Day 4653

I mowed the front lawn this morning. As expected, the mower's battery died right as I was finishing up, but I did get the job done. I don't seem to be able to manage more than one chore a day lately, but ever so slowly I am getting things done. The yard looks nice now. At this time of year I start to hope that I won't have to mow for another season. It's probably just wishful thinking though. It got up to 90 degrees this afternoon. The grass will probably keep growing for a while.

There were still a few stars in the sky when we took our sunrise walk with Dawn this morning. We carry a flashlight with us now. I continue to be surprised at how quickly the days are getting shorter. It was a pleasant morning but it felt like it was going to get hot later on. On our sunrise walks it feels like Fall. Later in the day it still feels like summer.

I mowed the grass right after breakfast while it was still relatively cool. I wonder how long I'm going to keep doing this? I've found someone who will do the mowing for me but haven't used him yet. I get tired, but it's still easier to do this chore myself. Truthfully, it's easier to do most chores myself. I hate dealing with suppliers.

I went back to the gym because the day was getting warm. I was surprisingly good on the basketball court this morning. I don't think I've ever completed this many free throws in a row before.  Most of the other people using the court shoot from all over. I just shoot from the free throw line over and over again. If I ever get really good at completing free throws I may try more difficult shots. I'll never join in a pick up game with other gym members though. Shooting free throws is satisfying, but I don't even like basketball that much.

I had a productive morning, but I was basically done by noon. Sometimes I think I don't get enough sleep at night, but I probably get too much sleep if you count all the naps I take. I'd probably take more naps if Dawn wasn't so grumpy about sharing the bed with me. When I lie down on the bed during the day, Dawn gets up and leaves the room. Usually she waits just outside the bedroom door and as soon as I leave the room she hops up on the bed again. She doesn't do this with Janet. Only with me.

There is going to be a Delta IV Heavy launch out at Vandenberg Air Force Base this weekend. After this launch there are only two more of these huge rockets left before they are retired. Hopefully, I'll be able to see one of these remaining launches. I've applied to cover a Delta IV Heavy launch before but it didn't work out for some reason. There's always something to look forward to in the world of spaceflight. Maybe I'll even get to see a Starship launch someday. 

While I'm waiting for something exciting to happen, I'll continue to do small chores around the house. I need to do some maintenance work on the roof but I don't like to climb up there anymore. I'm getting too old for a lot of this stuff I used to do around the house. Even the easy stuff is getting hard. I tried to fix the troublesome Porcher toilet again this afternoon, but the parts I bought last week didn't work. Who knows what's on the agenda for tomorrow. I suspect the day will be very similar to today. 

Rosie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3934

Our long family walks may be over. Dawn still enjoys her morning walks. She just doesn't feel like going very far. This morning we turned around at about the same point we did yesterday. I'm glad Dawn knows how to tell us when she has reached her limit. At least she's able to get some exercise this way. Other than not having quite as much energy, she seems to be doing fine. There is no fever and as far as we can tell, no signs of discomfort. Dawn's appetite is better than ever, but a lot of that is because of the Prednisone. I'll be glad when she has finished her meds and we can see if we've made any real progress.

The Delta IV Heavy isn't making any progress at all. I stayed up late and watched the launch on my computer last night. It didn't happen. For the second time in less than a month the launch was scrubbed in the final seconds of the count. Considering that this rocket was originally supposed to launch back in June, it has had an extraordinary streak of bad luck. Articles are starting to be written now about how the launch pad is so old that it is falling into disrepair. I doubt that ULA will be spending a lot of money to upgrade things though since there are only two launches left at Cape Canaveral before the rocket is officially retired. All this kind of makes you realize how far ahead of everyone else Space X is now.

The weather was perfect for making roof repairs or mowing the grass, but I couldn't get motivated to do anything. This year has just sucked the energy out of me. Some days I don't even feel like taking a shower.   I still take long walks where I often daydream about better times. I count the ducks and pelicans and still try to identify mystery trees. I got over 20,000 steps today. Not bad for a weekday without a trip to the gym.

When I got back from my long walk, Janet thought Dawn might like a short afternoon walk, so I just continued walking. We took Dawn down to the shoreline where there were lots of things to smell. We didn't go far, but Dawn really seemed to enjoy herself. That's our goal now. We just want to make Dawn's days as enjoyable as we can, since we don't really know how long she has left.

Janet said her doctor is taking part in a vaccine clinical trial. I don't think I'd have the nerve to do this. I assume that at some point the participants will be told whether that got the vaccine or a placebo. What if you got the vaccine but it wasn't very good? Could you still take another type of vaccine later? It still seems so weird to me that are moving full speed ahead without a lot of knowledge. Why is it considered unsafe to eat in a restaurant when you can fly on a crowded plane? Isn't anybody even curious whey so few people are getting the virus in Africa? Why are infections rising again in Europe? Aren't these the guys who were supposed to be doing everything right? Statistics are constantly being revised and a lot of them were never correct in the first place. It's all very frustrating.

All I really want is the ability to travel freely again without worrying about catching a deadly disease from a stranger or finding myself in the middle of a riot in a strange city on the way back to my hotel. It's an unsettling dystopian world we live in now. Maybe all those zombie movies were just getting us ready for what's to come.

Tori is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3933

They've raised the rent on my storage warehouse again. These annual increases are so predictasble and relentless that it's infuriating. It's almost like they are begging you to move to a different location. I've already done this once, but it's a lot of trouble. I could probably save a lot of money by moving back to my old warehouse as a new customer. Like I said, it's a lot of trouble though. I wish I could just wave a magic wand and make some of this stuff go away. 

I don't want to have a yard sale because I hate dealing with strangers. I don't want to sell on eBay because a lot of the stuff is heavy and difficult to ship. I did make an effort two or three years ago to sell a few things. I was successful at selling most of the guitars. I repaired some of my vintage synthesizers, but there was no market for them. After three years about half of my train collection has sold. The old computers are basically worthless, but it's a lot of trouble to take them all apart and remove the hard drives. Stuff just accumulates and then you forget what it is or why you bought it in the first place. I've still got stuff from my Dad's estate in the warehouse. There are probably a few things from my grandparent's estate. There's a lesson in this somewhere, but I didn't learn it soon enough. The millennials who spend their money on experiences instead of stuff are probably the smart ones.

Dawn walks a little further every day. We're still going very short distances though. I'm not sure she'll ever get back to where she was before. We're not going to push her. When Dawn starts to slow down or look tired, we immediately turn around and go home. Dawn does seem to be improving. Tomorrow we start gradually reducing her Prednisone dose. The real test will come when she has finished all her meds.

The temperature was still nice when we took our short morning walk with Dawn, but warmer weather has definitely returned. It was actually pretty hot when I took my longer afternoon walk. I wish the weather was more predictable, but I guess I wish everything was more predictable. When I was walking this afternoon I saw the mother Muscovy duck again. There were only three ducklings with her this time. Where did the other three go? Nature can be pretty cruel. I'm not sure I even want to know what happened to the ducklings.

It looks like the Delta IV Heavy launch is finally going to happen tonight. The weather looks good and the countdown is going smoothly. I'd still like to see one of these giant rockets before they are retired and become obsolete. These days they are only used to launch billion dollar school bus sized spy satellites for the CIA. Nobody really knows what these satellites do, but watching them head into orbit is pretty impressive. I'll try to stay awake tonight and watch tonight's launch on my computer. The next time one of these monsters launches from Cape Canaveral sometime in 2022, I hope I can see it in person.

As I approach 4000 days on my blog quest, I'm really starting to wonder if it's worth the effort to go any further. I'm running out of things to say. A lot of days are so uneventful that I wonder why anyone reads this at all. Maybe I'll get a second wind and start doing interesting things again when Covid finally dies out and life returns to normal. Actually I don't even care if life returns to normal. I'd just like to travel normally again.

Thelma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3931

What a beautiful day. A cold front arrived last night and brought some cool dry air and clear skies with it. My allergies were much better today. Dawn felt better as well. Today we completed a short loop that I used to take with Dot and Dash when they were getting older. It's still way too early to draw any conclusions about Dawn's condition. We'll need to wait until she's finished with the Prednisone she's curently taking to reduce inflamation. So far, she hasn't had any further seizures. This is a good sign. If this continues when she's completed all her meds, it's an even better sign.

Dawn was feeling normal enough today that we felt it was safe to leave her for a few hours while we visited Charlie up at the kennel. Poor Charlie. Clyde found his forever home so quickly that Charlie is once again the only Dalmatian at the kennel. Charlie has adjusted well to kennel life, but he deserves a forever home just like the other dogs. Charlie was never a calm dog, but he's much more relaxed with us now. Once he has worked off his pent up energy, he will even sit with us and let us pet him. Charlie always has something in his mouth. He is constantly chewing.

I did a lot of walking today. After we returned from the kennel, I took a four mile walk by myself. Even during the warmest part of the day, the temperature never got above the mid 70's. It was nice to be able to walk without being drenched in sweat with a dripping nose. Weather fronts are kind of amazing. It felt like all of yesterday's air was completely replaced by a new supply of clean, fresh air without all the pollen that has been bothering me for weeks. The weather was so cool and nice that we took Dawn on another short walk just before supper. We took her on a new route where there were lots of things to smell and she loved it.

The Delta IV Heavy launch got postponed again. I've lost count of how many times this mission has been scrubbed. This particular rocket doesn't fly very often and maybe that is part of the problem. There have been lots of small mechanical problems with the equipment at the pad. Today's problem had nothing to do with the rocket though. There were thunderstorms in the area and several lightning strikes hit very near the pad. The weather must have been pretty bad because two different launches got scrubbed in a single day. I only mention all this because it makes my decision to skip the launch and stay here in Dallas seem better every day. I'm always pleased when doing nothing turns out to be the wise choice.

I need to take a telescope outside and look at Mars as it is nearing opposition. For a short time it will be even brighter than Jupiter as it makes it's closest approach to Earth on October 13. I've been watching Mars in the morning sky all Summer when we took out pre-dawn walks. Now the planet is in the evening sky and is much brighter. I doubt that I'll be able to see much detail with my small telescope but these close approaches only occur every two years. Just like looking for the comet a few months ago, it would be silly to miss the opportunity.

I have no idea what I'll be doing tomorrow, but you probably already knew that. I won't be going to Florida but I will check the ULA website to see if the Delta IV Heavy makes it off the ground on its next attempt tomorrow evening. Like the Mars opposition, there won't be another Delta IV Heavy launch until two years from now. Maybe by then Covid will just be a bad memory and we can all travel freely again. 

Spanky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3929

Dawn was very subdued today, but is feeling much better than yesterday. Her temperature is down and she is starting to eat again. We took a very short walk just to the end of the street and back because we didn't want to push our luck. Ths fact that the medication she's taking appears to be working indicates that she probably did have a seizure. Hopefully, Dawn's condition will continue to improve and she will remain stable after she has finished her meds. Seizures are strange and unpredictable. Dawn could have another seizure tomorrow or several years could go by before we experience something like this again. 

I'm still not sure that Dawn even had a seizure, but it is the most logical explanation for her condition. We've had a lot of experience with seizure dogs and Dawn didn't react the same way that Dot and Dash did when they had seizures. On the other hand, she was treated as if she'd had a seizure resulting from some type of brain lesion and the treatment seems to be working. We probably won't learn a lot more unless we proceed with MRI or CT scans. Sometimes this advanced imaging doesn't even tell you anything definitive. When we began to suspect that Dot was having vestibular seizures we made sure that she had an MRI. All we learned for sure was that dogs have very tiny brains. I thought that Dot's brain would have taken up a lot more space in her skull.

When a vet says your pet may have brain lesions, I think they are just trying to be nice and avoid saying the word tumor. A brain lesion and a brain tumor are basically the same thing. Pretty soon you are talking about cancer and the surgery, radiation and chemotherapy options that accompany it. We need to figure out what is going on, but I am in no rush to do anything. The first step is to see if Dawn remains stable after she has finished her meds.

I took my walk today without Dawn. I've done a lot of walking over the years and walking with a dog is always more enjoyable. You never really question why you are walking, because it is usually obvious that the dog enjoys the walk. When you start to experience what the dog is experiencing, you become much more aware of your surroundings. When I am walking by myself, it is usually just an effort to stay in shape. When I am walking with dogs, it is often more about sharing the dog's enjoyment.

The launch I was thinking of attending in Florida has already been postponed two more times. It is a good thing I never made the trip. Even if there were no Covid restrictions and Dawn wasn't sick, I would still just be sitting in a hotel room wondering if it was worth the effort to extend my trip a few more days. After the latest delay was announced this morning, there is still no firm launch date. Maybe I'd better wait for a more reliable rocket before I make my next trip to Florida.

I did my grocery shopping today and was able to find almost everything on my list. I usually get the same things week after week and I've noticed that prices have really gone up since the pandemic started. The price increases haven't been dramatic, but they have been steady. Is this just the normal supply and demand equation at work, or are manufacturers trying to see what they can get aways with? It really doesn't seem that prices should have gone up than much since last March, but what do I know.

I went to get take-out from our favorite Chinese restaurant this evening and the place was full. I was surprised. I guess they have ended restaurant restrictions in Texas. It's strange. When you turn on the TV you'd think we're all headed for disaster. When you just walk around town, you'd think that the pandemic was over. Time will tell, I guess.

Suki is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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