Day 4209

When I woke up this morning I was surprised at how cool it was outside. The temperature was in the 70's when we took Dawn on her early walk and I don't think it got above 84 degrees all day. There was a pleasant breeze as well. I complain about the weather a lot, but we have some of the best weather in the country right now. We're not in the middle of a drought. There are no wildfires. There are no hurricanes. The temperatures tend to be high, but they're still lower than people in the Pacific Northwest are experiencing. Maybe I shouldn't complain so much.

My grocery list was small this week, so shopping didn't take as long as it usually does. I was surprised that the stores didn't seem full for a holiday weekend. The roads weren't crowded either. Did the entire town go to the beach or something? I'm still getting used to a post-pandemic world. Very few people wear masks in stores anymore. The signs on the doors are gone and everything has more or less returned to normal. There are fewer shortages as well. Shelves that were empty a few months ago are fully stocked again. The only thing weird about this July is that everyone seems to want to take a vacation at the same time. I'm glad that I don't have a terrible urge to travel right now. Maybe by Fall the vacation surge will have run its course and I can think about going somewhere.

I wanted to take advantage of the cooler weather, so I took my long walk as soon as I put the groceries away. It was quite pleasant outside. There was a nice breeze and it was mostly overcast so there was no direct sun. It's too bad I still felt sore from yesterday's workout at the gym. I use a completely different set of muscles at the gym and these muscles didn't really feel like walking today. I took it slow and finished my six miles, realizing that staying in shape would probably be an uphill battle for the rest of my life.

Janet found some food that Dawn will eat. It's not a long term solution, but hopefully it will keep her eating normally until we find something better. Finding the perfect food for your dog is never an easy task.  If you ask ten people what they feed their dog you will get ten different answers. We stopped asking our vet years ago because all they recommend are Hills Science Diet products. Probably the best thing is to cook fresh chicken and rice. We've done this before and dogs seem to love it. If you start cooking for your dog, there is no turning back though. Its hard to get them to eat dog food again. We always wondered if we were leaving out essential nutrients and vitamins. Most premium dog foods claim to be a complete, balanced meal for your pet and have a long list of ingredients. Chicken and rice is just chicken and rice. I'm sure we'll be able to find something that is both good for Dalmatians in general and tastes good to our own somewhat picky Dalmatian. There certainly is plenty to choose from. I'm always amazed at how many varieties of food there are when you go to a pet store.

I noticed a lot of signs in the park saying that fireworks were illegal in the city of Dallas and that you could face up to a $3000 fine for setting them off. I wonder if that will take care of the problem. Usually it sounds like a war zone on the Fourth of July. It's certainly quiet now. In pervious years, we'd be hearing fireworks right now. Some of our dogs have been terrified of fireworks. We're not sure how Dawn will react, but I suspect that they won't bother her since she doesn't react to thunder and lightning at all. 

I hope our cooler weather continues. I'd like the roof to dry out so I can inspect it again. I'd also like to take a long walk since my gym is still closed on Sunday. It remains to be seen whether we watch the fireworks displays tomorrow evening. There's a good viewing spot just up the street from us, but it's not a high priority now.

Bob Hope is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day