Day 4181

Today was busy. Shopping is interesting now that Texas has rescinded the mask mandate. At Home Depot, half the people were wearing a mask and the other half weren't. At Sam's Club, everyone was still wearing a mask. Later at Tom Thumb, nobody was wearing a mask. Clearly the mask has outlived it's original purpose and just become another symbol. Some people can't wait to get rid of these things while others will continue to wear them forever. I was never a fan of the mask, but I'll probably keep one in my back pocket for quite a while. If I go into a store full of masked people, I'll put it on. Whatever it takes to stay invisible. I don't think there ever was a problem with shoppers. Other shoppers don't want to interact with you. I'll continue to avoid weddings, family gatherings and sporting events, just like I did before the pandemic.

Now that I've had time to inspect the Redcat 51 that arrived yesterday, I think I made a good purchase. It may be a while before I have an opportunity to attach this to the star tracker and try my hand at photographing nebulas and galaxies, but I'll definitely use it. The little telescope is extremely well made, small enough to travel with, and will last a lifetime. 

There was a spot of blood on the bedspread this morning, so the cortisone shot Dawn got the other day wasn't a magic bullet. The shot helped, but Dawn is still licking her paws excessively. Janet and I think this is a nervous habit, but this is probably because Dawn already has so many other nervous habits. We're just guessing here. If she is allergic to something, it's not going to be easy to determine what it is. She'll probably need to have an allergy skin test, but that's not an exact science either. Hopefully we can find an answer without a huge amount of trial and error. Nervous habits are OK, but self harm isn't.

I'm not looking forward to Summer. Today was hot and muggy, but it is going to be so much worse in July. I could tell that Dawn was getting hot on her walk today. We might have to start taking sunrise walks again like we did with our other dogs. I was OK on my long walk today, but if it gets much warmer I'm going to have to return to the gym. I'm not really worried about Covid anymore, it's just inconvenient to drive to the gym. At a certain point air conditioning trumps convenience though. That indoor track at the gym is looking better all the time.

I can't believe that it's already time to mow the grass again. Everything grows quickly when the ground is wet. Luckily, it's still a little too wet outside to mow. My electric mower just isn't strong enough to cut through wet grass. The grass is going to be even taller next week, but I don't feel like mowing anyway. I don't feel like cutting down any more dead Photinia trees either, even though I got a new blade for my saw with carbide teeth that are supposed to be ten times better than an ordinary blade. The grass and the trees can wait until next week.

It's hard to say whether Dawn will get her Sunday outing tomorrow. There is rain in the forecast again, but  it never seems to rain all day. With any luck we'll be able to find a little dry time for a Sunday walk. Janet wants to work on Dawn's training exercises a bit. Dawn and I just want the ice cream cone on the way home.

Scooby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4177

We had to take Dawn to the vet today. She's been licking her paws so bad at night that we often see blood on the bedspread in the mornings. This behavior is relitively new and we're trying to figure out whether she has a medical problem or a behavior issue. The vet gave her a cortisone shot tonight. If this stops the licking, he says that there's a good chance the problem is allergies. If the cortisone shot works, we then need to figure out what she is allergic to. Is is a food allergy, an environmental allergy, or something else? Of course, the problem might have nothing to do with allergies. She might have a yeast infection under her nails. She might have severe anxiety problems. Too bad that dogs can't talk. This is going to be a long process to figure this out.

It didn't rain today, but that doesn't mean it was a nice day. It was overcast and cold for most of the day. There were ominous dark clouds that made it look like it could rain at any time. The grey day actually made it more pleasant to walk. I'll take a windy, overcast day over a hot, sweaty day anytime. Dawn seemed to like the weather. She's been much more adventurous lately. We went off in an entirely new direction today. Dawn seems to know her way around the neighborhood. Even thought the route we took today was new to her, she seemed to know the way home. It's good to see her confidence grow. It's too bad she wasn't as confident at the vet.

I ordered the little telescope I've had my eye on. Redcat 51 if you're interested. I'm determined to become a better astrophotographer. I've definitely got a long way to go. The main problem I'm facing is a lack of dark skies. The light pollution in Dallas is terrible and I don't feel safe out at night in the city anyway. This means I will probably continue making the long trip out to McDonald Observatory several times a year. Mount Locke is hard to beat. The skies are some of the darkest in the entire country and the Astronomer's Lodge is essentially a great little invitation only hotel with a fabulous chef right at the top of the mountain.

My walks are starting to get boring. I do them purely for exercise now. I guess I could add a little variety by walking on the other side of the lake, but it's hardly worth the trouble. The other side of the lake is familiar territory too. There must be a lot of people who do the same thing I do. I recognize a lot of dogs now and I've noticed that certain cars seem to be parked along the side of the road every single day. The ducks and geese always hang out together in small little groups. The Muscovy Ducks never mingle with the other ducks. The geese stick to themselves as well. The domesticated geese don't even mingle with the Canada Geese.

Dawn certainly seems calm now. I think she wore herself out at the vet. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.  I hope the cortisone shot works. I think allergies would be a little easier to deal with than anxiety. Hard to believe it is June already. Where has this year gone? I'll fix another smoothie tomorrow morning and take another long walk. I'm trying to think of another writing project, but I'm not having a lot of luck with the magazines right now. There's always bills to pay I guess. I paid a few more today.

Charlie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day