Day 4677

It's that time of year. The furnace came on this morning for the first time this season. This afternoon the air conditioner came on. This happens every year. We go back and forth like this for a while while the seasons sort themselves out. Even though it still gets warm later in the day, you can tell the days are getting cooler. It was chilly on our sunrise walk with Dawn today. I had a jacket on, but I wished I'd worn long pants.

I didn't even think about going to the gym today because it was quite nice outside. I got started on my long walk right after breakfast and ended up getting a surprise. I saw one of the eagles again. I'd heard the eagles were back in the area, but this was the first time I've seen one this year. I suspect that these are the same eagles that made a home in the park last year, but I'm just guessing. Now that I think about it, the eagles arrived about this same time last year and started making their nest a few months later. We'll see if they attempt to make another nest. They weren't very lucky last year when they built their nest in a dead tree and a limb broke off and destroyed it.

The Double-Crested Cormorants are back as well. All we need are a few more Canadian Geese and the lake's winter waterfowl will be in place. I'm looking forward to winter walks. You don't have to worry about snakes and the mosquitos subside as well. Winter walks are better unless it is snowing. I've got plenty of warm coats but there is only so much you can take off in the summer.

I was wrong about shoddy road construction in the area. I've been reading about the aphid infestation and it turns out that the aphids love pecan trees. Sure enough, the sticky areas on the roads are all directly under pecan trees. It wasn't road tar coming to the surface I was seeing, it was aphid poop dripping from the pecan trees. They call the stuff honeydew but it's still aphid poop. There must be millions of the little critters in the area this year because the sticky stuff is everywhere. The aphid infestation might also explain why we've been having problems with ants this Fall. Ants apparently love to eat the honeydew and our neighbors have a large pecan tree right next to our house. I hate to even think what the roof looks like right now.

I watched the reentry and recovery of the Crew-4 capsule on NASA TV this afternoon. It still amazes me how accurate they can be with these rockets. The Dragon capsule landed exactly where it was supposed to and the recovery ship was right there waiting for them. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by this. Last week we managed to score a direct hit on a small asteroid and knocked it out of orbit. Orbital mechanics has always been a mystery to me. Isaac Newton formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation that make space navigation possible hundreds of years ago and I'm still sitting here counting my steps. I guess that's why I'm a writer. I was always terrible at math.

It's hard to believe it's the middle of the month already. Time flies as you grow older. I'm sure Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas will all just go by in a blur. Today was grocery day for Janet and tomorrow is grocery day for me. I wonder how expensive things will be this week? We are living in a dystopian world where absolutely nothing is getting easier or less expensive. I'm glad I grew up and spent my working years when times were a lot better.

Abby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day