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

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