Day 4688

It's always something. We had a huge wind storm last night and a big branch from one of our Oak trees fell on the roof. The branch is way too big for me to deal with myself, so I called the last tree trimmer I used. He never called me back. I thought I might as well try to deal with a few other issues as well, so I called the last carpenter I used to come repair some rotted fascia on the house. Oops. No longer a working number. I contacted another carpenter who had good reviews on the Internet and he said he was completely booked for the next four months. He advised me to contact a different carpenter but didn't recommend any. Oh, well. I am getting our dryer fixed though. I guess in today's world, one out of three isn't bad.

It was really windy on our sunrise walk with Dawn. I thought she wouldn't want to walk on a day like this, but she was fine with the wind. Actually it seemed to invigorate her. Janet was fine too. I was the only one worried that a tree was going to fall on us. At least the air felt clear and clean. The wind must have blown away all the pollen that has been aggravating my allergies.

The wind died down as I was eating breakfast and it was calm outside by the time I was ready to take my long walk. I didn't feel like going to the gym today. It was a bit chilly when I started walking but it warmed up quickly. I maintained a pretty good pace today and my feet didn't hurt much. I thought I'd see a lot of downed trees in the park during my six mile walk, especially since one fell on our roof during the night. Surprisingly, most of the trees looked exactly the same as they did last week. I only saw a single downed tree and the park department guys were already removing it. I wish I could get these guys to help with my trees. They are very efficient. 

My experiences with finding service people today has made me realize that I'm not ready for what the world has become. Over the years I've built up a carefully curated list of repair people I knew I could depend on. I had the best plumbers, electricians, carpenters, glaizers, HVAC repairmen, and much more on this list. The entire list is useless now. Everyone has retired, died, or simply disappeared. So far, using the Internet to find suppliers has not been a satisfactory replacement for the recommendations I used to get from friends. I refuse to use Angie's list. 

I'm having second thoughts about even going to the next Artemis launch attempt. It's disappointing that this next attempt is at midnight, so there won't be good photo opportunities. I'm not wild about the hotel I was able to book and the entire trip seems expensive and somewhat pointless. Since SpaceFlight Magazine has already published my article about the launch that got scrubbed, I'm not even sure they'd be interested in another article about the same rocket. I'm not canceling anything yet though. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood today.

Tomorrow I've got to clean out the utility room again and wait for the appliance repairman. They always give you a four hour window and then end up coming at the end of the day. The repair needs to be done though. A washer without a dryer isn't of much use. I wonder when I'm going to be able to get my steps tomorrow? I've always got to get my steps.

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4162

There's a new dog up at the Dalmatian kennel. Riggs, our new boy, appears quite young and still acts like a puppy. Looks can be deceiving though. Some Dalmatians act like a puppy their entire life. Riggs was definitely a bundle of energy, but he will be a fun companion for some lucky person. Two of the four Dalmatians currently at the kennel already have homes, but their new owners haven't picked them up yet. This is not unusual, since many of the rescue dogs are adopted out of state and transportation arrangements can be complicated. I'm never sure about adoption details. Janet and I just play with the dogs and work on socializing them.

We tried to walk Dawn before we left for the kennel, but she wasn't having any part of it. Although it wasn't raining, the ground was still wet and that was enough to convince Dawn that an afternoon of sitting on the bed was a better alternative. According to the weather forecast we're going to have rain all week. Today wasn't as bad as yesterday, but we still got a lot of rain. The ground is soggy and the water levels at the lake are quite high. 

I thought I might have to curtail my walk today, but it was still dry when we returned from visiting the Dalmatians. The sky looked dark but I thought I could keep checking the weather radar like I did yesterday. This worked out pretty well. Actually, the skies cleared a bit as I was walking and I even saw a few patches of blue on my way home. I wonder where yesterday's energy went though. Today I felt tired and I walked at a much slower pace. My feet hurt again too. It's a mystery why there is no consistency to my foot pain. I'll ask my doctor about this tomorrow at my physical exam, but I don't really expect an answer.

One of our neighbors had tree trimmers out today, so I asked them if they could give me an estimate for removing the damaged Oak tree in our back yard. This crew seemed more knowledgable and professional than some I've seen in the neighborhood, so I may hire them. I'm in no hurry though. The first thing the tree service guy told me was that our tree was very large and was located next to a power line. It would be a multi-day job to remove the tree. If you've ever had a tree removed, this translates into "very expensive." We'll see what the estimate is. I'm sure it will cost more than my recent trip to McDonald Observatory.

I tried to process another Milky Way photo today, but I must have done something wrong. The edited photo turned out to be worse than the camera original. I think I must have been in a hurry and skipped a few steps. I was trying to complete the processing after breakfast before Janet and I left to visit the rescue Dalmatians. Getting these photos ready for their Instagram moment is a long and tedious process. I shouldn't even bother unless I have a lot of free time.

An Air Force launch that I'd been invited to attend got scrubbed today. This was a reminder that a trip to Kennedy Space Center is just as uncertain as a trip to McDonald Observatory. There are so many things that can go wrong with a launch. Today's mission wasn't scrubbed because of weather. There was a problem fueling the rocket's second stage instead. I think they are going to try again tomorrow. I'm not even going to think about making a trip to the East Coast until the current gas shortage is over. The trip would probably be a nightmare with a shortage of rental cars and no gas available.

Maybe I'll watch the ULA livestream of the launch tomorrow. I have a feeling that I'll still be at the doctor though. I wish I could have gotten an earlier appointment. I have to fast for these semi-annual physical exams and I won't be able to have any breakfast. Breakfast is such an important part of my daily routine that I'm not looking forward to this. I hope the doctor can explain why I've been feeling so tired lately. He'll probably just tell me that I haven't been getting enough sleep.

Susie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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