Day 4743

It's definitely Winter. It's cold. It's damp. I want to sleep with an extra blanket on the bed. Winter is not my favorite season, but luckily it's not as bad here as it is further north. The problem with Winter is that I continue to do exactly the same things I do in the summer even though the experience is not as pleasant.

I dressed warmly for our early walk with Dawn. Actually I dressed a little too warmly, but I didn't want to take chances. As temperatures drop, there are fewer people on the trails. We're dedicated though. If it's not raining, we'll be out walking.

I waited a while before taking my long walk today because I was hoping that it would either warm up or the wind would die down. Neither happened but I went walking anyway. I must really hate driving because in many ways it would be so much easier to go to the gym on days like this. Sadly, the weather was nice today compared to what it is going to be like later in the week. Single digit temperatures are still in the forecast.

I found a really nice sweater under a pile of clothes when I was getting dressed for my walk. Where did this come from? I must have had the sweater for years. It looked like it had never been worn. I wonder what else I have. I accumulated a lot of clothes during the time I traded design services for clothing and shoes. Looking back, this was a pretty good deal. The money I made during the early years of my company disappeared a long time ago. I still have a lot of the clothes though.

I didn't see the eagles today on my walk. I wonder where they go when they aren't near their nest? I cover a lot of ground in the park and you'd think I'd see them somewhere. They're either near the nest or gone completely. People speculate that since the pair returned this year to build a second nest that they might have made the lake their permanent home. I don't think anyone really knows however. I hope they didn't scare the pelicans away. I think I enjoyed watching the pelicans more than the eagles. 

Since the ground has dried out and bulky trash pickup is later this week, it was a good day to start raking leaves. Since we have large Oak trees in our back yard, there are a ton of leaves on the ground every fall. I'm not a fan of raking and bagging leaves, but it needs to be done. When we first moved here I just let the leaves blow away during the Winter. It worked pretty well until all the neighbors built tall privacy fences. Now we don't get the same kind of breeze we used to get and the leaves just stay on the ground. 

I bagged a lot of leaves this afternoon and took them out to the curb. There are still a lot of leaves on one of the Oak trees, but it's a start. Maybe I'll rake a little more tomorrow. The leaves are dry now and it is supposed to rain later in the week. For a while, Janet and I were both out working on the leaves and Dawn got excited, thinking that we were out there to play with her. She had great fun racing through the big piles of leaves. It was nice to see her enjoying herself. Dawn is not usually a very playful dog.

I made an appointment to get a haircut later in the week. I have an appointment to see the eye doctor the same day. Doing two different things in one day is rare for me. I think I'll manage though. I'll probably find time to take a walk as well.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4302

Charlie and Oliver were in good spirits today. These two have so much energy. Our own dogs never played with toys that much, but Charlie and Oliver will chase a ball all day. You can tell that they enjoy the time we spend with them. We should probably spend more time with the rescue dogs but it's a long drive up to the kennel.  

Janet had a meeting this morning so we got up earlier than usual today. There were still a few stars in the sky and a very thin crescent moon when we left the house. I like it when the park is empty and quiet. It's much more peaceful to listen to bird sounds than the music from the miniature boomboxes people attach to their bicycles. Even worse are all the leaf blowers you hear later in the morning when the yard crews arrive in the neighborhood. It's no surprise that I like spending time on Mount Locke where all I hear is the wind and the occasional hawk overhead.

We're having an exceptionally nice Fall this year. We had a little rain last week, but mostly it's been clear skies and cool temperatures every day. It's nice to be able to walk without needing to change clothes when you return. I've found that my pace is faster on these cool mornings. Maybe I'm just feeling better these days, but I'm enjoying my walks again.

It was kind of weird having Facebook down all day. It's easy to forget that none of this even existed until very recently. You actually had to sit down over lunch to catch up on things with friends. Now you just like a few posts every morning and everyone knows you're still alive and well. I still think the world would be a better place without social media, but I'm as guilty as the next guy for wasting time scrolling through mountains of nothing every day.

I have to see a new doctor tomorrow. This means I'll have to fill out the same information I've filled out dozens of times before. Why don't doctors share information? They all seem to have their own forms. It seems like you should only have to fill out this information once. I thought I'd already made a list of all my prescriptions, so I could just print it out and take it with me tomorrow. I couldn't find the list anywhere.  I guess I'll make a new list tomorrow after breakfast. This is impossible to do in a doctors waiting room. I can never remember the names of the pills I take, and even if I could remember I could never spell them correctly.

We can't decide whether to go to the fair. Parking is too expensive. We don't particularly like fair food.  And we never go on any of the rides. Usually we just watch the agility dogs perform, walk through the auto buildings and look at new cars, and look for the sidewalk bricks we bought in memory of Spot decades ago. We'll probably go and then wonder why we bothered later.

One of my watch winders broke today. I guess it was about time. It's been faithfully winding watches I never wear anymore for dozens of years now. Hard to believe that I was so interested in watches at one time. I just wear the Apple Watch now. 

Jersey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4106

Charlie and Cooper were both glad to see us today. These two have boundless energy and race around throwing their toys in the air until they are completely worn out. Both dogs will bring rope toys to you because they want to play tug. They won't release the toys however until you throw another toy for them to chase. Charlie becomes so fixated on killing the squeaker in these toys that you have to be careful not to let your hands get too near his mouth. The mouth is constantly moving. These energetic males are the complete opposite of Dawn. We haven't seen Dawn play with a toy yet.

It was a rainy day, but we were able to give Dawn two short walks between the storms. I have a feeling that Dawn is a lot easier to walk than Charlie or Cooper. They are both smart dogs and do listen to commands, but they are so strong. I'm not sure I could even walk Cooper at all with my bad shoulder. They would be great companions for an active family though. I hope they find their forever homes soon.

It wasn't dry enough to take my long walk today, but I was able to squeeze in a little walk after Dawn's afternoon walk. I walked just long enough to get ten thousand steps on the Fitbit and close all three activity circles on the Apple Watch. My foot didn't bother me today. Probably because I didn't really go very far. Maybe my foot is trying to tell me something. 10,000 steps might be enough. I do like long walks though. We'll have to see how I feel tomorrow.

I'm so glad that Dawn isn't scared of storms like Dot and Dash were. There's been lots of thunder and lightning today, but it hasn't bothered her at all. She can certainly hear the thunder. Dawn hears everything.   She can hear people walking down the alley behind our house long before she can see them. Her new favorite thing is to stand in the yard and bark at these people, especially if they are walking a dog. Dawn must have spent a lot of time outdoors in her former life. When the weather is nice she likes being outside more than being in the house. I didn't think anything could compete with the big bed in the bedroom, but sunning herself on the grass runs a close second. I really need to plant some new grass for Dawn. The grass we have now is fairly pitiful. Maybe today's rain will help everything in the back yard turn green again.

I called my accountant to review my taxes along with two different tree companies to get bids on removing the damaged Oak tree and all I got was voice mail. It's really hard to get a live person on the phone anymore. Nobody seems to have a receptionist these days. Nine times out of ten you will just get a voicemail message if you call a business. Voice calls have definitely gone out of style. Maybe you have to leave text messages for businesses too. You certainly have to leave a text message for personal calls. The world have definitely left me behind. I still write letters and I still prefer voice calls.

The pumps on the roof aren't working very well today. This is frustrating with so much rain, but I'm definitely not climbing up there to inspect things right now. I'll have to trust that my repairs keep working. So far, so good. There haven't been any problems with leaks for over a year. I still wish I could find someone to put a slope on the roof, but it is a complicated, oddly shaped roof and nobody seems up to the job. If I was convinced that the roof would never leak again and we got rid of the old, damaged trees in the back yard, I might install solar panels. It would be nice not to worry about power outages again. This is all fantasy talk unfortunately. It will probably never happen.

I finally got a good night's sleep last night. Hopefully, I will be able to do the same this evening. A good night's sleep can make even a dismal, rainy day seem a little better.

Brooke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day