive. This has happened to me several times already and I haven't even been to that many launches. I guess nothing is a sure thing. There's been a lot of rain out at McDonald Observatory recently, so this wouldn't have been a good time for a visit out there either. The Davis Mountains really needed the rain though. It has been very dry this year.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow. I'm definitely not going to do any more yard work. Hopefully I won't be dealing with roof leaks either. A day with absolutely nothing on the agenda is perfectly fine with me.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4204

I knew it was going to rain today. It was just a matter of when. There was plenty to do while I was waiting for the leak to reappear. We took Dawn for an early walk before I dropped Janet off at the dentist for dental surgery. I went home and ate breakfast while waiting until it was time to go pick her up again. When Janet was back home and resting with Dawn at her side, I started checking my weather radar apps to see if I still had time to take my long walk. Maybe. The rain was on the way, but I might have time to take a shorter walk. I walked about half my usual distance and arrived home again about two minutes before the downpour started. I don't know if I'm getting better at calculating how fast storms move or if I just got lucky. I'm glad I didn't get soaked though because it was a pretty heavy rain.

Janet slept through the storm and Dawn never left her side. I thought for a while that the roof wasn't going to leak after all, but it was only a matter of time before I started hearing the inevitable sound of dripping water hitting the brick floor. I mopped up the water with a towel and placed a bucket under the drip. How am I going to stop this leak? I looked carefully yesterday when I was up on the roof and couldn't find anything that looked suspicious. I can't complain to the roofer anymore. He stopped returning my calls over a year ago. I can't really blame him. The silicon elastomer roof is no longer under warranty and has had so many problems over the years that the roofer has basically replaced the entire roof already. The silicon material turned out to be a very bad solution. It's definitely waterproof, but it is fragile and is easily damaged by falling branches from our large Oak trees.

While I was waiting for the rain to stop I looked on the Internet for some replacement foam inserts for an old Zero Halliburton aluminum camera case. I discovered by my case was considered a vintage model and was more valuable than I thought. I also found a company that still makes foam inserts for this case. I think the foam inserts cost more than the case did many years ago. I couldn't find any pre-cut inserts for my old Nikon F2 system, so I will have to cut them myself. You'd think that someone would have come up with a better way to protect equipment by now. Polyurethane foam turns into a messy goo after five or ten years and can ruin your equipment if you don't change the foam at regular intervals. The foam in my case has already turned into a messy goo, but luckily I had the forethought at some point to wrap the camera and all the lenses in blue Scott shop towels. Why do I even keep the old Nikon camera when I know I'll never use it again? It's just the way I am. I keep a lot of old stuff and the F2 was one of my favorite cameras.

The roof leak is in an awkward place because the water is dripping right in front of Dawn's dog bowls. It's hard enough to get her to eat already and I'm sure that getting wet wouldn't improve things. I've moved her bowls to a new location and this seems to work for now. The dripping water is clear, so this probably means that the source of the leak is located directly above where it is entering the house. If it was traveling down a beam from another location it would be probably be stained brown. As soon as things dry out I'll go look for the source of the leak again. That may be a while. It is supposed to rain all week.

I hope Charlie and Cooper didn't miss up today. We'll be back to visit them next week. Penny has already gone to her forever home. She lives with horses now and appears very happy from the pictures we've seen. Dawn gets a bath at the vet and her nails trimmed tomorrow. Maybe this will keep her from biting at her nails in the middle of the night and waking me up. The leak has stopped for now, but I'll leave the bucket out tonight just in case. 

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4203

We did a lot of walking today. We took Dawn on her short one mile loop before sunrise like we usually do. Then we came home and ate a quick breakfast before getting in the car and taking Dawn on her Sunday outing. The whole point of doing everything so early was to beat the heat. It worked. It was only 8:30 AM when we arrived at Dawn's Sunday park and it was still quite cool. The sun was up, but it was cloudy and there was a nice breeze. We were wondering if Dawn would want two walks in quick succession and the answer was an emphatic yes. Dawn loved the extra attention and walked briskly through the park. Janet worked on some of her training exercises and I worked with her a little as well. She actually did surprisingly well healing with me. We weren't able to get ice cream cones on the way home because it was too early and the ice cream place wasn't even open yet. We didn't forget about the cones though. Dawn got a second car ride later in the morning for her ice cream cone. 

Between the first set of walks and the trip for ice cream cones, there was time for me to take my long walk. I wanted to do this as early as I could because the temperature was starting to rise. It was pretty pleasant for the first couple of miles and then the sun came out and it quickly started to get hot. The surprising thing is that even though this is a normal Texas summer, it is still a lot cooler here than many other parts of the country. We're getting a lot more rain here as well and are not experiencing the drought conditions that many of the Western states are dealing with. Who knows. Maybe Texas summers aren't so bad after all.

The park was filled with cyclists and runners when I was taking my long walk. I think everyone who is trying to stay active has gotten the message by now. If you want to do something outside, do it early. You don't see nearly as many animals in the summer. Animals are smart. They instinctively know to avoid the heat.

I was beginning to get tired by the time I finished my long walk, but I still needed to go up on the roof and look for the source of our recent roof leak. I measured everything carefully inside and then took a tape measure up on the roof so I could find the spot where water was leaking. It was pretty hot at this point and I had to wear gloves because parts of the roof were too hot to touch. I was disappointed, but not terribly surprised when I couldn't find any damage where the leak was supposed to be. Sometimes is it next to impossible to find the source of a leak. If water manages to get under the silicon elastomer coating it can travel a long distance before it finds a weak spot where it can enter the house. It's hard to defeat water and gravity. Somehow, water always wins.

I cleaned up all the loose paint and spackling material on the ceiling where the water had been leaking in the living room and kitchen. I'm hoping that if the leak reappears I might get a better idea where it is actually coming from. I've been avoiding doing this because it is a messy job. The job is done though and I've cleaned up all the mess that fell on the floor. There is still a big stain in the ceiling and there will need to be sheet rock repairs if we ever get a new roof, but the house does look a little better now. It's supposed to rain again tomorrow, so we'll see what happens. I really didn't fix anything, so I won't be terribly surprised if the leak reappears.

Janet has dental surgery tomorrow, so we probably won't be visiting the rescue Dalmatians. I'll be driving her to and from the dentist and I suspect that she'll want to sleep when she returns home. Dawn will still get her morning walk though. We'll do that before leaving for the dentist.

Rascal is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4202

I've had to switch to a different grocery store because the store has become too efficient in measuring its customer's buying habits. All stores do this. Your purchases are scanned at checkout and the information is used to determine what items will be restocked. Basically stores want to sell what people are buying. This often leaves me on the short end of the stick. For weeks I haven't been able to find my favorite cheeses, beers, spices, or even bottled waters. I switched stores today and found an abundance of everything I like. I have to drive a little further, but that's better than being continually frustrated.

Inflation is real. Everything I buy has gone up in price. Sometimes the price increases are small, but they add up. Prices for fresh fruit and vegetables still go down when the produce is in season. Paper products and processed food always go up though. It's amazing how expensive those blue Scott shop towels have gotten. Gas is pretty high too. I'm glad I don't drive a lot.

Dawn enjoyed her early morning walk. I'd easily sleep an hour longer if we didn't walk Dawn so early. I guess it's worth it though. The weather is very nice just before sunrise. Today we had the added benefit of a pleasant breeze. We definitely aren't the only people who have discovered the benefits of walking early. You see a lot of people walking their dogs at this hour. I thought that Dawn might like to walk a little longer this morning because it was so nice outside. Nope. One mile is still plenty for her.

I knew the gym was going to close early today so I decided to take my long walk right after breakfast and then do my weekly grocery shopping later. This turned out to be a good plan. It had warmed up quite a bit by 9 AM, but the temperature was still in the low 80's. When the sun was behind a cloud, I was quite comfortable. Some group was having a charity race in the park this morning. You don't see many of those in the summer. It must have been a short race, because it was all over by the time I returned home. 

I probably should have started looking for the source of the leak on the roof this afternoon, but by the time I took my walk and finished all my Saturday errands it was way too hot. I've slowed down so much that there is never enough time to finish everything I need to do anymore. If I accomplish anything at all it's a plus. Things never seem to get easier either. Now my Saturday errands will take a little longer because I have to drive further to go to the grocery store. Roof leaks don't disappear on their own unfortunately, so I will have to make an effort to find the source of the leak and patch things very soon.

We'll probably have to combine Dawn's Sunday outing and early morning walk tomorrow. I'm sure that will be fine with Dawn, but it may be too early for ice cream on our way home. I wish my gym would reopen on Sunday, but it might be a while. They seem quite happy with reduced hours and a smaller staff. There still aren't as many people using the gym as there were in pre-pandemic days, so they probably won't go back to their old schedule until demand increases significantly. It is what it is. I'm beginning to think that life will never return to normal. Normal has changed.

I wouldn't want to own a condo on the beach right now. You'd have to wonder if your building is going to fall next. Nature is relentless. If it only took forty years for salt air and shifting sand to destroy this building, imagine what Miami is going to look like in 200 years. You might think that moving inland to a remote corner of Wyoming will keep you safe, but then there's that huge super volcano under Yellowstone waiting to explode. If you look at the world through the eyes of a geologist, it's kind of amazing that we're here at all.

Derrick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4201

I knew it was going to be a hot day when we walked Dawn this morning. I also knew that if I used this as an excuse, I wouldn't get anything done for the rest of the summer. As soon as I finished breakfast, I reluctantly mowed the grass. We have a small yard, but this still seems like a big job. Things have changed a lot over the years. There's a tree in the front yard that seems to have doubled in size. The street is much busier now. I hate mowing down by the curb because cars are wizzing by me at 40 miles an hour. I got the job done though. Both the front and back yard look a lot better now. I even weeded a little garden area near the front porch. I guess I could have done more, but I was hot and tired. I came inside, changed my clothes, and took a nap while I tried to decide what to do next.

By the time I finished the yard it was way too hot to go up on the roof. It's still supposed to rain on Monday, so if I'm going to find what is causing the current leak, I've got to do it this weekend. Maybe the weather will be a little cooler tomorrow. I wish I could think of some more interesting magazine ideas, but I'm coming up with nothing. It's becoming clear that I'm more of a travel writer than a science writer. That's OK, but it's not a good time to go to Florida and I doubt I'll be returning to the observatory until at least October. I did propose a few astrophotography ideas to Sky & Telescope recently, but all I did was embarrass myself. I still know next to nothing about the subject.

Since I didn't feel like cleaning the house, this left me with another trip to the gym. You'd think a gym would be filled with young athletic people, but mine is filled with people even older than me. I guess it's encouraging to see these people still moving around, but it's discouraging to realize that I'm going to become even slower than I already am in the years ahead. I like my gym though. It's large, well equipped, and very cold. You have to work really hard to break into a sweat at this place. I'm more likely to feel like I need a jacket. I'll be glad when cooler weather returns. It's much more enjoyable to walk outdoors than to  work on resistance training and endlessly travel in circles around a small oval running track. 

I'm getting a "service required" message in my car again. It's irritating because I know nothing is wrong. This happens every year around this time if I haven't made an appointment for scheduled maintenance. Last year I convinced the dealership to turn the warning off if I came in for an oil and filter change. I don't think I'll get away with that this year. After two years they're going to want an opportunity to charge me thousands of dollars for things that probably aren't that bad to begin with. If I drove more, I'd make maintenance a higher priority. I don't drive much at all these days and if I am taking a trip I'll almost always rent a car. 

It's time to make a grocery list again. Now, a bag of ice is regularly on my Saturday list. I just can't bring myself to call the appliance repairman yet. Ice is cheap and refrigerator repairs are expensive. We don't use much ice, so a bag of party ice will usually last me two or three weeks. I didn't used to be such a cheapskate, but retirement and living on a fixed income will do that to you.

A friend proposed that I extend my 5000 post goal to 7500 days. Nope. Not going to happen. I'm running out of things to say already.

Shiner is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4200

I like big even numbers. I'm only 800 days away from my goal. That's less than three years. I can do this. I don't know what I could do for an encore after posting something for 5000 consecutive days. Probably nothing. Truthfully, this was a silly idea to begin with.

It looks like I've got two or three days to find the crack in the roof before it rains again. I thought about beginning the search today, but it was already too hot by the time I finished breakfast. It will probably be too hot tomorrow as well. I'm hoping for a cloudy day. I'm not even sure that the silicon patch material will stick to the roof unless I can get the surface really clean. I'm not sure I can get the power washer up on the roof either. Actually, I'm not even sure if the power washer still works. I haven't used it in a year and a half.

Dawn had a nice early morning walk, but even before sunrise I could tell it was going to be too hot to walk six miles in the park. I didn't really feel like going to the gym either. It's too bad I feel compelled to get a minimum of 10,000 steps daily and fill all three activity rings on the Apple watch. When you don't have big goals, little goals will have to do.

I wrote a letter to my sister and took it to the post office on my way to the gym. She lives on the beach in Florida, but luckily not in an old sixteen story building. Seeing the stories about that building collapse makes you realize that nothing is certain in life. You wouldn't think going to sleep in a big concrete high rise would be dangerous, but a lot of people in that building went to bed last night and never woke up.

There are so many things to worry about in today's world that you just have to pick something and forget about the rest. I worry about snakes and large trees falling on my roof. I probably really ought to worry about crazy road rage drivers on my way to the grocery store. I do think the world would be a happier place if we weren't constantly bombarded with bad news. Did I really need to know about that building in Florida or the shootings that occur almost every night in Dallas? One of the nicest things about staying out at the observatory is that there are no radios or televisions at the Astronomer's Lodge. I am usually blissfully unaware of what is going on in the world for the length of my stay.

I'm getting back to where I was a year ago at the gym. It doesn't feel like much of an accomplishment though. I wasn't much of an athlete then and I'm still not much of an athlete. I keep moving though. You've got to keep moving. I saw a guy on the basketball court today. I guess you can use the court if you bring your own basketball. I have a basketball somewhere. I'll have to look for it. Maybe it's in the storage warehouse. Dick Vitale gave it to me when I was making a commercial with him years ago.

I went to bed an hour earlier yesterday in hopes of getting more sleep. What happens? I wake up an hour earlier as well. Maybe I'm only meant to get five hours of sleep. It's hard to tell if I'm tired, bored, or just too hot. I have a feeling that it's going to be a very long Summer. It's not even July yet and I'm already ready for Winter. 

Rio is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4199

One of the reasons that I don't get enough sleep is that I'm a night owl and Dawn and Janet are early birds. I didn't feel like getting up this morning since it felt like I'd just gotten to bed. Dawn was ready to walk though. What happened to yesterday's beautiful weather? Even though the sun hadn't risen yet, I could tell it was going to be a very hot day. The humidity was much higher than yesterday and it's the humidity that determines my comfort level. We still had a nice walk though. Things don't get bad until the sun is high in the sky. I'm careful to watch for snakes now. Dawn almost stepped on a snake a few days ago. I think it was a copperhead but we didn't linger or examine the snake close enough to make sure. I guess I've already told you how much I hate snakes. I'd like to live in a place where it was 72 degrees all year long with no snakes, mosquitos, or poison ivy.

Dawn walks completely normally now. She doesn't freeze in place or have panic attacks anymore. I think she really likes our new early morning schedule. I've never seen her this eager to walk before. Dawn's new confidence makes it worth getting up early. It's nice to see a happy dog. I guess it doesn't matter how much sleep I get at night. I can always take naps. I take a lot of naps during the day.

I briefly thought about taking my long walk right after breakfast, but a quick trip outside to get the mail convinced me that this was a bad idea. While I was outside I saw a lot of small ants crawling up and down one of our brick exterior walls. I looked up and there were a ton more ants up on the ceiling under the front porch. It looked like we were under an ant invasion. I got some bug spray and killed all the ants. After they all died, I swept them into a pile and disposed of them. We've had ant problems before, but I've never seen this many. I hope they were coming from outside the house trying to get in rather than from inside the house trying to get out. We'll see if they come back tomorrow. I hope I've seen the last of them.

It was way too hot and humid to walk in the park, so I went to the gym instead. I always feel like my gym workouts are harder than my walks in the park, but my Fitbit says otherwise. Apparently I burn a lot more calories in the park. I tend to walk faster outdoors too, although it certainly doesn't feel like it. I'm working more on my upper body these days, because that's what needs the work. I usually return home sore, because a lot of these muscles haven't been used in a while. I still prefer walking outdoors, but I'm glad I'm getting some use out of my gym membership. I don't understand why so many people wear a mask while exercising at my gym. It's not mandatory anymore. Janet says almost nobody wears a mask at her gym now. The decision whether to wear a mask or not will probably end up being one more thing that divides us as a country. I have a feeling that some people will continue wearing their masks forever.

Dawn knows she goes to training class on Wednesday now. She starts pacing around and whining almost an hour before Janet is ready to go. She seems genuinely excited, but then Janet says she becomes fearful once she gets there. Dawn is very apprehensive about doing anything new. She's a lot like me in that regard. Dawn's a very smart dog and she does learn though. I have a feeling that she is going to be a star pupil after she gets used to the routine.

I still haven't made an appointment to have a colonoscopy. I think I'm due for a visit with the dermatologist too. I keep avoiding these things in hopes that they will just go away. Doctors are used to people like me unfortunately. They just keep hounding you until you eventually decide it's just easier to get the procedure over with. There are so many things to avoid this summer. I wonder how long I can avoid mowing the grass?

Boo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4198

The weather was a pleasant surprise this morning. It was only 69 degrees outside when we woke up. The rain that brought yesterday's water leak, also brought some much cooler temperatures. Dawn loved her early walk this morning. She really responds well to cooler weather. So do I.

It had warmed up quite a bit by the time I finished breakfast and took my own longer walk, but it was still nice outside. There was no point in going to the gym today. If the weather is tolerable I always prefer walking outdoors. It's easier for the mind to wander on a pleasant long walk. When I'm at the gym I find myself counting laps or being distracted by overheard conversations. A trip to the gym is all about the exercise. A long walk is a way to lose yourself in idle thoughts and daydreams. 

I had planned to get a lot more done today, but I got hopelessly bogged down balancing my checkbook. Usually when I'm out of balance, I'm only a few dollars off and it is easy to find my mistake. Today I wasn't even close. There was a difference of several thousand dollars between what Quickbooks said I had and my most recent bank statement. It took a long time to figure out that I had failed to enter a number of transactions last month and then compounded my error by entering something twice this month. The duplicate entry got saved in the May 2020 ledger though, so it was very hard to find. Why do I bother entering all this stuff in Quickbooks and then writing down the results in a checkbook register as well? Force of habit, I guess. I didn't need to do any of this. My online bank statement was correct all along. 

I make a lot more mistakes than I used to. I spend more time editing the things I write these days because they are riddled with spelling errors. This didn't used to be the case. It's probably good that I'm not working with clients anymore. My old clients were never very forgiving. There's probably a good reason most companies make you retire at 70. You may think you're just as sharp as you were when you were younger, but you're just kidding yourself. The brain deteriorates just like the rest of your body.

As soon as the roof is completely dry again, I'm going to have to go look for the source of the leak. I think I'm going to have to bring a power washer up on the roof to clean away all the scum that has accumulated this Spring so I can see if there are any small cracks in the elastomer surface. I hauled a power washer up on the roof a long time ago using a rope. I was stronger then and the roof was in better condition. It's not going to be easy this time. I've still got plenty of the special silicon coating material, but I've got to know exactly where to place it. I'm not looking forward to any of this. There is no point in calling a roofer though. Been there, done that. Most roofers aren't familiar with my type of silicon elastomer roof and they just make the situation worse. 

No wonder I like to go out to West Texas and stare at the stars. Summers in Dallas seem to be a never ending punch list of loathsome household chores. The ceiling looks awful where the leak occurred. The sheetrock needs to be replaced, but there is no point in doing this now if the roof is just going to leak again. I'll have to make some temporary repairs though, because I hate looking at the mess. We've got to find a way to get rid of all the mosquitos in the back yard and I'm sure Dawn would appreciate it if I'd fill in the bare areas with some fresh St. Augustine sod.

Will I do any of this tomorrow? Probably not. I'll just take another long walk and think about more pleasant things.

Kirby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4197

We like to bring the rescue dogs a new toy to play with when we visit on Monday. Today we brought a stuffed possum with us. We thought that Charlie would destroy this toy and get the squeaker out in less than five minutes, but he surprised us. He carried the toy around gently the way a mother dog might move a puppy. He didn't thrash the toy around or make it squeak at all. He seemed a little confused, but it sure looked like he had found a friend. We'd never seen Charlie act this way before. Dogs tend to be predictable, but they are often full of surprises. When we put the toy possum away, Charlie immediately reverted to his old self and begain to play rough with all his other toys. Cooper had no interest in befriending the little possum. He was determined to get the squeaker out.

I knew it was going to rain today, so we walked Dawn as soon as we got up and then I took my long walk right after breakfast. It wasn't terribly hot this morning, but it was incredibly humid. I had to change clothes when I returned home because I was drenching wet. I wish Spring had lasted a little longer. There isn't a lot to like about a Texas Summer. 

It didn't start raining until we were driving home from the kennel. The rain didn't last long but it looked like it had been intense in our neighborhood. When we went in the house I was extremely disappointed to discover that we had a roof leak again.  It's been almost two years since there has been a leak. I was actually beginning to believe that I had solved the problem. Why did the roof leak today? We've had a lot heavier rain earlier in the Spring. This leak was right over Dawn's food bowl, so I don't think she was very happy about it either.

I really had no choice. I climbed up on the roof and spent the next two hours sweeping all the standing water away. The roof was a mess. I hadn't been up there in a while, having convinced myself that the hot weather must have evaporated any standing water. There was a lot of water from today's rain, but since there was algae developing in some of the puddles, it was apparent that there had been water on the roof for quite some time.

I'm really getting too old to remove standing water from the roof every time it rains. It's hard work pushing hundreds of pounds of water over the edge of the roof with a big broom. It's slippery up there as well. By the time I finished removing all the water my heart was pounding. I'm going to be really pissed if it rains again later tonight. I don't want to go up there again. 

I hate to spend a ton of money putting on a new roof and still have problems with standing water afterwards. I've gotten multiple bids from different roofing companies to replace the roof and they all say that since the house has settled, there will still be standing water in the low spots after they are finished. It's discouraging. I guess you could completely remove the roof and start over, but that doesn't seem like a good solution since we are still living in the house. The only times I get really depressed is when I'm up on the roof. It seems hopeless up there.

The only thing good about today's rain is that it is supposed to be a lot cooler tomorrow. One forecast says we will get more rain tonight. The other says we are in the clear. I guess we'll see what happens. I'll leave a bucket out in the kitchen just in case.

Barley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4196 - Summer Solstice

It's the first day of Summer, the longest day of the year, and also Father's Day. Occasionally my birthday falls on one of these days as well. I'm going to skip the Father's Day remembrances this year. A lot of what happened during the early years have been lost to the mists of time. I do remember the latter years when I had to take over my Dad's affairs after he could no longer handle things himself. Not a lot of good memories there. Truthfully, I've never had strong family ties and don't spend a lot of time thinking about family. I jokingly tell people that I was raised by wolves, but I suspect that my parents did a pretty good job raising me. I've always been able to cope and have succeeded at just about everything I've tried. I'm sure my Dad had a lot to do with that, whether I was aware of it or not.

I thought I'd try to outwit the weather and take my long walk right after breakfast this morning. I don't drink my morning smoothie during the weekend, so I was able to get an early start. Janet volunteered at a dog event again today, so Dawn had no interest in walking with me. If she could have overcome her fears, she would have enjoyed the walk. It was still pretty cool outside at 7:30 AM. Keep in mind that this is Texas in the Summer, so 'pretty cool' means 80 degrees.

I was easily able to complete six miles this morning. I should do this more often. The problem is that it takes so long to drink a half-gallon fruit smoothie that I don't know where I'd find the time. If I drink the smoothie first, it's already gotten too hot outside for a pleasant walk by the time I'm finished. If I walk first, I don't feel like eating or drinking anything when I return. Today was easy. I just had a quick bowl of cold cereal before leaving the house. I won't abandon the smoothie though. I've convinced myself that it is extremely healthy.

I was a little tired when I returned from my walk, but a short nap took care of that. I realized that it was now or never for removing the rest of the dead Photinia trees, so I got out my heavy reciprocating saw and went to work. I must have saved the hardest trees for last, because it required quite an effort to cut them down. The trouble with this type of saw is that the blades are relatively short, making it almost impossible to cut through a thick stump. It is also impossible to cut the trees down flush to the ground. At some point I'm going to have to hire someone to dig up the roots of these trees. The exposed stumps don't look all that great. All that being said, the yard does look a lot better now. I don't look better unfortunately. I always manage to cut myself when I am doing yard work. One of the hazards of taking blood thinners I guess. The slightest scratch results in a cut.

It's time to start watering the grass again, but I couldn't find a sprinkler that worked. All three were broken. I guess it's time for another trip to Home Depot. I'll need to buy a hose as well. The one hose long enough to reach all parts of the yard has a big leak in it. Whatever I buy probably won't last any longer than the worthless tools I threw away today. I think all this stuff is made in China out of recycled tin foil.

Dawn had no interest in staying outside with me while I worked in the yard today. Every time I took her out to pee, she immediately went to the back door and wanted to go inside as soon as she had done her business. The little diva spent her day sitting in the middle of our king sized bed while I was sweating outside. Whoever coined the phrase 'it's a dog's life' never met our dogs.

Alamo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4195 - My Birthday

I'm 73 years old today. I'd be lying if I said I felt young, but I guess I'm still in pretty good shape. At this age you feel grateful for each additional year. Too many friends and co-workers are already gone. Almost all the teachers I had in college have died. A number of classmates are gone as well. Way too many people I know have succumbed to cancer. I guess my friends were a cautious lot. Almost nobody I know died doing something reckless or foolish. I hope to be around for quite a few more years, but I don't take anything for granted now. After 73 years you learn that the world is full of surprises.

Today was fairly relaxing and largely uneventful. Janet had an event to attend today and left the house early, so Dawn didn't get a walk. I've tried to walk her by myself, but she won't leave the yard unless Janet is nearby. It's sad that Dawn is still uncertain about me after all this time. She has clearly had some really bad experiences with men. 

I did my usual grocery shopping this morning. Prices keep going up and up. I'm going to have to learn to shop the sales like Janet does. My shopping list seldom varies and it just seems ridiculous to keep paying more for exactly the same things. The price of gas keeps going up as well. It's probably a good thing that I don't drive much.

I did drive to the gym this afternoon only to discover that it was closed. I guess I should have read the sign on the door a little closer yesterday. The gym is open on Saturday, but only until 1 PM. My gym used to be open seven days a week and had fairly long hours. It can't be Covid that's keeping them closed now. I think they are just trying to cut costs and save money. 

It was hot outside, but after I returned home I decided to take a long walk anyway. I needed to get my steps in somehow. I was glad it was a windy day. The warm breeze kept me a little cooler. There weren't a lot of people in the park this afternoon, but there are always a few families having picnics. Maybe some people don't mind the heat. These groups having picnics and barbecues always seem to be having fun.

When I looked at my Apple watch this morning it said Happy Birthday and a bunch of balloons scrolled across the screen. Technology has certainly changed the birthday experience. I'm always surprised at how many birthday greetings I get on Facebook. Some of these people I've known since childhood and others I've never even met. I can't even remember when Facebook started the birthday greetings, but it seems like they've been around forever. I don't particularly like Facebook, but I do like the birthday messages. I try to remember to acknowledge other people's birthdays as well. It's a small thing, but it does make you feel connected.

Yesterday we had a birthday dinner. Tonight we had our traditional birthday cupcakes. Dawn had her own pupcake as well. I can't even remember how long it's been since we had a cake. Cupcakes are so much easier. When there are only two people, a cake will go stale long before you can finish it. We had some champagne with our cupcakes so I feel sleepy now. It's been a nice day. Actually, it's been a pretty nice year. Covid restrictions certainly didn't change much for me. I've been avoiding people for years. I got to go out to McDonald Observatory twice during the lockdowns and down to Kennedy Space Center once. If I can do the same this year, I'd be a happy camper.

Inky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4194

I'm getting used to the new schedule. Dawn likes the early morning walks. Maybe she's always been an earlybird. I wouldn't know, because I'm definitely not. I'd sleep till noon if I could, but it's definitely worth the effort to get out of bed if it helps us avoid the heat. Dawn walks briskly before sunrise and then waits patiently for me to make the bed when we return home. She used to just hop on the unmade bed and refuse to leave. We're making progress.

I went back to the gym after breakfast. I think I prefer my long walks, but that really isn't an option until it cools down a bit. I try to add a few extra repetitions to my routine every day. I'm not getting as many steps as I used to, but I'm still burning the same amount of calories. I've still got a lot of work to do, but hopefully I'll be back to where I was a year ago in a reasonable amount of time. I'm surprised at how much stopping going to the gym for a year has affected my overall strength. Snooze, you lose I guess.

Janet and I went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday this evening. My birthday isn't until tomorrow, but it worked out better to go out to eat tonight. I was surprised to see that my favorite item wasn't on the menu anymore. I asked the waiter what had happened and she gave some sort of a Covid related excuse. This made no sense at all, but luckily everything on the menu is delicious. I ordered something else. We had a nice relaxing meal and pretty soon I will be one year older. The restaurant was full and everyone was acting normally. It was almost as if Covid never happened. The disease may still be an issue in some parts of the country, but it basically seems to be over in Dallas.

The replacement for my damaged iPhone case arrived today. It's been so long since I ordered this thing that I'd almost forgotten about it. I think the package came directly from China. That's the only way I can explain the excessive amount I paid for postage. I'm still using the damaged case. I don't think it's waterproof anymore, but I seldom get near water anyway.

I noticed that Dawn was limping when I took her outside after breakfast. I tried to look at her paw, but she wouldn't let me get close to it. It's a shame that Dawn is still frightened of me. Janet examined the paw when she returned home and found nothing wrong. Dawn isn't limping anymore, so I suspect that she got an acorn stuck between her paw pads. This happened frequently with Dot & Dash. If you have large Oak trees, your yard is usually filled with acorns.

I'm not wild about doing yard work on my birthday, but I've still got to cut down the remaining dead Photinia trees before the bulky trash trucks arrive to haul everything away. It's about time to mow the grass again as well. I have a feeling that I'll just wait until Sunday to tackle these chores. I seldom have a good excuse to avoid work, so I might as well take advantage of it. 

Rugby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4193

We've settled in to our summer routine. We get up early and walk Dawn before sunrise. I don't bother to make the bed until we return because every minute we waste, it gets a little hotter. You can immediately feel any difference in the temperature and humidity the minute you step out the back door. Today was a little warmer than yesterday morning, but it was still quite nice. I'm glad Dawn enjoys these early morning walks because she probably wouldn't get a walk at all otherwise. Once the sun is high in the sky, it just isn't safe for dogs. You've always got to remember that dogs don't sweat and they overheat very quickly. The pavement is way too hot for their paws as well.

I still have my morning smoothie for breakfast, but I've noticed that I'm not as hungry on hot days. The heat saps your energy and you don't even feel like eating. I've been eating smaller dinners as well. This is probably good. I put on a few pounds during the pandemic and now is as good a time as any to lose them.

I asked Janet if she wanted to postpone hauling the dead trees and brush out to the curb for bulky trash day and of course she said no. It didn't take as long as I thought to move everything and the yard looks a lot better now. I still need to cut down one more dead Photinia tree, but the trucks won't arrive for a few more days so I've got time. I'd like to wait for a cloudy day to do the work, but there aren't any of those in the forecast. All I see in the week ahead is lots of sunshine and blistering hot temperatures.

The power company is telling us to conserve energy during the heat wave. This has everyone mad because the excuse the power company gave for the week long power outages during last winter's big freeze was that the Texas power grid was optimized for summer weather. They promised that there'd be no problems during the summer months. So much for that. Personally, I think the problems started when all these people started moving here from other states. Texas is a welcoming place but we're getting too crowded.

After we moved all the brush and wood to the curb, I went to the gym. A trip to the gym has become part of my new summer routine as well. It's just too hot to take my long walk thru the park these days. It's going to take a while to get back in shape, but my workout today was better than yesterday. I'm not going to concentrate on cardio for a while and work on my upper body instead. My heart is fine. It's my arms and torso that have grown weak. I could do some of these exercises at home, but I never do. There's something about going to a gym that forces you to do the work. 

I made tentative plans to go back to the observatory in the Fall. October is one of the best months for stargazing and I wanted to make sure that there would be some special Fall photography nights. It's looking good. This gives me something to look forward to. I'm not going to even think about going back to Kennedy Space Center until the kids are back in school again, hurricane season is over, and the weather gets a lot cooler. I suspect by next Winter the rental car crisis will be over and everyone who wanted to go to Disneyland will have taken their vacation. Mosquitos aren't as bad in the winter either. Maybe Artemis-1 will launch sometime this winter.

I need to water the grass tomorrow. This means I have to go to Home Depot and buy a new sprinkler. All the sprinklers around the house are broken. These things used to last, but they don't even make it through a single season now. The bad thing about watering the lawn is that Dawn heads straight for the mud when the ground is wet. It's always something I guess. At least I've taken this week's trash to the curb and am ready to call it a day.

Bali is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4192

Another very hot day. We got up early again and walked Dawn before sunrise. I guess we walk Dawn at dawn now. We saw quite a few other people taking their dogs on an early walk. It makes a lot of sense. During this heat wave, an hour before sunrise is the only time when conditions are even bearable. It's still really nice outside before sunrise. I think it was 78 degrees this morning. This doesn't last long, unfortunately. By 9 AM, it's all over for the day.

I learned my lesson yesterday about walking outside in the heat. Today I went back to the gym. Instead of just walking on the indoor track, I resumed the old workout routine I was doing before Covid restrictions closed the gym for a year. Wow. I am definitely out of shape. Evidently, a walk through the park isn't quite the same as lifting weights or putting in some time on the hand bicycle. I've got a lot of work to do. The sad thing is that I wasn't in that great shape a year ago. Now I'm even worse.

My arms are sore this evening which means I must have accomplished something this afternoon. I can't say that I enjoy going to the gym all that much, but it sure beats having a heatstroke. I have a feeling that I'll be back at the gym quite a bit this summer. June is never our hottest month. It's usually much worse here in July and August. I don't know where you'd go to avoid the heat this summer. Most of the Western states are even in worse shape than Texas. I read that it was 115 degrees in Las Vegas today. That's pretty hot.

I've just about given up on the idea of going to Florida for a launch this summer. School is out. Everyone is on vacation. And anything related to travel is much more expensive than it was a year ago. I wonder how long this collective urge to get out of the house will last? Maybe by this Fall vacation fever will have abated. The launches I'm most interested in are all getting postponed anyway, so perhaps it will all work out. I have no interest in fighting the crowds. Sooner or later things have to start getting back to normal.

Tomorrow I've got to haul all the dead Photinia trees I cut down out to the curb for the bulky trash trucks to pick up. There's still one dead tree left. Maybe I'll cut that one down tomorrow as well. It's depends on how hot it is. I'm surprised at how quickly we've gone from lush green grass to a bone dry yard. I'm going to have to start watering the yard again. Without water it won't take long for the grass and shrubs to wither and die. Unfortunately, if you water the grass a lot, your water bill skyrockets. I guess all the utility bills skyrocket in the summer. I hate to even think what next month's electric bill is going to look like.

Janet took Dawn to training class again this evening. She said Dawn did well and is becoming accustomed to this new activity. Dawn likes being around other dogs, so even if she never becomes an obedience star, the class will still be good for her. I can't decide whether to go watch her some evening or not. I have a feeling that Dawn probably does better in class without me around. I also have a feeling that if I was just sitting in a lawn chair watching the class, I'd get eaten alive by mosquitos.

I wonder what I used to do during the hot summer months? I doubt that I just sat inside and complained about the weather, but maybe I did. It's really hard to remember what I was doing ten years ago. Hopefully my interest in astronomy, dogs, and space will continue, so I'll have something to do ten years from now.

Hershey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4191

We came up with a new plan to beat the heat. It involved getting up early and walking Dawn before sunrise. It was actually quite nice outside at 6 AM. The temperature was only 75 degrees and there was a pleasant breeze. Dawn loved the early walk. She walked briskly without any hesitation at all. I was planning to go to the gym today, but our early walk was so enjoyable that I thought I'd take my own longer walk right after breakfast. I probably should have just skipped breakfast and kept walking. The temperature wasn't bad when I left the house, but by the time I reached my halfway point it was getting pretty hot. It's amazing how quickly the temperature rises on a sunny day. I should have left the house an hour earlier. By the time I returned home I was just as hot and sweaty as I usually am.

Getting up early is a good plan. We've done this during the summer with our other dogs. The older you get, the easier it is to sleep in late though. Dawn is no help. She'd sleep till noon if Janet didn't go out to the kitchen in the morning and start rattling plates. I'm just going to have to start going to bed earlier. I should have started writing the blog in the mornings about what I planned to do instead of writing in the evenings about what I actually did. As it stands now, it's hard for me to get to bed before midnight.

Getting an early start didn't help me get any more done today. It was way too hot outside to do yard work and I'm growing tired of watching YouTube videos about astrophotography. I ended up paying some June bills and then going to the pharmacy to pick up some prescriptions. I thought I had a good prescription drug plan, but my prescriptions keep getting more expensive. What else is new. Everything keeps getting more expensive.

While I was driving to the pharmacy I noticed that there was a road crew re-paving one of the streets in our neighborhood. I wonder how the city decides which streets to fix? This street had been resurfaced only a few years ago, while other streets in the neighborhood have been ignored for decades. We may need to take a different route tomorrow, since we typically use this street to get down to the park.

The new mount for my star tracker arrived today. There were no instructions. Figuring out how to use this thing will give me something to do tomorrow. I don't think I need to worry about breaking it. The mount looks indestructible. I wonder how long it's going to be before I start actively using this stuff? I'm sure I could find dark skies closer to Dallas than McDonald Observatory, but I don't feel like wandering around in the dark in a strange area. Maybe I need to join a local astronomy club. Even after in-person viewing events resume, I'd still have to drive home very late at night though. It's a problem. I feel much more comfortable all alone on the top of Mount Locke than in the middle of a city full of crazy people at night.

I need to get Penny's picture up on the Dalmatian Rescue website. I should have done this today, but I'm slow about everything these days. There was a small plumbing leak I was going to fix today as well. Oh, well. There's always tomorrow. I can already tell that it's going to be a long, hot summer. I just hope the air conditioner doesn't break.

Shadow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4190

Riggs has left the building and gone to his new forever home, but we got a chance to meet Penny today. This sweet young girl is a bundle of energy and is even more of a puppy than Riggs was. We suspect that she is less than a year old. I had trouble getting a good picture of Penny because she wouldn't stay still. She loved her toys and would leap high in the air to catch a ball. I hope whoever adopts Penny understands how energetic a young Dalmatian can be. She is friendly with everyone and like any young dog could use a little training. I suspect that this happy pup is going to be adopted very soon. She's a wild child, but it's impossible not to love her.

None of the dogs wanted to play in the outdoor yard today. I can't blame them. It was not only very hot today, we were also under an air quality advisory. Cooper and Charlie did their business very quickly and ran back indoors. Penny just peed indoors. Hey, she's a puppy.

The heat won today. After reading the heat advisory on my phone, I decided that I wouldn't even attempt to walk in the park. For the first time in over a year, I returned to the gym. It was a wise choice. The air conditioning kept the place nice and cold. There was also a nice running track. It can get boring walking or running on an indoor track. At my gym there are 14 laps to a mile. After a while you get tired of going around in a circle. I thought I would be faster on the indoor track, but actually I was slower. I also burned fewer calories. I guess it makes a big difference when I am walking up and down hills outdoors. Maybe sweating burns energy too.

I was surprised that the gym seemed exactly the same after a year. A lot of the same people were still there doing the same exercises they were last year. I'm almost sure that the same music was playing on the sound system. I miss the water cooler though. You have to bring your own water now. You also have to bring your own basketball if you want to use the basketball court. You have to wear a mask when you check in, but you can immediately take it off again when you get on the gym floor. These remaining Covid restrictions are beginning to look silly, although I suspect they will be around for a while. They probably made the three or four people who were still wearing masks while exercising happier. 

It looks like this heat wave isn't over yet, so I will definitely be back. The next time I go to the gym, I'll probably resume my old exercise routine. It was a good routine and I have to admit I felt stronger than I do now. Today I just walked around the track. I did carry hand weights while I walked though. I thought this would give me a little bit of an upper body workout, but I don't think I accomplished much. The weights were light and my arms aren't even sore. Well, actually they are a little sore, but it had nothing to do with my workout. Penny scratched me pretty bad with her sharp little puppy claws when she gave me an exuberant greeting this afternoon.

The power company sent out a notice urging people to conserve energy this week. This sounded a little ominous after all the problems the power company had last winter. I'd hate to have a power outage with these kind of temperatures. We have a small house and aren't big energy users anyway, but our air conditioner is already having trouble dealing with the heat. Basically the best most HVAC systems can do is keep the indoor temperature twenty degrees colder than the outdoor temperature. This works fine most of the time. When the outdoor temperature gets over one hundred degrees you might have a problem. During a heat wave you have to cool your house down a night and hope it doesn't warm up too quickly during the day. 

We're going to have to start walking Dawn early in the morning again. We'll give this a try tomorrow. If we walk before breakfast, it should still be cool outside. At least I don't have to worry about water on the roof for a while. If there was any standing water left from our early June rains, I'm sure it evaporated several days ago.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day