Day 4163

Another rainy day. I think it's supposed to be this way for the rest of the week. This would have been the week to go out to the Davis Mountains. It's still clear out there. I don't know what this proves other than it's very difficult to plan ahead and sometimes I'm just unlucky

I guess having a regular physical exam is an attempt to plan ahead. I do try to stay healthy, even though maintaining your health depends on a certain amount of luck as well. Since I was having blood work done today, I needed to fast and couldn't eat breakfast before my 10 AM appointment. This made for a long morning. I drove to the doctor's office in the rain and noticed that I need new windshield wipers. One more thing to add to my to-do list.

Physical exams are always a mix of good and bad news. The good news was that my doctor seemed pleased with my overall health. The bad news was that I'm due for another colonoscopy. It doesn't seem like ten years since my last colonoscopy, but time flies when you are growing old. I always ask about my ongoing foot pain and my frozen shoulder, but I'm never happy with the answers I get. There's no real cure for osteoarthritis. When the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones wears down over time, there's not a lot you can do. Your choices are usually limited to pain medications, physical therapy, and surgery. I've known plenty of people who have had knee, hip, and shoulder replacements. I'm not sure I want to go down that road.

Dawn didn't get a walk at all today. We tried, but she had no interest in getting wet. It took some planning to take my own longer walk, but I managed to find some dry time between the bands of rain moving from the southwest to the northeast. I got caught in a few sprinkles, but for the most part I stayed pretty dry. This wet weather seems to bring out the snakes. I've seen snakes almost every time I've walked lately.

I made another attempt to process some of the pictures I took last week and wasn't happy with the results. It is much easier to take pictures of dogs. The night sky is quite dim and the stars are always moving, so you can't simply take a very long exposure. Successful astrophotography depends on taking a lot of shorter images of the same subject and then merging them together using specialized software that compensates for the rotation of the earth. There are many steps to this stacking process. You want to keep both your foreground and your stars sharp, while avoiding the camera noise that often accompanies long exposures. I'm learning, but I've got a ways to go.

The Atlas V SBIRS GEO Flight 5 launch was successful today. Several of my launch photographer friends were there and got great pictures. I'm always a little envious when I see these pictures, but I don't think I'll be returning to Florida any time soon. The East Coast gas shortage, lack of rental cars, and the huge number of people who want to get out of the house and return to Disneyland or the beach are going to make travel difficult for a while. I'm hoping that life will eventually return to normal, but clearly we're not there yet.

Dismal weather always puts me in a bad mood. I wonder how long it's going to be before I see the sun again? I spent a lot of time napping today, but that's the way it goes on a rainy day. I'll make up for lost time when the sun returns.

Skippy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4137

I got a real letter in the mail today. This is increasingly rare. Most of our mail is junk. There is always lots of political mail whenever there is an election. There are weekly grocery store circulars and various home services send flyers advertising lawn care and tree removal. I used to get lots of trade magazines, but most of them have gone out of business. I still get bills in the mail, but I don't even open them. They are just reminders that it's time to pay online again. Whenever I'm waiting for something specific, it never comes. I've been waiting for author copies of a SpaceFlight Magazine article for several months now and of course there are those computer memory chips that seem to have disappeared. I still wait for the mail every day though. It's just something old people do.

I still watch TV while I'm eating breakfast as well, but I'm constantly changing channels because there's nothing I like. I don't know what kind of audience the network morning shows are targeting, but it definitely isn't me. Cable news is like a broken record. It seems like we are always in the middle of the same crisis. The financial channels increasingly talk about Bitcoin, SPACs and other things I don't understand. Sometimes the only thing left are old TV Westerns, Perry Mason, and The Andy Griffith Show.

I've just about given up on NASA. I write polite letters asking about accreditation, but never get a response. Actually I don't get a response to many of my questions these days. When I retired and my business slowed, I kind of dropped off the radar. When you no longer have something other people want, you gradually become invisible. Generally, I don't mind being invisible, but I hate being totally out of the loop. I wish I had some kind of card I could flash whenever I wanted to participate in something. Sadly, life doesn't work that way. You have to stay involved if you want to participate.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm never going to be a regular part of the launch photography community because I can't afford to visit Florida that often. I'm not going to write frequently for astronomy magazines either because I don't actually know that much about astronomy. It's easy to get discouraged, but there are always opportunities. I guess my job now is to always keep an eye out for new opportunities.

Dawn has decided that she likes walking through open fields instead of staying on the trails. This would have been good in the Winter, but now the prairie grass is growing tall and I worry about chiggers, ticks, and especially snakes. I don't see many snakes but I know they are out there. I'm already fretting about what shoes to wear out at the observatory. Do I wear lightweight, comfortable sneakers, or heavy snake proof boots? I always take the boots, even though they are uncomfortable after I've been wearing them for hours. That's one thing I liked about growing up in Alaska. There were no snakes.

There are severe weather warnings for tomorrow again. Most of these warnings don't amount to anything, but you've got to take them seriously. One way or another it does look like it's going to rain. Right now there is a 100% chance of rain. How am I going to take my long walk if it rains all day? Oh, well. I can't worry about that now. It's time to take out the trash and call an end to this week.

Mindy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4056

Today was quiet and uneventful. We had a leisurely breakfast before taking Dawn on her morning walk. Walks are not a problem now. Dawn really seems to enjoy things now that she's getting her own way. Janet continued walking with me after we took Dawn back to the house. I thought we were walking faster than usual, but my Fitbit said I was burning fewer calories than when I walked alone. Maybe you walk a little slower when you are talking. At any rate, it was a very pleasant walk even though it was still very windy today.

I need to find something to do. Now that following rocket launches and volunteering at the observatory have been curtailed for a while, I don't know what to do with myself. My office is littered with the debris from former interests and obsessions, but very little intrigues me anymore. 

When I was cleaning the other day, I found some old lenses I'd completely forgotten about. I knew that I'd used these lenses with digital cameras before, but I'd forgotten how to connect them. Where were the special adapters I'd purchased many years ago? My office is a black hole that just swallows stuff up. Looking for the adapters kept me occupied for hours. I finally found a fitting that seemed like it would allow a 500mm mirror lens from the 1980's to be connected to one of my older digital cameras. This was a start. If I could get the big telephoto lens to work with this camera, I knew where there was another adapter that I could add that would let it work with my newer mirrorless cameras. I have no idea why I spent so much time doing this because none of these older lenses are nearly as good as modern digital lenses. Sometimes I think I'm more interested in the cameras themselves than in the pictures they take.

There are two Starships sitting on the pad at Boca Chica right now. When I see the images of these monster rocket sitting right next to each other, it is very tempting to make a trip down to South Texas. Several of the launch photographers I've met in Florida have already made the trek. So what's stopping me? I already live in Texas. Lots of things actually. Space X has no real schedule. You could go down to Boca Chica and end up waiting for weeks before there was a launch attempt. There aren't a lot of places to stay either. Whenever there is a launch or hop planned, the few hotels on South Padre Island get booked very quickly. Sadly, the real reason I'm hesitant is snakes. I hate snakes and the dunes around Boca Chica are full of them. Rattlesnakes, Copperheads, Desert Massasauga, Cottonmouth, Corral Snakes, and more. They are all down there.

There are snakes here too, but I've learned how to avoid them. I certainly don't anticipate encountering a snake tomorrow when we go visit the rescue Dalmatians at the kennel. I think the same three dogs are there, but every once in a while we are surprised to meet a new one. I walk much later in the day on Mondays because we spend quite a while at the kennel. Last Monday the sun was setting by the time I returned to the house. Better late than never I guess. I still think walking is one of the best ways to stay healthy.

Cooper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3250

I spent my day taking pictures of kids holding snakes. This was a big animal rescue event with all types of puppies, kittens, ferrets, and birds, but the kids seemed fascinated with the snakes. The smaller the children, the less fear they had of snakes. Often, their parents wouldn't go near the reptiles, but the kids loved them. I heard a lot of "Mommy, can I have a snake?" during the afternoon. I didn't hear one parent say yes.

A lot has changed in the last five years. There wasn't a lot of interest in my little photo booth, but everyone wanted to take selfies with the animals. People don't need a photographer anymore. They make their own movies and share their own pictures. Most of the children had their own phones. Even small children were walking around with iPhones. I predict that there will be a lot of pictures of people holding snakes on Instagram today.

I'm not a big fan of snakes myself. I hate seeing them in the park because I can never remember which ones are poisonous. I pretty much quit using my kayak when I saw a big water moccasin swimming along side me one day. I always worry that one of the dogs will be bitten by a snake. Often dogs don't have the sense to keep away from them.

I'm glad I don't do many photo events anymore. They are too tiring. I still do a few Santa Paws events during the Christmas season, but not nearly as many as I used to do. I think we only have two Christmas events scheduled this year. Today's event was meant to educate kids about animals. I'm not sure what the kids learned, but I learned a few things. The big snakes eat rabbits. The snake handler buys frozen rabbit meat which he cooks as needed. He feeds his large snakes a rabbit every two weeks. Some of these snakes weigh as much as 75 pounds.

I was lucky today. I didn't have to bring my lights and backdrops. All I had to do was show up with a camera. I think I got some cute pictures. I'm not sure what the organizers plan to do with these pictures but they seemed pleased with the results.

Dash pooped in the bed again last night. I guess this is the new normal. I with I could use puppy training pads with him like I did with Dot, but I'm not sure they'd do any good. Dash is still fairly mobile. Whenever I wake up, he's in a different place than he was when I went to sleep. Doggie diapers won't work at all. Dash's rear legs are so weak that diapers would essentially cripple him. This is still a work in progress. I'm sure we'll figure out something.

I didn't have time to get groceries today, so I guess I'll do that tomorrow. I'm not sure that I'll go to the gym. If it's as warm as it was today, it would be a good time to mow the grass one last time. It would also be a good time to take a long nap. We'll see how I feel in the morning

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3174

I went to a Labor Day sale at REI on my way to the gym. I don't need anything, but I've spent so many years as a consumer that I still find these sales hard to resist. I ended up buying another Goal Zero emergency back up power supply that that can be charged with solar cells if necessary. Hey, it was half price. I already have a larger model of this type of product and have only used it once. You never know though. These things might come in handy. I guess deep down I'm a prepper at heart. I always expect the worst and want to be prepared. I also just like gadgets.

Janet's been looking for a new gym and I've been telling her that I like mine, but there weren't any classes. How did I know this? Well, I stopped seeing a schedule of classes on the bulletin board. Today, the lady ahead of me while I was checking in asked about classes and the receptionist reached in a drawer and pulled out a brochure. I guess the place still has classes after all. I guess it wouldn't kill me to ask questions now and then. Janet has already found a gym with the classes she wants, but I think mine had them too. Oops. This should have been a teaching moment, but I didn't talk to anybody today either. I never talk to anyone at the gym. They should have put that brochure on the bulletin board.

A firetruck went by with sirens wailing while we were walking Dash this morning and we started hearing coyote pups howling nearby. It seems a little early for the local coyotes to be having pups, but maybe not. There seems to be a new litter every year. We don't see coyotes much in the Summer, but they're out there. As the days grow shorter I'll have to be on the lookout for them when we're walking around sunrise.

The only thing we were on the lookout for today were loose dogs. I usually recognize the dogs we see in the park, but on holiday weekends there are a lot more dog walkers. There's almost always someone who can't control a large aggressive dog. Sure enough, we saw one of these people today. They're easy to recognize. The dog is usually on one of those long flexi-leashes and often races toward other dogs as the owner tries in vain to reel the dog in. I hate those flexi-leashes. We kept our distance and there weren't any problems.

I saw a baby snake on the porch while I was taking Dash out to pee last night. Where was the mother snake? Since snakes lay eggs, maybe the mother had long gone. I hate to take chances though. I'm always nervous about snakes and dogs.  Dash wouldn't stand a chance with a snake. This little snake looked harmless, but I snagged it on a stick and flung it out of the yard anyway. I don't like snakes.

I watched a show about eating healthy on PBS this afternoon while Dash was taking a nap. I've heard this information before and I'm sure it's true. Bread and pasta are the enemy. Refined flour converts to glucose almost immediately in your body and causes blood sugar spikes. Fruit and vegetable are good. Lean meat in moderation is good. But bread is bad. So what did I have for breakfast this morning? Two big country biscuits with bacon and egg inside. To make matters worse, I had pasta for supper. Oh. well. There's always tomorrow.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3069

Today was dominated by the weather. We watched as a surprise storm approached from the West as we were walking Dash this morning. Dash doesn't have a high gear anymore, so we kept inching along as the rain got closer and closer. We almost made it. The rain arrived when we were about 200 yards from the house. We all got wet, but it wasn't so bad. Now that the temperature and humidity have increased, a little cool rain felt kind of nice.

I went to the gym, even though I knew the car would get muddy. There is very little to do around the house on a rainy day. I'm sure there were things to be done, but my brain goes into hibernation when it rains. I didn't feel like thinking today. Exercise is a good substitute for thinking, so off to the gym I went. I was a little disappointed that there was a basketball game underway when I got there, but the game concluded by the time I was ready to shoot free throws, so all was well.

I stopped at the REI store on the way home to look at activity trackers. Should I get a Fitbit or a Garmin?  I'm still irritated that I can't glue my Jawbone UP3 band back together, but I've just about concluded that repairing this thing is a lost cause. Maybe I should just calibrate my Apple Watch. I learned you can do this today by syncing your watch to your phone's GPS for 20 minutes using the workout app. Who knew? It's weird that I'm so interested in activity trackers since I'm not much of an athlete. I guess I just like to track things.

I watched a documentary called Elizabeth at 90 while Janet was fixing dinner this evening. It was basically watching 50 years of the queen's private home movies. What a fascinating life the royals lead. They aren't like ordinary rich people. Unlike typical people of privilege, the royal family seemed very disciplined, polite, and in private led unassuming, seemingly normal lives. Maybe we need more people like the queen and fewer people like our own celebrity royalty.

I need to call the electrician. Every evening I wade through the thick ground cover in the back yard to turn on the security light manually and in the process get eaten alive by mosquitoes and chiggers. It's going to be a bad mosquito season this year. I am convinced that there are snakes hiding in the Asian Jasmine too. I definitely don't want to run into a snake at night.

Tomorrow is Dash's birthday. We need to do something really nice for him.  He's such a great dog. For most of his life, tasty food gifts were the preferred choice around our house, but I'm not so sure this year. You never know what Dash is going to eat on any given day. He might even turn up his nose at a doggie birthday cake. Who knows? Maybe we'll have a good day tomorrow. Today was certainly encouraging. Everything went well with Dash today.

Harley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2652

Maybe I should start shopping on Sunday. There were no blueberries yesterday, so I went back to look for some this morning. The entire produce section had been restocked and everything looked much fresher. I got the blueberries I wanted and kind of wished that I'd waited until today to get the strawberries too.

I mowed the lawn for the first time in 2017. Like it or not, Summer is on its way. Every time I get the lawn mower out for a new season of cutting the grass, it seems heavier and more cumbersome than the year before. I wonder how many more years I can continue doing this. Eventually, I'll probably have to start using a lawn service like everyone else in the neighborhood. If the yard was flat it wouldn't be a bit deal. The hills are starting to be a problem. I've grown to hate pushing the mower up the hill in the front yard.

When I walked Dash this morning I saw the coyote again. I was surprised that the coyote was out in the open so late in the day. We got a late start this morning and I didn't walk Dash until after 9 AM. Several neighbors say they've seen two coyotes together. This probably means there is a den and cubs nearby. I probably should worry more about snakes than the coyotes. It is getting warm enough that the snakes are starting to emerge as well. I've learned to avoid the areas where snakes are abundant, but the coyote seems to like the same part of the park that Dash does. We see it frequently now.

This was another day when I was already tired before I even made it to the gym. I went anyway though. If I only went to the gym when I was feeling fresh and energetic, I'd probably never go at all. Since it was a nice Spring day, the gym was virtually empty. I like it this way, because there is seldom anyone using the basketball court. Midway through my workout it occurred to me that I might have left a gate open when I took the lawn mower back to the greenhouse. I always worry about the accidental open gate, because it wouldn't take Dash long to discover it. I called Janet and I guess I secured the gate after all. My memory is really getting bad.

We decided to walk Dot at sunset today, so she wouldn't get so hot. This worked out well. She actually seemed to have more energy than I thought she would. I guess sunset walks are going to be our new routine as the weather continues to grow warmer. This isn't the most convenient time of day for me, but it's easy enough to rearrange my schedule. I wonder why I even bother with a schedule anymore. It's become pretty clear that it doesn't really matter when I do things, or even if I do things.

I had to get up early this morning to take Dot out to pee. The sky was still dark, so after I took Dot back to her bed, I went outside again and looked at the stars. I enjoy stargazing, although it sure would be nice if the sky over our yard wasn't a solid canopy of trees. Despite the partially obscured view, I spotted Saturn to the left of the moon and Jupiter low on the western horizon. I could easily see four of Jupiter's moons through the binoculars, but I had trouble seeing Saturn's rings. Maybe sometime soon I'll have the time and energy to get the telescope out. I could easily see Saturn's rings through the telescope.

The only thing on my plate next week is a trip to the dentist. I'm not looking forward to that.

Pringles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2448 - Dot's Birthday

I feel bad about not doing more for Dot's birthday. We're all getting old and tired. I know Dot is at least 16 years old and may even be 17. It hard to know the exact age of a rescue dog. Usually their birthday is just the day you adopt them.

We used to have elaborate parties for all our dogs, but they seem like distant memories now. The few dog friendly restaurants that remain in town are too far away and I don't think Dot would enjoy being transported in the car anyway. Even if she wanted to go, I don't think we can get two dogs in the same car anymore. Dot needs a lot more room with her injuries and I don't know where we'd put Dash. There used to be two places in town that made beautiful birthday cakes for dogs, but they both went out of business. The cakes were expensive and a lot of people didn't want to pay that much to treat their dog. After trying to make similar cakes myself, I quickly realized that these cakes were a bargain. It's a shame that these businesses didn't succeed. That's all in the past though. Last year, we got them some dog cupcakes at Sprinkles but it wasn't much of a party. They both ate the little cupcakes in about two seconds.

I saw a snake in the back yard this morning, but I wasn't able to catch it before it slithered away. I was trying to lift it up with a stick and toss it over the back fence, but the snake was faster than I was. I didn't want to pick the snake up with my hands, because it looked a lot like a baby copperhead. I don't want to mess with those things. The venom is actually stronger in baby snakes. I don't know why. Hopefully, the snake continued it's journey and is somewhere in the park by now. I definitely don't want Dash to discover it.

We went to a concert tonight because one of Janet's friends was performing. We hear this group almost every year. They are a large a cappella chorus that performs all over the world. When we first started going to these concerts, I wasn't that wild about this barbershop style of singing, but either they've gotten better over the years, or I've grown to appreciate them. The concerts are quite good.

When I used the Scan and Go app at the grocery store today, I noticed that there was a new welcome screen that said "No purchases over $750." I'm never going to buy that many groceries, but I wonder what this message means. Apparently, even though the app has been around less than a month, someone has already figured out a way to scam it. I wish everyone was honest and played by the rules. If everyone were honest, I wouldn't even need passwords on all these apps.

It was really hot today and there were no Summer showers to cool things down. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for Winter.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2084

When I arrived for my photoshoot today, I was greeted by two kids, a cockatiel, several parrots, a rabbit, a Labrador retriever, a basset hound mix, a large iguana, a lizard, a box of puppies and kittens, and two very large snakes. Through a process of elimination, we selected five animals that seemed to get along well with the children and each other. Amazingly, the children weren't afraid of the snakes, but I got a little nervous myself when a large yellow python wound up in my lap while I was looking through the viewfinder.

These type of photos aren't easy. Is everybody looking at the camera? Is the cat going to go after the bird? Will the snake eat a puppy? We had wranglers for each animal to keep things safe, but still there were a lot of surprises. The seventy pound snake moved pretty fast and always seemed to slither out of the frame. The bird flew away several times. The iguana was getting old and occasionally fell off its perch and landed on the floor with a thud. I was amazed that the rabbit was so calm. Most rabbits wouldn't want anything to do with a situation like this, but our bunny was calm and collected and stayed with us for the entire shoot. I think the photo came out great. I'm not sure what the snake thought.

I thought Dash was sick this morning. He got us up early, went outside, immediately pooped in the yard, and then wouldn't eat his breakfast. This had me worried. Dash always eats his meals. He seemed perfectly normal on our morning walk and as soon as we got home again I figured out what was going on. There was a smell of brisket in the air when I opened the back door. Janet was fixing a slow cook meal in the crockpot and the smell of the meat simmering overnight must have driven Dash wild. He's a very stubborn dog and he woke up wanting brisket for breakfast instead of his dog food. As soon as we gave the dogs a little taste of the brisket, they both were happy and spent the rest of the morning sleeping quietly on their dog beds. This evening when the meat was safely in the refrigerator, Dash thought his dog food was just fine and ate it eagerly.

With a concert and a photoshoot on the agenda, this turned out to be a very busy weekend. There was no time to mow the lawn or go to the gym, but I'm surprised that we got as much done as we did. The dogs still got their walks. The dog's bedding got washed. Dot only pooped inside once this weekend, but that still required a full load of laundry. The house could be a little cleaner, but I did manage to get all the photo equipment packed up and back to the storage warehouse. Tomorrow, I'll need to burn some DVD's so the client can sort through the hundreds of images I took today. I think there are still some website revisions I need to make as well. Oh, in case you're wondering, the brisket was deliciou.

Tessa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1672

When I was walking the dogs this morning, a guy stopped us and told me to be careful because there was a big snake up ahead. He pointed toward where the snake was and said I ought to keep the dogs to the right on the trail so they wouldn't get near the snake. I thanked the guy and kept walking. When we arrived at the snake's lair, I looked down and saw a menacing looking coiled up black bicycle tube next to a demolished tire. I'm sure the guy meant well. If you were jogging and didn't like snakes anyway, the tire and tube might have looked a bit like a snake. It definitely looked like a tire to me. I don't like snakes either, but I am slowly learning how to identify them. The ones with round eyes and small heads are generally non-poisonous. The ones with elongated eyes and triangular heads I stay away from. Most of the snakes in the park are harmless, but we do have Copperheads and Water Moccasins, so you've got to be careful.

The Summer heat is taking its toll on Dot. She is walking slower and doesn't have as much energy.  We kept her workout on the underwater treadmill very light today, but I could still tell she was tired. Luckily, the acupuncture session that followed the water therapy relaxed her and by the time we arrived home she was feeling fine again. I still think the water therapy is good for Dot, because she is much stronger than she was before we started these weekly sessions.

I saw dark clouds and heard distant thunder as we were driving home from the vet. During stormy weather, it's a blessing that Dot doesn't hear as well as she used to. She didn't notice a thing. We beat the storm, but it started raining soon after we arrived home again. The minute Dot got out of the car, she smelled the air and knew that rain was on the way. There's definitely nothing wrong with her sense of smell. It rained pretty hard for a while and I had to get under a blanket with the dogs to keep them calm. I'm surprised that this works, but it usually does. Getting under a blanket with the dogs was fine with me. I felt like taking a nap anyway.

The Passion Flower vines are in bloom again. I only see these ornate and rather flashy flowers once or twice a year. These exotic vines usually bloom in mid-summer, often right after a rain. I was lucky to see one this morning, because the blooms don't last very long. Usually, they have withered and died before I even notice them. It occurs to me that I have probably accumulated one of the best collections of local wildflower photos in town. If I could ever learn to identify the thousands of pictures I've taken over the years, I could put together a very pretty coffee table book.

I hope the weather clears up. I don't really feel like spending the day under a blanket with Dot tomorrow. Rain is OK. Thunder and lightning, please go away.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1647 - My Birthday

I received hundreds of birthday greetings on social media today. At most, I'd met less than ten of these people in real life. I tried to think if I'd seen any of them during the past year and could only come up with a single name: a guy I accidentally bumped into a few months ago at a guitar show. That's the way it is these days. Facebook has become the new neighborhood. Real life is kind of a wasteland. I was delighted to hear from everybody, whether I'd met them of not. Among the strangers who wished me a happy birthday were dedicated people all over the world who do their best to rescue and care for abandoned Dalmatians. There were fellow bloggers, who just like me, continue to tell their stories to a world where fewer and fewer people read. There were people who like wristwatches and probably a few like you, who just like to read this blog. I'm glad I heard from all of you. You keep me connected.

I got an e-mail early this morning from a neighbor up the street, asking me if I knew anyone who had lost a Weimaraner puppy. I haven't seen anyone walking a Weimaraner in the park for a long time, but I sent the lady all the information I had about reuniting lost dogs with their owners. If you find a lost dog without any identification, I hope you check to see if it has been microchipped first. If the dog has been chipped, this is definitely the easiest way to find the owner. When I left to go to the gym later in the day, I happened to see a "Lost Puppy" sign stapled to a telephone pole. I stopped the car and went over to look at the sign. Sure enough, the lost dog was a Weimaraner puppy that matched the description in the e-mail exactly. I called the number on the sign and left a message saying that I thought I knew where the puppy was. When the dog's owner called back a few hours later, she said the puppy had already been found and returned. Evidently there were lots of "Lost Puppy" signs and one of them had been seen by a friend of the lady who'd sent me the e-mail. My neighbors might not agree about politics, or even about what goes on in the park, but they do agree about dogs. I'm lucky to live in a very dog friendly neighborhood.

I didn't stay at the gym very long today. The gym was crowded and Dot had already made me feel guilty for leaving by barking up a storm as I was preparing to leave. I was also worried about the lost dog and wanted to check and see if the dog and its owner had been reunited. There was nothing to worry about. Dot was sleeping soundly when I returned and the Weimaraner puppy was already home again.

When I was walking the dogs this evening, we almost stepped on a huge snake. I need to get better at identifying these neighborhood snakes. Some are harmless and others are poisonous. It would be good to know which was which. In the mean time, we're going to avoid the shoreline and native prairie areas where most of the snakes seem to live. There are also lots of large hawks and owls in these areas. Maybe they'll eat the snakes.

We had Sprinkles cupcakes when Janet got home from work. These tasty little cupcakes have become somewhat of a birthday tradition. At a certain point we discovered that a big birthday cake was too much for two people.  These large, heavily frosted cakes just took up space in the refrigerator and eventually got stale. Cupcakes are much better.  It was a subdued birthday, but a nice one. I look forward to celebrating a few more.

Inky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1570

Weird. After yesterday's dire warnings about high winds and damaging hail, it was sunny today. That's Texas weather for you. You never really know what's going to happen. It's just as well that I re-scheduled things so I could stay inside, however. As it turned out, there were a ton of vexing website problems that just couldn't wait. I couldn't even log-in to one of the sites I manage. Another had broken online forms. And a third was just slow as molasses. There are days when I would just as soon have nothing to do with the Internet, and today turned out to be one of those days.

My writing assignments went slower than expected today as well. I had a group of articles to write that were all essentially the same. They each had to appear very different though. I get this a lot. "Yeah, it's the same, but make it different." One of these days, I'll simply run out of adjectives and we'll all have to admit that I'm writing the same thing over and over again. It's actually not very easy to make the same thing seem fresh and different, but I do the best I can.

My liver doctors are starting to make me feel like a human pincushion. The keep experimenting with the dosage on the pills I'm taking. They'll lower the dosage after one series of blood tests and then raise the dosage again after the next series of tests. I was hoping that they'd keep the dosage lower, since this alleviated some of the irritating side effects, but now I'm right back to the initial rather high dosage I started with. Hey, I'll do whatever they want. I've only got one more month to go. Dash and I are going to have a big celebration when we complete our treatments.

Dash was poking his nose into some bushes by the side of the trail today, as he is often prone to do. Suddenly, a big snake slithered out right in front of us and disappeared in the underbrush. I guess it's that time of year again. I hate snakes. We've got tons of them around here and I can never remember which ones are safe and which ones are poisonous. Snakes pretty much curtailed my kayaking excursions in the lake. One day I had the kayak out and noticed a huge water moccasin swimming right along beside me. I haven't taken the kayak out since. Basically, I'm a city person who doesn't like people, which leaves me with very few places to go.

I'll probably go out to breakfast tomorrow after Dash goes for his radiation therapy.  Maybe I'll get today's balky websites to work properly tomorrow. Maybe I'll finally get caught up with my writing assignments. Who knows what will happen. It probably all depends on the weather.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1561

There are too many things to remember. Did I take my pills this morning? Have I watered the new grass? Did I make a test print to keep the large printer from clogging? Is it the right day for Dash's chemo pills? Have I answered all my e-mail? Have I folded the clothes in the dryer? Did I pay the utility bills? Are there any clean towels left? Are my camera batteries charged? Where are my reading glasses? Is there enough gas in the car? The list goes on and on. I would like to have a day, or a month, or even a year with nothing to remember at all. That's not going to happen though.

On busy work days, I forget a lot of routine things. On slower days, I try to catch up. I never remember everything though. Try as I may, there are still days when we're completely out of garbage bags, or the milk in the refrigerator has gone bad. It's easier to remember things that happen every day. I never forget breakfast and always make the bed in the morning. Things that only happen periodically are more problematic. I really have to keep my wits about me to avoid giving Dash his cancer medicine on the wrong day. Taking my own pills at the right time can be a problem as well. I write all important things down in an online calendar, but frequently forget to check the calendar. Clients that feed me work every day usually get great service, but clients who only need things every month or so occasionally get forgotten about.

I do best on simple days like today. Several clients asked me direct questions and I answered them on the spot. I got a request for an article and I wrote it immediately. Why not? I wasn't doing anything else at the time. I paid a small stack of bills, went to the post office, and took the dogs on a long walk. I did remember to water the new grass and even cooked an omelet using up some leftover sausage and spicy vegetables from the weekend. This seemed like plenty to do for one day.

Tomorrow will be busier, since it's another radiation treatment day for Dash. Wednesday used to be Dot's acupuncture and water therapy day, but I've moved that to Thursday, since it's about the only free day left. The HVAC guys are coming out Friday to rewire the connection to the air conditioner compressor in the back yard. The Summer Texas sun is murder on exposed wiring and the existing wiring doesn't look like it will last another season. I definitely don't want to have to deal with a broken AC this Summer. Too bad the HVAC guys couldn't fix the blinking LED can lights in the bathroom as well. It would be nice to kill two birds with one stone.

This afternoon, I noticed a squirrel digging up one of the new Liriope plants I planted this weekend. Why do these critters continue to torment me? On one of our recent walks, a large possum refused to give ground on the trail and the dogs got way too interested. I thought we were going to have an epic possum battle. Pretty soon it will be warm enough for the snakes to reappear. I think in my next life, I'll live in a downtown high-rise.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1426

Pet Fair occupied most of our day today. Janet and I went and set up the Dalmatian Rescue booth after we finished breakfast this morning. When everything was ready, we came back and got our Dalmatians. We were joined at the event by our friend Turtle The Painting Pit Bull, who creates original paintings with her paw. Dot and Dash aren't nearly this creative, but they put on a good show begging for dog treats. The kids seemed to enjoy our "Make a Dalmatian" game today. They completely ignored the realistic looking adhesive spots I cut out last night though, preferring novelty spots made to look like hearts or dog bones. We has a steady group of people come to our booth throughout the afternoon, but we certainly weren't the most popular attraction. What kids really wanted to do was hold a snake. There was a reptile education booth where kids could hold a large snake if they wanted. The kids were lined up five deep to hold these snakes and get their picture taken. The snakes were more popular than a nearby booth filled with cute puppies, which tells you something about the next generation in this country.

Dot and Dash were remarkably good, considering how long the event was. They were gentle and friendly when kids came up to pet them and they didn't even bark excessively. At some point during the afternoon, we has a psychic at a nearby booth read the dogs paws. I'm as skeptical as the next guy about psychics and palm readers, but this lady nailed it with the dogs personalities. She knew nothing in advance about Dot and Dash, but was able to describe their somewhat unique personalities with great accuracy.

By the time we packed up our stuff and took the dogs home again, the day was almost over. I barely had time to take Dot and Dash on a short walk before the sun set on the Western horizon. When we returned to the house, there were burgers for dinner. Cheeseburgers are always a good way to end a busy day. This type of meal isn't on my diet anymore, but what the hell. I worked hard today and deserved a treat.

Tomorrow, it's back to work again. I have a combination medical exam and website meeting scheduled with one of my physician clients. I have a feeling that I'll find out a lot more about the health of the website than about my own health.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 841

The electricians were out at the house at 7:30 this morning to fix the mercury vapor lamp in the back yard. There are times when I wish that I had a regular job instead of working on my own, but then I remember that people who work for someone else have to go to work a lot earlier than I do. I don't know if I could ever go to work at 7:30 AM on a regular basis. It's probably a good thing that the electricians came early though. The first fixture they tried to install was defective and they had to go back to the shop for another. They were still out in the back yard working when I returned from giving the dogs their regular morning walk.

What a difference a day makes. The sky was clear and blue this morning. No wind. No rain. No tornadoes or thunderstorms anywhere. The only alarming thing I saw today was a snake. It's gotten warm enough that all the snakes in the park are coming out of hibernation. I have to keep an eye out for snakes in the Spring, because the dogs don't have the good sense to stay away from them. Some varieties of snakes in the park are poisonous, but I can never remember which is which, so I try to stay away from all of them.

I paid a bunch of bills this afternoon, which is always a frustrating thing to do on days when the stock market takes a big tumble like it did today. Every time I start to feel a little better about the market, something like this happens and I'm back to square one again. They say the market crashed today because of Spanish bonds. Who cares about Spanish bonds? I am convinced that embracing a global economy has opened a Pandora's box of woes that can never be closed. At this rate, I'll have to keep working forever as we slowly slide downhill toward some dismal global unity.

Maybe the dogs feel this way about training class. They're not making much forward progress either. The big improvements were all made in the first year. Dash won blue ribbons during his first year at school. With each succeeding year, he seems to be backsliding. I can certainly relate. I feel the same way sometimes. At least it's light outside now, so we can see how far we're backsliding.

Dottie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 698

I spent most of the day at Pet Fair. The volunteers did a fabulous job of organizing the event this year. There was a little bit of everything. There were tons of games for the kids, including a large bounce house, teddy bear surgery, and something that involved throwing water balloons. One of the most popular areas was the reptile exhibit, where kids who dared, got to touch and even hold large pythons and other snakes. I never dreamed that there would be so many kids who wanted to walk around with a large snake around their neck, but there were lines waiting to get near the reptiles. The girls were just as interested in holding a snake as the boys, and one little girl was so fond of her snake that she sat with the snake in her lap for most of the afternoon. The reptile exhibit was well supervised by two herpetologists, and although I wouldn't want a snake as a pet myself, I'll have to admit that they are interesting animals. While I was filming the reptiles, I noticed that parents were much more skittish around snakes than their children. For the most part, the children were fearless. I guess fear of snakes must be learned behavior.

There was a great neighborhood Doo-Wop band, playing hits from the fifties and sixties. Unlike some garage bands, their harmonies were on key and their musicianship was quite good. Sometimes I think that half the men over forty play in one of these garage bands. They're everywhere, and no charity event would be complete without one. As the afternoon was drawing to a close, a young man in his late twenties came to complain about the noise and said he'd call the cops if the band didn't stop playing immediately. Actually, the cops had been at the event all afternoon, and none of them seemed to have any problems with the band. The ironic thing was that the old men in the band were the rockers and the young guy complaining was the old fuddy-duddy. Nobody seems to want to accept their role in life these days. It gets confusing sometimes.

The new Panasonic camera is fabulous. One of the first things I noticed about shooting with a memory chip camera is that you can actually use the on-board mics. Since there are no moving parts in the camera, it operates completely silently. The next thing I noticed was how light the camera was. After years of carrying a Beta-SP camera around on my shoulder, this thing seemed almost weightless. The picture quality was amazing, especially considering that I didn't bring any lights and there were hard shadows everywhere. I think I'm going to like shooting with this camera!

Dot and Dash were a bit miffed that they didn't get their usual trip to the dog park today. Hey, you can't do everything. To make up for this faux-pas, I did take them on a longer than usual evening walk. By the time they finished dinner, I think they'd forgotten all about the dog park. Tomorrow, it's back to our usual schedule.

Puppies are our Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 571

When I arrived for my photo shoot today, I was greeted by six snakes, a rather large iguana, a dog, a cat, a rabbit, a pig, five children and a duck. There were obviously plenty of animals to go around, but some got eliminated almost immediately. The pig didn't even want to be in the same room as the snakes. The cat got eliminated because one of the boys insisted on holding a snake. Four snakes got put back in their bags because six snakes on the set were way too many to deal with. The smallest girl was fearless. She wanted to hold the largest snake and started waving it around, saying "Mommy, look at me, I'm the amazing snake girl." There was a moment of alarm when the boy with the other snake announced, "Mommy, my snake bit me." The vets in the room examined the wound, pronounced it harmless and on we went. After about 100 shots, I could tell the animals were getting restless and we called it a day. Not your average childrens' portrait to say the least, but I think we got some real cute shots.

By the time I got all my equipment packed up and put away, the day was practically over. There was just enough time to run to the grocery store and take the dogs on their evening walk. I'm not as worried about the large snake I saw near the yard the other day. I tried to describe it to one of the snake wranglers at the photo shoot and he said it was probably a Texas Rat Snake. These snakes are ill tempered and will strike if you get too close, but are basically harmless. The snake guy said that if a Rat Snake bit you, it probably wouldn't even break the skin.

Maybe I'll do a little yard work tomorrow. It felt cooler today and sure enough it was. The temperature only got up to 98 degrees.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day