Day 4929

It's going to be a long summer. It's only June and I don't think the temperature is going to get any cooler in July and August. The heat makes it even harder to stay optimistic. Every time I turn on the television I feel like I'm watching society crumble around me. There seems to be this desire to deconstruct everything that has worked in the past and start over. Lots of luck with that. I'm not inherently against change, but I think we are headed in the wrong direction. Western Civilization wasn't all that bad. So, are these the end times we are living in? I'm not a terribly religious person, but it certainly feels that way.

To stay sane I just focus on day-to-day life. I don't get involved in politics or grand causes. I do read history though. Humans seem to make the same mistakes over and over again. I think it's a safe bet that we won't be here nearly as long as the dinosaurs were. It may seem simplistic, but I think the world would be a better place if we all just minded our own business.

I try my best to mind my own business. When I was renewing my gym membership yesterday they seemed surprised that I wasn't interested in having a personal trainer. That's the last thing I'd want. One of the reasons I go to the gym is that it is very peaceful to walk around the indoor track in silence. I feel the same way about my walks in the parks. I almost never talk to anyone but I am very observant. Over the years I've learned the names and characteristics of virtually all the plants and animals in the park. Almost anything can be an educational experience. I have no interest in taking classes, but I'm always downloading instruction manuals and trying to figure things out on my own. Trial and error is often the best teacher.

I can't say that I've learned anything today, but you've got to play the long game. I did learn a few new things yesterday. Today started out as it always does with a sunrise walk with Dawn. We always look for bunnies, but we didn't see any today. We often see a mother duck taking her ducklings down to the lake from where they spend the night in the tall prairie grass. Less than a month ago the ducklings were tiny. Now they are almost full grown. They still follow the mother duck down to the water though.

The temperature was in the eighties this morning but I still went to the gym because it was humid outside. I didn't shoot baskets today because people were playing pickleball on the basketball court. I don't understand the fascination with pickleball. It seems like a cross between tennis and ping pong, played with a green plastic wiffleball. I did walk three miles on the indoor track. I am able to walk faster on the indoor track than I do in the park and my speed is more or less constant. This was initially surprising to me, but I guess it makes sense. I'm not fighting steep hills and humidity. The track is even cushioned against impact so it is easy on your feet. The only downside to going to the gym is that I'm driving a lot more. My car gets terrible gas mileage.

I've started eating lunch again and fixed myself a ham and cheese sandwich when I returned from the gym while Dawn waited for Janet to return with the groceries. Dawn gets very excited on grocery day and is always nearby when Janet is putting away the groceries. I just try to stay out of the way.

I do my own grocery shopping tomorrow. I'll probably go back to the gym as well. It's certainly not getting any cooler outside.

Boo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4541

I didn't feel like fighting the heat today so I went to the gym. I might have to do this more often. Everything seems to be back to pre-Covid days. The water cooler is operational again. Most of the machines have been fixed. And even the basketball court is open. I shot free throws for the first time since early 2020 and not surprisingly I was terrible. It took a while to get into the rhythm of things but eventually I started hitting baskets. Walking three miles around the indoor track is kind of boring, but it's easy on your feet. The track surface feels somewhat cushioned. It's not like walking on concrete at all. I like that they keep the building really cold. I had a good workout without the heat and humidity of a walk through the park. If it weren't for the fact that I hate driving in city traffic I might go to the gym every day this summer. I'll certainly try to go a couple of times a week.

One of the reasons I didn't feel like walking in the park today was that I attempted to mow the grass this morning. I did this right after breakfast while it was still relatively cool outside, but it was still unpleasant. The lawn mower wasn't working well either. The battery won't hold a charge very long and I was only able to complete the small back yard area before the battery died. The front yard will have to wait until later. It looks like I will have to return to the battery store and get new batteries for the mower as well. If memory serves, these batteries are even more expensive than the ones I recently replaced in my computer UPS. Why has everything gotten so expensive? It's a never ending battle.

Before I completely gave up on the outdoors, I tried to clean all the spiderwebs off the living room windows. I don't know where all these spiders come from, but there are hundreds of them. I think they are attracted to the lights in the living room at night. Actually, it's probably other insects that are attracted to the lights and the spiders just build webs to catch them. I always need to remember to wear a hat while I am cleaning out the spiderwebs. I hate it when spiders fall in my hair.

At least Dawn was in a good mood this morning. She was enthusiastic on her sunrise walk without any of her recent balking or hesitation. We were hoping that she would want to walk longer this morning since it was still nice outside and we knew it would be too hot for a second walk later in the day. Dawn wasn't interested. She just wanted to do her regular one mile loop. There's no sense fighting with a dog on their walk. When Dawn wants to walk further, she'll definitely let us know.

I should have made more of an effort to see last night's meteor shower. I've seen a number of nice pictures on the Internet this morning. I did go outside before I went to bed last night, but I could tell right away that I wasn't going to see much. The sky was a light grey and I could only see a few bright stars. Most meteors are fairly faint and it is doubtful that I would have seen any no matter how long I kept looking with all the city light pollution. I would have gotten bitten by tons of mosquitos though. You really have to make an effort to observe the night sky in Dallas. Basically you have to have a friend who lives out in the country.

It's hard to believe it will be June tomorrow. Half the year is already over. It still feels like I just took the Christmas tree down. Oh, well. I guess I've managed to do a few things this year. I've been to a rocket launch and spent some time at the observatory. This is exactly what I did last year and probably the year before. I think it's OK to do the same things over and over again as long as you enjoy what you're doing. I'm glad I had the nerve to do adventurous things when I was younger, because most adventurous things just seem dangerous now.

Dawn has her training class tomorrow. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Maybe I'll go back to the gym again. We'll see what the weather looks like.

Amy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3627

Lots of rain today. It was such a dismal, wet day that I decided to take my walk at the gym. This was a first. Driving in the rain to walk on an indoor track isn't something you'd expect of me. Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Walking five miles on an indoor oval track is much better than getting cold and wet in the park. I may do this again. There is no sensation  of distance when you are walking on an indoor track. The only sensation is of time. To my surprise, I completed my walk faster than I do in the park. This was probably because there were no hills to climb. I also passed people on the track, which almost never happens in the park. People in the park are young and fit. People at my gym are taking physical therapy or recovering from heart attacks. I often think I'm one of the younger members.

I had to pick up something for dinner on my way home from the gym and the store was almost empty. I guess everyone was eating leftovers today. Since it was a cold, rainy day I thought we'd have chili for dinner. Eating chili almost guarantees that I'll have heartburn later this evening, but it still seems like the perfect meal for a wet winter day.

I guess it's a good sign that there are still no roof leaks. We've had a ton of rain lately. The pumps on the roof have been working pretty well, but they don't even come close to removing all the water. At best, the pumps can turn four inches of standing water into one or two inches. To remove the rest I have to get up on the roof and sweep the water over the edge of the roof with a big push broom. When it eventually stops raining, that's what I'll be doing.

Ginny has discovered squirrels. We may have to start taking her out to pee on a leash again. A dog that is recovering from heartworm treatment shouldn't be running around the back yard trying to catch squirrels. All our dogs have liked to chase squirrels. Dot even caught a few. It doesn't help matters that there are a ton of squirrels in the park. They could care less where the park ends and our yard starts. I've seen up to a dozen of them in the yard at the same time.

I didn't do any Black Friday shopping today. Instead, I deleted hundreds of Black Friday messages from my e-mail inbox. The ads and e-mail spam are relentless. From now until Christmas, retailers are determined to sell me something. These guys should know that I'm not really their target audience anymore. I don't need much. Unless someone's going to offer me a Mercedes Sprinter van for half price, I'm not interested.

Fitbit says that I am sleeping better since Ginny has arrived.  This is a bit counterintuitive, but it makes sense to me. Having a warm dog next to you is comforting. I didn't sleep well when Dot and Dash were sick, but they needed lots of attention. When our dogs were young, we all slept well. Ginny certainly has no trouble sleeping. She is sleeping next to me right now.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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