Day 4407

It was a busy day. We visited Charlie, Oliver and Jack at the kennel and they were all in a playful mood. Jack doesn't like to play with toys like Charlie and Oliver, but is extremely friendly and seems to have settled in well to kennel life. I think someone will be looking at the dogs soon, so one of them might not be there when we visit next week. The kennel was pretty quiet today since all the holiday boarding dogs have gone back home.

It was my turn to drive to the kennel today and I was amazed at the terrible gas mileage my gas was getting. Maybe it always got terrible gas mileage, but I'm more aware of things since the price of gas has gone up so much. Traffic was terrible today as well. It's a good thing we are always going in the opposite direction of the inevitable rush hour traffic when we visit the kennel.

I replaced the battery in my phone this morning and the phone seems to be working a lot better now. I'm glad I found the little neighborhood phone repair store. The battery replacement only cost about half of what the Apple Store currently charges and was done on less than thirty minutes. The only weird thing was the technician didn't want me in the store while he was working. He seemed unusually worried about Covid and said I was welcome to wait in the car. I went to a nearby CVS and picked up a few things instead. 

The day started out cold but warmed up quickly again. I'm getting used to wearing different clothes depending on the time of day. It was below freezing when we took our sunrise walk with Dawn but when I took my long walk after we returned from the kennel, I didn't even need a jacket. Unfortunately, I think these warm afternoons might be over soon. I think another arctic cold front is headed our way.

I saw the eagle for the second day in a row. Another bird watcher told me that if I had arrived five minutes earlier I would have seen both eagles together. Judging by the bird's behavior, most of the local birders don't think there are any eggs in the nest yet. Apparently, late in the day is the best time to view the birds. I should probably drive over to the area where they are often seen near sunset one of these day and try to get a picture. I've seen people photographing the birds for several months now and I still don't have a single picture. I do have good pictures of owls and hawks though. There are plenty of owls and hawks in the park. There are only two eagles.

I didn't think I'd be walking far today, but my feet held up better than I expected. I ended up getting 23,000 steps. My pace has really slowed unfortunately. If I walk slower my feet don't hurt as much. It's kind of embarrassing though. The other day an old guy walking with a cane passed me on the trail. 

My toilet repair didn't last very long. It's only been a few days and the toilet is already running again. I guess I'm going to have to go to the plumbing supply store and buy the expensive little pneumatic valve after all. The little plastic valve always seen to do the trick. It gets tiring to be constantly fixing things. I wish I lived in a house where nothing broke.

I should have raked leaves this afternoon, but there just wasn't time. I think the bulky trash trucks are coming tomorrow and it would have been a good time to bag up as many leaves as we could. Oh, well. There's always next month. We've got to get rid of the leaves because Dawn is way too interested in something that is hidden underneath. There are lots of feral cats in the neighborhood and that probably means there are a few dead birds and mice in the yard. You can't tell a dog not to eat nasty stuff. I think they live to eat nasty stuff.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day