Day 1993

Today was beautiful. It was 68 degrees when we walked the dogs this morning and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The recent rains have washed a lot of the allergens out of the air, so I was able to walk without sneezing or rubbing my eyes for a change. I think the dogs enjoyed this pleasant weather as much as we did. They certainly wanted to go outside more often today.

With a clear, allergy free day, I took the opportunity to mow the grass and do some much needed yard work. I even cleaned the windows on the East side of the house, which I should have done months ago. The narrow strip of land between our house and the neighbor's fence has become somewhat of a no-mans land. Luckily the architect had the forethought to put frosted glass in all the windows on this side of the house, because there certainly isn't much to see. Spiders and wasps love this area though, so occasionally I have to get a big broom, a can of bug spray and some Windex and clean the place up.

I found a "Buy One Get One Free" coupon that could be used for any item under $20 at a local hardware store. Since the coupon expired tomorrow, I thought I'd go see what I could find. I've always liked hardware stores. This little neighborhood store was the complete opposite of Home Depot, so it was fun to browse around. I came home with a pair of leather work gloves and my free item was a nice pair of grass clippers. This was a good promotion, because I'm sure I'll go back and get things from this store again even when I don't have a coupon.

I did manage to go to the gym today. I think they were surprised to see me, since it's definitely been a while. I've switched my workout around to include more cardio work and fewer weights. This is what the doctors seem to want, and for the moment, I'm happy to go along with their suggestion. The treadmill is a bit boring, but I'm not as sore as I was when I mostly did weights. Whenever I'm at the gym, I think I should go more often, but lately other things have been getting in the way. If I do end up going to the gym more often, it will mean that life has finally calmed down a bit.

Dash dug up something dead next to the neighbor's fence, but I was determined not to let the disgusting carcass spoil the beautiful day. I still don't know whether the animal was a large rat or a small squirrel. I'm glad we caught Dash before he tried to eat the thing or bring it in the house though. We had Sushi for dinner, which is a pretty good way to end a nice day and there is no rain in the long range weather forecast for the first time in over a month. I'm not going to complain about anything today.

Amy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1730

I think we have some of the best fed squirrels in the world living in our yard. When I went up on the roof to see if there was still any standing water, I discovered a thick carpet of broken pecan shells covering the entire roof. The big old pecan tree in the side yard had a good crop of nuts this year and the squirrels are making the most of it. It's a shame that the squirrels are eating every last nut on the tree, since these tasty pecans would make dozens of great pies.

It doesn't look like we are going to get any pie this year. The squirrels have already won this battle by eating all the nuts before they have even matured. In addition to being gluttonous little piggies, the squirrels have also created a huge mess. The broken pecan shells act as a natural dye which turns any standing water on the roof a dark brown. This burnt sienna colored water in turn stains the white surface of the epoxy coated roof. I no longer have a white roof.

When I took the dogs out in the yard after lunch I smelled something dead in the corner of the yard. I looked and looked, but I couldn't find anything. I hate dead things in the yard because Dash eats them and then he gets diarrhea. The feral cats in the neighborhood are always dragging their catch of the day into the yard. Over the years I've found dozens of dead bird and mice. I'm sure the dogs have found even more. The only thing I did find today was a deep hole that looked like it had been dug by a possum or an armadillo. The hole was about eight inches wide and tunneled into the earth for over two feet. When I filled the hole in with earth, the bad smell subsided a bit. Maybe there was something dead inside the hole. If so, it's dead and buried now. I didn't want to investigate.

One of the websites I update frequently has disappeared. The server just isn't there anymore. Maybe it is down for repairs or has been taken offline for other reasons. Either way, it is a big mess because nobody received any warning that this was about to happen. People never notice a site when it's up. As soon as it goes down however, everybody notices. I have a feeling that I will be moving the site to another hosting company soon.

The dogs seemed distracted at class tonight. Dash wouldn't sit and Dot seemed to get lost during one of the exercises. It's a shame that the days are getting so much shorter already. The sun was already setting when we arrived this evening and it was completely dark by the time we were finished. There are lights in the field that we use for training, but I still prefer daylight much better.

Tomorrow looks busy. Dot has her physical therapy day. There's a meeting I'm supposed to attend. Today's website problems will probably get worse before they get better. It's only one day though and then it's Friday again.

Cleo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1309

I'm starting to realize why I enjoy going to the gym. My body gets the activity it needs without the irritation that typically comes with household chores and yard work. Instead of going to the gym today, I got my exercise the old fashioned way. I swept standing water off the roof. Sweeping hundreds of pounds of water off the roof with a push broom is fairly strenuous activity, but there is no satisfaction in it. Today when I climbed up on the roof, I was met with the sight of a dead squirrel rotting in a puddle of water. Disgusting! Lord knows how long the squirrel had been on the roof. I haven't been up there for several weeks. With two dogs, I'm always apprehensive about dead animals in the yard. Was the squirrel poisoned? Did it have rabies? At least it died up on the roof where Dot and Dash couldn't get at it.

Does anyone know what today's flower is? I very rarely see these things. They are about two inches in diameter and usually only appear right after a heavy rain. The flowers bloom in the mornings for a few days and then disappear. The unusual delicate bloom reminds me more of a sea creature than a plant. I have no idea what it is.

It's a good thing I didn't have much writing work today because I was swamped with website updates. It seems like I spent the better part of the day adding and deleting text and resizing images in Photoshop to fit the layout. I finally got everything finished and uploaded to the server, but it definitely took a while. One of today's updates will only last about a week before it needs to be updated again. In that regard, it is much like the roof. It is raining again as I sit here typing, so all of my efforts to clear the roof of water earlier today are being erased.

A lot of yesterday's gains in the stock market are being erased today as well. I guess that's just the way the world is. Almost every week when we walk in the park, I'll see a large tree that has toppled to the ground. The large old Oak trees seem permanent and eternal until the day they fall and then they just slowly begin to rot away. As much as I want permanence, there just isn't any. If you pick the right vantage point, just about everything in this world turns into castles made of sand.

To continue this theme, I received an e-mail today announcing the debut of Apple Logic Pro X. The Apple Logic software I purchased last year as a potential alternative to Pro Tools is now officially obsolete. Jeez! I haven't even used the previous version yet, and now there's a brand new version to learn and grow frustrated with.

Dot has her acupuncture appointment tomorrow. The acupuncture treatments are simple and immediate. We spend an hour with the vet and Dot walks away feeling better. I wish everything in life were this simple.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day