Saturday, May 29, 2021

Day 4174

It was a busy day for a lazy guy like me. I got my grocery shopping done right after breakfast and then I came home and mowed the grass. The grass was pretty thick, but I managed to get the job done before the mower's battery ran out. Everything looks surprisingly green this year. All this rain probably helps. After I finished mowing, I treated all the fire ant mounds that have started to appear in the yard. Hopefully, the Amdro powder does the trick. I think these ants are biting Dawn when she's outside. The yard actually looks pretty good now. It probably won't last long.

While I was grocery shopping, I noticed that there are no longer any mask mandates. Everyone still wears a mask though. I didn't see anyone in the two grocery stores I went to this morning without a mask, even though they weren't required. I go with the flow. If everyone else is wearing a mask, I'll wear one too. If people aren't wearing a mask, I won't wear one either. I never wear a mask outside though. That seemed silly even at the height of the pandemic. By the looks of things today, it's going to take a long, long time to return to normal. I think we've all forgotten what normal is.

Dawn is getting more adventurous. She went off in a different direction again on her walk today. She seems to know the way home, which is a good thing. I hope her new found curiosity continues. Exploring is a good thing for a dog. It probably isn't bad for people either. 

I waited a while today before taking my long walk. Mowing the lawn tired me out. When we first bought the house, I mowed the lawn with an old fashioned push mower. It seemed easy back then. Now, mowing is quite a chore. The electric mower isn't self propelled and I have to push it up and down hills. I used to have a self-propelled Yazoo gas mower, but it broke years ago. The gas mower was hard to start and broke frequently. The only problem I've had with the electric mower is dead batteries. It's much easier to buy a new battery than to haul the entire mower to a repair shop. I wonder if I'll feel the same way about electric cars someday. I hear they are pretty low maintenance too.

I walked the full six miles today, but I was very slow. I think my days of doing manual labor are numbered. On days where I have a lot of chores to do, I don't really feel like walking. I keep going though, because I know that if I ever quit, it will be very difficult to get started again. I watched my Dad become sedentary and I don't want it to happen to me. My plan for staying healthy is pretty simple. You've just got to keep moving.

The weather was a lot better today. There were clouds early in the day, but a lot of sunshine later. It was almost the opposite of the way it was yesterday. Tomorrow looks good as well. We'll probably take Dawn on a little outing again. She seems to like visiting a different park on Sundays. Maybe she just likes the ice cream.