Day 4348

I did end up seeing the eclipse last night. Yep, I had to pee. When I went outside, the sky was crystal clear and Orion and Sirius were high in the sky. The eclipse was as near totality as it was going to get, taking on a characteristic reddish hue as the moon passed thru the earth's shadow. It was all beautiful and serene. The night was quiet with no barking dogs or police cars racing down the street with their sirens on. For about ten seconds I thought about staying outside and doing some observing. I quickly remembered that almost every house in the neighborhood, including ours, has a bright security light in the yard and that a huge tree blocks our view of the North, making it almost impossible to polar align a telescope. It was also very cold. I took one last look at the moon and then went inside and back to sleep again. I am glad I saw the eclipse though.

This morning when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk, the moon was on the horizon and just about to set. It always looks larger when it is on the horizon for some reason. The sky was still clear and it looked like it was going to be a nice day. All this put me in a slightly better mood than usual. It wasn't dramatic, but it was enough to keep me from wanting to go back to bed again.

I waited for an hour or so after breakfast to take my long walk. I wanted the temperature to warm up a little. I was surprised when a rather large bobcat crossed my path. The cat wasn't interested in me and apparently wasn't frightened of humans. I've seen bobcats in the park before, but never one this large. Too bad I didn't have a camera with me. I was glad that Dawn wasn't with me though. I have no interest in tangling with a bobcat.

Work crews were busy ripping out the old trail when I was walking this morning. I'm still disappointed to see this happening. When we first moved here, the park was neglected and largely abandoned. At some point, a large bond issue passed and the city began making improvements. I liked the old days better. There were a few bikers who used to hang out in the park, but it was mostly empty. It certainly wasn't a recreation destination like it is today.

My feet didn't bother me today and I was able to maintain a fairly good pace on my walk. I kept looking for the two bald eagles, but have no idea when I'll see them again. I guess I should be content with seeing the bobcat today. When I returned home I couldn't think of anything to do. I did a load of wash and ignored a bunch of "suspected spam" calls on the landline. I really need to call AT&T and see if there is a way to block these calls from coming through. There seems to be more bogus calls every day and they are becoming irritating.

The proton pump inhibitor pills I've started taking appear to have cured my heartburn. We had cheeseburgers for dinner and they caused no problem. I've taken a PPI before and they've always worked well. It's too bad these pills can have some nasty side effects. I wonder how long I can get away with taking these things this time. My gastroenterologist says yes and my primary care physician says no.

Hard to believe that it's the weekend again. It's time to go grocery shopping and fill the car with gas. I wonder how much prices have gone up this week?

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4319

No pain meds today. I was able to complete my regular six mile walk without much of a problem. I think I will always have some foot pain. I walk a lot and there isn't a lot of cartilage left between these old bones. The foot doctor told me that in severe cases they can fuse the bones of the foot together, but that seems like a terrible idea. It would seem like the foot needs to stay as flexible as possible when moving.

We like to eat out on Thanksgiving and I started looking for places today so we could make reservations. Some places we have enjoyed in the past just weren't there anymore and others weren't offering a Thanksgiving buffet this year. Many restaurants had scaled back service and a few major hotel restaurants were only open for breakfast now. The restaurant landscape has really changed since Covid. I finally found one place where we'd eaten before that still had a nice Thanksgiving brunch and made a reservation.  Hopefully, it will be an enjoyable meal that will remind us of a time when life was less complicated.

I've noticed a huge increase in spam calls, telemarketers, and even spam text messages in recent months. Did somebody get my number, or is this just part of modern daily life? The spammers are irritating, but I don't know how to stop them. I have two different call blocker services on the land line but spam still gets through. I block callers almost every day now on my iPhone. I wonder if there is a limit on how many calls I can block? This information must take up some memory in the phone. Why do people do this? Are there really than many gullible people out there who fall for these telephone scams? You really feel under siege at times. The post office delivers tons of junk mail every day but seems to lose the occasional legitimate mail I send out. The phone company knows they are bombarding me with spam calls. They even identify these calls as "suspected spam." Why do they even put the calls through? I suspect that the spammers might be their best customers.

A neighbor wanted to talk about dogs while I was out walking today. I slowed down as we reminisced about various dogs we'd owned, but I kept thinking that the conversation was messing up my Fitbit pace. I've become a slave to the Fitbit and the Apple Watch. I kind of measure my day by how well I'm able to walk. I must be a fixture around the neighborhood though, because people frequently ask why Dawn isn't with me. Sometimes they still ask about Dot and Dash. Few people ask about Petey anymore, but every once in a while someone will still mention Spot. 

Dawn still enjoys her sunrise walk, but she wouldn't dream of walking six miles with me anymore. She used to take long walks with us, but not lately. I don't know if she is getting old and tired or if she has finally become comfortable with her new life and is doing exactly what she wants. She certainly seems happy enough spending most of the day sleeping on the bed. I can't fault Dawn for being lazy. I'd spend my day sleeping too if I could get away with it. Unfortunately, if I sleep too much during the day, I'm awake all night.

I have an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow. Usually I have some place to go right after I get a haircut. There are no travel plans in the works now though. I doubt that I will be going anywhere before the end of the year. I can't even think of any place I'd like to go other than the space center and the observatory. National parks are overcrowded, cities aren't safe, and a lot of foreign countries are still off limits. Dawn's going to have to get used to sharing the bed with me during the day.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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