Day 4115

The star tracker I ordered arrived today. I looked at the instruction manual just long enough to realize that it's going to take me a while to learn to use this thing. I've got a month or so to master assembling and operating the tracker in complete darkness. This is not easy. When I was out at McDonald Observatory last October, even setting camera exposures in the dark was a chore. I spent a lot of time looking for little things I dropped on the ground. It was way too easy to throw off your polar alignment by bumping the tripod in the dark or spoiling the focus that took you forever to get just right by accidently touching the lens. Astrophotography is not an avocation for the clumsy. Unfortunately I am very clumsy. We'll see if I can be more careful this time. The last time I was on the mountain, I almost fell in a hole and broke my leg.

Maybe I ought to stick to photographing dogs. I'm pretty good at photographing dogs. Getting a good picture of the Andromeda Galaxy or the Orion Nebula is much harder for me. The night sky is interesting though and there are very few things that interest me anymore. Hey, if other people can do this, I should be able to take good night sky pictures as well. I'll figure out this star tracker in the weeks ahead and I bet my photos will be a lot better this time than they were last October.

I resumed my long walks today. It was very windy which made it almost impossible to dress for the occasion. When I was near the shoreline and the wind was blowing in my face I was cold. When I was out in the meadows and away from the water I was hot. I don't know where the ducks were today. I saw very few. Pretty soon the pelicans will fly North for the summer. There are already a lot fewer of them at the lake. Another week of two of warm weather and they'll be gone.

I see a few new wildflowers blooming every day now. It's interesting that the blue and purple flowers bloom first. Then the yellow flowers start blooming. The red flowers are almost always last. In April and May you see all the flowers at once and then they slowly start to disappear. It's not as much fun to photograph these flowers anymore because I've already captured every variety that grows here many times. April used to be a time for photography. Now it's mostly a time where I don't need to wear a coat and I don't get sunburned either. 

I was going to go looking for an Easter ham today but I forgot. I need to do this tomorrow. I've learned to ask for a Chop at the smokehouse. This is a small boneless cut that the store uses to make ham sandwiches for customers. A regular ham is way too much for two people and this small size is perfect. If you vacuum seal the meat in a boil-in bag you can keep it nice and juicy by just heating it in boiling water instead of putting it in the oven. Did I mention that I love a good smoked ham?

It's hard to believe that tomorrow will be April 1. It's getting harder and harder to separate the April Fool's jokes from reality. Life is so strange now that I'm having a difficult time telling the difference. The fact that Covid is still with us after an entire year seems like a cruel joke, but I guess it's real. I don't need any more big surprises. I'm waiting for life to become simple and predictable again. That wish is probably an April Fool's joke. I don't think that life will ever be simple and predictable again.

Smiley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3384

I went to get some beer on the way to the gym this morning and when I got to the register, the clerk said "We can't sell you that yet." I must have had a puzzled look on my face because he quickly added "It's Sunday and we can't sell beer and wine until noon." The time was 11:50 AM. Jeez. I'd totally forgotten about Blue Laws. Do these things still exist? I guess they do. This little encounter in the grocery store is a perfect example of how government works. Laws get created. Over time, people forget why the laws were passed in the first place, but they are still enforced. It's all very arbitrary. If I'd had the patience to wait ten more minutes, everything would have been fine.

I felt tired and overweight at the gym today. I must not have been that tired because I completed my workout in one hour and four minutes, just like I always do. I probably wasn't overweight either. This was just a day when I would have preferred to sleep until noon. Sleeping until noon, or even until 8 AM isn't an option anymore. I need to walk Dash when he is awake and active. This is usually right after he's taken his morning meds. I've learned that if I miss this opportunity, it can be very difficult to get him moving again.

Dash has a good walk this morning, but he seems to be dragging his right rear leg more. He's been going through the disposable rubber boots at a rapid clip this week. Sometimes he tears a hole in the cotton sock as well. So far, the base layer bandage has remained unharmed. I think the reason the boots are getting torn up is that we are walking on pavement more. Dash likes variety and seems to get bored easily. We are always changing our route as we make our way through the park. I'd like a little more consistency, but it's Dash's walk, not mine. If I can keep him happy and engaged, he's going to keep moving. Muscle atrophy is real. I'm trying to keep those muscles from deteriorating even further.

When I went back to Kroger to get the peaches I forgot yesterday there was only one peach left. I bought the peach along with a few nectarines, wondering why peaches are so hard to find at this time of year. The produce aisles at Whole Foods and Central Market are overflowing with fruit from all over the world, but there are no peaches. There are plenty of pears, plums, oranges, mangoes, and kiwis, along with an enormous variety of apples, but no peaches. One of life's mysteries, I guess.

It's hard to believe it's going to be April tomorrow. This year is really going fast. It's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between real stories and April Fool's jokes on social media. Modern life has become so bizarre that real life often appears to be an April Fool's joke. Last year it was Easter on April 1. That was real. I think it was cold last year too.

It's almost time to start mowing the grass again. I wonder if I'll have the strength to push the mower this year. It seems to get harder and harder with each passing year.

Smiley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2655 - April Fools Day

I honestly couldn't tell any difference between the April Fools fake news on Facebook and the regular fake news. It's all just blended together now. Everything is fake news. I realize now that there was fake news long before it became a political hot potato. Most health news on social media is fake. I still fall for those articles that tell you that drinking beer is actually healthy for you, or that drinking a glass of red wine is the equivalent of spending thirty minutes at the gym. I think people figured out long ago that if you tell people what they want to hear, most of them will believe it.

I paid my phone bill really early this month to avoid last month's ridiculous late charge. I paid in plenty of time last month, but AT&T still maintains that it took two weeks for them to get my check. I know they are messing with me. I looked at this month's bill and they have shortened the payment period so the bill is basically late when you receive it. I know they are trying to force me to switch to electronic payments. I get little flyers inside my bill every month urging me to switch. This month there was even a message on the envelope encouraging me to stop using the mail. More any more companies want to abandon dealing with paper in the worst way and I hate it. I've been using paper checks for my entire adult life and see no reason to change now.

I have a feeling that the grocery store is messing with me too. Once again there were no blueberries. I even went to the store early today, but it didn't matter. The store apparently wants me to shop on Monday. Could it really be that hard to stock the store with produce before the store opens on Saturday morning? Maybe so, but I don't believe it. Probably some efficiency expert discovered that they could save money by cutting back deliveries on items that would stay fresh in the store for several days.

I mowed the grass in the front yard this morning. I would have mowed the grass in the back yard too, except there isn't any. Basically we killed all the grass and most of the ground cover by walking around behind Dot while holding her up for the past year and a half. I'm going to replace the grass in the back later this month, but I don't expect it to last. If it stays green and pretty for six months, I guess that's enough. The grass in the front is certainly green enough, but on closer inspection, a lot of the green is just weeds. Underneath the grass is a whole lot of clover, which it probably doing its best to choke out the grass. I don't use any chemicals or fertilizers on the yard because of the dogs, but I think my desire to protect them has given nature the upper hand. Weeds seem to love me now.

Dot seemed weak today. She stumbled a lot when we took our short walks. Since I support her now at both her shoulders and her hips, she didn't fall, but I could tell she was having trouble walking. I hate to see this happen, but there is little I can do to stop it. Dot seems very susceptible to the weather. It was very humid for most of the day. Maybe that made her more tired than usual. Hopefully, after a good rest tonight, she'll feel better in the morning.

I remembered something that I really needed to pick up at the store while I was walking Dash this morning. By the time we got home, I had completely forgotten what the item was. I still don't remember. This happens a lot these days. I did remember to do my website updates this morning though. I remembered to turn on the dishwasher after breakfast too and clean the load of clothes that had piled up in the washer. Sometimes I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle, but at least I'm still trying.

Haley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1203

Did anything happen today? I don't think so. The combination of a slow Monday and April Fool's Day made me a bit skeptical of everything I saw on the Internet or heard on TV.  Pranking seems the thing to do these days. Google+ was full of plausible misinformation. I'm not a big fan of practical jokes, but kept thinking it would be funny if everything on Wikipedia and The Onion were actually true today. Who knows. Maybe Kim Jong Un's belicose treats to annihilate the world are just an elaborate April Fool's Joke. I'm a fairly literal person and I find it increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction. Are the president and congress just pranking us, or is the world really this screwed up? Maybe Kris Kristofferson said it best, when he wrote. "He's a walkin' contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction," Every day is April Fool's to me.

After bragging to the vet during her acupuncture session about how quickly Dot seemed to be recovering, she appeared to have a rough time just an hour later on her evening walk. I guess that just goes to show that you've got to take almost everything one day at a time. Dot is an old dog. I can't let myself forget that.

I wrote some articles today for clients who are still on vacation until Wednesday or Thursday. I don't know what the rush was. I guess I just like to keep busy. I don't like to keep too busy though. Even though I still need some more rocks to complete the back yard, I haven't made a return visit to the rock store yet. Moving all those rocks around last week was hard work. Writing articles is much easier. I'll write another article tomorrow and save the rocks for later.

Janet and I have started receiving an avalanche of mail and telephone calls, all telling us that it's time to start thinking about Medicare. Hey, why don't you wait a while guys. I feel old enough already. I had no idea that Medicare was such a profitable business. Dozens of companies are spending big money sending out fancy four-color brochures and hiring telemarketing companies to solicit my business. I don't know about Medicare, but I do know about marketing. If there wasn't a big profit in all this, these companies wouldn't be trying nearly as hard to get my business. 

Haley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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