Day 3521

The new dehumidifier arrived today. It seems to be working fine although the humidity is about the same as it was before. We'll see how much water is in the bucket tonight. The defrost function isn't coming on, so that's a good sign. I'd feel stupid if the new dehumidifier was exactly the same as the old one. Instead of immediately throwing the old machine away, I'm going to make more of an effort to disassemble and fix it. What have I got to lose? If I fail, it will just go out to the curb in pieces. Hey, if I succeed we've got two dehumidifiers. In my world, two is always better than one.

It must have rained a lot harder than I thought a few days ago. When I went up on the roof to check on things there was a lot more water than I expected. It took almost an hour to clear the standing water away. I was hot and sweaty before I even began my morning walk. I sent the roofer another e-mail explaining how some of the damaged areas appeared to be getting worse. It seems like I was doing exactly the same thing last year at the time. Probably the year before as well.

As I was finishing breakfast this morning the tree guy arrived and wanted to look at what remained of the Elm tree again. He gave me a bid on removing the tree and hauling it away. I can get on his schedule in early September so it won't be that long before I can check this item off my to-do list. The stump will be too close to the house to use a stump grinder, but that is the least of my worries now.

If you look closely at the yellow coreopsis flower I photographed today you can see one of the milkweed assassin bugs that bit me. They're quite common and feed mostly on other insects. I'm adding these critters to a long list of things I avoid. The bite appears to be getting better, but it is still quite noticeable. I wonder now why one of these thing has never bit me before? They're everywhere in Dallas.

I'm encountering fewer people on my walks these days. People are finally getting the message that it is hot outside. The joggers are gone, but the cyclists remain. Many of these people I see everyday. They are probably just as locked into their routines as I am. There is one group of men who ride recumbent bicycles together every morning. They are all older and most have little white goatees. They all wear long pants and long sleeve shirts too. Must be hot. I wonder why younger people never ride recumbent bicycles? I've never seen anyone under fifty on one of these things.

I saw a ton of Egrets and Blue Herons today but I haven't seen an owl in months. The lone White Pelican is still there though. The bird never ventures far from the small bay where it calls home. Counting and trying to identify birds helps me pass the time. I can't wait for cooler weather to arrive. I enjoy walking, but I hate this heat.

The trash has been taken to the curb and I'm already thinking about where to eat breakfast tomorrow. These weeks go surprisingly fast considering that nothing really happens.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3519

When I was walking this morning an old guy on a bicycle pulled over and started giving me advice on being out in the sun. His advice basically consisted of putting your head under the water every time you passed a water fountain or a hose and sitting under a tree frequently. As he was talking, two older woman passed us on the trail and he wondered if I should accompany them home in case they might fall. "They just live around the corner," I told him. As we parted ways, I kept thinking that those who think they are invulnerable are usually the first to fall. This dude was older than me, wasn't wearing a hat or a bicycle helmet, and has a badly sunburned head. I suspect that he had been out in the sun a little too long himself.

There is rain in the forecast again and the roofer still hasn't delivered the can of silicon material he promised. I'm not terribly worried because it is so hot outside that the water on the roof evaporates quickly. Who knows, maybe it just boils away. If I run the pumps, the residual water shouldn't be a problem. I'll send the roofer another e-mail. Eventually, he'll drop off the product. I definitely don't feel like buying an industrial sized drum of this stuff myself.

Truthfully, I haven't been thinking about the roof much lately. I've totally forgotten about keeping my big printer unclogged. I haven't bought ink in months and the printer is probably ruined. I can only think about a few broken things at a time. Now I wonder why the security light in the back yard comes on normally every evening at sundown, but shuts off again at 10 PM. The bulb is good and the photocell works. What is wrong with this thing? The dehumidifier isn't working properly either, but we've already ordered a new one. There's no sense wondering about the machine's inability to bring the humidity below 45%.

A word of warning. Don't ever let an assassin bug bite you. These things are nasty. I thought I was out of the woods when the pain of the sting and the hard welt the bite produced started to subside. I guess that was just stage one. This morning my arm was itching like crazy and there was a large soft swelling where the bug had bitten me. Nothing serious, but an itch that won't go away is irritating. I tried some Hydrocortisone Cream but it didn't do anything. The weird thing about these bugs is that I've seen them outside on our window screens for ages. I always thought they were harmless.

The big event of the day was taking a phone bill to the post office. Every time I get in the car I debate whether to take it to McDonald Observatory or not. The car runs well and I haven't had any problems in quite a while, but I don't trust it. The problem is that I don't really trust anything. Would a rental car really be any better? Maybe my initial idea of taking the train wasn't such a bad plan anyway. I've got some time to think about this but there doesn't appear to be an easy answer.

I can't believe that I still see people letting their dogs swim in the lake. Don't these people listen to the news? Dogs are dying all over the country because of blue-green algae in lakes. There have already been problems in other Texas lakes and our lake isn't looking all that clean. I wouldn't go near the water right now. If it isn't blue-green algae, it's flesh eating bacteria, rotting seaweed, or sharks. When I was a kid in Colorado, rivers were so clean you could drink out of them. I'm afraid those days are gone forever.

Emma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3518

All the Dalmatians seemed happy today. Hank was his usual exuberant self, chasing a red rubber ball around the room, but it was hard to tell whether his problems are over. He's still taking a lot of meds and he's only been on his new diet a few days. So far, so good though. The kennel staff have seen no evidence of further bleeding.

Rolly seemed more relaxed than he was last week and seems to be gaining a little weight. He will be ready to start his heartworm treatment soon. Treasure and Charlie continue to show improvements. Charlie even walks well on a leash now. I am amazed at the progress he's made since he initially entered the rescue program. The kennel is kind of a halfway house where these guys can safely make the transition from street dogs to family dogs. I look forward to seeing each of them find their forever homes.

Just before I shut the computer off last night I felt something crawling on my arm. As I reached to brush the intruder away, it bit me. What the hell was this thing? The bite stung like a wasp, but the bug had no wings and didn't fly. I looked it up on the Internet and discovered that it was called a milkweed assassin bug. Their prey usually includes other small bugs, bees, flies, and caterpillars that they immobilize with a paralyzing toxin. These insects, which are also called Wheel Bugs  don't typically bite humans, but when they do they can leave a nasty welt. I was glad to discover that the painful bites weren't really harmful. By morning the welt had gone away.

I received my author copies of Spaceflight Magazine today. The magazine wasn't really a surprise since I'd already gotten a PDF copy of the September issue. It was nice to receive some printed copies though. I added the magazines to a small stack of Dalmatian Quarterly magazines on a shelf in my office. For someone who has been a writer for as long as I have, my published works are few and far between. I guess I haven't tried very hard. I've never had any desire to write the great American Novel. Writing ads and TV commercials was fine by me. The pay was good and for the most part the job was fun. I'll probably never know whether I could have succeeded as another type of writer. Could I have become a syndicated humor columnist like Dave Barry? I always enjoyed reading his columns back when people still read newspapers. Who am I kidding. I'm a blogger. I like being a blogger.

I keep getting these little blotches on my arms when I walk in the sun. The blotches are clearly tiny little pools of blood. Maybe this is what age spots actually are. I need to ask my doctor whether I should stop taking low dose aspirin and fish oil. These are mild blood thinners that can help prevent heart attacks, but they probably make it easier to bleed when you are sweating profusely. The blotches disappear after about three weeks, so I don't think they are harmful, but maybe I ought to get a second opinion. Unnecessary bleeding can't be a good thing.

It looks like it's going to be another hot day tomorrow. I know we have had hotter Summers in the past, but memories fade quickly. In my mind, this seems like the hottest Summer ever. I'm ready for Winter. I'm even ready for rain.

Ellis is topday's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day