Day 4901

Today was uneventful. I mostly thought about doing things instead of actually doing them. I didn't make much progress on my article today and tried to avoid projects around the house. Considering how little I accomplished, it was amazing how the day went so quickly.

It's a good thing that we always take an early walk with Dawn. I think this walk is as important for me as it is for her. I'm always sleepy when we get started, but wide awake by the time we return. Without the walk, I'd probably get up later every day and accomplish even less. The sunrise walks provide a structure that gets the day headed in the right direction. Dawn is always full of energy and is eager to walk in the morning, but as soon as we return to the house, she immediately goes back to the bedroom and goes to sleep again. Not a bad life if you ask me.

I made the bed and ate breakfast, but had no plan for the day at all. When I can't think of anything to do, I do laundry. While the washer was running I did a little research for my SpaceFlight article and came up with a title for the article. That's as far as I got. Maybe I need a deadline. 

It was quiet on my long walk today. I didn't see many cyclists or joggers. I also didn't see a lot of ducks. The Muscovy Ducks at Sunset Bay have all disappeared. There were five of them earlier this Spring. Three disappeared about a month ago and now the final two are gone as well. I wonder what happened? The two large males have been a fixture at Sunset Bay for many years. There is no sign of the eagles as well. The park department finally acknowledged that the pair is not nesting this year and will take down the fencing that surrounded their old nest. They might as well take down the "Do not disturb" signs around the tree with the baby owls as well. I think the owls have flown away.

I"m not really a birder, but the birds and waterfowl are really the only things of interest on these walks. The construction activity that took place earlier this year is finished now and most of the animals are hiding. I used to see a lot of rabbits, but sightings are rare now. I seldom see coyotes or even hear them howl anymore. Maybe some of these animals have moved on now that the park has become a popular recreation destination. The place has changed a lot in recent years.

My pace slowed down a lot today. It's a mystery why my walks are not more consistent. Some days I'm reasonably fast. On other days I move at a crawl. Oddly, I'm usually faster on days when I'm busy and reasonably tired. The way I react to temperature is strange as well. The temperature in the house is always the same, but I'm usually hot in the mornings and cold in the evenings. I'm almost always hot when I'm out walking. I appreciate consistency, but life often seems random.

This week has gone quickly. I returned from Florida on Monday but that already seems like ages ago. It's time to make a grocery list again. The stores will probably be crowded since it's going to be a holiday weekend. A long weekend won't change much for me. My routine will be exactly the same. I really need to make an effort to finish my article this weekend. My memories of the launch are already starting to fade.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4841

Another day when I didn't really accomplish much. We woke to blue skies again, but surprisingly it was raining again by dinner time. Dawn got a nice walk while the weather was still nice and so did I. It was a bit disorienting to hear thunder late in the day. I wasn't expecting this.

After my usual weekday breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit I wrote a letter to my sister and took it to the post office. Even at odd times during the day the traffic is always heavy now. Even a short trip to the post office can end up being a hassle.

It was starting to get cloudy when I took my long walk, but I definitely wasn't expecting rain. There are still people out looking for the eagles, but I haven't seen them in a long time. I'm also wondering what has happened to our resident geese. Three or four years ago there was a large flock of the honkers. Then the birds moved to the other side of the lake and I only saw ten. I saw the ten geese every single day for a long time and then they began to disappear one by one. Now there are only four. Oddly there are more Muscovy ducks these days. For years there were only two large males. Now there are two females as well, I don't even try to count the Mallards. There must be hundreds of Mallards who call the lake home.

I called the owner of the music store again to see if he had located my equipment. He found a synthesizer and some rack mount gear, but hasn't been able to find a mixer I consigned. When he asked for details about the mixer I wasn't very helpful. I couldn't remember the brand name or even how many channels it had. I think it was British, which means it was probably a Soundcraft or Studiomaster, but I really can't remember. All I remember is that it was housed in a big square brown flight case. We used it briefly with the band I was in, but it was too much trouble to lug around. I'm not sure which is worse: losing the mixer or my memory.

I learned this morning that Miley, the Dalmatian who was in the Paypal ad with me, passed away today. Considering that I'd only really seen the dog once at a photoshoot in San Francisco for the ad, this made me very sad. I've been following Miley's adventures on Facebook for many years and he was a very special dog. RIP Miley. A lot of people will miss you.

Our own Dalmatian continues to get better every day. I hesitate to say that Dawn's troubles are over since a bulging disc in the spine is a serious thing, but she is acting normally again. We have reduced her medication and will discontinue it entirely in a few days. Hopefully Dawn will continue to do fine in the days ahead. Like many Dalmatians she loves to run and jump and this might be her undoing. We've got to convince her that staying calm is for her own good.

It would be nice if I'd hear something about the upcoming launches where I've applied for press credentials. All I know is that they're supposed to take place sometime in April. This is also when the roofers want to start replacing the roof. I definitely don't want to be in Florida when the roofers start tearing off the roof. I don't think I deal well with uncertainty anymore. I'd feel more comfortable if everything was mapped out for the rest of the year and I could just follow a schedule. Actually, working was a lot easier than retirement.

Chloe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4803

Another very cold morning. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since it is technically the middle of Winter. It's hard to tell what season it is in Texas. It might be cold today, but next Tuesday it is supposed to get up to 80 degrees. Go figure. The cold didn't stop us this morning. We bundled up and took Dawn on her sunrise walk. One benefit of the days starting to get longer is that we aren't walking in the dark as often anymore. The skies were clear this morning and I had hopes that it would warm uyp later in the day. It didn't. It got a little warmer but I was still cold on my long walk.

After breakfast this morning I went to Home Depot and got some spare halogen bulbs for the living room lamps. These bulbs burn hot and don't last very long. I always have to remember to have spares handy. The two lamps in the living room are the only lights in the house that haven't been converted to LED bulbs. I called in a prescription and hoped to pick it up while I was out. The pharmacy said it wouldn't be ready until tomorrow. Sign of the times I guess. Prescription renewals used to be ready in two hours. Now it often takes two days.

Every morning when we walk Dawn I think it's too cold to walk in the park and that I should go to the gym instead. When the time comes, I just put on a warm coat and keep walking in the park. I don't go to the gym as often as I used to mostly because I hate all the traffic. It seems like traffic has doubled in Dallas in recent years. It's not pleasant driving in this city anymore. I'm glad the city was smaller and a little more sane when I had to drive to work everyday. After thirty years of working from home I've totally lost my patience with city traffic.

It's nice living next to a huge and still somewhat wild city park. When I take my long walks it's easy to forget I'm living in a large and very busy city. I do have to watch out for bicycles, but for the most part the park is a very peaceful place. Today a couple stopped me and asked where the eagles were. They seemed disappointed when I told them that I hadn't seen them in several months. It's strange that people have become obsessed with the bald eagles. There are lots of other interesting birds. The white pelicans are almost as large as the eagles and look majestic when flying. The Blue Herons and Great Egrets are pretty spectacular too. My favorites are the Muscovy Ducks. They are kind of ugly but have a lot of personality. I always look for them when I pass Sunset Bay on my walk.

Friday is Dawn's favorite day. She gets all excited when Janet returns with the groceries and starts waiting for the car at the front door up to an hour before she returns. Dawn seems to know that it is Grocery Day as soon as she wakes up on Friday. I don't know how this got to be such a big deal, but as soon as the groceries are in the house Dawn races out to the kitchen and stays with Janet until everything has been put away. Needless to say, she had a good time today.

It's my turn to get groceries tomorrow. We each have different things on our lists and it seems to work out well. I'm getting used to the rising prices, but I can't figure out why a lot of things are in short supply now.  I used to be able to find everything I need at a single store. Now I routinely have to visit several stores. I guess this is the new normal. Truthfully, nothing really returned to normal after Covid. The definition of normal just changed. Was life really easier in the 70's and 80's? It certainly seemed that way to me.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4726

I would have preferred to sleep in this morning, but Dawn and Janet were ready to walk. Did it rain last night? The ground was very wet even though I don't remember it raining. There was a light mist in the air and my coat was damp by the time we returned home. Dawn had a good walk though. We took our lights this morning because we got started early, but we didn't need heavy coats. It was surprisingly warm today.

After breakfast I installed the latest firmware on the star tracker and tested everything to make sure it still worked. This took about an hour. I must have upgraded the firmware on this tracker at least a dozen times by now. There have been quite a few changes to the software app that controls the tracker as well. After many hours of testing, I've still only used this thing out in the field once. I guess it was a good purchase though. It has kept me occupied for many hours and I suspect that I've learned a lot along the way. One thing I've learned is that I'm not quite as interested in astronomy as I thought I was. The night sky is fascinating, but I'd really rather stay inside at night.

I changed my eye doctor appointment because it turned out to be on the same day I need to take Janet to and from dental surgery. When they asked when I'd like to reschedule, I felt like saying how about several years from now. I know my eye doctor is going to want to do cataract surgery and I'm not ready yet. Somehow it really bothers me that I won't be able to quickly change focus between near and far objects anymore. The artificial lens is just a simple fixed focus lens usually optimized for distance viewing.

It was fairly warm by the time I took my long walk, but it was not a nice day. It's been grey and gloomy all day. There were lots of people with cameras and binoculars when I passed the eagle's nest. I thought it was funny that the three Muscovy ducks were wandering through all the gawkers and being totally ignored. I'm sure the ducks thought the people were there to feed them and they looked pissed. "Hey, what about us," they seemed to be saying.

Construction continues on the world's most elaborate stone gates. I would have liked to be a fly on the wall at the meeting where the city approved these five gates. I'm still not sure what their purpose is, but there had to be a less expensive way to accomplish the park department's goals.

I think I've got my equipment ready for the first Santa Paws photo shoot tomorrow morning. I always take an extra camera body and a spare strobe light and power supply in case something breaks. Likely the only thing that is going to break is me. I'm getting too old for this. Dogs are small and I'm down on my knees a lot trying to get the best angle. I'm sure I've already mentioned that my knees are terrible. Last year I brought a cane to one of the photo shoots, but it didn't help much. Oh, well. This event is a good fund raiser for the dogs. I don't really do enough to help the rescue Dalmatians.

I can postpone my weekly grocery shopping, but I'm not sure how I'm going to get my steps tomorrow. Santa Paws days are long. Did I manage to get 10,000 steps last year? I don't even remember. 

Gretta is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4680

Today was busy. We got started with a nice early morning walk. I hesitate to call these sunrise walks anymore because usually we have completed our walk and are home again well before sunrise. It was dark and a bit chilly this morning. We clipped lights to our jackets and Dawn wore her green LED collar. I wish everyone wore lights when they walked in the dark. It's still a little unsettling when a runner, or even worse a stealth bicycle, surprises you in the dark.

After my weekday breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit, I checked my messages and took my long walk in the park. This was the first time this season that I've worn a jacket on one of these walks. I still wore shorts though. It will have to get a little colder before I resort to long pants. That day is probably coming soon. The cold front that arrived with our recent rain promises even lower temperatures later in the week. 

I made good time today although I didn't set any records. My feet didn't bother me much, which always makes a difference. This weekend's rain washed away much of the sticky aphid honeydew on the roads. It was nice not to have to clean my shoes when I returned this morning. Hopefully these aphids will disappear soon, just like the ants and web worms that preceded them. We don't have a lot of Maple trees here in Dallas, but the ones I do see are showing some nice Fall color. Some of the Red Oaks actually do turn bright red in the Fall, but their leaves haven't started to turn yet. Some of the Pecan trees are turning yellow and I'm starting to see lots of Goldenrod near the shoreline at the lake. It's going to be a colorful Fall.

The park squirrels are all busy gathering nuts for the Winter. They love this season's abundant pecan crop. There seem to be more Double-Crested Cormorants every day and the female Muscovy Duck that has joined the two males is a permanent fixture now. Maybe there will be ducklings in a few months. No eagle sightings though. It will be easier to spot the eagles a few months from now when all the leaves are off the trees.

After I returned home I had a quick lunch before dealing with today's to-do list. I never used to eat lunch. Maybe that's why I've been gaining weight. You'd think I'd be losing weight with all the time I spend walking. I guess I need to walk faster.  I paid a bunch of bills this afternoon and did this month's Quickbooks accounting. This takes longer than you'd think because I am obsessively meticulous and have a Quickbooks category for just about everything. 

I finally made an appointment to see the eye doctor, even though I'm dreading the visit. I was glad that the first he could see me was sometime in December. I'm in no hurry. I actually am in a hurry to get my car serviced though, so I made an appointment to get this done as well. I'm tired of seeing that annoying "service required" light every time I start the car. Unfortunately, nobody offers loaner cars anymore. That convenience disappeared with Covid. I was able to schedule a time where I can just wait at the shop while they do the required service. I'd rather sit around at the shop for a few hours than deal with Uber again. I've never been a fan of Uber and Lyft.

Curiosity got the better of me and I upgraded the star tracker to the latest firmware this afternoon. I don't expect a lot more of these software updates. The product has finally reached production status and is available in stores now. My days as a beta tester are coming to a close. I did get a good deal on the tracker by becoming a Kickstarter backer. The retail version of the star tracker sells for a lot more than what I paid.

The last thing I did today was a load of laundry. You can't have a proper busy day without doing a little laundry. Maybe I should have saved some of this stuff for tomorrow. I have no plans for tomorrow at all.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4673

Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day? To me it's just another day when we don't get any mail. There's growing evidence that the Vikings were the first Europeans to set foot in North America anyway. I wonder why holidays like this even matter to people. Humans have been displacing other humans since the dawn of time. The European colonialists were certainly no saints, but neither were the people who lived here before they arrived. The Aztecs were just as warlike and murderous as the Spaniards who conquered them. I'm surprised that our species has survived as long as it has. We really don't deserve this planet.

We have returned to walking in the dark. I don't know why we still treat Monday thru Friday as work days since we are both retired. Old habits die hard I guess. Dawn has no problem with walking in the dark. I still worry about bumping into a coyote though. A beautiful full Hunter's Moon was low in the Western sky and Mars was directly overhead this morning. Jupiter seems to have disappeared in the pre-dawn sky. It's an evening planet now. I'm not a morning person, but I enjoy our sunrise walks. It's still quiet and peaceful outside. Later in the day all you hear are police sirens and the leaf blowers and mowers of countless lawn care companies. The hustle and bustle of the city makes me nostalgic for the isolation I enjoy during my stays at McDonald Observatory. Silence is my friend.

I took my long walk after breakfast this morning. The temperature warmed up much faster than I expected and I was hot by the time I returned home. I noticed that a female Muscovy Duck has joined the two large males I see every day on my walks. I hope she's careful. These two males killed the last female who joined them. They say Muscovy Ducks are friendly and make good pets. I certainly wouldn't want these two as pets. They are almost as mean as the Canadian Geese.

I kind of miss all the construction that was going on in the park this summer. It gave me something to think about other than counting ducks. There are so many specialized skills in the construction trades. I wonder where you learn these things? I'm old and I still don't have any idea how to lay concrete or frame a house. Truthfully, I can't even fix a running toilet. I guess writing is a skill, but I never trained to be a writer. My professional life has been largely accidental.

I need a plan for the afternoons. I'm usually pretty busy in the mornings, but I typically run out of steam right after lunch. There are so many things that no longer interest me. My storage unit is filled with prior interests and obsessions. When did these interests die? It's been a very gradual process. Oh, well. At least I still like dogs and rocket launches.

Neo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4645

Today was pleasant but uneventful. I wore a light jacket on our sunrise walk with Dawn this moring. The weather is definitely getting cooler. It's not surprising that Dawn is enjoying the cooler weather. I'm enjoying it too. After returning home for breakfast, I decided to take my long walk in the park instead of going to the gym again. My feet still hurt, but the walk was pleasant. Construction on the new bike path is finished, but now crews are building a series of stone gates. I'm assuming that these gates will be used to control traffic, but that still doesn't explain their purpose. There isn't much traffic to begin with.

The missing Muscovy Duck has returned, but there are still only five geese at Sunset Bay. I only report on these things because nothing else is going on. It seems so long ago now that everyone was looking for eagles in the park.

I wrote a letter to my sister today but haven't gotten around to mailing it. I'm glad I haven't put a lot of effort into finishing my article about the trip to Kennedy Space Center. I got a message from my editor at SpaceFlight Magazine this morning that indicates I will have to make major changes anyway. I thought they would postpone their articles about Artemis until the rocket eventually launched, but they seem to want to keep their original production schedule whether the rocket launches or not. Basically my article will be about making a long trip to see nothing happen.

I have no idea when Artemis will eventually launch. Yesterday the next launch attempt was scheduled for September 23rd. Today this date was changed to September 27th, with a back up attempt scheduled for October 2nd. I fully expect these dates to keep changing. It's not going to be easy to make travel plans, even if I do decide to travel to Titusville again for the next launch attempt. I kind of like the idea of an October 2nd. launch. The Crew 5 mission is supposed to take place a few day later. Maybe I might be able to see both.

I guess my phone is officially obsolete. IOS 16 was released today but all I got for my phone was a minor security update. I will probably be stuck at IOS 15.7 forever. This is not a good reason to update the phone however. My phone works just fine. Apple doesn't even make the smaller phones I like anymore. My phone will join the other obsolete Apple products I currently use. It used to be important to me to have the latest model computer available. Not anymore. When I eventually finish my 5,000 day blog quest, I can't see many reasons to even turn a computer on.

I need to remember that I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. It's time for my annual visit to see the dermatologist. There's nothing seriously wrong with my skin, but once you get on a doctor's patient list, you're there forever. The visit is usually quick and painless. I have a few actinic keratosis patches on my face and scalp. the dermatologist zaps these with liquid nitrogen. Sometime they come back and other times they don't. I only continue to go to these appointments because occasionally actinic keratosis turns into squamous cell carcinoma. My keratosis has always been benign but it's better to be safe than sorry.

I guess I'll rewrite my Artemis article tomorrow. The first draft I wrote in Florida isn't going to work now.

Marcie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4613

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday's rain really cooled things down. It was only 71 degrees when we woke up this morning. Dawn enjoyed her sunrise walk and so did I. The cooler temperatures were so nice that I decided to skip going to the gym today and walk in the park instead. I left the house right after breakfast and the temperature had already climbed to 78 degrees. It was still nice though.

I managed to complete my full six mile route but I was slow and it was getting pretty hot by the time I finally returned home. The fancy new trail through the park is complete now. It looks like it was completed right on schedule. I saw the two Muscovy ducks this morning and was surprised that there are only five of the resident Sunset Bay geese now. I wonder what happened to the other five? The grassy meadows already look a little greener, but maybe I'm just imagining things.

Even though I was slower than usual today, my pace was still faster than I typically walk on the indoor track at the gym. I always seem to walk faster outdoors even though this seems counterintuitive to me. The indoor track is much easier on my feet. You'd think I'd walk faster indoors.

When I checked my messages this morning there was still nothing from NASA. Hopefully, when the credentialing and logistics information finally arrives it won't be too late to change my reservations if it becomes necessary. I have a feeling that I'm getting too old for this. I have no inherent flexibility or sense of adventure anymore. I"d be much happier if everything, including the weather, was locked down months ahead of time.

I did a load of laundry this afternoon, but didn't attempt anything major. The afternoon still went quickly though. Dawn is completely comfortable napping with me now. When I run out of things to do I'm always up for a nap. I thought about doing some yard work this afternoon, but this morning's cooler temperatures had already disappeared. It was very humid too. I need to go up on the roof and check on the pumps, but I'm not even sure I can climb up there anymore. I definitely don't want to fall, so maybe my roof climbing days are over. Sadly, this task is difficult to pass on to someone else. Years of dealing with this troublesome roof have taught me all kind of tricks for keeping it dry and leak free. The elastomer coating is kind of fragile too. Someone who didn't know what they were doing could really make a mess of things.

Tomorrow Janet and I will be meeting someone who wants to adopt either JoJo or Spot. I'm curious to see which one she'll choose. Both are great dogs but have very different personalities. I'm glad that one of these dogs will be finding their forever home. Now that the kennel situation has changed, it is good to have fewer dogs in the program. Hopefully, we'll still be able to work out a way to play with the dogs on a regular basis. They definitely seem to enjoy our company.

This week has gone very quickly. I've already taken this week's trash to the curb and am ready to start over again on my predictable weekly routine. Maybe next week I can resolve all my travel uncertainties.

Hannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4433

This weather is driving me nuts. Yesterday was nice. Today was bitterly cold again. There was even snow in the forecast for a little while today, but nothing materialized. I never know what to wear anymore. A t-shirt and shorts might be appropriate one day and the very next day you find yourself looking for a down jacket and extra sweaters. I just wish the weather was more consistant. I don't like surprises.

I found everything I needed at the grocery store this morning, but the shelves still looked a little empty. Usually the day before the Super Bowl the stores are packed, but everything looked normal today. It's hard to get excited about this years game. I guess I'm for the Bengals since it's been so long since they've had a chance at this, but neither team has captured my attention this season. I'll watch the game even though I don't think there are any Dalmatians in the new Budweiser commercial this year and I don't have a clue who is preforming at the halftime show. It's hard to top Prince singing Purple Rain during a downpour in Miami and I still think Michael Jackson set the gold standard for these events. Maybe I'm prejudiced but I liked the game where the Cowboys beat the Steelers back in 1996. Those were the days. Sure seems like a long time ago now.

Today was not a great day for walking. My feet hurt and it was cold and windy as well. I didn't let that stop me. I trudged along and completed my route even though it took a while. I'm not going to get 20,000 steps today, but I did keep moving. Even though it was a nasty day, there was still a small crowd looking for the eagles. I wonder how long this is going to last? I was more interested in the two Muscovy Ducks I see every day. I took a close look and these are definitely different ducks than the one who wound up in our yard recently. I wonder what happened to that other duck. In all these years I never knew there were three Muscovy Ducks in the neighborhood. Maybe there are quite a few and I just don't see them.

I'm trying to get Dawn used to doing things with me while Janet is out of the house. I want her to be comfortable and relaxed when Janet goes on a trip later this Spring. It also would be nice if she would come when I called. So far it's not going well. Dawn isn't scared of me. I'm just of little interest to her. She gets so excited whenever Janet comes home. I'm sort of like the hired help. I'm useful for walks and fixing dinner, but not worth getting out of bed to greet me when I come home.

I'm perpetually cold now. The thermostat says the house is warm and the furnace is working fine, but I'm always looking for an extra sweater. Was it always this way? It seems like I used to be warmer around the house but memories aren't always accurate. Sometimes when I'm falling asleep random events from my past flash through my mind. Did these things even happen? Often my recurring dreams seem real and reality seems like a fuzzy dream. I still wonder how I wound up having a successful career in advertising. This wasn't where I was headed at all.

I hope it is warmer tomorrow. We still plan on taking Dawn for her Sunday outing, but we might wait until later in the day. Dawn is not a big fan of cold weather. Right now, hot chocolate seems more appropriate than ice cream, but of course dogs can't have chocolate. Ice cream probably isn't that great either, but it's only once a week and Dawn loves it.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4430

We got Dawn to walk this morning by doing our regular route backwards. She didn't want to go down the street first. When we turned around and went toward the field behind our house first, everything was fine. Maybe we should just let Dawn choose where to walk every morning. It would probably make life a lot easier.

I suspect that Dawn was more enthusiastic this morning because it was much warmer than yesterday and we got off to a late start. Dawn doesn't like the cold and I think she'd like to sleep in a little longer. I wouldn't mind sleeping longer myself, but Dawn refuses to walk with me alone, so we walk when Janet has the time. She's the busy one in the family.

After breakfast I went and got a haircut. My hair is a lot thinner these days, but it still grows fast. I always know it's time for a haircut when my eyebrows start getting bushy. I rarely see people and there isn't a pressing need to look presentable, but I still enjoy getting a haircut. It's relaxing in an odd sort of way. I catch up on things with my stylist, who Janet and I have both known for years, and when I walk out the door, life feels a little more organized. A good haircut doesn't make me look any younger. I feel a little younger though.

I think I walked way too long this afternoon. At least that's what my feet are telling me. It was such a nice day that it was easy to keep putting one foot in front of the other. By the time my feet started to hurt, I was already a long way from home. It is hard to believe we were in the middle of an ice storm a week ago. Today the temperature was over seventy degrees. It definitely felt like Spring today even though all the trees were bare.

I've been wondering what happened to the two Muscovy Ducks I usually see on my walk. I haven't seen them for quite a while. Imagine my surprise when I returned home and found a Muscovy Duck in our backyard. I thought this was the female of the pair I see in the park, but Janet thinks it is a different duck because it doesn't have quite as many white feathers. She's probably right because she's much more observant than I am. I wonder where this duck came from? In all the years we've lived here, we've never had a Muscovy Duck in our yard. There have been plenty of possums, a few raccoons, and the occasional armadillo, but we've never had ducks. This duck had no fear of us and didn't want to leave. Oddly, Dawn wasn't even interested in the duck. Some of our other Dalmatians would have been obsessed with a duck in the yard. The duck stayed around for hours but eventually I shooed it away. I knew that if the duck became a permanent resident, it wouldn't take long for Dawn to develop a taste for duck poop. 

I continue to see crowds watching the eagles while I walk. Predictably, there are divided opinions about what to do about these birds. I hear people in the park talking about how exciting it is to see them up close while others whisper that everyone should just leave the eagles alone. The two eagles haven't made it easy for people to leave them alone. They built their nest right alongside one of the busiest streets in town. Everyone knows where these birds are now. I predict that the crowds are going to be around for a while. 

When Dawn and Janet came back from training class tonight I asked how Dawn did. Janet didn't say anything, but pulled out a best in class trophy from behind her back. I couldn't believe it. Dawn has really come a long way. None of our other dogs have ever won the trophy on trophy night. Dash won a few ribbons before he got bored with training class, but he never came close to winning the trophy. I'm not sure that Dot ever won anything. At any rate, even though Dawn is consumed with fears and phobias, she is a very smart dog. We are proud of her.

Jazz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4391 - New Years Day

Happy New Year. So far, the year seems to be off to a good start. We got up late, took Dawn on a pleasant walk, had a nice breakfast, and got started on a brand new year. I got an automated call saying that a prescription was ready, but when I went to the pharmacy, it was closed. Since the roads were practically empty, I thought I'd finish some of the errands that seemed like too much trouble yesterday when everything was a madhouse. I got gas and then went back to Central Market to pick up something for a New Years dinner. What a difference a day makes. I should have just stayed home yesterday and done all my shopping today. The store had been completely restocked overnight and everything looked fresh. There weren't many shoppers either. I got some fresh Maryland Crabcakes, Garlic Shrimp, Bacon Wrapped Asparagus, and Potato Salad. I also found a new brand of spicy ginger ale that I thought I'd try.

When I returned home, Janet and I took Dawn on another walk and then I continued walking. The temperature was in the mid seventies, so I just wore a t-shirt and shorts. This was a huge mistake. About halfway through my walk, the cold front everyone has been talking about finally blew through town and the temperature almost instantly dropped twenty degrees. I've never experienced such a sudden temperature change. The wind picked up as well. I was freezing for the remainder of my walk. It felt like a long three miles.

Luckily the most interesting part of the walk occurred before the cold front arrived. I saw the Bald Eagle again. I'm pretty sure you only see the male eagle during these rare sightings. The female eagle is still sitting on her nest, hidden away in the forest somewhere. I don't know if the eggs have hatched yet. I think this makes five times I've seen the eagle since the pair arrived in Dallas. I also saw both Muscovy Ducks. Today there were about a mile apart. I always thought this pair was inseparable, but they haven't been getting along lately. 

I usually have a cold drink when I return from my long walk. Not today. I was freezing. I asked Janet if we had any hot chocolate and it turns out we do. I fixed a big mug of hot chocolate and gradually warmed up. When I saw how cold it is going to get tonight I went outside and set all the faucets on drip. The greenhouse is in such dilapidated shape that when I went inside to adjust the greenhouse faucet, the door fell apart. I had to hammer the thing back together so I could close it again. Janet and I would both like to just tear the greenhouse down and put up a carport there. Our street has gotten so busy in recent years that it's almost impossible to get out of the driveway on a busy day. Moving the cars to the back would be a good idea.

I finally worked up my nerve to begin experimenting with the new star tracker. I read the instructions several times, inserted the Micro SD card in the proper slot, and charged the battery with my new USB-C charger. That's as far as I got. The next step would be to format the SD card and update the firmware. Since it was almost time for dinner at this point, I decided to wait until tomorrow to do anything further. A lot can go wrong when you try to update the firmware on a new device.

I'm not looking forward to tomorrow. It's supposed to be 22 degrees at sunrise. We've got plenty of warm coats, but I'm not sure Dawn will want to walk with these type of temperatures. Every winter I cross my fingers and hope that the furnace doesn't go out. It's happened before and it can be pretty miserable. A power outage during freezing weather isn't fun either. One Winter we had a four day power outage after an ice storm and it got so cold in the house that we had to go stay in a hotel. Sure hope that never happens again.

Anything could happen in 2022, but I'm going to try and remain optimistic. Everyone seems to be in a panic about the Omicron variant, but few people seem to be getting very sick. A lot of people didn't even know they were infected until they had to take a mandatory Covid test to travel. Maybe if everyone catches Omicron, we will finally reach the herd immunity everyone's been waiting for. I hope so. I'm not sure if we'll be taking Dawn on her Sunday outing tomorrow. It all depends on the weather.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4389

I'm struggling with this new piece of machinery I've got. I finally located an English language version of the instruction manual. At least I know what the various buttons and knobs do now. The star tracker operates by using a Bluetooth enabled iPhone app. The app isn't available on the Apple App Store yet, but other people seem to have it. I keep asking dumb questions but I haven't been able to find the download location for the Beta version yet. Until I can get the app running on my phone, the motorized tripod head/star tracker is basically useless. 

I did go buy a Micro SD Card and a charger that uses USB C cables which are both required. The tiny Micro SD cards are more expensive than the cards I use in my cameras. Of course I can't even format these cards until I figure out how to install the Beta version of the Polaris app on my phone. Maybe I ought to just wait until the final version of this app is available on the App Store. I always thought I was good with technical things but I'm way behind some of the other Kickstarter backers. Maybe I'm just getting old. While I was out looking for Micro SD cards, I also looked for my favorite Reed's Extra Ginger Ale. My supply is getting low. The last store I know of that regularly carried this stuff dropped the product. What am I going to do now? Story of my life, I guess. Everything I like is almost impossible to find.

I did find the missing Muscovy Duck on my walk this morning. I don't know where it has been this week, but it definitely isn't dead. It was good to see this odd pair of ducks reunited again. Some of the Pelicans and most of the Double-crested Cormorants are back as well. I don't know where these birds went either. Maybe I should become a birder. Birds are plentiful at the lake and they are a lot easier to photograph than the Milky Way.

I used to always buy something for the business on the last day of the year so I could expense it and reduce my taxes a bit. That seems kind of pointless now. The business hardly even exists anymore and I don't need new gear anyway. I hope my computer doesn't break because I like it a lot better than the new stuff that is available now. I feel the same about cameras. My old cameras work fine. Basically I've really gotten tired of change. I don't view change as progress anymore. Change has just become a nuisance. My Dad was the same way. He was a scientist, but he refused to get a computer. He kept using an old manual typewriter his entire life.

I've taken this week's trash to the curb. I wish I could just take 2021 to the curb as well. This was supposed to be the year we returned to normal but it didn't turn out that way. It would be nice to start fresh next year, but from my vantage point it looks like 2022 will just be more of the same. Can I keep this tired old blog going for another year? We'll see. I guess anything is possible.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4388

We've basically had all four seasons in the span of a week. Today was warm, but it was rainy. I'm not accustomed to these huge day-to-day changes, so I didn't even check the weather before we left on our sunrise walk with Dawn. Big mistake. I thought it was just going to be another cloudy, foggy morning, but as soon as we entered the park, the skies opened up. We all got soaked and Dawn was indignant. She hates getting wet. We turned around and headed for home as soon as the rain started but it didn't help much. All our clothes went in the dryer as soon as we got home and it took several towels to get Dawn dried off.

It only rained hard for about an hour, but I was in no hurry to take my long walk. I didn't want to get caught in the rain again. I vacuumed the house and did a load of laundry while I was waiting for the skies to clear. I thought I'd read the manual for my new star tracker, but when I clicked on the PDF file, it was blank. The short quick start guide that came with the tracker is basically useless. I did a quick Internet search for the Benro Polaris manual, but I kept getting instruction manuals for Polaris ATV's instead. 

We could tell that Dawn felt cheated out of her morning walk, so we regrouped and tried again as soon as the skies cleared. This time Dawn was able to complete her one mile loop with no problems. It was time for my long walk anyway, so I continued walking. I walked a long way today, but I probably shouldn't have. This was a terrible day for foot pain. I was limping home by the time I finished my six miles for the day. I need to see if there is a correlation between humidity and foot pain. I kind of think that my feet hurt more on wet or high humidity days, but I haven't been keeping records. I might just be imagining things.

I only saw one of the Muscovy Ducks today. There might have been only one yesterday as well. When I saw the pair the other day, one of the ducks just seemed like a flat lump. It didn't seem to be sleeping normally. Now I'm thinking that this duck might have been dead. It was gone today, but the other duck hasn't moved. I don't know if a duck can be depressed, but this duck certainly seemed that way. I hope his companion is just off exploring somewhere else. These two Muscovy Ducks have been inseparable for well over five years. There were a bonded pair that did everything together.

I have tons of SD cards lying around the house. All my cameras use them. As luck would have it, my new start tracker requires a Micro SD card to operate. I don't have any of those. It's a shame that Fry's went out of business. There was a large Fry's store near my house and it was always easy to run down there whenever I needed a computer cable, printer ink, a memory card, or a spare battery. Now I have to venture farther away to find these things and there isn't a single store that has everything anymore. Fry's is the latest in a long line of my favorite stores a that seem to disappear as soon as I grow to depend on them. Stores that I hate like Walmart flourish. Stores that I like always go bankrupt and disappear.

My Fall allergies have returned with a vengeance. If these seasonal allergies weren't so predictable, it would be easy to convince myself that I had Covid. I've certainly got the runny nose. My nose runs so bad when I'm out in the park that I have to stuff a bunch of those Scott blue shop towels in my pocket. Regular Kleenex just doesn't do the job anymore. I've lost track of when the Fall allergies end and the Spring allergies begin. There only seems to be about three months out of the year where there isn't a problem. At least the allergies aren't bad indoors. HEPA furnace filters work wonders.

I don't have any plans for tomorrow, but it's supposed to be clear and warm. I ought to try and take advantage of the nice weather while it's here because a cold wave is on the way. They say freezing weather will arrive this weekend. Freezing temperatures aren't the way I'd like to start the new year, but I don't think I've got a choice.

Petey & Greta are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4144

It didn't rain as much as expected, but it was still a gray, dismal day. I didn't even want to get out of bed this morning, but I followed my usual routine anyway. After breakfast, I confirmed my reservation at the Astronomer's Lodge and canceled my reservation at Prude Ranch. I'm glad I already reserved a rental car for the trip because I keep reading stories that rental cars are in very short supply now. Everything seems to be in short supply these days. Manufacturers can't get enough computer chips to make their products. I finally got my chips though and the laptop still seems to be working after my memory upgrade yesterday. Knock on wood. I'm hearing that there will be a gas shortage this summer because there aren't enough drivers qualified to drive the tankers that refill the gas stations. Hopefully this won't be a problem when I visit West Texas. It's hard to tell if the problems I keep hearing about are real or imagined because the media loves a crisis. So far, my life still seems pretty normal.

I ordered a used lens today that will be useful at the astrophotography workshop. I rarely buy used photo equipment because there is always something wrong with it. Maybe I'll get burned again, but I hope not. I just didn't want to spend a lot of money on a lens I probably won't use after the workshop is over. I mostly do pet photography these days and I always use fast, quick focusing automatic lenses. Simple, manual lenses are preferred for astrophotography though. 

There were very few people out in the park when I took my long walk. I guess everybody else was afraid of getting wet. I trusted the weather radar on my phone and only got hit with a few brief sprinkles. It was actually a nice, cool day for a walk. I actually prefer overcast days. Shadows are seldom a photographer's friend and photos tend to come out better when clouds soften the light.

The two large Muscovy ducks were reunited today. I'll probably never know what happened yesterday. I saw the mean little female duck that chased all the other ducks off the island for the first time in several months. Watching all the duck activity gives me something to do. Squirrels just aren't that interesting.

The wildflowers are in full bloom now. Somehow, the big freeze this winter didn't seem to hurt them at all.  I really need to spend an afternoon photographing the flowers while they are all still here. The flowers are definitely pretty, but it is hard for me to get excited because I have photographed most of them hundreds of times before. Maybe this is why I'm interested in astrophotography now. It is still completely new to me.

It looks like Dalmatian Rescue is picking up a Dalmatian from a local pound. Maybe Charlie and Cooper will have company soon. The animal control description of the dog called it a Dalmatian Mix, but it sure looked like a pure bred to me. This handsome boy is very young, so he will probably find a home soon. The young ones always seem to get adopted quicker. I'll look forward to seeing this new guy when he arrives at the kennel. A new Dalmatian always makes our Monday a little brighter.

The week's trash has been taken to the curb and I'm trying to decide who to write tomorrow. I owe my sister a letter and I'm still trying to figure out what is going on with NASA press accreditations in Florida. My sister will write me back. NASA probably won't.

Parker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4143

Upgrading my computers is always a traumatic experience. I carefully followed all the instructions for installing new memory in my laptop and was convinced that I'd done everything correctly. When I put the computer back together and pressed the power button nothing happened. The computer was completely dead. I took the computer apart again and reinstalled the old memory. It was still dead. After several false starts I finally got it to start using AC power. My control panel said the battery was completely empty. How did that happen? The battery was at 90% when I started the repairs. I called technical support and they told me to try resetting the system management controller. I've reset a lot of things on Apple computers over the years, but I'd never even heard of this. The service guy said that my problem didn't make any sense, but that sometimes things get scrambled when the battery is disconnected. Evidently. The battery is recharging now and we'll see if it holds a charge overnight.

I got some good news from McDonald Observatory today. I can stay at the Astronomer's Lodge while I'm attending the astrophotography workshop. This might not seem like a big deal, but it actually is. I hate driving late at night on mountain roads. I almost hit a deer the last time I was driving back to the Prude Ranch after the workshop was over for the night. If I'm staying on-site at the observatory I can relax and probably stay up a little later taking photographs. Meals are included at the Astronomer's Lodge too. I'm looking forward to this.

We were supposed to get severe weather today, but it never materialized. So far this year we have been very lucky. The bad storms always seem to go to the north or the south of us. I hope this trend continues. I always worry about tornados since our house offers no protection whatsoever. May is supposed to be the worst month for tornados in Texas but the weather hasn't been that bad this year. Alabama and Tennessee seem to be getting a lot worse weather than we have lately. 

It was overcast with a little drizzle today, but I was still able to take my long walk. There are two very large Muscovy ducks I frequently see on my walk. These ducks always hang out together, but today they were more than a mile apart. This was the first time I've ever seen the pair separated. I wonder if they had a spat? Ducks are noisy and apparently very social. I often wonder what all the quacking is about?

It looks like there will be another Starship launch at Boca Chica this week. I keep thinking that I ought to go down there, but it is not as easy as it sounds. South Texas is almost as far away as Florida and there are fewer hotels. Also, when you get down there you never know if there actually will be a launch. This doesn't seem to bother some of the launch photographers, but they are much more adventurous than I am. I still like Florida when NASA rolls out the welcome mat the best. I hope those days aren't gone forever, but we'll just have to wait and see. 

I certainly won't be doing anything exciting tomorrow. I'll look forward to another fruit smoothie and a long walk. Maybe if I'm lucky I can convince Dawn to be friends with me.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4121

I can't figure out why my Fitbit has stopped tracking my sleep stages. Everything else seems fine. It just doesn't measure sleep anymore. As I am prone to do, I went looking for solutions on the Internet and discovered that lots of people seem to have this problem, but nobody seems to know how to fix it. I'm always amazed that so many people are eager to offer solutions that clearly don't work. There are other people who will spent hours or even days making a YouTube video explaining in great detail how to fix something that would probably be better to just replace. While I was looking for answers to my missing sleep function I got sucked into watching a video about how to replace a Fitbit Alta HR battery. Most of the video consisted of the guy saying "be very careful because this is easy to break."

Today was even more uneventful than usual. I watched the news while I drank my morning smoothie. I made the bed. I tried to get Dawn to go outside with me. I watched a few more videos explaining how to process astrophotography photos in Photoshop. I think I actually learned something. When Janet came home we took Dawn on her one mile walk and then I continued walking further. For a minute I thought that Dawn was going to follow a new path again, but she changed her mind at the last minute and continued following her familiar loop.

My long walk is a familiar loop as well. I guess I could go somewhere new, but I continue walking the same paths over and over again. The lake level continues to fall. What's going on here? The water level falling way too fast for this time of year, so there must be a leak in the dam. This has happened before. Eventually the city will fix the problem, but sometimes it takes months. 

While I was walking today I watched several Muscovy ducks chase away a group of Mallards from a grassy spot where they were feeding. From what I have been able to observe, animals spend almost as much time arguing and fighting as we do. The resident geese seem especially argumentative. I don't even want to get near them at times. 

There's a Space X launch tomorrow morning that some people I know are attending. I wish it was easier for me to watch these events in person without a long and expensive trip to Florida. Most of the people who attend launches regularly live in the area. I'll probably return to Kennedy Space Center sometime this year, but I've got to pick my launches carefully. The magazine I write for isn't interested in covering everything and I don't end up getting approved for all the launches anyway. I've applied to attend two launches so far this year. It's kind of like buying a lottery ticket. You just wait and see what happens.

I spoke too soon about allergy season being over. My allergies were terrible today. Maybe it was the wind. It was so windy today that I almost got blown off the trail several times. At least it was warm. Warm and windy is a lot better than cold and windy. The wind didn't contribute to my foot pain, but today wasn't a good day for the feet. I probably should have stayed home and taken a nap with Dawn. Never mind. Whenever I try to take a nap with Dawn, she gets up and moves to a different room.

I never did get around to looking for the cell phone extender thing that Janet wanted. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. Right now, all I want to do tomorrow is sleep.

Sam is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4100

It's been two full weeks since Janet and I received our second dose of the vaccine. In theory, we should have acquired immunity to the virus by now. Do we really have immunity? I don't think anyone knows for sure. I do feel safer now, but not a lot has changed. Until a lot more people get vaccinated, we're still going to be dealing with masks, dire warnings from Dr. Fauci, and a tendency to avoid people who cough and sneeze. I guess I'll feel more comfortable about traveling now, but I never really stopped traveling. I went out to McDonald Observatory last October for an astrophotography workshop and then to Florida in November for the Space X Crew-1 launch. At any rate, I'm ready to put this weird chapter in my life behind me. I'm going to miss the airlines flying with the middle seats empty. That was nice while it lasted.

I changed the sheets on the bed today and finished washing the bedding that Dawn got dirty the other day. When did changing a fitted sheet on a low platform bed become an athletic event? This used to be an easy, somewhat routine minor chore. Now, the combination of a bad shoulder and weak unstable knees have turned changing the sheets into a nightmare. When old people get down on the floor, you have to think carefully about how you are going to get up again. Stand up chores like mowing the grass seem much easier by comparison. I guess I shouldn't complain. I'm still moving.

The bulky trash trucks didn't come today, so we raked a few more leaves and I cut down some small trees that actually died last year. I went to Home Depot and got a hedge trimmer to cut the dead growth off a hedge that runs along the back of our yard. I think this hedge will come back later this Spring, but the dead growth definitely needs to be removed.  Next up is replacing the grass. The dead grass has nothing to do with the big freeze. We always have a lot of dead grass in the Spring. I think Dawn will appreciate the new turf and it should keep her from rolling in the dirt so often.

I saw some Periwinkles blooming on my walk today. One by one, the Spring wildflowers are starting to appear. The Redbud and Dogwood trees are in full flower now. It won't be long before the Bluebonnets start to appear and in less than a month the meadows behind our house should be covered in colorful flowers. This spectacle doesn't last long, but I always enjoy it.

I was glad to see the Muscovy Ducks again on today's walk. The last time I saw them, they were being chased by a large dog that had gotten loose from its owner. The dog almost caught the female duck and all three ducks disappeared for several weeks. All is well now, but two of the ten geese I see everyday have disappeared. The two missing geese disappeared during the big freeze. I wonder if they died? I ponder things like this while I walk the familiar trails. Keeping track of animals and looking for flowers keeps me from getting bored. 

Dawn took a normal walk today. She didn't hesitate at all. Maybe I overthink her behavior. Janet and I wonder if she has brain damage after a vet raised this possibility, but it's entirely possible that she's just another stubborn Dalmatian. It would be nice if she enjoyed her walk everyday, but I certainly don't enjoy things everyday. Why should she?

They say we'll be getting our stimulus money tomorrow. I won't be buying Bitcoin or Gamestock shares with mine. It will just gradually disappear paying routine bills. I can't even remember what the last two stimulus checks got used for, but they're gone now. I'll take the money, but I think a lot of this stimulus has been wasted. We should have kept it simple and just helped the restaurant owners, out of work musicians, bartenders, flight attendants, gym instructors, and others who actually lost their jobs during the pandemic. 

Ruthie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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