Day 4032

We had a scare today. Dawn was limping and was having a lot of trouble lying down on the bed. She kept circling and circling but wouldn't put weight on her right rear leg. When I tried to gently move the leg, she flinched. All this made me think that Dawn had a torn cruciate ligament. Other dogs of ours have had a torn ACL and it's pretty serious. There is a surgical treatment called Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy which is as complicated as it sounds. The TPLO surgery is usually very effective on younger dogs, but it takes a long time to recover. It's pretty expensive too. We took Dawn to the vet for an examination and waited nervously for the results. Later this evening we got some good news. Dawn's ACL is fine and she seems to have a soft tissue injury that might have been caused by a pulled muscle. The remedy is lots of rest and some Rimadyl for a while. Dawn is probably happy with this diagnosis. She'd rather just nap on the bed anyway.

We didn't attempt to walk Dawn at all today for obvious reasons. She was actually at the vet for quite a while. I took one long walk by myself and completed a little more than five miles. It seemed pretty cold outside but their was no rain. I really need to start taking a camera with me again but I hate the extra weight. I've always got the phone, but this isn't good for close ups of birds and animals. The phone is good for flowers, but there aren't many flowers in January.

I took down the Christmas tree today and put the decorations away. I also went to the storage warehouse and got one of the steps we've used in the past to help our older dogs get on the bed. Dawn doesn't know how to use the step yet, but she'll learn when it becomes necessary. I hope her problems are temporary and can be cured by rest. A pulled muscle or sprain might explain her recent reluctance to walk as well. We'll see how she responds in the next few days.

I didn't get approved to attend the Artemis-1 static fire later this month at Stennis Space Center. It's just as well because I wasn't planning to go anyway because of Covid worries. Nevertheless, I was still disappointed that my application for press accreditation for this event wasn't accepted. It's an uphill battle to get press accreditation for NASA events. The magazine I write for isn't large and it's easy to get overlooked. I guess I shouldn't fret about this. I'm not going anywhere this Spring anyway. Maybe when I get vaccinated I'll feel better about traveling. With this new, more contagious strain of the virus popping up everywhere, it just seems foolish to get on a plane. I need to be patient. Eventually this pandemic will be over and there'll be plenty of opportunities to cover launch events later.

I finished the outline for my next Sky & Telescope article this afternoon. It seems like it would be an interesting article to me, but what do I know. I'll send the outline to my editor tomorrow and hope that he tells me to proceed with a finished draft. I'd really like to get the go-ahead on this, because who knows when I'll get a launch opportunity again. Covid restrictions have really put a damper on my writing plans. I'm not even going to attempt to go out to JPL next month. I'd much rather stay healthy.

I almost forgot it was Thursday today, but Janet reminded me to take the trash out to the curb. All these days seem the same to me now. There are no big plans for tomorrow. I'll drink my smoothie, take my walk, and maybe start watching Season 5 of The Expanse. The new dehumidifier is running quieter now. Maybe it just needed a break in period. Hopefully, Dawn will be feeling better tomorrow. I don't know what she needs, but we'll try lots of rest for starters.

Misty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day