Day 4181

Today was busy. Shopping is interesting now that Texas has rescinded the mask mandate. At Home Depot, half the people were wearing a mask and the other half weren't. At Sam's Club, everyone was still wearing a mask. Later at Tom Thumb, nobody was wearing a mask. Clearly the mask has outlived it's original purpose and just become another symbol. Some people can't wait to get rid of these things while others will continue to wear them forever. I was never a fan of the mask, but I'll probably keep one in my back pocket for quite a while. If I go into a store full of masked people, I'll put it on. Whatever it takes to stay invisible. I don't think there ever was a problem with shoppers. Other shoppers don't want to interact with you. I'll continue to avoid weddings, family gatherings and sporting events, just like I did before the pandemic.

Now that I've had time to inspect the Redcat 51 that arrived yesterday, I think I made a good purchase. It may be a while before I have an opportunity to attach this to the star tracker and try my hand at photographing nebulas and galaxies, but I'll definitely use it. The little telescope is extremely well made, small enough to travel with, and will last a lifetime. 

There was a spot of blood on the bedspread this morning, so the cortisone shot Dawn got the other day wasn't a magic bullet. The shot helped, but Dawn is still licking her paws excessively. Janet and I think this is a nervous habit, but this is probably because Dawn already has so many other nervous habits. We're just guessing here. If she is allergic to something, it's not going to be easy to determine what it is. She'll probably need to have an allergy skin test, but that's not an exact science either. Hopefully we can find an answer without a huge amount of trial and error. Nervous habits are OK, but self harm isn't.

I'm not looking forward to Summer. Today was hot and muggy, but it is going to be so much worse in July. I could tell that Dawn was getting hot on her walk today. We might have to start taking sunrise walks again like we did with our other dogs. I was OK on my long walk today, but if it gets much warmer I'm going to have to return to the gym. I'm not really worried about Covid anymore, it's just inconvenient to drive to the gym. At a certain point air conditioning trumps convenience though. That indoor track at the gym is looking better all the time.

I can't believe that it's already time to mow the grass again. Everything grows quickly when the ground is wet. Luckily, it's still a little too wet outside to mow. My electric mower just isn't strong enough to cut through wet grass. The grass is going to be even taller next week, but I don't feel like mowing anyway. I don't feel like cutting down any more dead Photinia trees either, even though I got a new blade for my saw with carbide teeth that are supposed to be ten times better than an ordinary blade. The grass and the trees can wait until next week.

It's hard to say whether Dawn will get her Sunday outing tomorrow. There is rain in the forecast again, but  it never seems to rain all day. With any luck we'll be able to find a little dry time for a Sunday walk. Janet wants to work on Dawn's training exercises a bit. Dawn and I just want the ice cream cone on the way home.

Scooby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day