Friday, March 24, 2023

Day 4838

What a strange day. We woke up under severe weather warnings with some ominous looking dark clouds overhead. I took a quick look at the weather radar and then we hurridly took Dawn on a quick morning walk. Our timing was next to perfect because as soon as we returned home there was a bright flash of lightning and some very loud thunder. The lightning must have hit something nearby because shortly after this our power went out.

The power came on again within a few minutes, but this was just the first in a series of power outages this morning. Dawn doesn't like power outages and they bother her even more when Janet is gone. The multiple power outages totally freaked Dawn out and she began acting weirdly. She started hiding in corners and trying to get into closets. For some reason our big bed was no longer a safe place and she wanted out of the bedroom. She ended up sitting in a living room chair next to a window which always bothers me because the chair is next to a glass coffee table and Dawn could hurt herself if she didn't get off the chair carefully.

I wasn't able to comfort or reassure Dawn because she is usually scared of me anyway. She seemed to want to go outside, but when I let her out she tried to make a nest in the ground cover. I eventually just let her sit on the living room chair because that's where she wanted to be. She didn't really settle down until hours later when Janet returned with the groceries. I thought Dawn would be fine once the power was restored, but it didn't seem to make any difference. Once Dawn goes into panic mode, it's hard to get her out of it.

Luckily, when Janet came home with the groceries Dawn started returning to normal. She still didn't want to go in the bedroom though, which was very strange. I think battling with fear this morning wore her out. She seemed exhausted this afternoon and is still sleeping on the bed right now. Dawn really doesn't like surprises. I don't like surprises either, but Dawn's reaction is pretty extreme. Hopefully the next few days will be completely uneventful so she can get her confidence back.

I got a real late start on my long walk today because I didn't want to leave Dawn alone while she was in panic mode. I was kind of tired myself by the time I started walking but I managed to finish my route. The weather this afternoon was completely different than it was this morning. The skies were clear and blue with pleasant warm temperatures. We got quite a bit of rain this morning, but by mid-afternoon it was like the storm never even happened. Luckily we didn't get the worst of the storm. The really bad weather went to the south of us.

When I was walking today I gave some thought to what I want to do next. Sadly, my mind was a blank. I don't feel like driving out to the observatory anymore and I'm not even that excited about going down to Florida for launches. I've never liked flying that much and all the current airline problems have caused old fears to return. Maybe Dawn and I aren't all that different. My favorite thing is sleeping now. What was I thinking yesterday? I really don't need another large format printer because I haven't been doing gallery shows for a long time. Most of my unsold art is sitting in the storage warehouse. I definitely don't need all the music gear in the office. I haven't written and recorded my own songs in ages. All these former interests seem curious and strange to me now. How did I get interested in this stuff in the first place? I'm not even sure how I got interested in rockets.

Tomorrow is another day. Hopefully it will be a day where Dawn remains calm and happy. For my part I'll make a grocery list and do my weekly shopping. I won't need to get gas because I didn't drive anywhere this week. I'm sure I'll take a long walk. I always take a long walk.

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day


Watch of the Day