Dawn seems to love the colder weather. She was full of energy on her sunrise walk and even took a second walk with Janet later in the day. I bundled up for my long walk and for the first time this season didn't feel like taking my jacket off after the first few miles. A brisk wind made it feel even colder, but I finished my six miles. My pace was better today. I must have been walking faster to stay warm.
I can't say that I did anything useful today. I did clear the leaves off the front and back porch, but that was a futile activity. It was a windy day and by the time I was finished, a new batch of leaves had already fallen from the trees. I have to sweep the front porch often. Prevailing winds push leaves against our front door and then when you open the door they blow inside. I think the fun part of Fall is almost over. Now comes months of leaf raking. The leaves used to just blow away, but now that all the neighbors have built those awful tall wood security fences, we don't get a breeze anymore and the leaves have no place to go.
There's an eclipse of the moon later tonight. It's supposed to be the longest eclipse in hundreds of years according to the media accounts I've read. Will I get up at 4 AM to look at the moon as it approaches totality? Maybe. There's a good chance I'll just sleep through the whole thing. I've already photographed a number of lunar eclipses and they are all pretty much the same. The only time I bother to go outside when astronomical events like eclipses and meteor showers are taking place in the wee hours of the morning is if I happen to wake up to go to the bathroom at the same time. I value my sleep. The last thing I want to do is get up in the middle of the night. Maybe I should write a book called The Lazy Astronomer. I love looking at the night sky between 9 and 11 PM. After that, it's bedtime.
It looks like there is a lot of construction going on in the park. The city is replacing some of my favorite trails with much larger concrete walkways. This isn't good news for me. The new walkways will be promoted as bike paths by the city and all the sudden there will be a new influx of bicycles from all over the place. Bicycles don't mix well with people walking dogs. Cyclists never slow down for anybody and dogs love to wander around and sniff things on both sides of the trail. For as long as I can remember I've had to be on the lookout for bicycles so the dogs and I don't end up getting run over.
I filled out my application to attend the Artemis 1 roll out this morning. Will I get credentialed? Who knows. They haven't even set a date for the roll out yet, but it will probably take place toward the end of December. I kind of like Winter events in Florida because the mosquitos aren't so bad. If I don't get accepted for this one, it's not a big deal. I can still apply to attend the launch sometime in 2022. I'd enjoy seeing the roll out, but if I don't go, I'll save some money.
It was chilly when I took the trash to the curb this evening. The sky was clear and the moon was trying to tempt me. I still can't decide whether to get up for the eclipse. I will have to get up tomorrow morning and the temperature is only supposed to be 37 degrees. Brrr. It's almost time to set the outdoor faucets on drip and bring the lawnmower battery inside for the winter.
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