Day 4647

Another slow day that was punctuated with a bunch of small chores. As usual, the day started with Dawn's sunrise walk. It was definitely jacket weather this morning. The temperature was only in the low 60's. The park was quiet today. A waning moon was high in the sky and you could still see Jupiter in the pre-dawn twilight. This is a good time of day to walk. I'm always a little nervous about running into coyotes but we haven't seen any in quite a while.

I took my own long walk in the park right after breakfast while the temperature was still cool. There was a lot more activity than when we walked Dawn a few hours earlier. I watched stone masons working on the series of gates the park department is building. There was a crew with lots of machinery paving a road that had gotten torn up earlier in the summer. The mowers were out as well, but they seem to have forgotten the meadow behind our house. It would be nice if they mowed this area because our shoes get wet walking through the high grass every morning when we leave the house with Dawn.

When we returned home I washed the car and narrowly avoided getting stung by bees. I'm really showing my age. It's a lot harder to get down on my knees and clean the wheels now. It's time to mow the grass again, but I'll save that for another day. By the time I finished the car it was getting warm and I wanted to get back inside.

There is already new firmware available for the star tracker, so I installed the latest version this afternoon. I'm always a bit apprehensive about updating this thing, but it still works. The Benro team has added so many features over the past six months that I think the app is running slower now. Some operations seems to take a very long time to complete. I wonder when I'll actually start using the tracker. The one time I used it out at McDonald Observatory was very promising. I was able to get some good pictures. I can't imagine using the tracker in Dallas though. The combination of light pollution and crime isn't conducive to astronomy. There are too many streetlights visible from our back yard and the rest of the city is just too dangerous at night. There are a few dark, secluded areas in the park, but bodies show up in the park from time to time and I don't want to be one of them.

I can't decide whether to make reservations for the next Artemis launch attempt, or just wait a while. I have a strong feeling that this launch is going to get postponed further, but I could be wrong. I'd hate to make the trip to Florida just to see another launch get scrubbed, but I'd also hate to be here in Dallas when there was a successful launch. I probably should just plan on going to these events as long as I can afford the trip. It sure beats sitting here and doing another load of laundry.

Dawn got another blue ribbon at her training class tonight. She is really doing well. Dash won a few ribbons before he lost interest in the class, but Dawn has done better than any of our other dogs. Janet says Dawn really likes the class too. It's nice to see Dawn overcoming her many fears and gaining confidence. She's come a long way.

Nicholas is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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