Day 4577

Another really hot day. Our air conditioner is running constantly and is having trouble keeping up with the heat. The temperature is already in the mid 80's when we take Dawn on her sunrise walk now. This is OK, but by mid-morning it is already too hot to do much outside. Sadly, there is no relief in sight. The forecast shows that the next nine days will be pretty much the same. It's a triple digit month.

I must have gotten stung by one of those hornets when I was cleaning the windows the other day. I didn't notice anything at the time, but now I've got a big welt on my leg. It looks and feels just like a bee sting, so I'm pretty sure that's what it is. I'm not allergic to bee stings, but this is irritating. The swelling is much worse than your usual mosquito or chigger bites.

I didn't even think about taking a walk in the park today. After I checked my messages and did the breakfast dishes I headed straight for the gym. The place wasn't very crowded today. Probably because I was earlier. Since this gym is run by a major hospital, there are always a lot of physical therapy patients. I always feel like I'm falling apart until I see what these people have to go through. Considering my age, I'm pretty lucky to still be relatively healthy. I'm glad they keep my gym super cold. It may be boring walking around the small indoor track, but it certainly beats getting sunburned while being drenched in sweat. I shot baskets for a while, walked several miles on the indoor track, and used several machines that will help my upper body strength. I have a feeling that I may be back tomorrow. I just can't handle a walk in the park in this heat.

I'm finding ants all over the place in the house now. Most of them appear near doors and windows and almost all are dead. I have no idea where they came from. Maybe they were part of the ant invasion that appeared on our front porch last month. After I vacuum the dead ants up, they don't tend to reappear. Maybe this was a one time event. I certainly hope so. One of the downsides of living near the park is that there are critters everywhere. We have to watch out for possums and raccoons when we let Dawn out at night and squirrels are everywhere. Luckily, we seldom see snakes. Our main battles are with the spiders who relentlessly built huge webs near our windows. Most of the spiders are harmless and help control other insects, but the webs are a huge nuisance. 

I'm still having trouble staying occupied during the day. Now that I'm no longer working and have stopped collecting things, the only things that seem to interest me are rocket launches and observing the night sky at McDonald Observatory. Where did all the other interests go? I used to write songs and play in a rock band. I spent several years as a fashion photographer. At one point I considered myself an art collector and never missed a gallery opening. None of these things interest me anymore. I guess it's OK for interests to ebb and flow, but it does seem a bit strange. Most people seem to keep their interests and obsessions for much longer.

Dawn won another ribbon at training class tonight. I was surprised that they even had the class since it was so hot, but Janet said there was a nice breeze and the dogs were all OK. Dawn really likes going to this class now. Like the Sunday outing and her early morning walks, it has become part of her routine. My own routine is almost as simple as Dawn's, but I don't win many ribbons.

Cisco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day