Day 2287 - Vernal Equinox

It was nice that the first day of Spring turned out to be a Spring day. Since this is Texas, we could just as easily have had snow. It was a little cold in the morning, but by mid-afternoon there was definitely a hint of Spring in the air. I used the pleasant weather to catch up on yard work. I pruned some backyard bushes and hauled an abandoned agility course we used when the dogs were younger out to the curb for this week's big trash pickup. I thought about mowing the grass, but I forgot to charge the mower battery, so that will have to wait until another day.

On the way to the gym this afternoon, I stopped at the REI store to look for some flip flops. I like to wear socks around the house and when the dogs need to go outside in a hurry, it's always hard to put on my shoes quickly enough. I've had to go outside barefoot occasionally when Dot couldn't wait. At any rate I was looking for some slip on sandals without the band between the big toe and the other toes that you typically find on flip flops. I finally found a pair that I liked, but they were $130. WTF? How did flip flops get so expensive? There were nice hiking boots in the store for the same price as these flip flops. I left without buying anything, because the price seemed ridiculous. I'll probably come back later though, because the shoes were exactly what I was looking for. Why do I always have to like the expensive things?

While I was at the gym this afternoon, I got to thinking about the yard work I'd done this morning.  Yard work is strenuous. When I did more around the house, I had no need to go to the gym. I used to mow the grass with a push mower. I hauled in tons of round river stones in the back of the Defender to make decorative areas in the shady spots where grass wouldn't grow. I used to put in the St. Augustine turf myself instead of hiring landscapers. I did lots of things that kept me fit and made me tired. I quit using the push mower first. It was simply too exhausting. Gradually other things fell by the wayside as bones got brittle and joints got sore. Today, when I was pruning the Photinia bushes I couldn't even reach a lot of the branches because of my dislocated shoulder. Age has definitely taken its toll. As I finished my twenty minutes on the treadmill, I concluded that going to the gym was for people who work in offices. If you do any type of manual labor, you don't need to go to the gym.

Dash gets his teeth cleaned this week. I always worry about dental exams because a long time ago a friend of mine had a dog who died during a routine dental exam. Dash is what they call a "hard wake up" dog as well. He freaks out sometimes as he is coming out of anesthesia. Dash has a great vet and I know everything will be OK, but I still worry. I don't like going to the dentist myself, but it's something you can't ignore. Gum disease can be very serious in an older dog.

I actually got a good night's sleep last night. My activity tracker said that I reached 90% of my recommended sleep goal. That's as close as I've ever come. Usually I get about 40% of my sleep goal. I don't expect to sleep nearly as long tonight. It's a work day tomorrow and we all get up early.

Baxter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1226

It continues to baffle me why everything I buy seems to get more expensive, while everything I sell seems to get cheaper. It hardly seems fair. The landscaper came out today to fertilize and treat the soil for grubs. He charged almost exactly double what I thought he'd charge. I take my car to the shop again tomorrow and I fully expect the same thing to happen. Appliance repairmen, plumbers, roofers, and auto mechanics all seem way too expensive these days. It wouldn't be so bad if people still wanted to pay for writing and photography. They don't. Everybody tends to think "there's an app for that" when it comes to creative endeavors. They all think they could do it themselves if they just had a bit more time. Clients only appreciate what I do after they've tried to do it themselves. They still don't want to pay, unfortunately.

Even though the landscaper is expensive, I asked him to give me a bid for re-doing the front yard when he was here today. The back yard looks so good now that is seems a shame not to have the entire yard look the same way. The landscaper still seems like a bargain compared to the roofers too. I still can't figure out why the cost of putting on a roof has gone up so much in the past ten years. My personal theory is that people don't get a new roof now until there is hail damage and their insurance company will pay the bill. It's probably a lot like health insurance. The roofers have probably learned that when people aren't paying with their own money, they don't really care what the price is.

It's a two way street though. Some of my clients think I'm too expensive. I think I'm still an incredible bargain, but it doesn't really matter if they don't agree. Probably the roofers are the same way. They've got to make a living too; paying the same ridiculously high real estate taxes, health insurance premiums, and utility bills that I do. Even though I hate paying through the nose for everything, I have a lot more sympathy for the landscaper, the roofer, and the plumber than I do for the folks on public assistance sitting home watching their big screen TV. At least these small business entrepreneurs are trying to earn a living on their own.

Now that I've taken almost two years of wildflower pictures, I've started to notice that each new variety starts to bloom at almost exactly the same time as it did the previous year. The master clock that controls nature is really pretty amazing. Today, the Antelope Horns came into bloom, right on schedule. These tennis ball sized clusters of small green flowers are among my favorites. They are so precise, they almost look like miniature radio telescopes made for ants.

Want to place any bets on whether my car actually gets fixed tomorrow?  I'm going to explain how the engine continues to run real rough between 1000 and 2000 rpm. They're going to nod like they know exactly what's going on. Then three or four days later, I'm going to pick up the car from the dealership and notice on the way home that it's running just as rough as it was before.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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