Day 3649 - Winter Solstice

Today is the shortest day of the year. Even though the day was overcast and short, it was pleasant. We had an early Christmas dinner this evening, since Janet will be leaving to visit relatives soon. The meal was delicious and reminded me that the year is almost over. Where did the time go? It seems like time speeds up as you grow older.

When I did my grocery shopping today I noticed that the app I use to bypass the checkout line lets me buy alcohol now. I wonder why it took the technology gods this long to realize I was old enough to buy beer? I've assumed all along that they knew everything about me anyway. At any rate, this added convenience means that I'll never have to go through the checkout line again. I don't know why some people hate self-checkout. Self-checkout is great and no checkout at all is even better.

I applied for real NASA press credentials this morning. The editor of SpaceFlight Magazine said he would verify and approve my application. We'll see if that actually happens. Maybe the next time I go to Kennedy Space Center, I'll be a working journalist. I suspect that I have a very long road ahead, but I've made a start. Two published articles in less than six months is actually better than I expected.

I wanted to see the pelicans, so I walked all the way to the other side of the lake. This was a much longer walk than usual, but I was feeling good and didn't have much else to do. I wish the birds made their winter home on my side of the lake because I'm definitely not going to do this every day. The mystery of where all the birds went was finally answered. There weren't just pelicans at Pelican Bay. There were lots of ducks, geese, coots, and cormorants as well. I don't know what makes this particular place so attractive to waterfowl, but I'll know where to go for pictures now.

I've been writing this blog for so long that I forgot my Blogiversary this year. I just noticed on the calendar that it was last Sunday. Jeez. How many years does this make? I can't even remember off hand. Janet and I were trying to remember how many year we had been doing Santa Paws pictures. We couldn't remember that either. I'll have to go back and amend the header of last Sunday's post. It seemed like such a big deal when I had posted for 500 days. Now, after writing this thing for well over ten years, the blog just seems like it was always here. Like Winter Solstice and Christmas, I don't question it. Writing in the evening is just something I do.

I'll go to the gym tomorrow morning. That's just something I do as well. I find comfort in my structured routines. Hopefully, I'll add a few things to them in the year ahead. Will I make it as a space reporter? Will I enjoy my time at the observatory? Will we ever get a dog again. You'll just have to keep reading to find out.

Willow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2651

It's hard to believe that it's still snowing in some parts of the country. The temperatures reached the high 80's here in Dallas. Unfortunately, this is already too warm for Dot. I'm dreading this Summer. Dot never liked hot weather even when she was young and healthy. Now, high temperatures are punishing. Even though there was a nice breeze, Dot had trouble on her afternoon walk. She seemed exhausted. We had to stop and rest several times, even though all we did was walk to the end of the block and back. We probably should have just stayed home, or waited until dusk when the temperature started to drop.

It looks like working on weekends is going to be a regular occurrence. I don't really mind. It just seems odd. Years ago when I was busy all the time, I never worked on weekends. Now, when virtually nothing happens at all, weekend gigs are common. It's not so much that my clients have changed. The entire workplace has changed.

The park was full today since the weather was so nice. There were hammocks everywhere. I still don't understand the popularity of hammocks. To me, enjoying the outdoors means taking a hike or paddling a kayak. Apparently, an entire generation thinks that enjoying the outdoors means lying in a hammock while looking at Snapchat on your phone. Older people still hike and bike, but the young ones are all lying in hammocks.

I'm surprised at how predictable Texas wildflowers are. Often if I look at a previous years blog post, I'll find a picture of exactly the same flowers I'm seeing now. Today, the Blue-eyed Grass emerged. The little blue flowers were everywhere. I don't know who named these things. They aren't in the grass family at all and the eye in the center is yellow instead of blue. Next week there will be a whole new batch of wildflowers to photograph. Things are starting to get colorful.

It was overcast this morning, but the sky cleared completely by sunset. This was a pretty good evening to look at the stars. Tonight there was a conjunction of Mercury and Venus that was visible right after sunset. After dinner, I took my binoculars to a nearby hill to look for the planets. I found them both, although if I'd waited another ten minutes they would have been lost in the haze near the horizon. Venus was a thin crescent and Mercury just looked like a bright star. I need to start looking for Saturn now.

It just occurred to me that I hadn't seen any White Pelicans this Winter. These large migratory birds are a common site at the lake and usually arrive in late Fall. I didn't see any this year. It's probably too late for them now. They usually continue their migration and move somewhere else in late Spring. I wonder where they went? I haven't seen the green Monk Parakeets this year either. It's probably a sign of the apocalypse.

It's time to go to the gym again. I should be developing some serious upper body strength, since I'm having to support more of Dot's weight as her legs become weaker. I used to just guide and steady her as she walked. Now, I need to lift the rear part of the harness a bit to keep her rear legs from crumbling under her. I need to take weight off her legs while still letting her feet touch the ground to provide tactile support and encourage her to move her legs. It takes a while to learn to do this so she can still walk naturally, but we're getting there. We'll do a lot better tomorrow if we get some sleep tonight.

Nick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2205

It was nice to see a little patch of blue sky for a change. It was still cold and damp, but things are definitely improving. The White Pelicans have returned to the lake, which is a sure sign that Winter is here. These large birds return year after year and stay in the vicinity until Spring. The Pelican sighting was probably the high point of the day. There certainly wasn't much else going on.

Today was really uneventful. I got so bored at one point that I got in the car and got gas. I didn't really need any gas, but it was something to do. I also got a bag of Fritos, because that's what you do when you're bored. When I was fixing breakfast this morning, I dropped one of my pills on the floor and couldn't find it. I didn't want one of the dogs to eat the pill, so I stopped everything, got a flashlight and made a major search. What I discovered was a kitchen floor that was covered with dog hair, dirt, and food crumbs that Dot had dropped out of her mouth. One thing let to another and pretty soon I had the vacuum cleaner out and was cleaning the vent registers. Eventually, I found the missing pill and went back to preparing breakfast.

When I turned on the computer there was a request to make a small website update. This task only took about twenty minutes, so there was still a large chunk of time to fill. Most of my e-mail is junk, but occasionally there are great deals. The B&H Deal of the Day was a nice LED film lighting fixture that I had been thinking about getting at full price. When they knocked $300 off the retail price, it was very hard to resist. I did some quick research on Google, discovered that filmmakers generally thought this was a high quality product, and bought the light 30 minutes before the one day deal expired.

As if it wasn't already enough trouble when Dot poops in the house, she has added something new to the mix. Now, if I don't catch her quickly right after she goes, she will eat the poop. Not good. I don't know why she is doing this now, because she has never eaten poop in her life. Maybe this is just something that happens when you get old and a bit senile. On the other hand, she may have noticed all the commotion around her whenever Janet and I try to clean up her mess and she might just be trying to help.

Last year at this time I was going to physical therapy for my dislocated shoulder. The shoulder still hurts. I was taking Dot to physical therapy too, but it seems like she was a lot stronger a year ago. Maybe this is what entropy is all about. There seems to be a slow, inevitable decline to almost everything. Some days I accept this decline as gracefully as I can. Other days I wish I were 25 again.

Alle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1050

Does anyone else think that shopping has become way too difficult? I try my best to buy everything online, because going to a store is usually an exercise in futility. Today I needed some new shoes. Although I have nicer shoes for weddings, funerals, and important meetings, my go-to shoes for all other occasions are a well worn pair of Sperry Top-Siders. Dallas has a big Sperry flagship store, so I thought that would be the best place to find a replacement for my worn out shoes. The store had hundreds of different Sperry designs. You'd think they'd surely have what I wanted: a pair of the original boat shoes Paul Sperry designed in 1935. This style has never changed and are still quite popular. When I asked for a pair, I was told they were a special order item.

Having failed in the shoe department, I moved on to the Apple store and got a Lightning-to-30 Pin adapter, so I could use my old devices and chargers with my new iPhone. Why didn't the geniuses at the Genius Bar tell me that this adapter will only work if your phone doesn't have a case? What is that all about? Everyone has a case for their phone, The adapter was worthless and I had to make a second trip to the store to return it.

Dash didn't do much better than I did today. We waited forever to get his antigen shot today, because it appeared that nobody showed up for work at the vet. They were very shorthanded. Maybe I should have just waited until tomorrow to do all these things. The stars clearly weren't aligned today. Even my online purchases went awry. I though I'd found a place in New York that was still shipping, because the shopping cart dialog box said my order would arrive on Thursday. Five hours after I placed my order, I received an e-mail telling me that the store was actually closed because of the hurricane and that my order would be processed when they reopened again. Oh, well. So much for believing websites.

I shouldn't complain though. The weather is still perfect. The dogs and I had a great walk this morning. We saw our first pelicans of the season. Every year, hundreds of American White Pelicans return to our lake for the Winter. I find the predictability of migratory birds reassuring. Seeing a bird return year after year is much more pleasant than learning that an old high school friend has died, or that you've been fired. Too much in life is unpredictable. Especially shopping.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 735

The pelicans returned to the lake today. I'm always amazed at how graceful these ungainly birds seem in-flight. They glide effortlessly through the air, hardly moving their wings. On the ground, it's an entirely different story. Their beak is so large that it's surprising they can fly at all. If I kept better records, I wouldn't be surprised to discover that the pelicans return on the same day every year. It certainly seems like a year since I saw them arrive the last time.

I took Dash to the vet for his antigen shot today. For a young, active dog, he certainly has more than his share of problems. The antigen shots are definitely working at clearing up his skin condition, but they are also causing him to develop big lumps under his skin whenever he receives an injection. This happened once before when there was a bad batch of the antigen, so I'm wondering if it has happened again. Dash has such sensitive skin that it appears that the antigen has to be perfect before it works at all.

I wish there was a market for dead leaves. Every year I'm amazed at how many leaves fall off our four large Oak trees. This year I'm trying to get the leaves off the roof as they fall. If I wait until they collect into a foot thick soggy mess, I'm really in trouble. These wet leaves probably weigh more than an equivalent amount of snow. They retain water like a sponge and once wet, the roof never seems to dry out. Only time will tell if my efforts to control the leaves will help reduce water damage this Winter. So far, the only thing I've noticed is that my neck is hurting again.

Now that I'm cooped up writing every day, I find myself fighting the urge to buy stuff I don't need online. I've succumbed to this urge before, mostly because it's quite enjoyable to get packages in the mail. There's nothing really wrong with this little diversion, but I'm going to have to find something less expensive to buy than camera gear. I could go broke buying camera gear just to get a package in the mail. It would be a lot cheaper to just go have a cup of coffee with someone at Starbucks whenever I began to go stir crazy. This takes too long though. Opening a package is much more efficient. It only takes a minute and it gives me a nice little lift. Then I go back to work.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day