Day 4184

I got this letter from O'Reilly Auto Parts in Springfield, Missouri today addressed to Johnny Sealander. That's odd, I thought. Nobody calls me Johnny except my sister. Inside this letter was another letter from, you guessed it, my sister. Along with the letter was a note from the auto parts company saying that the post office delivered the letter to them by mistake. Hmm. I wonder how much other mail of mine the post office has lost and scattered around the country? It's hard to figure out how a letter clearly and legibly addressed to me could wind up at an auto parts store in Missouri. It's no wonder I have so little faith in the post office or any government entity these days. I feel bad now about complaining to SpaceFlight Magazine about not sending me author copies. They probably sent the magazines months ago and the post office just lost them.

For the first time in weeks there is no rain in the long range forecast. It did rain for a while early this morning, but that might be the last we see for a while. I should be happy that our yard looks so green this year. Rain depresses me though. I'm always waiting for the roof to start leaking again. I'll give the yard a couple of days to dry out and then I'll mow the grass again.

We're getting way more spam and telemarketing calls than we used to. They've always been a problem on the land line, but now I'm getting them on my cell phone as well. The phone company needs to do a better job of screening these calls. If the caller ID says "suspected spam" why do they even let the call go through? It's become an almost daily ritual to block callers on my iPhone. I wonder if there is a limit to how many numbers you can block? If there is, I'm probably pretty close to reaching it. I think the phone company needs a new billing plan. If a spam call gets through, they should credit your account instead of billing you. Right now I'm just paying the phone company to be irritated.

I'm wondering how much longer I can continue my long walks as temperatures continue to rise. It wasn't even that hot today by Dallas standards, but I was drenched in sweat by the time I completed my walk. It's only going to get worse too. I think Winter walks are much more enjoyable. I don't think Dawn likes the heat either, but she's smart enough to keep her walks short. Janet just goes to the gym where it is air conditioned. I keep walking because the walks add a little structure to my day. I can't say it's any fun though. I'd much rather be on top of Mount Locke out at the observatory.

We live near the remnants of the Blackland Prairie. I can remember fields covered with native grasses like Big and Little Bluestem, Indian grass, and Canada Wildrye. Lately, these prairie areas are completely overrun with Johnson Grass and Queen Ann's Lace. Sometimes I see small groups of people trying to weed these huge prairie areas, removing Queen Ann's Lace plants one by one. What are these people thinking? They are out in the hot sun for hours and maybe are able to remove a hundred plants. There are millions of Queen Ann's Lace plants in the park. If you look out over a field all you see is a sea of Queen Ann's Lace. This futile gardening effort seems like a metaphor for something but I can't figure out what. 

It's hard to tell if Dawn is becoming normal or I'm just becoming weird. I stay out of the kitchen now while Dawn is eating or hanging out with Janet. Dawn stays out of the bedroom while I'm making the bed. We cross paths during the day going back and forth between the front and back of the house. I've gotten to where I think I'm just being polite by staying out of Dawn's way. She's super friendly when I have a leash in my hand and she likes me to take her on walks. She just doesn't like to hang out with me. I don't think she's ever been in my office. For some reason she thinks the room is off limits.

Life is strange. I've given up trying to figure dogs or other people out. You could drive yourself crazy looking for answers where there aren't any. I've got a little routine that gets me through the day and so does Dawn. It's all good.

Lacey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3451

I saw a woman pulling up Queen Anne's Lace in one of the meadows this morning. I'd seen small groups of people doing this before, so I asked what she was doing. She said she was trying to remove the invasive species from the native prairie. Lots of luck with that. The lady had about a dozen Queen Anne's Lace plants in her hand. She and I were literally surrounded by millions more of these plants as far as the eye could see. I had to admire the effort, but this was the best example of a quixotic quest that I had ever seen. I think the invasive plants are winning this battle. As I was leaving to continue my walk I asked what she planned to do about the Johnson Grass. The lady had no answer. Johnson Grass is almost impossible to eradicate.

I wonder what motivates people to do impossible things? I see people trying to do the impossible almost every day. The last remains of the Blackland Prairie were definitely a lot prettier when Janet and I first moved here, but I don't know if pulling up Queen Anne's Lace one plant at a time can save it. Buffalo and antelope used to graze here. Early settlers replaced most of the prairie grasses with crops and trees. They began to extinguish the naturally occurring prairie fires that allowed the prairie to flourish. As a result most of the 12 million acre prairie is gone. Ironically, the only reason the 250 acres of native prairie in the park survived is that the place used to be a dairy farm before it was a park. The cattle loved the prairie grasses just as much as the buffalo did. Grazing cattle saved the prairie. The cows are long gone now and the city won't mow the area, so invasive species are taking over. Every year I see fewer flowers and more Johnson Grass. It's a shame.

My solution to situations like this is always fewer people. Humans are the worst invasive species of all. We are much worse than Queen Anne's Lace or Johnson Grass. We are rapidly eating all the fish in the sea, sawing down the rainforests to make houses, and continuing to reproduce at an exponential rate. This is simply not sustainable. Solar panels and windmills aren't going to fix this. Somebody needs to convince the human race to quit having babies for a while.

I kept thinking about impossible things as I continued my walk but I didn't have any answers. I don't even know how to save the city's exploding population of stray dogs. The dogs aren't the problem. It's the irresponsible people who own them. Every time there is a big rain and the tributaries overflow their banks, an avalanche of plastic bottles, Startbucks cups, and other trash float into the lake carried by the rising water. This is all people's trash from Northern suburbs. More irresponsible people. In the ensuing weeks an army of Park and Recreation workers clean up the trash that has accumulated on the shoreline and haul it away. Then it rains again and the whole process starts all over again. It's hopeless.

Maybe things like this are why my feet are getting more activity than my brain these days. I've got no answers. Everything I see people doing to fix things seems wrong. Probably my solutions are wrong too. I'm as human as the next guy.

For the moment, I'll just keep walking and try to stay active. Since today was a nice day and I had little to do, it was almost impossible to avoid mowing the grass. I mowed both the front and back yards. Mr. Fitbit will be happy today. I got in a lot of steps for a weekday.

Wendy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2328

There was an educational event in the park today to build awareness about the remaining segments of the Blackland Prairie in the area. Only about 1% of the original prairie still exists, but a lot of the remaining grassland is right in our neighborhood and the dogs and I walk through it every day. I was tempted to go to the event and see if I could learn the names of some of the over 190 species of plants that grow in the prairie. A lot of the plants are familiar to me, but there are still a lot that aren't. I notice something new almost every week and am always curious to know what it is. In the back of my mind, I knew I would end up skipping this event, because that's just what I do. There just doesn't seem to be enough time any more. By the time I finish running errands, caring for the dogs, and doing regular weekend chores, the day is gone. I have my priorities too. I would much rather relax and enjoy a leisurely meal, than grab a bite at at a fast food restaurant just so I could drive across town to see something.

I really didn't have much of an excuse for missing the talk about the Blackland Prairie. The event was free and it was only a five minute walk from my house. What did I do instead? I took a nap. I felt quite justified in taking a nap because I don't sleep well these days and my regular routine is tiring. I'll probably miss an upcoming home tour that I used to go to every year for exactly the same reasons. I forget sometimes that I used to enjoy gallery hopping and going out to movies. I don't anymore. I watch movies on a large flat screen in the bedroom and satisfy my curiosity for everything else by looking it up on Google.

Janet is at a Dalmatian Rescue event this evening. She says it would drive her crazy to live like I do. It's a good thing that the reclusive life doesn't bother me, because I'm convinced that Dot depends on having me nearby. Since she stumbles and falls so easily, you can't let her wander around the house unsupervised. She will inevitably fall somewhere and hurt herself. You can't crate her anymore either. Since she is incontinent, she becomes frantic if she poops in her cage and can't get away from the mess. Writing the blog while the dogs sleep actually works out pretty well. I can always see Dot from where I work. If she starts to struggle or need assistance, I'm right there.

I was going to watch the White House Correspondents Dinner on TV tonight, but I discovered that like most events, the dinner was preceded by a pre-game show and a long red carpet segment where reporters gushed about what celebrities were wearing to the event. I got bored and turned the TV off long before the actual jokes even started. It is mush easier to watch events like this on the Internet. I found a live feed from the Washington Post that excerpted the funniest jokes and printed them out in real time. I was able to scan the whole thing in less time than it took to write this paragraph.

I might not know the names of all 190 plants in the park, but I did recognize a patch of Oenothera Speciosa while I was walking Dash this evening. Let's just call the plant a Pink Primrose. It's been a quiet, uneventful day and I'm grateful for that. As soon as I give the dogs their evening pills and take them out to pee, I'm going to bed.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day