Day 3585

I was determined to get something done today. I've eaten all the leftovers, so I went to the grocery store right after breakfast. Actually, I went to two grocery stores. You can never find everything you need at a single location these days. After taking some bills to the post office, I took my daily walk. It was a good thing that I ran my errands first today, because the weather was just about perfect around noon. I didn't need a jacket and I didn't sweat. You can't get any better than that.

I've been seeing a lot of Monarch butterflies lately. They're headed back to Mexico for the Winter. Next Spring I'll see the Monarchs again as they migrate north. It's amazing that these tiny creatures can travel such incredible distances. When I see these butterflies fluttering around in the park it's hard to imagine them traveling to Fort Worth. How do they make it all the way to Mexico?

I promised Janet that I'd trim the overgrown Photinia Bushes in the back yard. You couldn't even call these Photinias shrubs anymore. They've grown into large trees. Next week is bulky trash pickup in our neighborhood, so I knew that I couldn't postpone this task much longer. If I don't get the Photinias trimmed this weekend, I'll have to wait another month. I wish I could have gotten the tree guy to do this for me while he was taking down the Elm tree, but he wasn't interested. I can't say that I'm very interested either. The reciprocating saw is very heavy and I have trouble lifting it with my bad shoulder.

It took hours to cut the bushes back to fence level. Instead of fifteen to eighteen feet high, the Photinias are now a more manageable six feet high. It will be several years before they fill in and start to look like a hedge again, but at least the job is done. Large branches are quite heavy. Trimming the trees was only part of the problem. I also had to drag everything I'd cut out to the curb. By the time I finished I was very tired. Hey, I did get 24,000 steps today though.

I finally got a letter from Sky and Telescope. Basically, the letter just thanked me for being patient and said the magazine would be back in touch with me soon. Even though this short, somewhat ambiguous letter didn't say much, it was encouraging. I'd been thinking they might have forgotten about me. Maybe they will help me with future plans after all. One can hope anyway.

The new Dalmatians have arrived at the kennel. I'm going to go meet them tomorrow and photograph each of them for the website. I think there are six new dogs, but I'm not sure. I guess I'll find out when I get there. I need to do the photography soon because I think one of the dogs is being adopted this weekend.

It's been a long day. The utility bills have been paid. The refrigerator is full again. The Photinias have all been trimmed and the debris has been hauled to the curb. I even fixed myself a tasty dinner. I need to get a good night's sleep, because I think tomorrow will be just as busy.

Little Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2161

The other day, I was listening to an old radio interview with Allen Toussaint on NPR. It occurred to me that Allen's song Working in The Coal Mine, was the perfect sound track for my weekends. The tune was certainly appropriate today. I outdid myself with backbreaking activity. Yesterday, I noticed that my neighbors were piling up trash in front of their houses, so I was determined not to let another big trash day pass me by. I hauled a huge pile of nondescript rusty stuff that had been accumulating in the green house out to the curb and made my own pile as well.

Once I started my pile, it became obvious that this would be a good time to cut down the three dead Photinia Bushes near the back fence. I didn't have an extension cord that would reach that far, so I finally found a good use for my generator. The generator provided plenty of power for my trusty reciprocating saw and the unsightly trees I'd been meaning to cut down for at least two years were finally gone.

It was time to put the screen porch back together too. If I waited to find time to locate new extra wide screen wire and purchase new hardwood trim, there would have been a big gap in the screen until sometime next Spring. I carefully reused the old materials and although I can't say the porch is as good as new, at least it's as good as it was before. When the environmental cleanup people come to clean the vents and retrieve their big dehumidifier tomorrow, the house will finally be back to pre-leak condition.

When I was hauling trash to the curb, I noticed that there was a lot of nice fresh white gravel back by the garbage cans. I shoveled up a big pile of this gravel and traded it for the muddy gravel on the gravel walkway the tunneling crew had messed up. It was probably this activity that reminded me of  Working in The Coal Mine. I was tired at the end of the day, but felt like I'd accomplished quite a bit.

On my way to the pharmacy to pick up some prescriptions, I stopped by my storage warehouse to look for backdrops for our upcoming Santa Paws photo shoots. I found quite a few muslin backdrops, but couldn't tell which was which without unfolding them all. I dropped off the plastic fencing that had been keeping Dash out of the atrium while the tunneling crew was working and returned home for dinner. I'll save getting ready for the December photo shoots for another day.

The dogs were lucky to get both their walks today. It looked like it was on the verge of raining for the entire day, but the rain didn't actually start until after dinner. There is still lots to do. I need to find how water is still getting out of the shower stall after all the expert grouting work I did last week. I need to finish a website that should have been complete three days ago. All in good time. What I need to do most is post this and go to sleep.

Honey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day