Day 3749

The park is still open to pedestrians and cyclists, but all entrances have been blocked and there are signs saying that the park is closed to motorized vehicles. This seems to be something that is going to be enforced. I saw lots of parking enforcement cars and an increased police presence in the neighborhood this morning. This is a good thing for all the locals who love to walk their dogs in the park. These new rules should drastically decrease traffic within the park without changing things for Dawn and the neighborhood dogs at all. I wouldn't mind seeing then traffic rule becoming permanent. The park has become way too crowded in recent years anyway.

I still feel like defending the vast majority of dog walkers, joggers, and cyclists I've seen during the past week. They have all been very polite and make sure to keep their distance. I still see a few kids who seem determined to hang out with their friends, but even these groups are small. I think the city still allows groups of fewer than ten people to gather. I've never seen more than five kids walking together. These young people should still not be hanging out with non-family members, but I don't think they are a danger to anyone else in the park. It's a very large park and there's plenty of room to keep your distance. I still worry a lot more about going to the grocery store.

Crowds certainly weren't a problem today. It was cold and it rained a lot. Luckily Janet and I were able to walk Dawn and get our steps in before the weather turned ugly. We did get a lot of rain though. I'm pleased that both pumps on the roof are still working and no new leaks have appeared. The forecast shows more rain ahead, so I'm not going to be able to remove the standing water for quite a while. Fingers crossed. I hope my repair work continues to hold up.

I've transfered all the files on my desktop computer to three smaller external drives, but still haven't gotten the nerve to erase the damaged disk and see if I might be able to reformat it. As long as I'm still able to access data on the drive I might as well postpone this effort anyway. Once I erase the disk, the data is gone forever and there still might be something I need.

This is not a good time to be a hypochondriac. The media keeps bombarding us with information about how to tell if you might have the virus. Since many of the early signs are exactly the same as the flu or other minor illnesses, it's easy to wonder. If you feel winded after a run or long walk you automatically start thinking about your lungs. Are the normal aches and pains of growing older a sign of something worse? Is the virus really airborne as some people speculate? I try not to obsess about these things and remind myself that I feel fine.

Seasonal allergies are a bitch too. I've had bad Spring allergies for as long as I can remember. This is the worst time of year, when everything is growing and there is pollen everywhere. I've done a good job at refraining from sneezing when another person is anywhere in the vicinity, but it doesn't seem natural. If you have allergies, you sneeze a lot.

We're living in a time that is going to be in the history books, just like World War II and the Great Depression. I have no idea how this will end, but I would have definitely preferred my retirement years to be a little more uneventful.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3740

The baby owls have really grown since I saw them last. I initially mistook one of the babies for the mother this afternoon. A closer look quickly revealed that I was looking at one of the babies, but it was still surprising to see how quickly they had developed. Evidently, young Great Horned Owls eat four times as much as adults, causing them to grow very quickly. The mom isn't around as much these days, but still returns almost every day to feed her children mice and encourage them to fly.

I think there are a lot more doomsday preppers than I ever would have imagined. I can't believe how much food people are buying. When I went to Sam's Club this morning to get some necessities, I saw people with enough food to last them for an entire year. Several people with large SUV's had the entire back of their cars stuffed to the ceiling with food and paper products.

It's easy to see how panic buying escalates. Literally everyone in the store had a big package of paper towels in their buggy, so I got one too. It wasn't a brand that I usually buy, but who cares when you are facing the apocalypse. I certainly hope people don't decide to start using paper towels as toilet papers. If that happens there are going to be some major plumbing problems.

I finally found some distilled water, oatmeal, and blueberries. I never realized that so many people need distilled water. I use it to prevent mineral scale from building up in my coffee maker. Other people use it for more important things, like preventing their Dalmatians from developing stones and keeping CPAP machines running properly.

I wonder when these Spring rains are going to end? I spent so much time clearing the roof of water yesterday and now it's raining again. Water on the roof is my own private version of the Sisyphus myth. The gods who condemned Sisyphus thought that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor. They were probably right. At least the roof isn't leaking.

I think dogs are loving this pandemic. I've never seen so many people walking their dogs in the park. It's good that people are becoming more active. They seem to becoming kinder too. I wonder how long this will last when the pandemic is finally over? I think the panic buying will finally subside when people realize they have more food than they could possible use. Maybe people will continue to drive less as well. One can only hope. I hope some of these new behaviors become permanent.

It's a shame that I won't be able to go to the gym tomorrow. Our options for doing things away from home continue to grow smaller. Janet and I did do our part to support local restaurants by ordering a pizza from a little neighborhood restaurant that makes a good pie.

My dealer told me that I sold a few more brass trains today. It's kind of astonishing that anyone is still buying railroad collectibles during the apocalypse, but it's fine by me. Today's sales almost paid for my trip to McDonald Observatory. I still don't have the nerve to look at my brokerage account. Janet and I have both lost a lot of money, but it's better at this time not to know how much.

The lesson of this week is that life goes on no matter what happens. We adjust to things and establish new priorities. I hope you guys are all doing well. Nobody I know has died yet. I hope I can say the same thing next week.

Big Boy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3440

While I was walking today I passed a tent where one of my favorite smokehouses was giving away free barbecue. I was initially dumbfounded. Was this place where I've spent a lot of money over the years buying smoked hams for Easter actually giving its pricy meat away for free? A lady serving must have noticed my expression because she looked at me and said "Come over here and grab a plate." She proceeded to pile the plate with potato salad and smoked brisket. I wasn't going to complain. I took my plate and sat under a nearby tree, watching a Great Egret hunt for food while I ate my impromptu meal. Egrets stick their long necks forward while hunting and then with a lightning fast move strike to snatch their prey. I don't know what the Egret was eating today, but I think my meal was much better.

The park seemed unusually festive for a holiday weekend honoring fallen soldiers. As I was eating my free barbecue I could hear a mariachi band playing in the distance. The lake was dotted with bright orange rental kayaks and it looked like a sailboat race was about to get underway. I passed several very large family gatherings complete with a bounce house for the kids. There were bicycles, skateboards, and inline skates everywhere. There were also lots of flags. I guess everybody has their own way of celebrating the Memorial Day weekend. I'm not sure everything I saw today was appropriate, but I do think good barbecue is appropriate for any situation.

I got my 20,000 steps today but it seemed like more of an effort than usual. It was probably the heat. Walking is a lot more enjoyable when it is 60 degrees than when it is 90 degrees. I'm going to have to start wearing a hat when I go outside. My hair is getting thinner and I'm already getting sunburned on the top of my head.

I guess I could stay inside and walk around and around on the indoor track at the gym. A lot of people seem to do this. I like watching the animals and identifying flowers though. Outdoors is better. Maybe I'll spend more time at the gym in July. All the animals are in hiding by then and the meadows are dry and brown. About the only thing you see in the park in the middle of summer are dragonflies.

While I was resting between walks I watched a mini-marathon of a show called Breakthrough: the ideas that changed the world on PBS. It was interesting to learn how everyday objects like cars, smartphones, and telescopes changed the world forever. The backstories behind the development of these iconic objects was fascinating. I took a special interest in the episode about telescopes. Even the early Egyptians knew that glass could magnify things. As early as the Middle Ages, monks wore crude eyeglasses to help them illuminate manuscripts. It took another century or so before someone held some concave and convex lenses in front of each other and discovered that they could make distant objects larger. When Galileo used one of these simple early telescopes to discover that Venus had phases like the moon and that Jupiter had moons of its own, he concluded that the planets all orbited around the sun, which got him in big trouble with the pope. He was found guilty of heresy and spent the rest of his life under house arrest. Somehow this rocky start to modern astronomy still let to the Hubble Space Telescope and the Ultra-Deep Field photographs that showed the universe to be much larger and more complex than anyone had expected. I'll have to watch the rest of this series. It's pretty amazing how we got to where we are today.

Another stranger in the park today stopped me to ask about Dash. I'd never noticed this guy before. He and his wife were on bicycles and they told me that it was strange to see me walking alone. Apparently they'd been watching me walk Dot and Dash for many years. They said their own dog had died of cancer five years ago and they still hadn't gotten over it. I told them I understood completely.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3403

I tried a new hotel for breakfast this morning. Actually, this was an old historic hotel, but you know what I'm talking about. This place was further from home, but I have plenty of time to kill, so why not. The food was great, the dining room was quiet and relaxing, the waiters were attentive, and it was nice to eat with real china, but I doubt that I'll be going back soon. The traffic was terrible. No breakfast is worth fighting rush hour traffic. Maybe I'm not adventurous enough. Maybe I've just become spoiled. Either way, I think I'll just stay in the neighborhood unless it's really necessary to leave.

I can't even remember why I started going out for breakfast on Friday mornings. I've been doing this a long time, but probably the first Friday breakfast outing is recorded in the blog somewhere. I don't think I've been going out for breakfast for more than ten years. Like many things in my life, I'm sure this started as an attempt to be more spontaneous and ended up becoming an iron clad rule that must be adhered to at all costs. I do know that I've gone out for breakfast when I wasn't even hungry on occasion, and have even driven to my breakfast restaurant in the rain. We all know how much I hate to drive in the rain.

Today I retraced the route I used to take with Dot and Dash when they were young. The path was over three miles long and the walk took me over an hour. I probably walked a little quicker when the dogs were two years old. Young Dalmatians can be very energetic. It was a nice day and I enjoyed the walk, but I was tired when I returned. I can't believe I did this twice a day for so many years. When My doctor used to ask me how I stayed so healthy, I always told him that I walked six miles a day with Dalmatians.

I can't decide whether to go see High Life or not. I don't like horror movies but I do like science fiction. This movie is both. It's not showing at nearby theaters either. Maybe I'll just wait until the film is available on iTunes. I did enjoy seeing Apollo 11 in a theater, but I probably would have enjoyed it on iTunes as well. I have a really big computer screen. Unfortunately, neither movie is available on iTunes yet. That's the problem with having too much time on your hands. You end up going to a movie when you'd really rather stay home.

I probably should go to the gym tomorrow. I got an e-mail today saying that my gym will be closed on Sunday. I guess this makes sense. It's Easter. The park will be filled with tons of children having Easter egg hunts on Sunday. There is more trash in the park on the Monday after Easter than on any other day of the year. Nobody ever bothers to pick up their trash. For weeks after Easter I had to watch carefully to make sure that the dogs wouldn't eat candy the kids left behind or fried chicken bones that the parents left behind. Dot was the worst. She had a nose for garbage. I guess kids don't really hunt for eggs anymore. They hunt for plastic eggs filled with candy.

I cleaned the inside of the car today. I'll never get all the dog hair out. I'm not even sure that I want to.

Marley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3399

Watching Notre Dame burn left me with an uneasy feeling that civilization itself was coming to an end. Paris has always been my favorite city. Every time I've been there, it seemed to represent what a great civilization could become. The place was magic. I'm not sure I'd feel the same way if I returned today. Terrorist attacks, civil unrest, squalid homeless camps, and this horrendous fire have changed the place. I don't know if the fire was caused by simple carelessness or malicious intent, but it shouldn't have happened. We can do better. This building was constructed during the Middle Ages. It survived the French Revolution and two World Wars. The cathedral was a vibrant and important part of European life long before the United States even existed. The fact that it burned today just seems like a bad omen to me.

I've always loved great cathedrals. Janet and I have climbed to the top of St. Peter's and looked out over the Roman skyline. We've stood in awe in front of Gaudi's Sagrada Família in Barcelona. We visited Salisbury Cathedral on our way to Stonehenge. Once, my German hosts took me on a special private tour of The Cathedral of Saint Lorenz at the end of a business trip to Nuremberg. These places were all amazing to me, but probably Notre Dame was the best of them all. It was very sad to see it burn today.

This morning I made arrangements for Dash's funeral. It isn't really a funeral I guess. Just a private cremation. It will seem like a funeral to us. We will spend some time with Dash in a quiet room with candles and say our final goodbyes. The staff will make a paw print and we will wrap him in his favorite blanket. Then I will carry him to the crematory and we will leave. All this ceremony may seem silly to some, but it brings us closure. We have done this for all our dogs. There are five little cedar boxes on our coffee table. Soon there will be six.

I took a walk by myself this morning. I followed one of the trails the dogs used to love when they were young and active. Jeez. We used to walk a long way. I was winded by the time I returned home. Dot and Dash's decline has been so slow and gradual that I never really realized that our walks were getting shorter and shorter. I forget sometimes that I have been walking dogs in this park for thirty years. I know every inch of this place. We are lucky to live near the largest urban lake in the country. Our park is larger than Central Park in New York. It is very pretty. If you were a dog, this is definitely where you would want to live.

I took some more of Dash's things to the storage warehouse this afternoon. The warehouse is getting full again. Sometimes the whole idea of downsizing seems futile. There are always things you want to keep. I have things of my Dad's that I will never use but it seems disrespectful to throw them away. It's easy to throw away an old computer. It's much harder to throw away dog blankets. You should never throw away your dog's collar. We've accumulated a huge collection of dog collars.

I'm still not used to getting enough sleep. It almost seems unnatural.

Krissy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3074

I'm gaining weight. It probably didn't help that I had Beignets with breakfast this morning. I still try to eat healthy, but it's getting harder. I'm not really a Kale and Quinoa kind of guy. My diet hasn't changed all that much, but my daily activities have. When the dogs were young and healthy, we used to walk at least six miles every day. Dalmatians are active dogs and we kept a pretty brisk pace. Now there's only one dog and he is incredibly slow. Dash and I are lucky if we travel two miles these days.

In theory, there's nothing preventing me from still walking six miles a day. I could easily go on a walk while Dash was sleeping during the day. I have no desire to do this, unfortunately. Walking the dogs was a duty that I enjoyed. It was clear that the dogs needed me. When there was a problem to be solved in my professional career, I always felt the same way. I enjoyed a career as a photographer and filmmaker. Somehow doing these same things as a hobby has little appeal. When someone asks me "What do you like to do for fun?" I seldom have an answer. What is fun anyway?

Are you getting a ton of irritating e-mail from companies and websites saying that they've changed their privacy policies? It's all because of the GDPR. The European Union's new General Data Protection Regulation has changed everything. Personally, I don't think the Europeans realize that privacy is just an illusion. It doesn't exist anymore. Artificial Intelligence needs massive amounts of data to function and your robot overlords are going to get that data one way or another. China, not Europe, holds the keys to the future. They are already using sophisticated facial recognition technology to identify billions of people. In the future, payments will be made with retinal scans, not money. Stores will know what you are going to buy before you even enter the door. I don't necessarily like this, but it's coming. Just to be safe, I've removed all remaining online forms from my websites. I don't want to be ever accused of collecting any information on anybody.

Dash and I were surprised by an unexpected thunderstorm this afternoon. The sun was shining this morning when we took our morning walk. I was expecting clear skies all the way through the Memorial Day holiday. It wasn't meant to be. Around lunch time the sky became ominously dark and I began to hear thunder. We didn't lose power, but the lights did flicker for a while. This was more than enough to throw Dash into a panic. It took a while for me to calm him down, but eventually he settled down under a blanket with me and we rode out the storm. If I had anything else to do, this would have been frustrating, but life is pretty slow now. Comforting a dog under a blanket seemed as good a way to spend the day as anything. We both went to sleep after a while and when we woke up, the rain was gone.

There is a huge sale going on at REI, but there is absolutely nothing I need. I have a feeling that this is going to become a recurring theme. When collecting things and accumulating gear I don't really need fails to give me pleasure, it's probably time to reassess everything.

Ziggy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2891 - Thanksgiving

I feel like I've spent the entire day eating. Thanksgiving is the one time of year that Janet and I throw caution to the winds and fill our plates with way more than we need. We quit cooking at home years ago and prefer to go to a nice restaurant instead. For many years our favorite place was the revolving restaurant on the top of Reunion Tower. It was relaxing and the slowly rotating restaurant gave us an opportunity to see what had changed in Dallas during the previous year. Eventually the place got sold and became part of Wolfgang Puck's restaurant empire. Puck had no interest in continuing the lavish Thanksgiving brunch we had come to enjoy. We floundered around for several years and eventually found the Melrose Hotel. So far, so good. The waiters never rush you. The food is interesting and always includes several things you would never expect to eat at Thanksgiving. The salads are amazing. If they kept these salads on the menu during the rest of the year, we would go back more often.

We used to go up to the Dalmatian Rescue kennel after our dinner and give each of the rescue dogs a boiled chicken breast as a Thanksgiving treat. I forget why we quit doing this. Maybe one of our own dogs got sick, or we no longer had the time after the rescue dogs were relocated to a different kennel in Lewisville. It was a nice tradition for a while though. Now we just make sure that Dash has had a nice day.

I was so full when we returned home that I felt like calling it a day at 4 PM and going to bed. Dash has other ideas though. He wanted his own dinner and a long walk. A long, slow walk after Thanksgiving dinner is another tradition we have kept as long as we've had dogs. It was certainly a beautiful day for a walk. The sky was clear and the air was crisp and cool. The walk felt good. I was still full when we returned, but I no longer felt sluggish and catatonic.

We watched the Cowboys game for a little while, but the Cowboys really suck this year. There have been some memorable Thanksgiving day games, but this wasn't one of them. I still remember a game where it snowed in Dallas on Thanksgiving. It seems to snow less and less with each passing year. I don't think we got any snow last year. I can't say that I miss the snow, but it is strange how dramatically the weather has changed in just a few decades. Climate change? Probably. When we had our first Dalmatian, there was a year when our lake completely froze over. It hasn't happened since.

When I took Dash out to pee late last night, I saw Orion rising in the eastern sky. It's nice to see the Winter constellations return. There is so much light pollution in Dallas that's it's hard to see the stars in the Summer. The Winter stars are much brighter and bring back childhood memories. I was going to be an astronomer until I realized that there was a lot of math involved in this profession. I still like looking at the stars though. Maybe someday I'll live in a place where it is dark enough to see the Milky Way again.

It's been a lazy but pleasantly fuzzy day. I drank Mimosas. I consumed more calories than I normally do in a week. I didn't even attempt to do anything useful. Next week I'll start thinking about getting healthy again. Tomorrow, I'll probably just wish I hadn't eaten so much today.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2844

Dash tried to get us out of bed this morning. This is a good sign. Lately, Dash has been so lethargic that he'd sleep all day if we didn't make a real effort to get him outside to pee in the morning. We won't really know what's going on until we go back for another echocardiogram next week, but it appears like Dash's condition is improving. For the first time in over a month, he wanted to walk down by the shoreline this morning. Even though this route usually results in Dash getting covered with sticky pollen and burrs, it was nice to see him enjoying himself. When we returned and cleaned him up, he ate a good breakfast. Things are looking up.

When I went to the grocery store this morning I saw several people who looked a lot like Stephen Paddock. It's disconcerting to think that almost any of the hundreds of ordinary looking people we see everyday could be consumed by hidden demons. How would you know? "See something, say something" wouldn't have worked in his case. Every time I turn on the TV, someone is speculating about this guy's motive. Maybe he didn't even have a motive. They say Paddock mostly played video poker when he was in Vegas. People who play the slots a lot seem really detached. They are completely different than the animated, shouting people gathered around the craps table. Being too detached isn't good. Detachment leads to neighborhoods where nobody knows their neighbors. Video games replace board games and texting replaces conversation. Maybe when you become too detached, people don't even seem real anymore. Of course anger is not much better than detachment. Anger leads to road rage and needless political arguments. I don't have any answers. How do you become a productive member of society when the society itself is crumbling around you?

I stay sane by walking my dog. I watch clouds and try to identify flowers and plants I see. I count ducks and listen to bird songs. I never wear ear buds or use my phone on these walks. What would be the point? When the dogs were young and strong, I used to walk for hours. Dash is much weaker now, but I think he still enjoys his time in the park. As long as we don't encounter aggressive loose dogs or bicycles, we're good.

Once again, I postponed doing any serious household chores. I filled the car with gas, ran my usual Saturday errands and came home. I was pleased that Dash ate well today. I'm really curious to see what next week's echocardiogram reveals. I wouldn't think that the Plavix would work this quickly, but maybe it does. Dash is still sleepier than usual, but that's OK. I was feeling sleepy as well. Dash and I took a nap together this afternoon. It certainly seemed like a better idea than vacuuming.

I need to see if it's too late in the season to buy St. Augustine Grass. I still need to repair the big gash the car that crashed through our front yard made. I need to start pestering the roofer again too. It's important to get the repairs finished before the rainy season starts. None of this will happen tomorrow. If tomorrow is like today, I'll be lucky to make it to the gym.

Hershey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2722

I'm thinking about going to see the solar eclipse this August. There's really no reason not to anymore. It's probably a little late to be planning something like this, since motels and even campsites in the path of totality have probably been booked for months now. We'll see. At least this is worth thinking about. The last time I experienced a total eclipse of the sun was in 1963 when I was going to high school in Alaska. My Dad and a few of his friends took me with them to view the eclipse. All went well until a few minutes before totality when a large cloud covered the sun. I guess technically I still haven't seen a total eclipse.

Although seeing the eclipse is the big thing on my Summer to-do list, there are other things I need to do as well. I've been avoiding making a doctor's appointment for months because I didn't want to worry about Dot while I was enduring the inevitable long wait in the doctor's lobby. I don't have an excuse now.  I also need to renew my passport soon. I certainly haven't used it much during the past ten years, but there was a time when my passport was filled with visa stamps. Who knows? Maybe I'll travel again.

The pressure washer works fine. It's a bit messy to use and there is no convenient place to store the hoses and cords, but other than that, it does exactly what it is supposed to do. I cleaned the bricks on the front porch and the wheels on my car and then put the thing away. Removing the spiderwebs from the windows and eaves will have to wait until later. I'm sure the windows will leak when they are sprayed, so this will be a two person job. One person will have to use the pressure washer and the other will have to quickly mop up any water that gets inside.

I wish I could convince Dash to take long walks again. He used to love taking long walks. We're only walking half as far as we should this week. I don't think anything is wrong with Dash. He just doesn't seem to be in the mood. This is the perfect time of year for long morning walks. A month or so from now it will be too hot. We'll see. Maybe he'll snap out of this moodiness soon. Dash did share a banana with me this morning. That's a start, I guess.

I got an e-mail from Apple with information about the new products they introduced at the developer's conference. I think I'd like the get the new iMac Pro. There's no earthly reason I need a super fast computer anymore, but this thing sure looks cool. I've had my current desktop computer since 2010. That's much longer than I used to keep them. It was easy to justify new computers when I was doing large scale video editing projects every week, but those days are gone. If I get an iMac Pro, it will just be an indulgence.

I put out some new traps for the rat, but so far he has avoided all of them. Maybe I should just make my peace with the rodent and let him stay in the atrium. He's a smart little devil. Maybe he'd like to be my financial adviser. I wish rats weren't so destructive. They've already chewed up everything in the greenhouse. I don't want rats to ruin the atrium too. I have a feeling that this battle will continue for a while.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2684

Dot bought herself another day. She was very reluctant to get up this morning and didn't want to eat. When I did get her up and took her outside to pee, she headed straight for the back gate. She wanted a walk. I continue to be amazed at the tenaciousness of this dog. We thought maybe a short walk would stimulate her appetite, so we slowly headed toward the park. Dot smelled the flowers, lay in the grass, and enjoyed herself, but she still wouldn't eat when we got home.

On the way home a lady we often see while walking the dogs stopped me and asked about Dot. She recommended some food that she said her dog loved after he got cancer. I thanked her for the suggestion and then continued on our way home. We were almost back to the house when I saw the lady running to catch up with us. She had a can in her hand.  She stuck the can in my jacket pocket and urged me to try it. I thanked her again, but was kind of baffled. We were well beyond canned dog food solutions.

I was finally able to get Dot interested in some small pieces of sliced ham I had in the refrigerator. This was enough so she could take her morning pain pills, but it wasn't nearly enough to keep her nourished. Usually she goes back to sleep after she eats, but she seemed restless this morning. I thought she needed to pee, but she just kept wandering around in the yard. Keep in mind that she's not really wandering around on her own. I'm holding her up using the harness. After an hour of restless behavior, she threw up.  Although Dot went back to sleep and rested peacefully after this, I was very worried. Dot had probably thrown up the pain pills we had given her earlier in the morning, along with whatever nutrition she'd had in the past 12 hours.

While Dot was sleeping, Janet and I wondered if this was the day. I called the vet again and asked about making an appointment later in the evening. I didn't confirm anything though, because Dot has always snapped back late in the day. On Friday she regained her appetite around 3 PM. Yesterday it was 4 PM. Today she seemed tired and listless until almost 6 PM. Since Dot didn't seem interested in cheese or the sliced ham she had eaten this morning, we opened the can the lady had given me this morning. Castor and Pollux Natural Ultramix the can said. Dot loved it. She was able to swallow the bits of chicken and turkey, and lapped up the chicken broth when I put it in a small saucer in front of her. It took about an hour to hand feed her this mix, but she ended up eating almost three quarters of the can. This was great news, especially since the Ultramix stew is much healthier for her than the cheese, Fritos, and lunch meat we've been experimenting with for the past several days.

So far Dot has not thrown up her tasty meal. She took her second round of pain pills and even wanted an evening walk. I'm really glad that last night's rain brought some much cooler weather with it. Temperatures were in the 40's early this morning. Dot loves cold weather and she really enjoyed her two short walks.

Dot has a strong heart so she probably won't die in her sleep. She has a strong spirit, so she probably won't give up or go quietly. She's still dying though. It's up to us to decide when the time is right. If Dot wants one more walk and is able to eat enough to stay nourished, I'm delighted to give her an extra day. I'd love to give her an extra week.                  

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2681

There's nothing kind or convenient about death. I went to bed last night trying to prepare myself for the inevitable, but Dot woke up this morning with other ideas. She wanted a walk. Dot seemed in surprisingly good spirits for a dog that is losing weight at an alarming rate and has extreme difficulty eating. We let Dot rest instead of trying to get her up this morning. Janet walked Dash before she left for work and I stayed behind to watch over Dot. It wasn't long before she raised her head and gave me the sign that she needed to pee. After taking her outside I sat on the floor with her and tried to feed her tiny pieces of boiled chicken and cheeseburger. Eventually she managed to eat one third of a chicken breast and about a quarter of a cheeseburger without the bun. I had to pen Dash in the back of the house because it was driving him wild to see me hand feeding Dot the cheeseburger.

Dot seemed tired after what seemed like a monumental effort to keep from starving. She was hungry. When Dot went back to sleep, I ate my own breakfast. Before I finished, I heard her barking. She still wanted a walk. We made our way ever so slowly to the park and spent about twenty minutes sitting in the grass. Dot was alert and enjoyed the windy day and the surprisingly cool weather.

It's so sad that Dot really wants to continue, but her body won't let her. She doesn't have long, but she definitely wasn't ready to go today. How can you put a dog down who is eager to go on a walk? I worry that she isn't getting enough nutrition. The list of things she will try to eat keeps getting smaller. This morning she was willing to eat the burger and boiled chicken. This afternoon, she had no interest in meat. The only thing she would eat for the rest of the day were her favorite dog treats and a small amount of kibble.

I can't hide Dot's pills in anything now. She chews thing for so long that the pills inevitably fall out of whatever we've hidden them in and as soon as she bites into one, the bad taste stops her from eating anything else. Dot hates people messing with her mouth and even when she was healthy, she resisted being pilled. Unfortunately, that's the only way to get a pill down her now. I try to open her mouth and put the pill down her throat as quickly as I can and then follow it with something tasty to keep her chewing and swallowing. I know I'm going to get bit pretty soon.

A vet I've known for decades called me this evening to offer some moral support. The call mean a lot. There's not much more that doctors can do for Dot at this point, but I appreciated another opinion about how to handle these final days. We talked about the many dogs we have known and loved over the years and how hard it is to say goodbye. I felt a little better knowing that her clinic was nearby and that they would be expecting me if I had to call this weekend.

I wonder if this morning's walk was Dot's last? She didn't feel like walking this evening. We did finally manage to get Dot to take her evening meds, but it was a struggle. I have no idea what to expect tomorrow.

Bowser is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2656

Housecleaning during an all day rain is almost the definition of futility. Even though I know the effort is pointless, it's amazing how often I spend dreary, damp days cleaning. What else is there to do? I never leave the house on rainy days anymore because a single loud thunderclap can cause the dogs to freak out. I seldom watch TV either, because it irritates me to even turn the TV on. Given the choice between political bitching and moaning, inane reality shows, and sports, I'd just as soon listen to the rain pounding on the roof.

The day didn't get off to a good start, but that's par for the course for rainy mornings. Apparently I didn't take Dot outside late enough last night, because when I woke her up this morning, she immediately peed in her bed. Dash wouldn't even go outside, even though I knew he needed to pee too. He kept scratching at the back door and when I opened it, he would turn around and head for the kitchen. Dash still doesn't understand that I can't turn the rain on and off like a water faucet. Eventually he had to go so bad that he went outside and got wet.

After taking both dogs out in the rain several times and drying them off afterwards, I decided to do something less stressful and got out a needle and thread to sew the fitted sheet on the bed back together. I should just throw the threadbare bamboo sheets away, but I'm not ready to give up on them yet. The repair would have been easy to make with a sewing machine, but I never learned how to use the fancy new Viking machine Janet got a few years ago. Oh, well. Hand sewing a tear in an old sheet is a good way to kill time on a rainy day.

Vacuuming is a terrible way to kill time on a rainy day. The house was already dirty again before I even finished cleaning all the rugs. The combination of mud, wet leaves, and yellow catkins dropping from the oak trees makes keeping the house clean virtually impossible. I can't really clean Dot's paws before she comes in the house because my hand are full holding her up. Dash is just too fast for me. He usually slips in the back door before I can manage to wipe his paws with a wet rag. My own shoes cause a problem as well. Often, when I'm dealing with Dot, it's hard to kick them off at the door before entering the house. Keeping Dot from falling always has a higher priority than keeping mud off the floor.

I wonder where my appetite went. For decades I used to eat a huge breakfast on Sunday morning. Big breakfasts were a tradition. So was going out to brunch. Now I can barely finish one egg and a single piece of toast. I don't eat as much for dinner either. It's hard to explain what has happened, but I'm just not as hungry anymore.

The skies finally cleared late in the afternoon, so the dogs did manage to get at least one decent walk. It's interesting to watch the progression of wildflowers in the park. For some reason, the blue flowers seem to bloom first. Next come the yellow flowers. And finally the red ones arrive. We're in a yellow phase now and the fields are filled with Englemann Daisies. I photograph the flowers. Dash just pees on them.

I never did make it to the gym today, but I did get plenty of exercise. I should sleep well tonight as long as Dot does the same. The day is winding down. I hear the ACM Awards playing on a TV in the other end of the house. I doubt that I'll get up and watch even though I find these country shows much more enjoyable than the Grammy's these days. Country has become the new rock. Some of the tunes I'm hearing almost sound like the Eagles. Times have certainly changed.

Miracle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2654

I miss having a favorite restaurant. The days of having exactly the same thing every Friday morning for almost three years in a row are gone. I drift from place to place now, trying something different every time. Occasionally, I think I've found a new home, but I've had trouble staying loyal for more than a month at a time. Nobody seems to make things the way I like any more. The eggs are either too runny or too hard. The pancakes are too thick. And the bacon is too flat and crispy. I'm not trying to expand my horizons or be adventurous. All I want is a place where I can enjoy eating the same thing over and over again. Maybe this is impossible now. I've noticed that there is a lot of turnover in the restaurant business. Every time someone gets a new chef, the recipes change a bit.

Absolute consistency is my holy grail. When I walk Dash in the morning, I find it strangely comforting to see certain cars in the neighborhood leave for work at exactly the same time every morning. When we pass the tennis court on our walk, there is very often a brown pickup truck that turns a corner and passes us. On Friday morning, the garbage truck typically arrives exactly when I leave the park and head down my street toward home. Often people I don't know wave as I pass by. We've been repeating these patterns for a long, long time. The clockwork precision of repeating events makes me feel oddly connected. I'm sure a lot of random stuff happens as I walk by, but I only notice the consistencies.

I got the telephoto lens I've had my eye on for the past month or so. This is a great lens, but it kind of bothers me that many modern lenses no longer have an aperture ring on the barrel of the lens. A lot of them don't have a focus or depth of field scale either. You can still change the f-stop within the camera, but I'd still like to be able to use a lens completely manually. I guess I've got to keep up with the times. I'll have to admit that these new lenses are much better optically than the ones I used to use with my old Nikon F. Who knows. Maybe you'll see some better bird pictures in the days ahead.

I wrote another letter to my sister today. I'm definitely not keeping up with the times with her. I wish more people would revert to quaint old fashioned things like hand written letters. I guess I'd like it if doctors still made house calls and kids still liked electric trains too, but hand written letters are a start.

I tried to catch up on odds and ends this afternoon. I called the roofer again and made an appointment for the landscaper to come out and take a look at our back yard. Dot did pretty well today, although it was to hot to walk her during the day. The days are getting longer, so we can wait until after dinner now. All in all, it was a good day.

The skies are clear, but I'm too tired to go out and look at the stars. There's supposed to be a comet that will be visible through binoculars in the pre-dawn sky this weekend, but I bet I'll be preoccupied trying to keep Dot from peeing on the floor. We'll see.

Smiley 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 2649

 

My taxes are done. Well, they aren't really done, but they aren't my responsibility anymore. When I dropped the files off at the accountant's office, I made sure that they could open the CD with my Quickbook records before I left. I use such an old version of Quickbooks Pro that I'm always afraid that my accountant won't be able to import the files into their system. I hate to switch accounting programs. I was probably the last person in the world who still used MacMoney. When I finally switched to Quickbooks, I never bothered to upgrade. The first version was fine.

It was kind of chilly this morning. When I put on my favorite winter coat to walk the dogs, the zipper broke. The last time the zipper broke on this coat, I asked the tailor to replace it with a heavy duty indestructible zipper. Apparently indestructible zippers last two years. I took the coat back to a different tailor and asked them to put in a third zipper. I'm so tired of fixing things that are poorly made. Nothing lasts very long anymore. I still have a parka that my Dad wore when we lived in Alaska. The coat is over fifty years old and looks like it will last another fifty years. I doubt that I'd ever have to replace the zipper in this sturdy coat. So, why don't I just wear my Dad's coat and forget about all the shoddy imitations I've bought over the years? It's a nice coat, but something designed for Alaskan winters is a little warm for Texas.

I actually went to an animal rescue group meeting tonight. It's rare that I'm able to attend these meetings anymore, but Janet came home early, so I felt safe leaving Dot for a while. I didn't contribute very much to tonight's meeting, but at least I stayed the entire time. Several people had to leave early this evening, so the meeting was shorter than usual. It still seemed long to me though. I've spent the better part of my life sitting in long meetings, but I think my meeting days are over. I just don't have the patience for them anymore.

We saw another coyote on our walk this morning. Somehow the subject of coyotes came up at our meeting tonight and almost everyone had seen one recently. One guy even said that they were coming into his yard. I guess urban coyotes are a thing now. I sure wish that Dash was a little more wary of the critters. He is sometimes terrified of other dogs, but he seems oblivious to coyotes. He was literally walking right toward one this morning. I would think that he could have smelled the coyote, but Dash didn't seem to care. I didn't want to take chances, so we changed directions and took the long way home.

I almost forgot to take out the trash tonight. Somehow going to the meeting after dinner made me forget it was Thursday. When I finally hauled the trash can out to the curb, someone else had already taken my favorite spot. I'm superstitious about the trash truck missing my can, so I reluctantly placed the can somewhere else and hoped for the best. I don't know why I worry about stuff like this, but it's probably not going to change. Lost mail, broken zippers, and forgotten trash cans are all pretty normal these days.

Ruthie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2646

Well, I didn't get started on my taxes after all. The same little things that normally consume my day were still there and by the time I took care of the essentials, the day was gone. Hey, there's always tomorrow. Eventually, everything gets done, but lately it seems to take forever. It must have rained last night, because the ground was wet when we walked the dogs this morning. Both dogs arrived home muddy and it took longer than usual to clean them off. Breakfast took longer as well because I added a peach to my smoothie without decreasing the amount of strawberries and blueberries. I ended up making enough for two people. I guess I could have saved some of my beverage for tomorrow, but I sat and drank the whole thing while feeding the dogs slices of banana. Of course, Dot pooped while I was eating and I had to clean that up.

After I took a shower, I opened my tax folder and prepared to get started.  I thought I'd check my e-mail first and of course there were several small web emergencies that needed attention. By the time I finished the updates, it was time to feed the dogs lunch. When I was working on my projects this morning, I remembered that I hadn't sent out my March invoices yet. I postponed tackling my taxes again because getting the invoices out seemed more important. Hey, I need money to pay the accountant.

By now it was mid-afternoon and the dogs were getting restless. Once they start focusing their attention on dinner, getting anything done is just about impossible. I give Dot a pain pill at 2 PM. At 3 PM they get the first half of their dinner. And at 4:30, they get the rest. Often, I will walk Dot between the first and second dinner segment, but today I took my invoices to the post office instead.

Dot's short walk actually takes longer than Dash's much longer one. I've started sitting in the grass with her at the halfway point. She seems to like that. Usually the walk makes Dot tired enough so that she will rest while I walk Dash. That's the theory anyway. By the time I finished walking Dash this afternoon, it was time to start fixing my own dinner. As usual, I ended the day tired but accomplished almost nothing.

I'm not looking forward to tomorrow. The tree trimmers are scheduled to arrive early in the morning and the day will be filled with the sound of chain saws. I will need to take Dash outside to pee on a leash so he won't get in the way of a falling limb. The tree trimmers never remember to close the gates, so I will need to be extra careful with the dogs. I'm sure the crew will block the neighbor's driveway with their equipment too. They always do. I didn't even call to confirm tomorrow's appointment, because I kind of hope they don't show up. The trees really do need to be trimmed, but it's always a giant hassle. Oh, well. It's only one day. On Wednesday I can return to cleaning up dog poop and postponing my tax preparation.

Somehow, I don't think I'm going to get caught up this week at all. There are still several web site projects to complete and there is an animal rescue meeting I should really try to attend. Dot has an appointment at the cancer center for another Ultrasound scan later in the week as well. I need to call my accountant and find out how much time I really have to get my tax information together. Maybe I can put that chore off until next week.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2629

The restaurant was crowded this morning. There were all these noisy overlapping conversations that were somewhat distracting and made me realize that most of the clichés you hear about people are based in truth. Even though this was my morning out, I couldn't wait to get back to my dogs.

When I got home, I immediately realized that peace and quiet are pretty illusive wherever you are. When the dogs actually are quiet, I worry that one of them might have died. When they're full of life and moving around, I'm continually cleaning up poop and retrieving Dot from corners were she has fallen or gotten herself stuck. I've got to try to keep Dash from getting too excited as well, because when he gets agitated, the risk of another seizure increases. It's a delicate balance.

I had a surprising amount of work to complete today. I don't think I've had any writing jobs this month, but the website modifications continue to keep me busy. Nobody seems to want a brand new website anymore. I guess everyone already has one. Instead of creating new designs, I spend my time adding new product lines, updating employee rosters, and correcting typos. There are an amazing number of typos, since a lot of clients write their own copy these days. I don't change anything anymore. I just cut and paste. I used to try to edit the text I received but quickly discovered that the awkward syntax that was bothering me was exactly what the client wanted to say.

Dash is acting real strange lately. I've had increasing difficulty getting him to leave the backyard in the afternoon. At first I thought he was experiencing vertigo or dizziness, but now I'm not so sure. As an experiment I tried to lure him out the back gate with a dog treat, so we could take our afternoon walk. It took us over five minutes to get down the alley. I would move to the end of his leash and then hold the cookie where he could see it. When he started to walk toward the cookie, I would move forward and we would repeat the whole process all over again. As soon as we reached the end of the alley and walked down a small hill into the park, he forgot all about the cookie and started walking normally. We finished the rest of our walk without incident. I have no explanation for this odd behavior, but it sure makes taking a walk more difficult.

Part of the problem is that the dogs still don't understand why they can't walk together like they used to. It is simply impossible for one person to walk both dogs under current conditions. It takes both hands and a lot of coordination to keep Dot upright. I walk her like a marionette in a puppet show. Dash is still strong and likes to walk fast. Even if I could manage to hold on to both dogs, Dash would start tugging and probably knock Dot and I over before we'd gone thirty feet. It's kind of sad, because I know that they would still prefer to walk together.

I've been so concerned about Dash's vestibular disease that it took me a while to realize that I had an upset stomach and was feeling a little dizzy myself. Maybe it was something I ate. At any rate, the best part about today was when I managed to convince both dogs to take a nap with me and we all curled up together for a few hours. The rest seemed to help. I'm feeling better now.

Nora is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day