Day 4177

We had to take Dawn to the vet today. She's been licking her paws so bad at night that we often see blood on the bedspread in the mornings. This behavior is relitively new and we're trying to figure out whether she has a medical problem or a behavior issue. The vet gave her a cortisone shot tonight. If this stops the licking, he says that there's a good chance the problem is allergies. If the cortisone shot works, we then need to figure out what she is allergic to. Is is a food allergy, an environmental allergy, or something else? Of course, the problem might have nothing to do with allergies. She might have a yeast infection under her nails. She might have severe anxiety problems. Too bad that dogs can't talk. This is going to be a long process to figure this out.

It didn't rain today, but that doesn't mean it was a nice day. It was overcast and cold for most of the day. There were ominous dark clouds that made it look like it could rain at any time. The grey day actually made it more pleasant to walk. I'll take a windy, overcast day over a hot, sweaty day anytime. Dawn seemed to like the weather. She's been much more adventurous lately. We went off in an entirely new direction today. Dawn seems to know her way around the neighborhood. Even thought the route we took today was new to her, she seemed to know the way home. It's good to see her confidence grow. It's too bad she wasn't as confident at the vet.

I ordered the little telescope I've had my eye on. Redcat 51 if you're interested. I'm determined to become a better astrophotographer. I've definitely got a long way to go. The main problem I'm facing is a lack of dark skies. The light pollution in Dallas is terrible and I don't feel safe out at night in the city anyway. This means I will probably continue making the long trip out to McDonald Observatory several times a year. Mount Locke is hard to beat. The skies are some of the darkest in the entire country and the Astronomer's Lodge is essentially a great little invitation only hotel with a fabulous chef right at the top of the mountain.

My walks are starting to get boring. I do them purely for exercise now. I guess I could add a little variety by walking on the other side of the lake, but it's hardly worth the trouble. The other side of the lake is familiar territory too. There must be a lot of people who do the same thing I do. I recognize a lot of dogs now and I've noticed that certain cars seem to be parked along the side of the road every single day. The ducks and geese always hang out together in small little groups. The Muscovy Ducks never mingle with the other ducks. The geese stick to themselves as well. The domesticated geese don't even mingle with the Canada Geese.

Dawn certainly seems calm now. I think she wore herself out at the vet. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.  I hope the cortisone shot works. I think allergies would be a little easier to deal with than anxiety. Hard to believe it is June already. Where has this year gone? I'll fix another smoothie tomorrow morning and take another long walk. I'm trying to think of another writing project, but I'm not having a lot of luck with the magazines right now. There's always bills to pay I guess. I paid a few more today.

Charlie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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