Day 4510

I could get used to this. I woke up early, so I went outside to watch the Milky Way core rise in the east again. There was also a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus this morning. The two planets were very close together just before sunrise. I also saw quite a few meteors. They were probably leftovers from the Lyrid metoior shower, which peaked just a few days ago. It was very windy just before dawn, but I had a warm coat. I'm starting to recognize constellations easier now. It helps if you actually take the trouble to go outside at night. I wouldn't do this in Dallas, but this definitely isn't Dallas.

Saturday has been the busiest day of my stay. In addition to my regular star party duties, I spent the afternoon at a festival booth explaining different types of telescopes to visitors. There were a variety of different types of telescopes on display and I explained the pros and cons of each. I didn't tell people that I rarely look through a telescope myself. I do know a fair amount about them though. I think my presentation sounded reasonably knowledgable. Maybe someday I'll spend more time looking at the night sky. I kind of doubt it though. There's always the blog to write and I do live in Dallas. 

I had the same telescope tonight at the star party. We looked at the same target too. Messier 3 is quite beautiful. I doubt that I could even see it from Dallas. It is quite faint. I'm not sure I'm pronouncing the Canes Venatici constellation the globular cluster is located in correctly. I do know that it means hunting dog in Latin though. I always learn something new whenever I'm out here. I now know how to open, close, and rotate telescope domes.

It's been a very nice stay out at the observatory. I reconnected with friends, got to enjoy some of the most beautiful dark skies in America, had some delicious meals at the Astronomer's Lodge, and had a chance to remind myself why I became interested in astronomy in the first place. I dread the drive back to Dallas tomorrow just as much as I dreaded the drive out here. It's a necessary evil though. There is no other way to get here. It would be nice if Southwest Airlines flew to Marfa, but I don't think that's ever going to happen. You can take a train to Alpine, but Amtrak is incredibly unreliable. Often the train that goes through Alpine is hours late. It's a lot more expensive than driving as well. 

I'm glad I had time to eat dinner tonight. I was hungry and pretty tired. There was about an hour break between the end of the daytime activities and the start of the star party, so I drove back up the mountain to the Astronomer's Lodge and had my dinner. I don't think I'm going to do any more photography. I've had a good look at both the morning sky and the evening sky. Right now getting some sleep is pretty high on the agenda. It's a long drive back to Dallas tomorrow.

Bea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day'

Day 4509

I stayed up late last night giving the Polaris star tracker it's first real test. I had a few unforeseen problems, but the thing actually worked. It tracks stars very well for long exposure photography. I'm still having problems with the tracker disconnecting from the camera at random intervals, but hopefully these problems will get resolved with future software updates. It would be nice if the tracker was more reliable because it's hard to fix things when it's pitch black outside. They don't even want you to turn on a flashlight up here because you might disrupt observing at one of the large telescopes. I stayed close to the Astronomer's Lodge when I was out doing photography last night because I was alone and I'd heard too many stories about mountain lions and snakes.

Today was a work day, but I didn't have any assignments until later in the day so I was able to sleep in late. I don't sleep wall while I'm traveling, but if you get tired enough you can sleep anywhere. I had a leisurely late breakfast and then took my daily walk. To get the steps I need takes ten trips around the rim road that circles the two large telescopes on Mount Locke. I'm not walking as far as I do in Dallas, but the altitude is much higher here and four miles a day seems plenty to me.

I got lucky tonight and got a really good telescope to take care of at tonight's star party. The 16" Ritchey Chretien is very nice. Basically all I had to do was make sure the telescope didn't drift off target and rotate the dome every once in a while so the dome slit stayed lined up with the telescope. I also had to answer a lot of questions. There were 300 people at tonight's star party, which was actually a lot smaller than the last star party I volunteered for just before Covid shut everything down. I thought I would know the answer to most people's questions, but of course I didn't. You never know what people are going to ask.

The weather was perfect tonight. It wasn't freezing cold like the last time I helped with star parties. I didn't  need to bring my winter coats. Better safe than sorry though. It probably helped that I was inside a dome this year. Last time I was outside and it was windy. I didn't hear any coyotes howling tonight. I did see the Javelinas though. These small wild pigs are everywhere. My telescope target tonight was Messier 3. This globular cluster is spectacular under the dark Davis Mountain skies. Everyone who looked through the telescope seemed quite impressed.

Tomorrow I'll have more to do during the day. I'll be at a booth with different types of telescopes on display and will be answering questions for future amateur astronomers. I enjoy talking about telescopes but I need to ask someone tomorrow about the pronunciation of certain items. When most of your knowledge comes from reading books rather than talking to other people, it's very easy to mispronounce words.

I don't think I'll take the star tracker out again this evening. It's late. I doubt that I'll get up early to see the Milky Way core rise before dawn tomorrow morning either. I'm tired and I think I've seen enough of the night sky for one day. It was a good day though. I enjoyed it.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4508

I got up early this morning and watched the milky way core rise in the East before dawn. The morning sky is actually more interesting than the evening sky at this time of year. It's pretty dark at 5 AM, but it's late enough so you can still get some sleep. I was able to see Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn all lined up in a nice row, and as the sky started to lighten a very thin crescent moon followed behind them. I didn't try to use the star tracker this morning because the sky was getting lighter instead of darker. I've been having so much trouble with this thing that I knew the sun would probably be up before I could get the tracker working  properly

It was an enjoyable day. I didn't really do much but doing a whole lot of nothing is my kind of day. I walked a few miles before eating a leisurely breakfast and then walked a little more. I'm glad I brought some shorts with me because it was surprisingly warm today. By mid-atenoon the temperature was almost ninety degrees. When it got too hot outside I went to my room and learned a little more about Messier 3, the globular cluster I am supposed to show star party visitors during the festival. I also tried to make sense of the vague star tracker instructions.

An astronomer friend loaned me a tripod to use while I'm here, so I was able to test the star tracker after all. I spent a couple of hours this evening putting the tracker through its paces with decidedly mixed results. When it worked, the tracker was quite impressive. The problem is that it disconnects from the camera at random intervals. This is the problem I've been having since I received the tracker several months ago. I still don't know whether the problem originates in my camera, the Polaris tracker, or the app on my iPhone that controls everything. I did get a few decent pictures tonight, but until the software improves I doubt that I'll be using this thing very much.

It is so quiet up here. It is amazing to take a walk and hear absolutely nothing except for the wind blowing softly through the trees. You hear bird sounds very early in the morning, but they are quiet later in the day. Occasionally you will hear a car off in the distance in the valley below, but not very often. I like the peaceful isolation of this place. If you actually lived here it might get old quickly, but for a few days at a time it is very peaceful. There are no radios or televisions at the Astronomer's Lodge. If you really insist on keeping up with what is going on in the world, there's always Google News on your computer. We do have a good WiFi connection.

I don't know if I'm going to get up early again tomorrow morning. It's hard to get any sleep when you go to bed late and the turn around and get up early. I usually get to bed really late after star parties because I've still got to write the blog after the star party is over. I guess I could sleep during the day like the astronomers do but that is an acquired skill. My body clock is still set to night time sleeping. We'll see how it goes tomorrow with my first real work day. So far, my stay on the mountain has been very enjoyable.

Parker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4507

It's good to be back on Mount Locke. It was a long, tiring drive out to the observatory, but there wasn't much road construction and I didn't encounter any accidents. I've made this trip so often that I'm starting to remember lots of little things along the way. I-20 isn't exactly a scenic drive, but there are lots of wind turbines, a huge oil refinery, and mile long freight trains that run parallel to the freeway. Once you get out of Dallas/Fort Worth, the traffic is mostly large trucks. I don't know which is worse: big city congestion or 500 miles of non-stop eighteen wheelers.

This wasn't the best rental car I've had. The seats weren't very comfortable and there was no GPS. The car did have Apple CarPlay though, so I was able to use the GPS on my phone. Apple Maps actually does a good job of tracking and route planning. I'm not sure that this is good for your phone though. My phone felt hot after being on all day. I think it's going to be harder and harder to find cars with in-dash GPS in the future. Your phone basically provides everything you need.

I always forget things when I travel. It doesn't matter how carefully I pack. Something important always gets left behind. I took two cameras and the Polaris star tracker with me, but I forgot to take my tripod. Jeez. How could I forget this? A tripod is pretty essential. You definitely can't do astrophotography without one. I feel stupid to forget something this important, but that's what happens when you start to rush things so you can leave on time. Hopefully I can borrow a tripod from one of my friends out here.

It's a good thing that I did leave early because when I arrived at the Astronomer's Lodge I discovered that they had put me in the cottage instead of the lodge itself. Some of you might actually like the cottage, but getting there involves a lengthy climb up some very steep steps. The manager had already left for the day when I arrived, but the cook was still there and she was able to transfer my reservation to an available room in the lodge. I'm glad that everything worked out because I wasn't looking forward to hauling my heavy suitcase up those steep steps.

I walked for a couple of miles on the mountain after dinner this evening. It's amazingly quiet up here. There are no traffic noises, no airplanes flying overhead, and very few people. Some of the resident astronomers live on the mountain, but you rarely see them. Other than talking to the cook about my reservation, I haven't spoken to anyone. There is one other car parked outside, so at least one other person is staying in the lodge. One of the nice things about staying here is that meals are included. I'm pretty sure they had to include meals to get anyone to stay here. There aren't any restaurants for miles and miles.

I'm going to be very busy with volunteer work on Friday and Saturday, but tomorrow is kind of a free day. I'll try to catch up on my sleep and then go do some personal photography. There's lots of wildlife up here and the scenery is spectacular. If I can find a tripod to borrow, I'm finally going to try out the star tracker. After all the time I've spent monkeying around with it, I really hope it works.

It's been a long day and it's about time to get some sleep. Before I go to bed I'm going to go outside and check out the sky. I'm not expecting much since it was cloudy while I was eating dinner. Things change quickly on the mountain though. Who knows what I might see.

Bowser is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4506

I'm making progress. I picked up my rental car and I'm almost finished packing. I don't know why it takes me so long to get ready, but it does. There always seem to be surprises. I decided to take the star tracker with me, but I had trouble getting it to work today. I think I set up everything the same way I did the previous time, but I must have done something wrong. It took me forever to get the tracker working properly. 

The rental car was an even bigger surprise. There are usually dozens of cars to choose from. This time there were only three. The entire lot was almost empty. This was an airport facility that usually has hundreds of cars. None of the available cars had GPS, so I will have to use my phone again. The car was smaller than what I wanted as well. Oh, well. It is what it is. I thought that travel would become easier when Covid restrictions were lifted. It actually seems more difficult now.

I always have trouble packing when I go to West Texas. Is it going to be hot or cold?  Usually it's a bit of both. It can be quite warm during the day, but freezing cold at night. I'll take my winter coats again, because I'll be helping at star parties and I remember being pretty chilly during these events. Do I need to take sweaters too? I probably just need to get a bigger suitcase. This time my things don't need to fit in an overhead bin on a plane. They just have to fit in the trunk.

I wore my new boots on my long walk today. I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to regret wearing them on the trip. So far, so good. I've only put about 10 miles on the boots so far, but they seem comfortable. I don't think I'm going to get blisters or anything. I'll take my dependable Bondi-7 shoes as a backup. I really don't want to let foot pain ruin this trip.

I think our bad weather is behind us. It looks like clear skies for the rest of the week. I think the weather is going to be nice out at the observatory as well. At least the forecast looks good for Ft. Davis. Clear skies are fairly essential if you are having a Dark Skies Festival. It's a very long drive just to get rained out. Unfortunately, this has happened to me before. Let's just hope that everything goes as planned.

I will be getting up early tomorrow, so I was planning on getting to bed equally early tonight. I don't think that's going to happen. I've still got a lot to do after I post tonight's blog entry. This happens every single time I travel. I woke up this morning thinking that I've got plenty of time to get everything done. Where did the day go? I really didn't do that much. I took my walk. I tested the star tracker. I picked up the rent car. Oh, I tossed a few things in a suitcase too. Unfortunately, I'm not done yet. I'm not even close.

I'm still having second thoughts about this trip, but I'm definitely going. I seldom look forward to new experiences, but I always enjoy the memories afterwards. I need to remember that I love this place. I just wish it wasn't so far away.

Brady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4505

For the second day in a row we visited some Dalmatians. The dogs at the kennel were in fine form today. This week Candy and Willie joined Julip in finding their forever homes. Dorothy has a potential adopter as well, although she and Willie were still at the kennel this afternoon. Rocket is really making progress at overcoming his fear. He would come when we called him today and was eager to take cookies from us. His skin condition continues to improve as well. Willie is very affectionate and enjoys being petted more than playing. He's a smart dog and we were able to teach him to lie down during our visit. Dorothy is the athlete of the bunch. She can catch anything and never missed when we tossed her toys. When we first met Jo Jo we didn't think he liked to play, but it turns out that he just likes to play outside. We'll spend more time outside with him now. Oliver is still a goofy clown who always makes us laugh and Charlie is starting to show a mellower side to his personality. We always spend a little more time with Charlie because he seems to enjoy our visits so much. It's nice that these dogs are finally starting to find their forever homes. We probably won't see Willie again, but we will definitely remember him.

It rained a lot last night, but it wasn't a bad storm. Dawn wasn't wild about walking this morning because the ground was still wet. She definitely doesn't like getting wet. A handful of treats kept her moving however and we were able to complete our walk. There was really no reason for Dawn to be upset this morning. The rain had stopped and the roads were already starting to dry out.

I got a press proof this morning of my article about the Axiom-1 Mission. It looked good and will run in the June edition of Spaceflight. I had thought about writing an article about the Dark Sky Festival for Sky and Telescope while I was out in West Texas, but it turns out that one of my friends at the observatory is already working on an article about this for the magazine. It's just as well. He know a lot more about the newly created Dark Sky Preserve than I do anyway.

I should have been packing today, but I can't seem to manage planning ahead. I always wait until the last possible minute and end up forgetting things. I've thought about the trip a lot, but haven't actually put anything in a suitcase yet. I have tested my cameras though and transferred the files and applications I need to my laptop. I've made my rental car reservation and checked the weather at my destination. I guess this will all come together just like it always does. I'm still not looking forward to the drive though.

I didn't take a very long walk today. It was getting late by the time we returned from the kennel and I didn't really feel like walking anyway. I always make sure that I at least make an effort though. Life is basically about making an effort. Only 14,000 steps today and a lot of that was just playing with the dogs.

At least the wind has died down for a while. It wasn't windy at all when I walked today. Hope I can get some extra sleep tonight. I'm going to need it in the days ahead.

Pogo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4504

We went and saw Sammy's puppies today. I'd almost forgotten how cute Dalmatian puppies are. Sammy had a large litter. There were eleven puppies and they were all adorable. The puppies were eight weeks old and in a few weeks they will be going to their new homes. As you might expect, there was a lot of demand for these pups. Potential adopters were carefully screened and most of the puppies will be going to people who have adopted from Dalmatian Rescue before. We met some of these people this afternoon. They were so excited to see and hold their puppies for the first time. These dogs are all going to have a great life. Even Sammy, the Mom, got adopted.

It was supposed to rain today but the rain never materialized. We were able to have a nice walk with Dawn early this morning and then take her on a Sunday outing after we returned from visiting the puppies. Dawn could tell we'd been around puppies. She smelled us a lot more than usual when we returned. It was hard to tell whether she missed being around puppies or was alarmed that we might bring one home with us. I suspect that Dawn is happy that she will never have to nurse another litter. Sammy's pups are almost weaned, but the family that is fostering Sammy and the puppies say that the pups are trying to have the best of both worlds. They are all eating solid food now, but still try to nurse occasionally. 

Dawn enjoyed her Sunday outing today. She definitely prefers cooler weather. We're going to have to start watching out for poison ivy now. I'm starting to see the stuff everywhere. There are huge patches of poison ivy on the hill where we take Dawn on Sundays. Most dogs don't seem to be bothered by poison ivy. Janet isn't bothered by it either. I'm not this lucky. I think I can catch poison ivy just by looking at the stuff. 

The ice cream shop seems to be doing well. There was a long line of cars at the drive up window when we went for our cones today. They call this stuff frozen custard, but I still call it ice cream. It definitely is a tasty treat after our Sunday walk. It's not quite as sweet at the ice cream you typically get in stores and is a huge improvement over Dairy Queen soft serve. Dawn likes it too. I think getting ice cream is the only thing she likes about riding in a car.

It was very windy with dark clouds everywhere when I took my long walk later this afternoon. I didn't end up going very far because the wind was terrible and the air was full of pollen. My eyes were watering the entire time I was outside. I also didn't want to end up getting caught in the rain. I got a respectable number of steps, but I've done a lot better on Sundays.

Since I didn't walk as far today, I had time to vacuum the carpets when I got home. This is another chore like mowing the grass that I tend to put off too long. I wanted to get this done before I left on my trip though. I also wanted to test out the star tracker camera for regular photography before I left, so I took it with me when we visited the puppies. This camera was a pleasant surprise. It was actually easier to use than my regular camera.

We're finally starting to get some rain. It's supposed to get heavier during the night, but the worst weather is quite a ways North of us. I'm not sure if we will visit the kennel tomorrow. It all depends on the weather.  We'll see what happens. Forecasts around here are often wrong.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4503

I had to pick up some prescriptions while I was grocery shopping this morning and out of curiosity I asked the pharmacist if I would save any money if I used GoodRx instead of my prescription drug plan. "Well, let's see," she said. The pharmacist picked a random bottle out of my order and looked it up. "This would cost you $3.65 using GoodRx and $34 using your Supplemental Part-D plan. I was shocked. "So why am I paying all this money every month for my prescription drug plan," I asked? The pharmacist just shrugged. "A lot of people are just using GoodRx these days," she said. Looks like I'll be adding another app to my phone.

Smartphone apps have taken over the world. They're cheaper and more efficient than employees and everyone wants you to use them. Janet wanted me to pick up something at the store that she said was on sale. I returned without it, because it wasn't on sale after all. "You have to use the coupon on the store's app," Janet said. "They scan it at the register and the price comes off your bill." Who knew? Janet has apps from dozens of different stores on her phone. I have none. Well, I guess I do have one, but even that app that lets me bypass the register at one store is starting to irritate me. I've learned how to do things a certain way and find it frustrating when I am forced to change.

It was even windier today than yesterday. I wonder what is causing this? At least we still get a decent amount of rain, so the wind doesn't cause wildfires like it does out west. Our part of the country seems to be in some sort of a sweet spot where the climate isn't changing as rapidly as it is in other parts of the country. Temperatures are getting much hotter out West. They are actually getting a little cooler here.

It was nice and cool today. If it wasn't for the unrelenting wind, it would have been a very pleasant day for walking. I completed my full six miles this afternoon, but foot problems definitely slowed me down. I can't decide if the Hoka boots or the lighter Hoka running shoes are more comfortable. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Basically, the last mile is hard no matter what I'm wearing.

It's been interesting to watch the construction of the new bike trail through the park. Whoever is building this thing is much more efficient than the highway department. I've been amazed at how fast the construction is proceeding and how nice the results look. It looks like the entire project will be finished by early Summer, just like they promised. The only bad thing about this new super trail is that it will bring even more bicycles to the park. Bicycles and dog walkers don't mix well. We always have to keep any eye out for bicycles when we are walking Dawn. She likes to meander from one side of the trail to the other following the best smells. Bicycles are silent and deadly. We always have to make sure that Dawn isn't wandering into their path. It seems to be an unwritten rule that bicycles never slow down for anymore.

I tried to learn a few more features of the star tracker camera this afternoon. It would be nice to just take one camera out to the observatory and this one has to go with the star tracker. Once again I'm faced with the issue of learning new things. I know the camera I use for taking dog pictures backwards and forwards. This new one, not so much. The menu structure on these two cameras is completely different even though they can share lenses. I may end up having to take both cameras because the learning curve on the new one is a bit steeper than I'd hoped.

I got Chinese take out for dinner again. This time I checked my order at the restaurant to make sure that I was actually taking home what I ordered. This week has gone quickly. It's almost time for Dawn's Sunday outing again. Hopefully, it won't be quite so windy tomorrow.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4502

Another very windy, unseasonably warm, and largely uneventful day. After our early walk with Dawn and my ritual breakfast of shredded wheat and berries, I puttered around the house, doing a bunch of unessential chores. I tried again to fix the perpetually running toilet. Usually cleaning all the small parts with a Q-tip gets things working again for a while. My efforts never last long though. After finishing this hopeless task, I pried open the broken sliding glass door to the atrium and swept the patio and cleaned the outside of the large glass doors. I don't know how this enclosed area gets so dirty, but dust is everywhere in this neighborhood. I swept away the avalanche of catkins that keep falling from our Oak trees on the front and back porch. Usually more catkins have fallen before I even finish sweeping. You'd think I'd learn to do something that was actually useful, but these are the things that bother me most.

I did get one pleasant surprise this morning. I found my lost sock. It was inside the arm of a light jacket I had washed with the other laundry. I discovered the sock when I was putting on the jacket for our early walk with Dawn. If it hadn't been a little chilly early this morning, the sock might have gone unnoticed for months. Jacket weather is almost over for the year.

I got a message to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy. I'm not low on anything, so once again the automated systems have run amok. I have tried to change the timing of these renewals in the past, but it's hard to argue with a computer. Once the information is entered in the system it seems to stay there forever.  Now I just pick up the pills and put them somewhere until I need them. I'm not sure what I'm picking up yet, but whatever it is, I doubt that I'll need it for months.

I put a picture I took of the Milky Way on my Facebook page recently, mostly to remind myself why I continue to travel to McDonald Observatory. I was genuinely surprised at how much attention the picture got. Maybe I ought to post more pictures. I probably won't though. Way back when Google+ was a going concern I used to post pictures every day. One day a well known national photographer suggested to his followers that that they follow me as well. All of the sudden I had a ton of Google+ followers. Over 50,000 if I remember correctly. These people always wanted new content. The attention was fun for a little while and then it became a burden. I got tired of being a prolific photographer. I wasn't sad at all when Google pulled the plug on Google+. I didn't have to keep proving my worth anymore. It's much easier to write a little blog that nobody reads.

I have no idea what to take to the observatory with me. Usually I take several Winter coats because it can get very cold at night. I hear it's a lot warmer now though. Do I really need a down jacket in May? Should I take several pairs of Hoka shoes or just the new boots? I can't even decide which camera to take. The camera that works with the star track is not the camera I usually use and am more comfortable with. I guess I could take both, but I hate to travel with a bunch of unnecessary stuff. Do I tend to overthink things. Absolutely.

My grocery list for tomorrow is already longer than usual. How did we run out of so many things at the same time? I wonder if prices are continuing to rise? That's a stupid question. Of course they are. Unfortunately the stock market is headed in the opposite direction. We had the biggest drop since 2020 today.

Mindy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4501

I paid my travel bills today. What a discouraging experience. When I enter transactions in Quickbooks, it always brings up the previous transaction I had with that company. This comes in handy for recurring transactions, but it was just an irritating eye opener this time. Wow. I knew things were more expensive but I guess I didn't realize how much more. Airfares, hotels and rental cars were all just about double what they were during a very similar trip to Florida last September. I stayed in the same hotel and flew on the same airline too. If prices can go up this much in less than a year, I hate to even think what things will be like next year.

I think my new boots are keepers. I wore them on a six mile walk today and they did pretty well. They are firmer than my Hoka Bondi 7 shoes, but they still have that same Hoka feel. The Kaha boots provide a lot more ankle support and the Vibram soles provide a better grip on loose surfaces. These boots are waterproof as well, which wasn't a factor today but it will be soon enough. I'd like to think that the boots provide a little better protection against snake bites, but I certainly don't plan on getting near any snakes.

Dawn has really come a long way. She comes when I call her now and is really excited to go on walks. We try to give her two walks a day now since she seems to like them so much. Dawn is enjoyable for me to walk because she stops to smell things so often that it's easy for me to keep up with her. I think we're both basically lazy. Dawn still won't walk alone with me but luckily Janet enjoys walking too, so it isn't a problem. I wish I enjoyed walking as much as Dawn does, but I can't smell things as well as a dog. Dawn has an incredible sense of smell and can smell critters long before I see them. I can't smell much of anything, which can sometimes be a benefit in today's world.

I lost another sock in the wash today. I don't know how this happens. I looked in the washer and dryer and it wasn't there. I looked through all the other laundry to make sure it wasn't stuck to anything. It didn't appear to fall on the floor either. The sock just disappeared. Sometimes these things turn up later, but other times they never do. One of life's many mysteries.

I'm still eating Easter leftovers. Variety was never a big deal with me. If I find something I like, I can have it over and over again. I do like ham. It certainly seems to keep well. You need to eat seafood right away, but I think you could keep making ham sandwiches with leftover ham forever.

I'm still having trouble keeping track of the days. Today seemed like Friday which means tomorrow will seem like Saturday. It's kind of amazing that I can crank out something a little different each day on the blog because my days are remarkably similar. Every once in a while something different happens, but not that often. I'm not complaining though. Monotony can be kind of relaxing if you don't fret about what you could be doing instead.

It did get the trash out to the curb this evening. I changed the furnace filters too. I could have done more. If I was smart I'd start packing now instead of waiting until the last minute. Nope. Can't do that. I need to avoid the issue for a few more days.

Joe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4500

Yay. Only 500 days to go. Why I ever took on this 5000 day challenge is lost in the mists of time, but I think I'm going to make it. 500 days is less than two years. Back when blogging was popular readers were impressed when I posted something 500 days in a row. Now that I'm closing in on 5000 days nobody cares. I don't even care myself. It's just something I do everyday like taking a long walk. Maybe the writing is beneficial, but it's a little late now to discover it's not.

I got a haircut today. I always feel better after a haircut and tend to get one before every major trip. When I was much younger I wore my hair a lot longer. That makes no sense to me now. Beards make even less sense. It all seems so messy. I kind of miss the days when I put on a suit to go to client meetings. Life seems way too casual now. People don't even wear suits to church anymore. A certain amount of formality is good for you. It adds a layer of structure to the chaos all around you.

With these attitudes it's no surprise that I didn't celebrate 4/20 today. I've never liked pot. I've never liked any form of hallucinogens. I think I've tried almost everything at least once, but that was enough. Why would you want an altered state of consciousness? Life is a rollercoaster ride full of nuances and complexities. I prefer to be alert and functional to take it all in.

I picked up my new boots at the REI store on my way home from getting a haircut. They look like what I need, but I haven't tried them on yet. Janet was surprised that I didn't wear them on my long walk today. All in good time. I'm never in a hurry to do anything. I'll wear them on at least one long walk before I leave on my trip. I'd hate to discover that these shoes hurt my feet when I'm on top of a mountain in West Texas. One good thing about Hoka shoes is that you don't really need to break them in. They feel about the same on the first day you wear them as the day you decide they are finally worn out.

This is the windiest Spring I can remember. I cut short my long walk today because the wind was blowing me off the trail. For some reason the wind is even stronger down by the lake. When I was walking into the wind it was hard to make any forward progress. At any rate, I only walked half my normal route today. That was plenty. I didn't really feel like going a long way anyway. I think I overdid it yesterday.

Janet said the Dawn did really well in training class tonight. You can tell that she has grown to like these classes. She is eager to go to class on Wednesday evenings now and has even made friends with some of the other dogs. She has also gotten really good at the obedience exercises. Maybe dogs need a little structure in their lives as well.

The ants are back. We get them every Spring. They don't stick around long, but when they arrive it seems like an invasion. I'm going to have to go buy some more bug spray and go around the outside of the house and cut off as many entry areas as I can. By May the ants are usually gone, but right now it seems like they could win this battle.

I don't have any plans for tomorrow. I'll try to think of something. I don't really want taking the trash out to the curb to be the big event of the day.

Wilson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4499

It was a very busy day. Since our monthly bulky trash pickup is tomorrow, I thought I'd try to remove the remaining leaves from our side yard. There were a ton of leaves and I eventually bagged up most of them and took the bags out to the curb. I should have done this weeks ago, but at least I got it done. Hopefully it will be easier now to get the mower out to the front yard now when it's time to mow.

I got a message from FedEx this morning saying that my camera part from China had been delivered. I went outside to get the package, but there was nothing. I looked everywhere. The FedEx curse had struck again. This package was supposed to arrive by FedEx Express, so I thought they might be a little better than FedEx Ground. Nope. Same terrible service. 

I called the lady at the local Fedex Ground terminal who had helped me find my lost star tracker and asked if she knew anyone locally at FedEx Express who could help me find out what had happened. She didn't know anyone, but was able to look up a local number for me. When I called the number, someone was able to determine what truck my package was on and called the driver. An hour later I got a call back saying that the driver had left the package at my neighbor's house by mistake. Sure enough, that's where the package was, right by the front door. I was nervous to go inside the gate and get the package because this was the same house where the dog bit me years ago. I made sure that the dog was not outside and then quickly retrieved the small package. All is well now, but I still think FedEx could do better.

It's too late to change my mind about going to the observatory now. I'm starting to get work assignments. I need to forget the long drive and remember how much I've enjoyed my trips to the observatory in the past. I've made this trip four time before. Surely I can do it one more time. I kind of feel the same way about the trip to West Texas as I do about my daily walks. The walks are not always fun, but the alternative is even worse. I'm not ready to give up and do nothing. I'll continue trying to keep my mind and body active for as long as I can. There's nothing fancy about this. You've just got to keep moving.

I did pretty well at keeping moving today. In addition to all the exercise I got raking and bagging leaves, I also took an even longer walk than usual. I joined Dawn and Janet on their afternoon walk and then just kept walking. 25,000 steps today. I don't think that this is an all time record, but it's pretty close. My feet hurt, but not nearly as bad as I expected. 

On the way home I passed a guy who has been taking care of one of my neighbor's yards for years. He's a nice guy that I've known for a long time and I asked him if he'd be interested in adding another yard to his lawn care business. I was a bit surprised when he said that he'd be happy to take care of my yard. He said he could go up on the roof and remove the standing water from time to time as well. Maybe it's time to make this transition. When I mowed last week I could tell that my mowing days were numbered.

My new Hoka boots have arrived and I can pick them up at the store tomorrow on my way to get a haircut. Today was good. The weather was nice and it felt like I was making progress. There needs to be more days like this.

Marley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4498

There was one less dog when we visited the kennel this afternoon. Julip has gone to her new home. Things are looking up for the Dalmatians. Potential adoptors have been looking at Candy and Oliver as well. Not surprisingly, there is a huge amount of interest in Sammy's puppies, but it's nice to see the adult dogs getting some interest as well. Hopefully more of our rescues will find their forever homes soon. Every one of of these dogs would make a great addition to some lucky family.

It's nice to see the progress the puppy mill dogs are making. Each week we visit they appear more well adjusted and normal. Rocket is much less fearful than he was when he entered the rescue program. He's become friends with one of the kennel attendants and is starting to show a playful side. Rocket won't play with Janet and I yet, but he will take cookies from us. He's definitely making progress and his skin is getting better too.  Candy is definitely calmer than she was last week. I think the person who has been thinking about adopting her has really helped. Basically, all these guys are decompressing, learning to trust, and starting to realize that life is much better than they ever thought it could be.

It was my turn to drive to the kennel this week and I tried to imagine seven hours of this on my upcoming drive to West Texas. Freeways are horrible now. The traffic is relentless and most of it consists of eighteen wheelers going as fast as they can. It is unnerving to be on a multi-lane freeway and have one of these huge trucks on either side of you. All things considered though, driving in town is still probably worse than the open road. On a busy day, even the supermarket parking lots are worse than the open road.

The weather was weird today. When we took Dawn on her early walk it was cold enough for winter coats again. The furnace was running when I woke up this morning. It warmed up quickly though. I only needed a light jacket when we visited the rescue dogs at the kennel and by the time I took my long walk later in the afternoon, I had to change to shorts and a t-shirt. Just another normal Texas day, I guess.

I got a tracking number on the camera part I ordered from China. It's coming by FedEx again. I hope I have better luck than I did with my last shipment from China. The star tracker was lost for so long that I thought I was never going to receive it. This time I am definitely not going to change the delivery location in route. In retrospect, that blunder played a big role in why the package was lost for so long.

My long walk was pretty short today. I think I overdid it yesterday. My feet bothered me quite a bit this afternoon and I saw no reason to punish myself. I only got 16,000 steps today and probably should have stopped when I passed the 10,000 mark. It's hard to stop on a nice day though. Although it was cold this morning, this afternoon was almost perfect.

Our Easter dinner tastes just as good as leftovers. Since there are only two of us, there are lots of leftovers. I"ll probably be eating Easter dinner all week. It's a good thing I like ham. I guess it's a good thing I like shredded wheat and berries as well. I might be eating this for breakfast forever. For some reason I just can't bring myself to go out for breakfast anymore. I can't bring myself to cook either. I used to cook elaborate breakfasts and even got one of my recipes in a cookbook once. Not anymore. Shredded wheat is just fine.

There's not much on the agenda for tomorrow. Sleeping in sounds good to me, but Dawn probably has other ideas.

Mattie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4497 - Easter

We had a very pleasant Easter. It was so peaceful and quiet when we took Dawn on her early walk this morning. There was no traffic noise, no planes overhead, and no police or fire sirens. There were very few people in the park and it felt like I remembered it years ago. Of course that would change dramatically later in the day, but for a brief moment in time all was good.

We had a hearty weekend breakfast after we walked Dawn and afterwards since the weather was cool and traffic was light on our street, I thought I'd try to mow the lawn. It's still a loathsome job, but I did it. It actually didn't seem any harder than it did the previous year, so that was encouraging. I'm glad I mowed when I did. The grass was starting to get thick. On most days I hate mowing where our yard meets the street. The traffic has gotten much, much worse during the thirty odd years we've lived here. People don't even slow down when they pass me mowing along the edge of the yard. They barrel by at 40 to 50 miles an hour. I miss the days when our street was relatively quiet.

After I finished mowing and rested a bit, it was time for Dawn's Sunday outing. The weather was still cool and cloudy, so we had a nice walk. The parks weren't quite so empty this time. Families were starting to arrive for Easter picnics and barbecues. A few children were having an egg hunt. We encountered some people on horseback during our walk. Dawn doesn't react to horses the way some of our other dogs have. She pretty much ignores them. After walking about a mile and a half, we went looking for ice cream. I really expected the ice cream place to be closed for Easter, but we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the place was open. They raised their prices again. The cones weren't any bigger though. So it goes. Absolutely everything is getting more expensive these days.

I don't know why I still felt like taking a long walk later in the afternoon. Probably because I couldn't think of anything better to do. This time the park was a zoo. The place was completely filled with families having large picnics. Many groups brought tables and chairs with them. Some set up tents as well. I was surprised at how many families brought their own barbecue grills since there are already lots of permanent grills in the park. There were lots of games for children. One group even set up an elaborate zip line between two trees for their kids to ride. It looked like everyone was having fun. I'm not a fan of crowds in the park, but it was hard to find fault with any of this. In today's increasingly weird world, it was nice to see families acting like regular normal families.

When I finished my third walk of the day I'll have to admit that I was tired. Hey, I got 22,000 steps though and I mowed the yard. Not bad for an old guy with bad feet. I doubt that I'll walk nearly as far tomorrow. The highlight of our day was Easter dinner. A smoked ham has become a tradition on Easter Sunday. You've got to have candied yams and a green bean casserole too. We finished our meal with a delicious carrot cake. I ate too much, but that's what holiday meals are for. It looks like we'll have plenty of leftovers for the rest of the week.

Tomorrow it's time to visit the rescue Dalmatians again. I hope potential adopters are looking at these dogs. They're all great and it's time for each of them to find their forever homes.

Bella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4496

I got to sleep a little longer this morning. Even though we are both retired, we still maintain a vestage of our old work schedules. This means sleeping in on weekends and having breakfast together. I think Dawn would like to get started earlier on Saturday morning, but she usually doesn't move until she knows at least one of us is awake. We had a nice walk before breakfast although it was rather warm. No jackets required.

Traffic seems unusually heavy this Easter weekend. The grocery stores were certainly busy. It seemed like everybody was planning a big Easter meal. I easily found everything on my list, but had a hard time finding a parking place at some stores. The Central Market parking lot is always full, but there always seems to be one space open for me when I arrive. It's always the exact same space. I find this strange, but I'm starting to believe that this is my space. One of these days it will be taken when I arrive and I'll be mad.

Janet has a big dinner planned for tomorrow with a smoked ham, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole and more. To have something different tonight I picked up some Maryland Crab Cakes. We both love crab cakes. I always seems to be thinking about food and sleep. I guess I have my priorities.

It felt more like Summer than Spring on my long walk today. At least it was a cloudy day and there was a little breeze. I was comfortable in shorts and my feet still aren't hurting too bad. Someone stopped me today and asked where the eagles were. Beats me. I've heard rumors that they are still in the area but I haven't seen them in over a month. I must have been walking really slow on my way home because one of my neighbors slowed their car and asked me if I needed a ride. Nope. I'm fine. This is what I do. I walk slow.

I got out the star tracker this afternoon and installed the latest software. I still have a hard time getting this thing to work correctly. The camera sometimes goes dead in the middle of a session and I have to restart everything. I still don't know if the connecting cables are bad or if my camera is not completely compatible with the tracker. At any rate, I doubt that I'll take it to the observatory with me. It's just too much trouble.

I should have mowed the grass this afternoon instead of monkeying around with the tracker. Maybe I'll mow tomorrow. If I wait too much longer, the grass will be too high. The only good thing about mowing is that it still counts as steps. If I mow, I don't have to walk as far. I still think it would be better to get someone to do this for me, but I hate dealing with strangers. I'll probably just keep mowing.

We'll still take Dawn on her Sunday outing tomorrow, although I doubt that the ice cream place will be open. I always have to watch the dogs carefully around Easter when we go to the parks. There are a lot of Easter egg hunts on Easter morning and kids don't seem to look for real eggs anymore. People hide plastic eggs filled with candy. The park is usually littered with candy on Monday morning. Dogs should never eat chocolate, but that doesn't keep them from trying. Dawn has a good sense of smell too. If there's loose food, she'll find it.

I hope everyone has a happy Easter. I haven't forgotten the true meaning of the day. I just don't talk about it.

Becker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4495

It was hard to get up this morning. I was still asleep when Janet and Dawn were ready to walk. Janet said that she woke me up earlier, but I have no memory of a wake up call. At any rate, I quickly got dressed and off we went. I think our rainy weather is over, but it was still very windy. Dawn remembers that we gave her a treat to get her moving again when she used to freeze in place. Now she does this every morning just to get the treat. She's not nervous anymore, just conniving.

After breakfast, I got the lawn mower running. I was kind of surprised that the batteries still held a charge after being dormant all winter, but everything seems to work. I'll probably have to mow the grass this weekend. It's getting pretty thick. I keep meaning to ask one of the neighbor's yard crews what they'd charge to mow my front lawn as well. I haven't been home lately when they've been working on the neighbor's yards though. One of these days I'll catch them. I'm getting tired of doing the mowing myself.

I made an appointment to get a haircut. I should have done this several weeks ago. Now the first time I can get in is next Wednesday. That will work fine. I just wanted a haircut before I go to the observatory. I still have mixed feelings about this trip. One day I'll feel like canceling my plans and not going at all. The  next day I'll feel better and start looking forward to the peaceful isolation of Mt. Locke. I've been going back and forth like this for weeks. Hopefully, I'll be in a good mood on the day I'm supposed to leave.

I got a notice this afternoon that the Hoka boots I've been trying to find for over six months are finally back in stock. Too bad I didn't get this notice before I bought the regular Hoka Bondi 7 shoes a few weeks ago. Oh, well. I went ahead and ordered the boots because lord knows when they'll be available again. The notice said "limited supply, act now" so they'll probably be out of stock again tomorrow.

There's already a new update to the star tracker software. Now I'll have to get the tracker out and install things all over again. I've lost track of how many updates I've already installed. I can't decide whether to take the tracker to the observatory with me. If memory serves, these volunteer assignments keep me so busy that there's not much time for photography anyway. It would be tempting not to take a camera at all. I've already taken plenty of pictures out there already.

I don't know how I did it, but I got 22,000 steps today. The weather was nice and I didn't have much else to do. "Might as well walk" has been my motto lately. I was tired when I returned home, but the foot pain wasn't that bad. I felt this way yesterday as well. Hopefully, this trend continues. The last thing I want on a road trip is foot pain.

I finished the day by paying some bills and doing a little accounting. Most of the bills from my Florida trip haven't even come in yet, but I know it isn't going to be pretty. It's a shame that life has become so expensive. I don't know if I'd do more if prices were reasonable again, but I might. 

Krissy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Dasy 4494

I'm losing track of the days again. I thought it was Friday for a while this morning. Nope, it's only Thursday. It's an easy mistake to make when all days seem more or less the same. Now that the days are getting longer, our sunrise walks with Dawn don't seem quite so early anymore. The sun is usually well above the horizon before we leave the house. It's interesting to see where Dawn will lead us on these walks. Now that she is more confident, she takes a slightly different path each day. I don't really think she's being adventurous. She's a dog and is probably just following interesting smells.

After breakfast this morning I wrote an overdue letter to my sister and took it to the post office. In all the years we've lived here, I've never just left a letter in our mailbox for the postman to pick up. I have no faith in mail carriers and somehow think the mail will never be delivered this way. I still like to drop the letter in the slot myself at the posts office. 

On the way home I needed to stop at CVS and HomeDepot to pick up a few things. CVS is really strange these days. I think there is only one employee in the entire store. Usually there is nobody at the register. You have to search around the store to find the employee who is usually stocking shelves and tell them that you need to check out. It's kind of ironic that businesses say that they can't find employees when they don't really want them either. Just about everyone is trying to get you to use an app on your phone to make your purchases. I do use an app for grocery shopping, but it seems to get worse with each new update. Now you have to wade though a bunch of ads before you can get to the scanning function. 

I have to go to Home Depot to find light bulbs. I still have two lamps in the living room that use quartz halogen bulbs instead of LED bulbs. It's getting hard to find these kind of bulbs. Home Depot still has incandescent bulbs if you are really old school. I don't go that far. Most of the lights in our house have been converted to LED bulbs by now.

It was a nice day for a walk. It was 70 degrees with clear skies and very little wind. I'm back to walking my regular six mile route again, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to get back to my old pace. It used to take me 18 minutes to walk a mile. Now it takes me at least 21. It's hard to say if it's my feet or just general wear and tear that is slowing me down. All I know is that I sure feel older than I did last year.

I was finally able to order the custom camera part I wanted from the weird Chinese website. A nice lady from the company guided me through the arcane order process using Facebook Messenger. We'll see if I actually get this part now. Actually, I've ordered everything from photo backdrops to watches directly from Chinese companies and they've never let me down yet. Many of these companies seem more modern and efficient than their American counterparts. Ordering from Europe is the worst. I really try to avoid ordering anything from Europe.

I hope the Elon Muck is able to buy Twitter. It's a long shot because corporate America and the investment community hates Elon. He's a loose cannon to them and might ruin the privileged little world they've created for themselves. Something got to be done about social media though. It's gotten out of control. Even I have been censored and all I do is write about dogs. I still miss the old days when all we had was IRC and newsgroups. The Internet was nice when it was all about conversation. Now it's about influence and power. That's not good. I think we'd be better off if social media and today's connected world just disappeared. We don't need a hive mind. We need people to start thinking for themselves again.

Flash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day