Day 4569

I woke up early this morning, so I got up and ate my breakfast before getting Dawn out of bed. I think I woke up so early because I went to bed early. I've been getting a lot of sleep lately. By the time I finished feeding Dawn, made the bed, and took her down to the meadow behind our house to do her business, it was still really early. It seemed like I should just go back to bed, but I was wide awake. I decided to make the most of the situation and began my long walk before 7 AM this morning.

If I was more of a morning person, I'd do this every day. It was still pleasantly cool outside. I was able to complete my entire six mile route without feeling like I was in a sauna. I even saw a few of my favorite ducks this morning. They were enjoying the cool weather too before going into hiding when the sun became oppressive later in the day. My feet hurt a bit today, but it comes and goes. I certainly have plenty of time to rest when I'm home. The only trouble with being so efficient is what do you do with the rest of the day? I still didn't feel like leaving the house or starting any home improvement projects. I guess that's why Facebook exists. I can still waste a lot of time looking at pictures of dogs and admiring much better astrophotography pictures than I'll ever take. I'm definitely not spending a lot of time listening to the news. There is nothing uplifting about current events.

I had so much time on my hands today that I decided to watch a movie. Amazon Prime is my friend and Science Fiction is always my go-to genre. The film I picked today was the Denis Villeneuve film Arrival. Hey, I liked what he did with Blade Runner 2049. Arrival is an interesting film about how language shapes reality. It definitely wasn't your usual alien invasion movie. The aliens in this movie have the ability to see all of time, all at once. Past, present, and future all all mixed together. The aliens know that in 3,000 years they will need help from humanity, so they come to earth to begin sharing their perceptions through their language. The lead character is a linguist who is tasked with figuring out what the aliens want. Her own perception of reality changes as she begins to learn the alien language. This film questions our instinct to destroy things we don't understand and does a pretty good job of showing how language alters our perception of the world. To me, this is a much better movie than Independence Day where we just blow up the aliens. I guess it isn't surprising that language is interesting to me. I'm a writer. I guess what is surprising is that I hadn't even heard of this movie until I started looking for something to watch this afternoon. I don't keep up with the movies very much.

Dawn seemed a bit more normal today. I still had to bring her breakfast back to the bedroom this morning, but she eagerly went out to the kitchen to eat her dinner. She gets a 10 PM evening snack that she was pretty excited about as well. I took a long nap this afternoon and she didn't leave the room. I think we are making progress. It's too bad she doesn't feel comfortable taking walks with me. I don't want to push my luck though. If Dawn is happy around the house, that's fine with me.

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4567

Dawn seems a little calmer today. She still doesn't want to leave the safety of the bedroom, but she will come out to the kitchen to eat her meals, and walk down to the meadow behind our house to do her business. Today, all I had to say was "dinner's ready" and she ran right out to her bowl to eat. This is an improvement over yesterday.

I still need to remember to fill her water bowls frequently during the day and make sure she takes her meds at the proper time. Dawn and I both live by a fairly rigid schedule, so we're working on getting everything coordinated.  I think we're doing pretty well. Dawn still doesn't like me in the bedroom with her during the day, but is perfectly comfortable sharing the bed with me at night. It's always been this way and I still don't have an explanation.

Since my gym wasn't open today, I took my long walk right after breakfast. I probably should have left the house earlier, but Dawn and I slept in this morning. Neither of us are early birds. The temperature was still in the mid 80's around 9 AM but climbed quickly during my walk. I don't see many ducks and geese anymore. I don't know where they're hiding to get out of the heat, but they must have found a good place. No such luck for me. I was able to complete my entire route, even though I was getting pretty hot toward the end. I probably should take these long walks before I eat breakfast, but I doubt that I'd have much of an appetite when I got back. I'd probably feel more like throwing up. I'm going to have to make the decision on whether to walk or go to the gym just about every day this summer. It's a tough choice. I don't like to drive in the city, but I don't like to return home drenched in sweat after a walk either. 

I felt better after a shower, but running the shower raises the humidity in the house. I don't like that either. Basically, I just don't like anything about summers in Texas. I remember summers in Colorado and Northern Idaho were much nicer. Maybe just being younger was nicer. I think Dawn has the right idea. She basically just lies in bed all day next to an air condition vent. The bedroom is one of the coolest rooms in the house and the bed is a lot more comfortable than the couch and chairs in the living room. No wonder she doesn't want to share this room. It's the best room in the house.

I still haven't found much to do during the day. I've been avoiding fixing things around the house because I've already done all the easy things. The only things left are difficult tasks with a high risk of failure. I think most of these things can wait for a while. I really need to get the factory recall scheduled for my car, but I'm dreading calling the dealership. They stopped offering free loaner cars after the chip shortage decimated their new and used car inventory. I think they just sold most of the loaner cars. At any rate, the last time they promised me a loaner car, they ended up sending me home in a Uber. Boo. Even though I hate driving, I hate being without a car even more.

It didn't really seem like Sunday today without Dawn's Sunday outing and a trip to the ice cream store. We'll resume these activities when Janet returns. Dawn's a smart dog. Unless her entire support team is around, she feels much safer staying close to home. I can't blame her. I kind of feel the same way.

Derrick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4457

Today was busy. Well, it was busy for me anyway. I finished working on my taxes and took the files down to my accountant. For many years I've burned a CD of my Quickbooks files to support all the paper documents. Nobody's computers except for mine seem to have a CD drive anymore, so I took them a zip drive this year. I have no real idea what I owe these days. It's too complicated. Hopefully, the damage won't be too bad this year. There are already plenty of other bills I need to pay.

On the way home I stopped to get some printer ink. All I needed was the Cyan cartridge, but I had to buy a three pack with a Magenta and Yellow cartridge as well. Since the Magenta and Yellow cartridges currently in the printer are pretty full, I will probably lose this new ink long before I need it. It's weird that the colored ink gets used at all since all I print are black and white documents. Computer printers are probably going the way of CD drives pretty soon. There is very little use for them anymore. I could have probably sent all my tax files to the accountant's Dropbox as PDF files, but old habits die hard. Tax season to me still means a big manilla envelope full of paper documents. 

When I returned home I added the three new dogs to the Dalmatian Rescue website. The site is up to date now, even though my Dreamweaver software barely works anymore. It's a good thing I know HTML fairly well. I haven't upgraded any Adobe software since they went to a subscription model, so the copy of Dreamweaver I use is ancient. It probably wouldn't work at all if I had the latest OS running on my Mac. I stopped upgrading the computer quite a while ago too. I hate the relentless desire of companies to monetize everything and turn owners into renters. I still think you should be able to buy software in a pretty box with a CD inside and be able to use it forever. The box should include a decent instruction manual too. Why does everything have to be a cumbersome PDF file that takes forever to read on your computer?

This weather is driving me nuts. The temperature fluctuates wildly from day to day. I never know what to wear anymore. I was cold when we took Dawn on her morning walk, so I dressed warmly when I took my long walk later in the day. I didn't think it had warmed up much, but I was hot before I had gone two miles. I never should have worn two coats, because the outer coat was too bulky to tie around my waist. My feet hurt a lot today as well. Foot pain seems just as unpredictable as the weather. 

The weather is going to get a lot colder by Friday. We may even get snow. Why does this happen every year? We have an early Spring. Things start to turn green and then we get a late hard freeze that kills all the early growth. We've frequently had terrible weather in March, so I wouldn't be surprised if we did get some snow this weekend. At least April is always nice. April isn't that far away is it?

I've been trying to get Dawn used to having me do the things that Janet usually does in preparation for her upcoming trip. So far, it isn't going so well. Dawn is still very nervous around me when I am alone with her. She will come and eat her dinner after I fix it for her, but I have to go back in the office while she eats. She won't eat if I am in the kitchen. She finally comes to the backdoor when I call her to go outside and pee. There is a whole breakfast routine she still needs to learn though. Janet always feeds her breakfast and gets her to take her pills while I am making the bed. Often Janet will take her down in the park to poop as well. She won't even leave the backyard with me unless Janet is nearby. It's going to be an interesting week. Dawn is a very smart dog and Janet has been able to do amazing things with her at training class. Hopefully it won't take her long to realize that I mean no harm and am actually her friend. Dawn needs to understand that Janet needs vacations too. I've had the opportunity to go to Kennedy Space Center and McDonald Observatory last year, but Janet hasn't gone anywhere since Covid started. 

Val is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4433

This weather is driving me nuts. Yesterday was nice. Today was bitterly cold again. There was even snow in the forecast for a little while today, but nothing materialized. I never know what to wear anymore. A t-shirt and shorts might be appropriate one day and the very next day you find yourself looking for a down jacket and extra sweaters. I just wish the weather was more consistant. I don't like surprises.

I found everything I needed at the grocery store this morning, but the shelves still looked a little empty. Usually the day before the Super Bowl the stores are packed, but everything looked normal today. It's hard to get excited about this years game. I guess I'm for the Bengals since it's been so long since they've had a chance at this, but neither team has captured my attention this season. I'll watch the game even though I don't think there are any Dalmatians in the new Budweiser commercial this year and I don't have a clue who is preforming at the halftime show. It's hard to top Prince singing Purple Rain during a downpour in Miami and I still think Michael Jackson set the gold standard for these events. Maybe I'm prejudiced but I liked the game where the Cowboys beat the Steelers back in 1996. Those were the days. Sure seems like a long time ago now.

Today was not a great day for walking. My feet hurt and it was cold and windy as well. I didn't let that stop me. I trudged along and completed my route even though it took a while. I'm not going to get 20,000 steps today, but I did keep moving. Even though it was a nasty day, there was still a small crowd looking for the eagles. I wonder how long this is going to last? I was more interested in the two Muscovy Ducks I see every day. I took a close look and these are definitely different ducks than the one who wound up in our yard recently. I wonder what happened to that other duck. In all these years I never knew there were three Muscovy Ducks in the neighborhood. Maybe there are quite a few and I just don't see them.

I'm trying to get Dawn used to doing things with me while Janet is out of the house. I want her to be comfortable and relaxed when Janet goes on a trip later this Spring. It also would be nice if she would come when I called. So far it's not going well. Dawn isn't scared of me. I'm just of little interest to her. She gets so excited whenever Janet comes home. I'm sort of like the hired help. I'm useful for walks and fixing dinner, but not worth getting out of bed to greet me when I come home.

I'm perpetually cold now. The thermostat says the house is warm and the furnace is working fine, but I'm always looking for an extra sweater. Was it always this way? It seems like I used to be warmer around the house but memories aren't always accurate. Sometimes when I'm falling asleep random events from my past flash through my mind. Did these things even happen? Often my recurring dreams seem real and reality seems like a fuzzy dream. I still wonder how I wound up having a successful career in advertising. This wasn't where I was headed at all.

I hope it is warmer tomorrow. We still plan on taking Dawn for her Sunday outing, but we might wait until later in the day. Dawn is not a big fan of cold weather. Right now, hot chocolate seems more appropriate than ice cream, but of course dogs can't have chocolate. Ice cream probably isn't that great either, but it's only once a week and Dawn loves it.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4411

I'm getting better at finding the eagles. It helps to look for them late in the day. You almost never see them in the morning. Today I took a little point-and-shoot camers with a zoom lens with me on my walk. The picture still wasn't great, but it was better than yesterday's iPhone attempt. Too bad I didn't have the little camera with me yesterday. I was much closer then. This time the eagle was in a distant tree on the other side of a swampy area. I couldn't get any closer. I have better cameras, but this pocket sized one will have to do for now. The larger cameras are too cumbersome to hike with and driving to the woods where the eagles live isn't practical. Traffic is so bad on our street that I can't even get out of the driveway during the evening rush hour.

The temperature was even colder than yesterday when we woke up this morning. There was no point in making Dawn miserable, so we skipped the sunrise walk and took her on another walk after lunch. I waited until later to take my long walk as well, which is probably why I saw the eagle again. It was a clear day with no wind, so it got warmer fairly quickly. Twenty-three degrees seemed way too cold. Forty-three degrees seemed just about right. 

I didn't do a lot this morning. There was a ULA Space Force launch to watch on my computer that a lot of my Florida friends got to see in person. I got invited, but it's much too expensive to make a trip down to Titusville every time there's a rocket launch. I didn't set up the star tracker today, but I did try to trouble shoot my camera in case there were settings enabled that would cause the camera to shut off automatically when it was under control by the tracker. Another Kickstarter backer suggested that maybe there was an auto shutdown feature enabled on the camera. I actually found several settings that would automatically shut down the camera or put it to sleep if it was idle for a certain amount of time. Maybe this was the problem I was having the other day. I'll test everything again in a few days.

My editor at Sky & Telescope wrote and told me that he didn't think readers of the magazine would be interested in an article about my troubles with the star tracker. He seemed to indicate that they were more interested in products that actually worked. I beg to differ, but what do I know. This strange saga seems much more interesting than an ordinary product review.

I ordered our free Covid test kits from the post office today. Maybe Janet will need them when she goes on a cruise with her sisters later this Spring. It seems a little late for the free test kits and masks. If you haven't caught the virus after all this time, you are probably pretty safe. I still think the simplest and best way to avoid the virus is to stay away from other people. Works for me anyway. I don't want to be smug though. I'm a very superstitious person. If I ever bragged about being immune from the virus, I'd probably catch it the next day.

Dawn is slowly getting friendlier with me. When I returned from my long walk today, she started barking and came out in the back yard to greet me wagging her tail. She also comes out to supervise when I'm making her dinner now. We've still got a ways to go though. She still doesn't like to share the bed with me. If I take a nap during the day, she will usually get up and go to her dog bed in the kitchen. I don't think we're buddies yet, but she has decided that I'm a pretty good kennel attendant.

Is it already time to make a grocery list again? Where did this week go? I think it's supposed to be warmer tomorrow. That's something to look forward to.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4243

This is a bad time to be a hypochondriac. You can't turn on the television without being bombarded with seemingly apocalyptic health news. Are more people getting infected now than during the height of the pandemic? Are hospitals full again? It's hard to tell what's really going on. Every time I venture out in the world, everything seems normal. I only know one person who has gotten sick during the last year and he recovered quickly. I know a lot more people who have gotten cancer than have gotten Covid. Why all the fear mongering? It is unnecessary. Every time I have a runny nose or wake up with a scratchy throat, I have to go to Google and see if that might be a symptom associated with one of the new variants. At my age there are probably a lot more immediate health issues to be concerned about. Jeez. I got the vaccine. If you didn't, that's your business.

I'm so glad I am no longer a landlord. I used to own rental property and I know I would have gotten stuck with a tenant who used Covid as an excuse to stop paying rent. I don't really understand extending the eviction moratorium. The economy is doing great. I've never seen so many help wanted signs in stores. You could easily get a job if you wanted one these days. You could probably get a better job than you had before. I think I have more sympathy for the landlords than the tenants. There are definitely easier jobs than owning a few rent houses. I had endless problems with tenants. I'm glad that chapter is behind me.

There is a cobra loose in the neighboring town of Grand Prairie. Who keeps a six foot West African Banded Cobra as a pet? I know I would be really mad if a neighbor let their pet cobra escape. It would be hell to worry yourself sick about Covid and then end up getting bit by a cobra instead. I should just stop watching the news. There is too much weirdness going on. They say the Gulf Stream is slowing down and could drastically change the climate on the East Coast. The West Coast seems to be perpetually on fire. Are these the end times? I have friends who think so.

I don't know why I thought today would be a good day to take a long walk. It was even hotter than yesterday. I guess I just didn't feel like driving today. I completed my full six mile route, but I was really starting to wonder what I was doing outside. I'm glad I discovered the misting station in the park. I sprayed myself with water on both the inbound and outbound segments of my journey, but it didn't take long for the water to evaporate. I read an article recently that said walking consistently was one of the best forms of exercise and included a long list of health benefits. I hope this is true. Walking is still enjoyable for me because it is the best place to daydream.

I need to start taking the antibiotics prescribed for my root canal tomorrow. I take the pills for four days prior to my procedure and then for four days afterwards as well. I'm not looking forward to this. I've never had a root canal before. I've had relatively few fillings over the years as well. All good things come to an end I guess. I'm certainly spending more time at doctors and dentists these days than I did in my 30's and 40's.

Dawn had a good day. There weren't as many problems with licking her paws today and she seemed to enjoy her morning walk. I hope Dawn is happy, but I'll never know for sure. Dawn is an enigmatic dog. Dealing with Dawn's problems is as far as I want to go with problems. I'm definitely not going to solve the world's problems. I doubt that you are either.

Margo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4242

I'm really trying to get things done. Today I tackled a task I've been avoiding for months. I got a stepladder and scraped all the loose paint and plaster from the ceiling in the area where the worse leak has been occuring. The ceiling still looks terrible, but now the area is clean and I can apply spackling or even tape and bed if I am so inclined. The sheetrock was completely dry, so that's encouraging. Maybe I'll just paint over the rust colored stains with Kilz white primer as a temporary fix. I always hesitate to spend a lot of time on the ceililng, because the roof is just going to leak again if we get a heavy enough rain. I still need to search further for the source of the leak on top of the roof, but it's been too hot lately.

It took longer to clean up all the dust, paint chips and plaster chunks on the floor than it did to scrape the ceiling, but at least the job is done. With this task out of the way, I tackled another messy job. I finally removed the crumbling, disintegrating foam from the Zero Halliburton camera case and replaced it with the new foam inserts I bought recently. The old foam had basically turned to a sticky powder and was a mess to remove. At some point within the past five years, I realized that this was going to happen and carefully wrapped the camera and six lenses in heavy duty blue Scott shop towels. This protected the equipment, but I had to be really careful removing each item from the case so it wouldn't come in contact with the sticky foam residue. I did all this outside, because I didn't want to spend the rest of the day cleaning up a sticky mess in my office. Actually the case is not finished yet. The foam in the lid and at the base of the case are in place, but I couldn't bring myself to cut a bunch of holes in the central piece that holds the cameras yet. I still need to figure out how to do this precisely so I won't make a mess of things. To temporarily protect the camera and lenses, I cut apart a small pool noodle and wrapped it around the equipment. This actually worked very well. I may go to Home Depot tomorrow and look for a long foam tube that matches the color of the other foam. The foam tubes used to protect outdoor pipes from freezing might be perfect.

Dawn has lost her nerve again. I have to take her outdoors on a leash again when she needs to pee and she has reverted to her short one mile loop on our sunrise walks. She won't follow me out to the kitchen anymore when I am fixing her dinner either. I don't know what gave her so much confidence a few weeks ago or why she has lost it now. Dawn is a very complicated dog. You could write a book about all her weird personality traits. I wish I could make a list of every strange thing she does, take it to the vet, and get an immediate and definitive answer that would explain what is going on. I keep thinking she has some weird, undiagnosed disease. Janet just thinks the hard life she's led has made her extremely nervous and unstable. 

Finding normal with Dawn is such a long, slow process. I was able to take a nap with Dawn this morning for almost an hour without her biting or licking her paws at all. She was very relaxed and even curled up next to me. As soon as I left the room, she started going after her front paws unfortunately and I had to put the cone on her. Strangely, she doesn't seem to mind the cone at all. It seems to calm her and she usually goes to sleep within several minutes after I put it on. Go figure.

It was too hot to walk this afternoon so I went back to the gym. It's disappointing to see everything slowly revert to lockdown mode. We were doing so well there for a while. A lot more people are wearing masks now. The Covid testing center I pass on the way to the gym has a long line of car now. It was virtually empty earlier this summer. I'm glad the gym is still open, but it will be the first to close again if things get worse. Florida is a mess. Let's not even talk about Florida. Oh, well. At least the money I was going to spend attending a launch this summer will pay for my root canal.

Morgan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4218

I almost forgot that we visit the Dalmatians on Mondays. The days just blur together now. Sometimes I have to stop and think for a minute to remember what day it is. We missed seeing the new puppies. Both of them have already gone to their forever homes. The rescue group usually has a waiting list for puppies, so they seldom stay at the kennel long. Charlie and Cooper were still waiting for us. They were both a little subdued today. I think it was the summer heat. We played a little, but the dogs were much more interested in the treats we brought. We were curious whether Charlie was still interested in the toy possum, so we put all the toys in a pile and Charlie immediately went for the possum and started carrying it around like a baby.

The day started normally enough. We took Dawn on her sunrise walk and then I fixed my morning smoothie. I'm not a morning person, but it's so nice outside before the sun comes up that I might try to become one. Dawn loves the morning walk. Today she led us in a new direction. We always let her choose where to walk, mostly because we are curious to see what she'll do. The more confident she becomes, the more she tries new things. Dawn definitely knows the way home and always keeps her walks to approximately one mile. She's a very smart dog.

I was afraid that it was going to be too hot for my long walk when we returned from the kennel, but there were storms in the area that kept the temperature down. Even though there were some very ominous clouds on the horizon, I stayed dry for the entire walk. I don't know what I'd do without the weather radar app on my phone. It adds an element of certainty to an uncertain life. The radar indicated that the storm would pass to the East of me, and sure enough it did.

Three of the resident geese seem to have disappeared and I haven't seen the Muscovy ducks in weeks. I wonder where these birds go? Just when I think they've left the area completely, I'll see them again. I saw a coyote walking very near the road today. The animal seemed to have no fear of people. Usually the coyotes stay hidden during the day, but this one acted more like a dog. I actually thought it was a lost dog for a while until I got closer. There are lots of coyotes in the park now and I am always a little wary of them.

I need to find a project that doesn't involve fixing things around the house. You'd think this would be easy, since a wide variety of things have occupied my interest for months at a time in the past. I don't collect things anymore. I'm no longer interested in songwriting or making fine art prints. I don't even read much anymore, although all four walls of my office are lined with books I've read in the past. It's weird how interests come and go. I'm still interested in astronomy and rockets, but that doesn't do me a lot of good in Dallas. I think the long walks are just a phase, but I have no idea what comes next.

I've noticed that Dawn is more relaxed around me now. Maybe that's what's next. Will I have a dog friend soon? We've still got a long way to go, but Dawn doesn't automatically run away when I approach her now. She's even started following me out to the kitchen occasionally. I need to be careful not to make any sudden moves, but that's pretty easy. I never make any sudden moves.

Winston is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4187

I didn't accomplish a lot today. It's still too wet to mow the grass or do yardwork. There are indoor projects I could start, but I've been trying to avoid them. Eventually I'm going to have to repair the sheetrock in the ceiling where water used to leak, but I"m not sure I have the skills to do this. I'm not sure I want to hire anyone either. It's a messy, very dusty job. It's a lot easier just to not look up and pretend that the stained areas aren't there.

I ended up writing a letter to my sister and telling her about the lost letter that went to O'Reilly Auto Parts. I wish she'd start reading the blog, because that's a lot easier way to keep up with things. I can respect someone who wants to ignore the Internet though. I'd kind of like to ignore it myself, but I'm too lazy. I've grown to depend on Google and Wikipedia to verify things I'm not sure about and I don't know what I'd do without online shopping. I've grown to hate driving around town looking for things I need. Stores are often out of stock and prices are almost always better online. I'd probably be just fine writing the blog with a ball point pen in a little leather bound journal, but it would be hard for me to give up Amazon.

When I went to the post office I noticed that they no longer had a mask mandate. They just had a sign saying that it would be rude and inconsiderate to come inside without one. Masks are going to be around for a long time. A certain segment of the population loves them and they are very judgmental. I don't really care. Personally, I'd rather expand the six foot rule to a ten foot rule and make sure that I never got close to anyone again. If the pandemic has accomplished anything, it has convinced me that the rest of the world is full of disease and should be avoided at all costs.

Dawn really seems to be overcoming her fear of being around me in the kitchen. She's started following me to the kitchen when I go to fix her dinner now. This is new. She used to wait until I was safely back in the office again before she would venture out to eat. She likes going out in the back yard with me as well. After breakfast we will often spend up to an hour sitting out in the sun together. This is a slow process though and Dawn spooks very easily. She doesn't like loud noises and sometimes all it takes is blowing my nose to send her running away.

It was hot today on my walk but at least there was a nice breeze. I've started dipping my hat in water every time I pass a water fountain in the park and that seems to help keep me cooler. It's amazing how quickly the water evaporates though. I should probably just spray myself with a hose before I leave the house. I'd probably be entirely dry again by the time I returned.

It looks like it's clear out at the observatory tonight. I'd still kind of sad I'm not out there with my camera. I hope they decide to continue the photography night program. There just aren't that many opportunities to spend the night on Mount Locke. I'll skip the monsoon season, but I'd like to go back in the Fall. Maybe rental car rates will have become more reasonable by then. Maybe I'll have mastered using the star tracker as well.

I wonder if travel will ever seen normal again? Janet and I used to travel a lot, but cities aren't safe anymore and neither of us likes to camp. I'm glad we saw the world when it was a simpler, safer place. A lot of places we've visited wouldn't even be conceivable now. Hopefully, exciting trips will still be an option in the years ahead. I wonder though. The world has become a very strange place.

We'll see what happens. For now, I've got groceries to buy and another long, hot walk to look forward to.

Willa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4182

Dawn is a smart dog. She knows we sleep in late on Sunday and stays in bed with us at least an hour longer than her usual breakfast time. I don't know if she is being patient or lazy. Maybe she would sleep in late every day if Janet didn't get up early on weekdays. Dawn also seems to know that she gets a special outing on Sundays. As the time for our departure approaches she starts pacing around, whining and barking. I think we've overcome her fear of the car. Dawn is eager to hop in the car on Sunday morning. Maybe she never was fearful of the car; just fearful of where the car might be going. Dawn still doesn't like to get in the car if we are going to the vet or to get a bath. I think she knows.

We had a nice walk this morning. We had a lot of rain last night, but it was over by morning. The ground was still wet but the grass is thick everywhere now and it is easy to avoid getting muddy. Dawn seems to listen to me outside when I am holding her leash. She never listens to me inside the house. This is a very strange dog. I think I am slowly beginning to understand her. After our regular walk, Janet worked on a few training exercises. Dawn wasn't very interested. I think she knew it was time for ice cream cones. We always get ice cream at Andy's on the way home They call their ice cream frozen custard, but it tastes like Dairy Queen to me. I"m not particular about ice cream. I like all ice cream.

I wasn't that eager to go on my long walk today because I knew it would get hot quickly as soon as the sun came out. I decided to walk earlier than usual in hopes that the skies would stay cloudy. I almost got my wish. It stayed overcast with a little breeze until I was almost home. I was slow today but I wasn't in a hurry. I'm trying to not be such a slave to my Fitbit. I really ought to stop wearing the Fitbit on walks and start carrying a small camera again. I used to take better pictures in the park. Now I mostly just depend on my phone. Sometimes I'll just use an old picture for the blog. I've photographed everything there is to photograph in the park by now. If I see something interesting on my walks, I can almost always find an old photograph of exactly the same thing.

I'm beginning to hate taking a shower after I walk. The shower drains slowly if any hair gets in the drain and water alway seems to get under the tile floor through various small cracks in the tile grout. I usually end up having to snake out the drain and use the wet/dry vac to extract the water that has gotten under the ceramic tiles. This is a huge pain and it almost make staying hot and sweaty a viable option. Old houses are an endless problem and so is finding knowledgable and dependable repair people. You learn to live with the problems. I've already learned that a small bag of party ice will last almost three weeks in the freezer. I could buy party ice forever for a lot less than the cost of having an appliance repairman install a new ice maker.

I thought about watching some more tutorials about PixInsight this afternoon but my heart wasn't in it. I have to admit that I'm just not very interested in the technical aspects of astrophotography processing. I can get fairly decent looking photographs just using Photoshop. Maybe I'll just stick with what I know. I read an article today where various amateur astronomers were recounting stories about being stalked by mountain lions, bears, and coyotes while observing in remote wooded locations. These stories were a little sobering and took some of the fun out of staying at the Astronomer's Lodge. I can't be fearful of everything though or I'd never leave the house.

We'll probably go see the rescue Dalmatians tomorrow. I'm curious to see who's still there. Charlie is a safe bet, but the others might all be adopted by now.

Wendy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4174

It was a busy day for a lazy guy like me. I got my grocery shopping done right after breakfast and then I came home and mowed the grass. The grass was pretty thick, but I managed to get the job done before the mower's battery ran out. Everything looks surprisingly green this year. All this rain probably helps. After I finished mowing, I treated all the fire ant mounds that have started to appear in the yard. Hopefully, the Amdro powder does the trick. I think these ants are biting Dawn when she's outside. The yard actually looks pretty good now. It probably won't last long.

While I was grocery shopping, I noticed that there are no longer any mask mandates. Everyone still wears a mask though. I didn't see anyone in the two grocery stores I went to this morning without a mask, even though they weren't required. I go with the flow. If everyone else is wearing a mask, I'll wear one too. If people aren't wearing a mask, I won't wear one either. I never wear a mask outside though. That seemed silly even at the height of the pandemic. By the looks of things today, it's going to take a long, long time to return to normal. I think we've all forgotten what normal is.

Dawn is getting more adventurous. She went off in a different direction again on her walk today. She seems to know the way home, which is a good thing. I hope her new found curiosity continues. Exploring is a good thing for a dog. It probably isn't bad for people either. 

I waited a while today before taking my long walk. Mowing the lawn tired me out. When we first bought the house, I mowed the lawn with an old fashioned push mower. It seemed easy back then. Now, mowing is quite a chore. The electric mower isn't self propelled and I have to push it up and down hills. I used to have a self-propelled Yazoo gas mower, but it broke years ago. The gas mower was hard to start and broke frequently. The only problem I've had with the electric mower is dead batteries. It's much easier to buy a new battery than to haul the entire mower to a repair shop. I wonder if I'll feel the same way about electric cars someday. I hear they are pretty low maintenance too.

I walked the full six miles today, but I was very slow. I think my days of doing manual labor are numbered. On days where I have a lot of chores to do, I don't really feel like walking. I keep going though, because I know that if I ever quit, it will be very difficult to get started again. I watched my Dad become sedentary and I don't want it to happen to me. My plan for staying healthy is pretty simple. You've just got to keep moving.

The weather was a lot better today. There were clouds early in the day, but a lot of sunshine later. It was almost the opposite of the way it was yesterday. Tomorrow looks good as well. We'll probably take Dawn on a little outing again. She seems to like visiting a different park on Sundays. Maybe she just likes the ice cream.

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4172

Some days I just stare at the screen and wonder what to write about. I don't like to write about politics or current events and there is only so much you can say about the weather. My routine is fairly predictable and often boring. You already know about my morning smoothie and my long daily walks. I spend hours at the computer every day, but I don't work anymore so it is unclear what I am actually doing. The blog doesn't really have an audience anymore, although it still seems important to reach my 5000 day goal. 

Lately, I've been waiting until I hear Dawn eating her breakfast to get out of bed. She's a noisy eater, so this kind of serves as my alarm clock. I don't want to spook Dawn by coming out to the kitchen while she is eating. She's such a nervous dog that this will often make her quit eating entirely. Every dog we've had has caused me to make changes in my routine. With Dawn the changes have been much more frequent.

I always make the bed when Janet takes Dawn outside to pee after her breakfast. I have to work fast because I know that she will come running back to the bedroom and hop on the bed whether I've finished making it or not. This is where she stays for most of the morning. I'll take her outside on a leash from time to time because I know that she likes being outdoors. She won't take the initiative to go outside on her own though. I've even left the back door open, but all this accomplishes is letting more mosquitos inside.

I waste a lot of time researching my next equipment purchase. Sometimes it's cars I'm interesting in. Other times it's camera gear. Lately, I've gotten interested in small, very portable telescopes. I learn a lot while I'm doing this. It's mostly useless knowledge, but the quest does keep me busy. I'm wondering why Sky & Telescope didn't like my proposal about an article on the trend toward alt-azimuth imaging and tracking. I've learned a lot about the subject while researching telescopes and find it interesting.

I'm not looking forward to summer. I got hot on my walk today and the temperature wasn't even that bad. I"m trying to remember what I used to do in the summer. I walked Dot and Dash around sunset a lot. I used to walk Spot after dark, but Dallas was a lot safer then. I'd never do that now. One way or another, I'm going to have to deal with summer. It's getting hotter every day.

One of these days I'm going to need to finish unpacking from my trip to the observatory. The camera gear still needs to be unpacked and returned to it's usual place. A little voice in my head keeps asking why it is necessary to do this. If I go on another trip, I will have to gather all the gear together again and put it back in the travel case.

I've taken this week's trash to the curb and am ready to start a new week. It's hard to believe it's almost June. I'll celebrate another birthday soon and will find myself even older. I've only recently started thinking of myself as old. My mind still feels young, but my body tells me otherwise.

Libby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4171

Today seemed like the first day of summer. It was hot, but not too hot. The sky was blue with a few puffy white clouds. It was still too wet to do yardwork, but it was a nice day for walking. We walked Dawn early today because Janet has a volunteer job on Wednesdays. Dawn didn't mind the change in schedule. She's walking pretty normal now. After we finished our one mile loop, I came back to the house with Dawn and Janet. It was way too early for my long walk.

I spent the rest of the morning practicing processing another image I took out at the observatory earlier this month. What I'm discovering is that  my in-camera noise reduction is actually better than the complicated procedures for reducing noise in my astrophotography software. I have a feeling that I'm doing something wrong, but maybe the easy way is better after all.

I noticed today that McDonald Observatory has started having a photography night once a month. That's all I need is another excuse to go back to the mountain. I haven't even paid my bills for this month's trip yet. I don't think I'll be going back in June. It's a nice idea though. There are no workshops or classes associated with these photography nights. You just get access to the mountain at a reasonable price. If the observatory continues having these monthly photography nights, maybe I'll go back in the Fall

If I go back to Mount Locke in the Fall it will give me an excuse to get the little telescope I've had my eye on. Somehow a return to West Texas seems more appealing than going to Florida right now. I just wish that the drive wasn't so long and that there was a guarantee of good weather when I got there. My batting average for good weather is not so good.

By the time I took my long walk the temperature was in the high 80's. It wasn't too bad, but I was definitely sweating by the time I returned home. This was just a taste of what's to come. I'm not sure how well I'll handle the heat this summer. It seems worse every year. Maybe the summer heat will provide the incentive I need to finally return to the gym. My gym has a nice indoor track and the place is air conditioned. Walking around an indoor track is boring, but so is my walk. I've been following the same route for far too long.

I keep hoping that Dawn will bond with me on afternoons when Janet is away. I almost got her to follow me to the kitchen this afternoon for some cheese, but she lost her nerve in the hallway and ran back to the bedroom. She likes to go out in the back yard on nice days, but she won't go on her own. I have to lead her outside on a leash. I take the leash off at the back door and she's fine outside. I sit on a bench while she lies on the grass. She'll frequently come over to me on the bench and let me pet her. Everything seems normal when we're outside. As soon as we go back inside, she runs back to the bedroom. It's all a giant mystery to me.

I was going to program my new camera with some custom settings today, but I never got around to it. There are four custom menus that allow you to preload settings you commonly use for different situations. I could have a dog picture menu, a night sky menu, a portrait menu, and a nature photography menu. This might actually be useful. I'll probably never do it though. I've never learned the full capabilities of any of my digital cameras. I just pretend that they are an old Nikon F2 and stick to the basics.

I missed the eclipse of the moon early this morning. I got up early and went outside to look, but the skies were completely cloudy. Our nice summer day didn't begin until much later in the morning. 

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4167

I'm a terrible shopper. When I went to the grocery store, Janet wanted me to get her some cream cheese and showed me the tub it came in. All I remembered was the tub and came home with a tub of sour cream instead. I actually saw cream cheese on the shelf next to the sour cream, but it came in a little foil wrapped brick. That couldn't possibly be right. I was looking for something in a little plastic tub.

Our rainy weather continues. There were plenty of dry periods between the showers today. I had no trouble finding time to walk, but it's still pretty wet outside. It's actually raining right now. We had been planning on doing some yard work last week so we could throw away the debris on bulky trash day. The trash pickup got delayed, but we never found a dry enough day to trim the bushes and get rid of the rest of the dead Asian Jasmine. Oh, well. There's always next month.

I updated my company website today and then decided that the update didn't make any sense and didn't bother to upload it. Somehow this wasted effort still seemed more productive than editing more Milky Way pictures. I think I'm burned out on astrophotography for a while. Maybe there's gold hidden away in the images I took out at the observatory last week, but it's been very hard mining it. I'll wait a while before  I resume this activity. I should have learned from last time. After my first astrophotography workshop I didn't even look at the pictures for almost a month. I think the wait allowed what I'd learned to slowly seep into my brain, because when I finally opened the files, everything clicked together fairly quickly.

I thought I'd get wet on my long walk today, but the occasional drizzle kept me cool instead. It's been really humid lately and if the sun was out I would have been miserable. It was a nice day for a walk, but there was no spring in my step today. I was really slow. My feet bothered me a little, but that wasn't the real problem. I was just tired. I shouldn't have been tired. I actually got more sleep than usual. I guess I'm just getting old. For every good day there are usually three bad days. 

I still think I need to stay active. Without ongoing activity and a certain amount of effort I probably wouldn't even be able to get out of bed. I hate to think what the aches and pains are going to be like five years from now. We'll see. I wonder how long I can keep walking six miles a day?

Dawn had a good day. Even though the ground is still soggy, she seems to have overcome her fear of getting her paws wet and is walking well. She was very enthusiastic about her little one mile loop this afternoon. Her appetite has definitely returned. For a while we were worried about a hesitancy to eat, but she devours her meals now. Dawn is fine. I think we just worry too much.

I went out and got a pizza for dinner. Even though pizza is absolutely the worst offender in the heartburn department, I still enjoy a slice now and then. All my favorite foods like spaghetti and chili give me heartburn. It's a shame. I try to eat sensibly, but I'd hate to be limited to a bland diet for the rest of my life. Spice is nice. For now, there's always Pepcid, but it's probably not a good idea to take too much famotidine either. 

I hope it's not raining tomorrow. Dawn missed her ice cream outing last Sunday because of rain. It would be a shame to miss this again. Hard to believe that it's been raining almost continually for an entire week, but that's the way it is in May. Pretty soon I'll be complaining about how hot and dry it is.

Rosco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4166

There were scattered showers today, but not enough rain to change any plans. Not that I had any plans, mind you. It was such an uneventful day that it's hard to remember if I did anything at all. It's still too wet to do yard work, which is kind of a blessing. I'm not in the mood to do yard work at all. Mostly I just puttered around the house until it was time for my long walk.

You know the routine by now. I made the bed, fixed my morning smoothie, and watched the world fall apart on cable news. After breakfast I checked my messages and practiced processing some more astrophotography images. Today's efforts were a little more successful. I've been working with the same image for several days now and each day it comes out looking a little different. I still did one thing wrong today, so I might have to try this one more time before I move on to the next image.

Dawn was eager to walk today. She even branched off in a new direction, which kind of startled Janet and I. Instead of sticking to her normal path, she ventured down to the shoreline and had a great time smelling things. I thought she might be lost for a while, but at the appropriate time she turned away from the lake and headed back up the hill toward home. If this wasn't Dawn, you wouldn't give this kind of behavior a second thought. Seeing Dawn happy and curious was a big deal to us. She just seemed like a normal dog out for a walk on a Spring day.

As always, I continued walking after Dawn and Janet returned to the house. There was a nice breeze and it was mostly overcast, so I didn't get too hot. My feet didn't bother me too much today, so all was well. If I weren't so lazy, I'd take the car and go somewhere different to walk. It's a nice big park though and I don't mind seeing the same things day after day. At this time of year there are always new wildflowers to identify and lots and lots of ducks. Just about all the wildflowers have appeared by now and the fields and meadows are filled with color. This would be the perfect time of year in Dallas if it didn't rain so much.

The little sensor that monitors our electric lines sent a message to my watch saying that our Internet had gone out while I was out on my walk. Hmm. I didn't know that this thing monitored the Internet too. I called Janet to see if we'd had a power outage and she said everything was fine. It turned out that the only thing that was faulty was the sensor itself. Maybe I'll quit using this thing. It's supposed to help prevent electrical fires, but I'm still not sure if it does anything at all.

I got an invitation to apply for media credentials to attend the Boeing Starliner launch in late July. Do I try to go to this one, or the Falcon Heavy STP-3 launch at the end of June? There's also the Space X Inspiration 4 private mission later this Fall along with the first Starship orbital flight and hopefully Artemis-1 as well. That's a lot of activity and I can probably only afford to attend one of these launches. I'm not even sure I'll get approved to attend any. I've got to remain optimistic though. I've managed to get four articles about launch activities at Kennedy Space Center published, so at least in my own mind I'm a legitimate journalist.

I got a bag of ice from the grocery store, so I can postpone calling the appliance repairman for a while. I don't think I can postpone mowing the grass though. It's really been growing fast with all this wet weather. We'll see how the weekend goes. One way or another, I"m sure I'll be doing a lot of chores.

Casey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4165

Our rainy week continues. It doesn't rain continually and I'm usually able to find time to walk Dawn and myself, but it's pretty damp outside. It's amazing how green everything has become. I thought a lot of our outdoor plants died during the big winter freeze, but most of them have recovered. Even the Asian Jasmine ground cover is coming back. It's nice to see the yard coming to life, even though it will mean I have to mow the grass more often.

Today was a slow day. After breakfast I put together a proposal for a new Sky & Telescope article and sent it to my editor. I have no idea how this proposal will be received, but I definitely would like to keep writing for the magazine. Nothing ventured, nothing gained I guess. I don't expect an answer anytime soon. It took me over a year to get my first article published.

Since I had a lot of time on my hands today, I practiced my astrophotography processing skills. I think I'm doing everything correctly now, but I'm still a bit disappointed in the results. I can spend hours working on a photo and the end result doesn't look that much better than the original out of the camera. This either means that my camera is very good or my processing skills are very bad. I'll keep working with what I've got. It's going to be a while before I see dark skies again.

There was a light drizzle when I embarked on my long walk today. That was fine by me. It's been very humid lately and the light rain helped cool me down. I'd like to think that these walks are helping me physically, but my Fitbit seems to disagree. I'm walking too slow and not elevating my heart rate enough. If I made Mr. Fitbit happy, I could never complete six miles though. Slow and steady is the only way I can continue walking for long distances. I really need to return to the gym. My calves are strong, but the rest of my muscles are pathetic. Walking doesn't do a lot for your upper body.

Most of the bills for my trip to West Texas have come in. I paid some today while wondering why I didn't pick a less expensive hobby. Following rocket launches and searching for dark skies can cost more than you might think. At least I don't collect watches anymore. Who knows. Maybe I'm not doing so bad after all. I know people who spend a fortune on fishing.

Dawn very gradually seems to be warming up to me. There are times during the day when she seems like a normal dog. I still can't be in the kitchen with her though. If I'm in the kitchen, she immediately goes back to the bedroom. She's the first dog we've had that doesn't hang around waiting for table scraps. Dawn likes me to walk her and seems to tolerate me sitting on the bed with her. Hey, it's a start.

I"m having second thoughts about replacing the ice maker in the refrigerator. The freezer is full and I would have to empty everything out to give the repairman enough space to work. Do I really need ice anyway? The only thing I ever use the ice maker for is to add a little ice to the blender when I make my morning smoothie. I just do this to make the smoothie colder. Maybe it would taste just fine without the ice. On the other hand, I could just fill the ice maker bin with a bag of party ice every few weeks. I could do this for years for much less than the cost of an appliance repairman.

I've taken this week's trash to the curb and the weather forecast still says more rain tomorrow. I'm growing tired of this rain and kind of wish that I'd just stayed out at the Astronomer's Lodge. I haven't come up with a plan for tomorrow yet, but if it happens to clear off, I know I'll get a lot more done.

Harley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4152

I started assembling the gear I want to take to the astrophotography workshop this morning. Hmmm. Why so much? I may need to rethink this. It's not like I'm going to the South Pole or anything. Somehow there seemed to be twice as much stuff as I took out to the observatory the last time. That's the trouble with road trips. You aren't limited by what will fit in a carry-on bag. Maybe I can get by with less, but this is an advanced class and there are a lot of new things I would like to try.

The star tracker is going to be a problem. It has to be assembled on-site and there are a lot of pieces that can fall off and get lost in the dark. I practiced putting the thing together today and it took me a lot longer than I thought. I wish everyone would use the same type of batteries. Quite a bit of space in my bag has to be devoted to various types of chargers. I am making progress though. Give me a few more days and I'll have this down to a science.

I watch the business channels while I eat breakfast and it seems like there is a lot of weird stuff going on. Small businesses can't find enough workers because people are making more money on unemployment now. Large businesses don't need as many workers because they have become much more efficient during the pandemic. I'm glad the world of work is mostly in the rear view mirror now. I did pretty well over the years, but today's environment is a brave new world that I don't fully understand. I don't think it would be possible to duplicate what I did in the 70's and 80's today.

Maybe I'm fooling myself, but I think Dawn is finally starting to warm up to me. She's comfortable spending time on the bed with me now. When I take a nap, she doesn't run away anymore. She likes to sit outside on a sunny day and I spent about 45 minutes sitting in the back yard with her today. She still doesn't like me in the kitchen, but she races out to eat after I fix her meals and come to the back of the house to tell her that dinner is ready.

Maybe I'm fooling myself with my long walks as well. One of the fitness apps on my phone got an upgrade and it says that my overall fitness level is low. The app now measures VO2max which represents the heart and muscles ability to convert oxygen into energy during physical exercise. I probably just walk too slow, because the fitness level is calculated by comparing my heart rate with GPS data that shows my walking or running pace. My VO2max levels would improve if I went back to the gym and exercised enough to get my heart rate up. I like my slow walks though. It's very peaceful.

Time goes so quickly now. It's already time to make a grocery list again. I'll probably have to do some yard work this weekend because the weather is too nice to ignore the yard. A lot of things need attention and it's going to be even worse if I wait until the weather gets even warmer. I wonder how long it will be before I hire a yard service like the rest of the neighbors?

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day