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 4067

What a nasty day. There was black ice on the roads that caused a 100 car pile up in Fort Worth and the temperature never got above freezing all day. Janet postponed going to the gym this morning and needless to say, I certainly didn't need to go anywhere. As I slowly drank my morning smoothie, it was clear that this was going to be a very cold and uneventful day.

It doesn't take much to shut us down in Dallas. This would be a normal winter day in much of the country, but here the mail didn't get delivered and I got an e-mail from the city saying not to expect normal trash pickup tomorrow. Oddly, the message said to put your trash out tonight anyway and they would just come when they can. I feel sorry for those who had their vaccine appointments today. That's not something you would want to postpone.

Dawn is no fan of winter weather. She was a little reluctant to walk this afternoon, but completed her short one mile walk anyway. I dressed in my warmest clothes so I could keep on walking. The trails were virtually empty. I only encountered a single runner today. There were no bicycles at all. For the most part, the roads and trails were clear, but I had to cross two bridges that were still completely iced over. I walked slowly and carefully across each bridge because at my age falling is definitely not a good idea.

You could tell that the birds and other animals knew that something was up with the weather. The resident geese had moved to the opposite side of the lake and the Muscovy Ducks were more than a mile away from their usual habitat. There were some visiting Canadian Geese where the local geese usually live. I hardly saw any squirrels at all. Most of them probably had a nest to take cover in.

On bad thing about taking my long walk right after I finish my morning smoothie is that I have to take bathroom breaks. I didn't have to do this when I was younger, but I didn't drink several quarts of liquid every morning then either. These days I need to plan my route between strategically place porta-potties in the park. It's a nuisance but it's also a necessity.

While I was walking, I heard a bunch of fire truck sirens that appeared to be headed in the direction of my house. This is always a little alarming when you are on foot and miles away. I got out my phone and checked the petcam. Dawn was sleeping on the bed and everything was fine. I like the petcam. Who knows. Maybe the Chinese are spying on us, but the little camera does provide some reassurance that Dawn is safe when we are away.

I got a reminder from my accountant that my tax information is due soon. I haven't even started yet. One more unpleasant task in my immediate future. I wish seniors were exempt from dealing with taxes. Hey, if you can be exempt from jury duty, why not taxes as well? 

It's hard to believe but they say the temperatures will be in the single digits next week with a good chance of snow accumulations of up to a foot. Yikes. I really hope this isn't true. Spring can't come soon enough for this Southern boy.

Lady Gogh is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4040

I went along on Dawn's walk today. She seemed confident and happy. She trusts Janet and she seems to know that she doesn't have to walk too far anymore. We took turns holding the leash and it didn't seem to matter as long as Dawn was leading the way and could go wherever she wanted. One mile seems her limit now and she definitely knows the way home. Is there a lesson in this? I'm not sure, but it's clear that our fitness goals are not the same as Dawn's.

Maybe something happened after Dawn had the seizure. Maybe she's finally become confident enough to let us know what she really thinks. Either way, it's fine. Dawn is not a young dog and if she only wants to walk a mile, there's nothing wrong with that.

I'll continue taking long walks, mostly because I can't think of anything better to do. Walking is a great way to daydream and think. I find myself thinking about cars and astronomy a lot. When Covid fades from the scene, there are a lot of dark sky sites I'd like to visit. I almost never find myself thinking about politics and current events. I don't even care. My little world has always been a private one. Walking in the woods and watching ducks suits me just fine.

Today's walk was incredibly windy. The wind almost blew me over when I was walking by the shoreline. I always worry that another tree is going to blow over in the yard when we have strong winds. This is always when it seems to happen. Luckily, everything was still standing when I returned home. Today I saw three vultures eating a dead possum by the side of the road. They would take turns with one vulture tearing into the carcass at a time. There are three Muscovy ducks that I see almost every day. A small female joined the two males several months ago and now appears to be the leader of the group. She swims ahead of the two males and leads the way when they are on land as well. Ducks and geese always seem to have a leader. I wonder who gets to be the leader in those giant v-shaped formations I often see flying overhead?

I need to find a new way to occupy my time. Following rocket launches is getting harder and harder because of Covid restrictions. McDonald Observatory has closed again too. I doubt that they are going to be needing volunteer help for quite a while. I don't write songs anymore and I can't imagine building a website just for fun. So many things I used to enjoy just seem stupid now. It's probably not a good sign that my favorite activity now is taking long naps.

It's time to make a grocery list again. These weeks go by incredibly quickly. It seems like I was just making a list yesterday. The last time I went to the store, a lot of shelves were empty again. I hope people haven't resumed hoarding stuff. When other people start hoarding, you start hoarding as well and it quickly gets out of hand. It took us months to use up all the stuff we got last April.

I wish Dawn would start trusting me. Maybe that's too much to ask. There are people I know who still don't trust me.

Betty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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