Day 3576

Today was busy. I didn't sleep well last night, so I got up earlier than usual. Yesterday's cold front is already a memory. I was glad to get an early start on my walk, because the temperature was headed for the nineties again. Today, I took a better camera with me, hoping to see the water turtles. No luck finding turtles, but I did get a few pictures of a Great Egret. The Pelicans were too far away to get a decent shot. Maybe soon. There there are a lot of them now. I wish it wasn't so much trouble to pack a heavy camera. I always see the most wildlife when I don't have it with me.

I knew the temperature was only going to get warmer, so I decided to mow the grass as soon as I returned home. A lot of the grass has already gone dormant for the year, so there wasn't that much to mow. Maybe I can finally put the lawnmower away for the season. With the outside looking better, it was time to tackle the inside. I vacuumed the house and then decided to call it a day. I certainly had accumulated enough steps to keep Mr. Fitbit happy.

I started filling out a boatload of forms to send to McDonald Observatory. It seemed weird to give somebody so much information, but Janet assured me that these forms would seem completely normal to any working person. I've been on my own for so long that the whole idea of human resources is a foreign concept to me. I should be able to complete the forms tomorrow. I'm confident that I'll pass the background check. I'm not so confident that I'll actually have to nerve to spend several weeks to a month at the observatory. We'll see what happens. The earliest I could go would be next Spring anyway.

I got an invitation to apply for credentials to cover the launch of Northrop Grumman's CRS-12 resupply mission to the International Space Station. I think I'll pass on this one. I've explored the idea of going to Wallops Island before. I even got approved to go there once. The facility is small and it's hard to fly directly to this area. Maybe the Antares rocket just doesn't seem that interesting. These trips can get expensive and I need to save my money for something that might make a better story. Resupply cargo missions to the space stations are pretty routine. I'm thinking of going down to Boca Chica to view one of the upcoming Space X Starship launches. I have a feeling that Spaceflight Magazine would get me a press pass for a Starship flight. The first Crew Dragon and Boeing Starliner launches sound interesting too.

I got some bad news from the vintage guitar store today. Some Japanese collectors were interested in one of my guitars. These guys were very particular so they got the store to take the neck and pickups off to examine for signs of alterations. The collectors say there are signs that the guitar has been refinished at some point. This lowers the value. It's possible that the guitar was refinished at the factory or that the different color stain under the neck was normal for that model. I doubt it though. The store sent me some pictures and the wood under where the neck attaches is a Mocha color instead of the natural finish of the guitar body. If the guitar has been refinished, it was a very good job. Neither I or the store had any idea until the collector had the guitar disassembled. It is still a desirable guitar and will sell but it will go for a lower price now.

I wish I had more things to sell so I could buy an Airstream Interstate van. That's not going to happen. Unless the stock market does really, really well next year, I'll probably be sleeping in a tent at the observatory.

Maverick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3575

I got a request to make a minor change on a website this morning. Not a problem. I made the changes and got ready to upload them to the server. I couldn't connect. Was the server down? Had the client changed their password again? Was my version of Dreamweaver so old that it had finally stopped working? I did some checking and discovered that some other accounts on the same server still worked fine. Somebody had changed the password. I called the client and got transferred to voicemail. Eventually I got a text with a new password and ID. I tried the new login information and still couldn't connect. Finally, after a long call with customer service we determined that the information the client sent me was only partially correct. The magic combination that let me connect was a mix of old and new information. My ten minute fix took me three hours. Is it any wonder that I have little interest in doing websites anymore. Very few people want me to design anything these days but there are still a lot of lost passwords.

Today was a catch up day. I made an appointment to see the eye doctor. I called the people who fix sliding glass doors again. I wrote another letter to the roofer asking when I was going to get my container of silicon elastomer. The weather is very nice so thought about calling the carpenter about greenhouse repairs. I chickened out at the last minute. I'm still not ready to spend the money.

The most significant thing I did today was call McDonald Observatory to ask some questions about their on-site volunteer program. I had a nice conversation with the director of the visitor center and I'm definitely still interested in living at the observatory for several weeks. I told them to go ahead and begin the background check process. If I am approved, I may return to the observatory to help with Star Parties and other events this Spring. They still prefer people who own an RV or travel trailer, but I could stay at the astronomer's lodge if space was available. The director seemed interested that I now have connections with Sky and Telescope and had been working on an article. I'm going to see if I can interest him in doing some communications projects for the observatory as well. Working out the logistics for an adventure like this is going to take some time, but it will give me something to do over the Winter.

The furnace came on for the first time last night. I guess Fall is officially here. I'm glad that the furnace seems to work perfectly. There were no problems lighting the burners at all. Now that the heat is back, on my gas bill is going to be higher. The electric bill is going to be a lot less though. Air conditioning is the bulk of the electric bill during the Summer.

Not only are things changing at the house, they are changing at the park as well. As soon as the temperatures became cooler, the Pelicans returned. There are at least a dozen of them now. I think a group of Pelicans are called a pod. The birds always return to the same spot, which is now called Pelican Bay. Turtles seems to like the cooler weather as well. When I was walking today I saw water turtles basking on almost every submerged log. I even saw a Hawk swoop down and pick up an unlucky mouse today. You don't see many raptors in the Summer but they are abundant at the lake during the Winter.

Life goes on. The security light stayed on all night yesterday. That hasn't happened in a while. The problem with the light sensor must be temperature related.

Madison is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3574

Treasure got her stitches out today. Hopefully she won't need to wear the cone of shame anymore. Nobody rides better in the car than Treasure. Some of the rescue dogs bark at everything and others won't stay still, but Treasure just sits quietly and looks out the window during the trip. She's curious about her surroundings, but never seems alarmed. I think she just likes car rides.

Charlie likes playing with a ball so much that we thought we'd see if he liked catching a Frisbee. He was good at chasing after the disc and caught it a few times, but he didn't want to give it back so we could throw it again. All he really wanted to do was chew it up. We'll have to work on this for a while. Maybe we can find an indestructible Frisbee. Hey, at least Charlie was interested. The Frisbee scared Jelly Bean and Hanks had no idea what to do with it.

All the dogs were in good spirits today. They're all getting healthier too. Hank is finally starting to gain weight and as soon as Jasmine finishes her heartworm treatment, she'll be good to go as well. There is a new group of dogs that are still being evaluated at the vet. A few have bad skin conditions like Sock did when he first entered the rescue program, but so far the vet hasn't found any serious problems. As soon as the new dogs have been spayed and neutered, they will join the others at the kennel.

Our long awaited cold front arrived last night. The temperature was still in the nineties when I finished dinner, but had dropped to seventy eight degrees by the time I went to bed. Some parts of town saw rain when the front passed through, but we stayed dry. This morning the weather really felt like Fall. It was crisp and cool with a light breeze and blue skies. The temperature was only sixty nine degrees at sunrise.

The weather stayed nice all day. I didn't take my five mile walk until later this afternoon because we were visiting with the dogs, but it was still very pleasant. This was the first time I wasn't drenched in sweat for a long time. I'm not sure how long this is going to last, but I'm calling today the first day of Fall.

If our cooler weather is here to stay, I'm going to need to call the carpenter and tell him to get started repairing the greenhouse. He didn't want to start the repairs during the hottest part of the Summer. That was fine by me because I wasn't ready to spend the money yet. I can't see any reason to delay things much further. The greenhouse is a wreck and it's time to get this fixed.

I wonder how long it's going to be before we need to use the furnace again. Sometimes it starts up just fine and other times I have to clean it first. It's always a guessing game. I used to have to call the HVAC guys every Fall to get the furnace running. Now I know to check the flame sensor first. If the flame sensor is dirty, the furnace won't light. I spent a fortune on needless repairs before a friendly technician showed me how to clean the furnace myself.

As usual, I have no plans for tomorrow. I'm busy planning imaginary trips to visit the darkest skies in America.

Hershey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3573

Is today the day our long awaited cold front arrives? Some say yes, others say no. The weather radar seems to indicate that a big change is coming, but it's still 93 degrees outside. I don't know how I feel about the weather anymore. We could certainly use the rain, but I hate dealing with roof problems. We'll see what happens. There are still two big trees in the backyard that could fall in the next big windstorm. Our power can go out at any time. It often does when it rains. The roof probably won't leak, but it always could. My pumps are far from reliable.

This morning I wasn't even thinking about rain. I slept in late, so I got a late start at the gym. Everything seemed a little harder this morning, so maybe I should have slept in even longer. I wish it was easy for me to get eight hours of sleep, but that's not going to happen. Even without dogs to wake me up at night, I still wake up early. I was certainly wide awake by the time I got home and prepared to take my five mile walk. Too bad it was so hot. I'm hoping that the cold front everyone is talking about is real. October is way too late in the year to be having July temperatures.

I've been visiting websites about how to outfit a van. It's much more complicated than I thought. Marine toilets vs Porti Potties? Propane vs Electricity? Diesel vs gas engines? Solar power vs a second alternator? Options are almost unlimited and usually quite expensive. This type of complexity puts a live-in van squarely in the daydream category. I can't imagine making a decision anytime soon.

Truthfully, it's hard to make a decision about anything these days. Decisions that open doors are OK. Decisions that lock you into something and might close some doors are to be avoided. Any decision that involves a lot of money is especially tough. I always start with easy things. I think I'm going to have McDonald Observatory go ahead an start a background check on me. That's a pretty open ended decision. If I get certified as a star party assistant, it becomes much easier for me to become a volunteer and stay at the observatory for extended lengths of time. I don't have to do anything though. I could just continue thinking about this for another year.

We take Treasure back to the vet tomorrow to get her stitches out. Hopefully, she is good to go now and won't have any further problems. Treasure is currently our only mix in the rescue program and often gets overlooked because people are usually looking for a purebred dog. There is nothing wrong with this. People go to breed rescue groups because they are looking for a particular type of dog. There are tons of rescue groups that specialize in finding good homes for mixed breeds. There's basically something for everyone out there. That being said, I wish more people would look at Treasure. She's really a great dog.

I used to dread Mondays. They aren't so bad when you're retired. Sure, there are still bills to pay and appointments to make, but there are also dogs to visit. Visiting the Dalmatians on Monday has become a regular part of our week. Everything else can wait until Tuesday if needed.

Cassie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3572

Rolly went to his new home today. The family that adopted him brought their two dogs to the kennel to make sure that everybody got along. All three dogs were very calm and relaxed so we said our goodbyes and Rolly began the long journey to his new Houston home. I was a little apprehensive about the long trip, but we just received pictures of Rolly curled up in a comfy bed at his home and he looks happy. It's nice when things end well for these dogs.

We also met two other couples who were looking for Dalmatians this afternoon. One family was interested in Sock and the other was interested in Jelly Bean. It usually takes several visits before an adoption becomes final. The rescue group always checks with the family's vet to make sure the dog will be well cared for and often we do a home visit as well. We'll see what happens. I still hope that Jasmine and Jelly Bean can be adopted together since they are so fond of each other, but they will do fine on their own. It would be much better if they each got a good home separately than waiting forever in the kennel for someone to adopt them together. We're never certain how each dog's story will end until they are adopted, but we make sure it's a happy ending.

I went to the grocery store early this morning so we'd have plenty of time to visit with the families who were looking for dogs. For the past several weeks I've been noticing that there are fewer and fewer peaches. It looks like the peach season is almost over. I bought some nice looking peaches today along with the usual strawberries and blueberries, but it looks like there won't be many more peach cobblers this year. Have I mentioned that I love peaches?

We spent a lot of time up at the kennel, so I didn't get started on my walk until late in the afternoon. Mornings are much more pleasant. Late in the day heat just radiates off the roads and pathways. You feel like you are inside an oven. It was a lot cooler yesterday, but I don't think it was our long awaited cold front. It is still predicted to get much colder later in the week. We'll see. There's been talk of cooler weather for a long time and it never seems to materialize.

After walking 27,000 steps the day we went to the fair, my Sunday's don't seem as daunting anymore. I still don't look forward to going to the gym, but I don't dread it either. Physically, I'm actually in pretty good shape. I just need to find something to keep my mind engaged.

Lightning is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3571

We spent the morning moving dogs around. Jelly Bean needed a distemper booster shot, so we took her to the vet. Jasmine was already at the vet finishing her heartworm treatment, so after Jelly Bean got her shot, we took both dogs back to the kennel. Jelly Bean didn't like riding in the car on the way to the vet. She was just fine on the way back however. The two girls have bonded and feel more secure together. It would be nice if they could find a home together. I think we'll be back at the kennel tomorrow. Someone from Houston wants to look at Sock.

I might have to go back to making my own breakfast on Fridays. Nobody seems to be able to make anything consistently anymore. Even simple things like pancakes and omelets seem to change from week to week. I had my favorite omelet this morning and it was completely different than the same thing two weeks ago. It's frustrating. There was a time when I was able to order the same thing for almost three years and know exactly what I was going to get. Those days are gone. When the chef finally left at this particular restaurant, the whole place folded. Family owned restaurants with a permanent staff are becoming a thing of the past. Turnover seems very high these days. Some places seem to have a completely new staff every time I visit. I shouldn't complain. I wouldn't want to work at a restaurant and I could always stay home.

I keep hearing that a cold wave is on the way, but it never seems to get here. I was expecting rain today, but it was just hot and humid again. It must be raining somewhere in Dallas because I heard thunder around dinnertime. Nothing yet though. As soon as it does rain I'll be complaining about it. I want to live in a place where it is 72 degrees all the time with very low humidity. It would be nice if the place had no snakes, mosquitoes or ticks either.

I wrote the editor of Sky and Telescope today, outlining my future plans to visit observatories. They sounded so positive about my writing when they rejected my initial article that I'm hoping the magazine might be able to help me get access to some places I'd like to visit. This is all going to take a long time. It's hard for someone like me to get access to large telescopes in the first place and then there's the weather. At least I have a bucket list now. Every old person needs a bucket list.

Thoughts of going to rocket launches, large observatories, and dark sky viewing areas have got me interested in buying a van. It's not time for a new car yet, but a Mercedes Sprinter van converted into a camper would be a lot more practical than buying another Land Rover. These vans are small enough to drive in the city and large enough to live in for several weeks at a time. I could go to Boca Chica to watch Space X Starship launches. I could apply to be a Star Party guide at McDonald Observatory and stay on the mountain for several weeks at a time. I could visit places like Joshua Tree and The Badlands to take pictures of the Milky Way. It's something to think about. If I can manage to establish my credentials as a space journalist, I might even get magazines to pay for these trips.

Until then, I'll continue walking around the lake and complaining about my roof. When I'm tired of complaining, I'll go visit the Dalmatians. It's very hard to complain about a Dalmatian.

Jersey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3570

We went to the State Fair today. I haven't been to the fair in years, but it hasn't changed much. The main difference I noticed was that everything was much more expensive. We did a lot of the same things we used to do. We visited the auto show building and looked at new cars. We went to the building where they usually have pig races and watched the Amazing Trick Dogs. The dogs were basically well trained agility dogs and it was fun to watch them catch frisbees, jump over hurdles, and run through an agility course. I wasn't very interested in sitting in a vibrating chair or eating a deep fried pickle, but a talented dog can always make me smile.

One of the weirdest things we saw today was a booth called Shrink Yourself. These people would make a full body scan of an individual or even a small group and then turn it into an amazingly realistic small doll that was 3-D printed. The whole process was fairly expensive and it took three weeks to get the finished doll, but people were lining up to be scanned.

As we were walking around today we found ourselves walking on a brick walkway paved with memorial bricks. This immediately brought back memories. We used to take Spot, our first Dalmatian, to Fair Park every Sunday. After he died we bought him a brick with his name on it to be placed on this walkway because Fair Park was one of his favorite places to walk. We spent a long time this afternoon trying to find Spot's brick and eventually found it. I had forgotten that we had also bought a brick for ourselves to be placed on either side of Spot. There we were thirty years later, John, Spot, and Janet, memorialized on some old bricks right in the middle of the State Fair.

Instead of having fried food on a stick, we had dinner at the Old Mill. This restaurant, located on the fairgrounds, has been around as long as I can remember. This place was built as a flour mill for the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition and hasn't changed much since. The menu is exactly the same as it was when we used to bring Spot here to share fried chicken with us at an outdoor table on Sunday afternoons. Some of the old waiters seemed to be the same as well. The place that used to give Spot a free burger every year still exists at the fairground too, but none of the people we knew are still around. I imagine that many of them have died. It's been a long time.

I heard from Sky and Telescope today. They rejected my article. I was disappointed, but this was actually the most positive rejection letter I've ever received. The editor told me that everyone at the magazine loved my article. They thought the article was interesting, well written, and encouraged me to submit to the magazine again. The magazine would have loved to publish the article if I had actually seen anything through one of the telescopes. This is understandable. Sky and Telescope is an astronomy magazine, not a travel magazine. The editor liked my writing style and encouraged me to pitch other articles to the magazine in the future. I got the impression that they would like me to become a contributor. I just can't write about rainy nights at an observatory. What I need now is a plan to guarantee clear skies the next time I visit the Davis Mountains.

I walked over 25,000 steps today. This is a new Fitbit record. I'm a little tired, but I enjoyed our time at the fair. It was nice to rekindle some old memories of Spot. Sometimes it feels like my life has always been about Dalmatians. It probably always will be.

Hobbs is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3569

I used to go for years without seeing the dentist. Now, I never miss an appointment. Every six months a dental hygienist cleans my teeth and once a year I get new x-rays and the dentist gives me an exam. I've always had good teeth, but it's not worth tempting fate anymore. Life is full of problems as it is. I don't need to add dental work to the list.

There were no problems today. The dentist thinks I'm doing a good job of taking care of my teeth. I use a Sonicare toothbrush and a Waterpik everyday and do my best to avoid sugar. The only thing that needed attention today was the retainer I wear at night. I broke it in half about a year ago and have just been wearing each half at night. The dentist said this was fine, but I think my teeth are shifting a bit. Getting a new retainer was more reasonable than I thought, so I'm going to go ahead and have them make me a new one.

There was no time for a morning walk today. As soon as I finished breakfast it was time to go to the dentist. This didn't mean I skipped the walk. It just meant I was outside during the hottest part of the day. Jeez. When are we going to get some Fall weather? It was really hot this afternoon. Temperature really does make a difference. These walks are much easier when it's cooler.

I can't figure out what is going on with the security light in the back yard. This weekend the light stayed on all night. Yesterday it didn't work at all. Now it's back on again. I've had this problem before and every time the light eventually seemed to fix itself. I'm hoping that it will start to work normally again. The light itself is inexpensive, but I always have to call an electrician when there is a problem. In theory I could easily install a new light myself, but it is located very near our power line and I'm clumsy at times. I don't want to get myself electrocuted. I'm trying to convince myself that it's easier to look at the stars at night when the yard is dark, but I like a little light coming in through the windows at night. Somehow it is easier to sleep when the security light is working.

I'm still eating leftover sandwiches from the golf tournament for dinner. If I'd thought to take a few more, I wouldn't have to go to the store at all this week. I ate the last sandwich tonight, but I doubt that I'll be very hungry tomorrow anyway. We're planning on going to the fair on Thursday. There's so much junk food at the fair that you seldom want to eat when you get home. You can get virtually anything deep fried on on a stick at the fair. I know it's not good for you but that's why the fair is only once a year. Whatever I eat tomorrow, there's a virtual certainty that it will give me heartburn.

I recharged my laptop batteries and applied a security patch this afternoon. With all the power outages we have around here, you never know when I'm going to need this thing. I used to ignore the security updates but you can't really do that anymore. Apple is no longer immune from hackers and malware. My laptop seems very slow, but that's probably just because it's old. I hate to retire this thing. It's the last laptop Apple made that came with a CD/DVD drive and full size USB ports. There's a slot for camera cards too. New laptops don't have any of this stuff.

Last year at this time, Dash was having seizures and I was getting nervous about an upcoming art auction in New York. That all seems so long time ago now. The only thing that hasn't changed are the telemarketing calls. We're still getting a ton of telemarketing calls.

Bailey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3568

The older you get, the harder it is to tell whether the aches and pains you feel are completely normal or a sign that something's wrong. When I wake up in the morning I hate to move, because it feels so comfortable to just lie there doing nothing. As soon as I'm up and about, my joints start telling me that I've seen better days. The aches and pains are real. My ankles hurt when I walk long distances, but I suspect that there's nothing wrong. I wear really light Nike Air shoes now because they're easier on my feet but they don't provide the firm ankle support that my old heavy hiking boots did. I'm sure that there is something wrong with my shoulders, but I'm not certain what to do about it. I haven't been good at keeping up with my physical therapy exercises and I don't even want to consider surgery. Everybody I know who has had shoulder surgery never regained a full range of motion. Basically, old bones just aren't as resilient as young bones.

I probably should start going to physical therapy again for my shoulder. It did help a little when I was doing the exercises every day. I'll ask my doctor to recommend someone the next time I see him. I really need to improve my range of motion, but it's hard to do exercises that are painful. I'm not very motivated. It's easier when someone is forcing me to do the right thing.

I've got a dental appointment in the morning and an appointment with the eye doctor later in the month. Doctors always tell me I'm doing great. What does that mean? They probably just mean that I'm doing pretty good compared to other people my age. I remember feeling a lot healthier when I was younger, but it was probably just an illusion. I actually had more medical problems when I was young than I do now. At least I'm eating healthy and taking care of myself these days. Hopefully, I'll never wind up in the ER again.

October is here, but where is the nice Fall weather? Today still felt like Summer. I think my walks will be a lot more enjoyable when the weather is cooler and I don't have to change my clothes as soon as I get back to the house. I keep telling myself that sweating is good for you. At least that's what I hear. Sweating during exercise is supposed to reduce the risk of developing kidney stones, prevent colds, and detox your body. Sounds good to me.

I wonder if I'll have time to take my walk tomorrow? I might not even have time to drink my smoothie. I should have made my dental appointment during the afternoon. These days even 11 AM can seem pretty early. How did I ever used to go to work every morning? I need to ask the dentist whether braces could benefit someone my age. I feel like my teeth are getting out of alignment. Does it even matter? Probably not.

Tori is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3567

Treasure was mad that she couldn't play today. It has only been a few days since her surgery and she's not ready to have her stitches removed yet. Treasure can play rough when she gets excited. We didn't want to risk having her incisions come open. It's hard to tell a dog that there'll be plenty of time to play later, but Treasure will just have to wait. After her stitches come out, she can show us how well she knows how to roll over again.

Hank is still too thin but he is eating well and his gastrointestinal problems seem to have gone away. The vet says he should start gaining weight in a week or so. He certainly has plenty of energy. Hank could play ball for hours. Sock isn't interested in playing but loves the attention. He has a new soft bed now and would probably rather have us take a nap with him than play ball. Jasmine and Jelly Bean, our two new girls, have really come out of their shell. It's quite a transformation. They seems to become friendlier and more trusting with each passing week. They are both eager to see us now. Rolly might be getting a home soon. He's such a friendly, easy-going dog that we're going to miss seeing him. Charlie is almost ready for a home as well. He's come a long way. He still needs to learn how to relax but he seems to trust me now and enjoys getting belly rubs.

Poor Jasmine starts her heartworm treatment tomorrow. The treatment can be hard on the dogs, but it needs to be done. Heartworms will kill a dog if left untreated. It's still hard for me to believe that so many people don't give their dogs the preventative medicine. It's easy and it works. So many of the dogs we rescue end up having heartworms. Jasmine has become comfortable with life at the kennel, but she still doesn't like riding in a car. She drooled a lot on the way to the vet this afternoon. Maybe she gets motion sickness. At least she didn't throw up in the car. When I see a dog drool a lot, they are either looking at a piece of cheese or getting ready to throw up.

A morning walk in the park and an afternoon with the Dalmatians basically took up the entire day. That's OK. I don't really make plans anymore. There is very little these days that can't wait until tomorrow. I've got a dental appointment later this week, but that's about it. Sometimes when I walk in the park, I daydream about what I'd like to do next. I can't think of anything I'd like to do here in town. The idea of traveling around in a little van looking for dark skies and bright stars sounds appealing. I don't know if I'd feel safe on the road though. Truthfully, I'm not sure I feel safe anywhere these days. The world I grew up with is crumbling.

Maybe I should start looking for places like Fort Davis. There are probably lots of little towns like this scattered around the country. Maybe not though. When I was a kid, my family used to spend summers in Colorado. Towns like Crested Butte and Telluride were a lot like Fort Davis back then. Then rich people discovered them and ruined everything. I used to love Crested Butte when it was almost a ghost town. I don't even recognize the place anymore.

I'll save these thoughts for another day. I don't have a time machine. Basically, it doesn't matter if you are living in a little hamlet or a big city. It's still 2019 everywhere.

Thelma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3566

It was a nice day for a golf tournament. The weather was warm, but not too hot. There was a nice breeze which I enjoyed, but it might have made things challenging for the golfers. We had a good turnout this year and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves. It takes a lot of work to put on a golf tournament, but this has always been a good fundraiser for the dogs. It's hard to believe that Dalmatian Rescue has been doing this for eighteen years.

This years tournament was held at Tour 18. They call this place a replica course. Each hole duplicates a hole from famous golf courses like Doral, Sawgrass, and Augusta. Seems weird to me, but the golfers seem to like it. While the teams played, Janet and I drove around the course in a cart and took their picture.  I haven't done this in a while and I must have slowed down a bit. I remember taking over three hundred pictures at previous tournaments. Today I only took 200.

This evening I discovered that an airline pilot we've known for years likes astronomy as well as Dalmatians. I've known about his dogs for years, but I've never known about his telescopes. I told him about our recent trip to McDonald Observatory and we shared a few observing experiences. It's a small world. I didn't really think I'd run into anyone else who was equally fond of Dalmatians and astronomy.

Jenga's new family brought him to the golf tournament. He looked great and seemed very happy with his new life. Quite a few people brought their dogs with them today and almost all of them were familiar faces. They got their start in the rescue program and have all found wonderful homes. It's fun to see how well these guys are doing. They've come a long way since their life at the kennel. I knew some of the golfers today, but I think I recognized more dogs than people this afternoon.

I still don't really understand the appeal of golf. It's expensive to play and difficult to master. My shoulders are so wrecked that I don't even think I could swing a golf club. Lifting my arms above my head isn't something I can easily do anymore. That being said, I'm still in better shape than many golfers. To each his own, I guess. I'll skip the golf clubs and keep looking for dark skies and a good telescope.

I should sleep well tonight. It's been a long day. Tomorrow we'll visit the Dalmatian Rescue kennel again. We'll be taking Jasmine to the vet to begin her heartworm treatment. I'm not sure what I'll begin. It's a new week. I'm sure there's something that needs attention.

Sweet Pea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3565

Our power went out again today. There was no wind and no rain, but I did hear an explosion back in the alley. A squirrel probably shorted out a transformer again. It has happened before. Since there weren't problems in other parts of the city, our power was restored in just a few hours. We went out to dinner tonight and by the time we returned home, the electricity was on again. I did use the generator to keep the refrigerator running, but all-in-all this was a pretty painless outage.

When I went to the grocery store this morning I discovered that the app I've been using to bypass the checkout line wasn't broken after all. I was just using it wrong. One of the many updates apparently changed the way the app works and I never noticed. Jeez. Why do people keep changing things on me? As soon as I get used to something it changes.

The weather is still unusually hot for September. That's not the worst of it though. I'd forgotten that in addition to Spring allergies, there are also Fall seasonal allergies. Ragweed is usually the culprit, but on a windy day like today there is a lot of other pollen in the air as well. For the past several weeks I've had to stuff my pockets full of paper towels and blow my nose every few hundred yards while I'm walking. If there was ever a reason to start walking inside at the gym, this would be it. I'm a creature of habit though. Even though seasonal allergies make me feel miserable, they've never stopped me from doing anything. I doubt that this month's unusually high pollen counts will stop me either.

I got a note saying that it's time to make an appointment with the eye doctor. Has it been a year already? If you go to any type of doctor these day, you'll have to see them again a year later. There's nothing wrong with my eyes but I guess a regular checkup makes sense. My Dad had macular degeneration as he grew older. I certainly don't want to deal with that. I have to wear readers now when I'm working at the computer, but my distance vision is still 20/20. I'm sure my close range vision would be better too if I hadn't spent so many years staring at a computer screen.

I guess I'm ready for the golf tournament. The cameras seem to be working well and all the batteries are charged. I just need to decide what shoes to wear. Just about all my shoes feel uncomfortable after a long day. I probably won't be walking all that much anyway. I mostly just drive around in a golf cart and take pictures of each team. I've never played golf myself. I'm left handed and can't even hit the ball using right handed clubs. I doubt if I'd be much better using left handed clubs. I've never tried.

I'm glad we've got electricity again. The house heats up quickly when the air conditioner isn't running. It's always a pain writing the blog without electricity too. I haven't charged the laptop battery recently, so that might have been a problem. Power outages, loss of WiFi, and computer crashes have never stopped me yet. I would have figured out something, but everything is so much easier with electricity.

I need to get some sleep tonight. It's going to be a long day tomorrow.

Spanky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3564

Nothing appealed to me this morning, so I just had a bowl of cold cereal at home. This was actually a good thing because it allowed me to get an early start on today's walk. I should walk earlier every day but it's hard to get organized. The temperature was only in the seventies and there was a hint of Fall in the air. A few of the trees are already starting to turn yellow. There was a nice breeze this morning and the walk was quite pleasant until the sun got higher in the sky. By the time I finished my five miles, I was still hot and sweaty, but it feels like the worst of Summer is over. Pretty soon we'll have our two weeks of nice weather for the year.

This afternoon I wrote some letters and took them to the post office. It's getting harder for me to do chores around the house, but it's always easy to write. I can see a time where all I do is walk and write. Walking is exercise for the body and writing is exercise for the mind. All in all, I think I'm doing pretty well.

This Sunday is the annual Dalmatian Rescue Golf Tournament. Since I will be taking photos at this event, I started checking out my cameras today. Step one is choosing which camera to take. Lately, I always opt for the lighter cameras. These cameras seem to get heavier every year. I need to make sure all the batteries are fully charged. Since I don't use my cameras much anymore, the batteries are usually completely dead. They take a lot longer to charge than you'd think when they are fully discharged. Sometimes I find a battery that has died and I need to replace it. Hard to believe that I used to use these cameras almost every day. The last time I used the one I'm charging now was last Christmas when I was taking Santa Paws pictures for Dalmatian Rescue. Mostly I just use my phone to take pictures now.

While I was charging batteries this afternoon, I thought it would be a good time to defragment my hard drives. This takes a long time as well with a 4 terabyte drive. I'm not even sure you need to defragment hard drives anymore. You don't hear much about it these days. Old habits die hard though and periodically I go through the lengthy process of defragmenting all the drives. I never notice any performance differences when I'm finished, but at least I'm trying to keep things from getting scrambled.

Janet wants to go to the fair this year. It's been years since we've been to the fair. I'm not sure a lot has changed. The fair has always been about fried food, farm animals, and Fall weather. One thing that has changed is that we can go for free now. There is a Senior Citizen's Day every Thursday. Many years ago we used to take our first Dalmatian to Fair Park a few weeks before the fair started when everybody was setting things up. One of the vendors really liked Spot and they would always give him a hamburger when we visited their booth. This became a ritual and Spot would look forward to this visit every year. I remember writing a story about this once called Dog Day at the Fair.

I still find myself fantasizing about going back to McDonald Observatory, which probably means I'll be making the trip sooner rather than later. It take me so long to plan things though that sooner could be next year. I wish there was a better way to predict the weather. I'd hate to travel all that way just to arrive on another rainy day.

I'm still hoping to get my roof patched before we have another rainy day here. At the rate I'm going, I might make it back to the observatory first.

Sophie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3563

When I look back, it's amazing how similar my days are. Year after year I talk about the weather. I worry about roof leaks. I try to fix broken things around the house. I watch the latest crisis on TV while I'm eating breakfast. Every now and then something exciting happens. I guess I should be trying to eliminate the monotony and increase the excitement, but I'm not so sure. Often there's not much difference between excitement and sheer panic.

My days are uneventful now and that's OK. I loved having dogs around the house, but my strongest memories are of unexpected injuries, sickness, and middle of the night trips to the emergency room. Somehow, the sadness of losing a dog seems to linger a lot longer than the happiness of playing with a puppy.

It was always exciting to get a big new assignment during my working days. I was proud that I was able to build a successful company on my own. The exciting assignments always turned into stressful deadlines though. I always enjoyed getting new clients and new jobs. I just didn't enjoy doing them.

Sometimes I wake up thinking "what now?" I'm a clever guy. I could do just about anything, but I have no strong desires. Most of the things I've done in my past, I have no desire to repeat. I'm sure I'll apply to be a guest of NASA again. Watching a rocket launch is quite an experience. Once every year or two seems plenty though. Repeating anything too often ruins the magic.

There is a little magic in the idea of becoming a Star Party guide at McDonald Observatory. With so many volunteer opportunities right here in Dallas, I would have to get intrigued about one in a very remote part of the country. I'm definitely not going to buy an RV just so I can work for free in the middle of nowhere. The idea of volunteering for the observatory is still worth exploring though. Maybe they would let me stay in the astronomer's lodge.

I'll save future travel plans for another day. Tomorrow I've got to find a place to go to breakfast. Last week's choice was a disaster. I'm not going back there again. It's getting harder to keep these little Friday morning outings interesting. Like I said earlier, doing anything too often ruins the magic.

Suki is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3562

I tried to tie up a few loose ends today. I called a roofer who promised me a bid back in March. He said he was still interested but was so busy that he probably wouldn't even have time to think about my roof until after the first of the year. This guy disagrees with another roofer who has already given me a bid about the best way to fix my roof. Probably my current roofer disagrees with both of these guys. It doesn't give you a lot of confidence when nobody can find a common solution to your problems.

I called about my unsold guitars and synthesizers. Just as I expected, they are still unsold. Evidently, people are interested but nothing has resulted in a sale. I'm not ready to give up yet. If I took these things back, they would just wind up in my storage warehouse again. At least a few of my guitars have already sold. I have an offer on one synthesizer, but it is ridiculously low. I've been a pack rat all my life and I thought that parting with this stuff would be hard. That turned out to be the easy part. Actually selling the stuff is the hard part.

Earlier this summer I noticed that McDonald Observatory always seems to be looking for retirees with an interest in astronomy to help conduct their weekly star parties. Since the observatory is so isolated, they specifically look for people who own an RV and can stay for several weeks at a time. It's a volunteer job, but the observatory provides a place to park the RV, electricity, and access to the observatory's facilities. This sounds like fun to a person like me. If you stayed at the observatory long enough, you are bound to have a few clear nights. Unfortunately, I don't have an RV. I'm not sure I'd like to drive one either. I was in a daydreaming mood this afternoon, so I started looking at RV's on the Internet. Jeez. These things are expensive. You could buy almost any luxury car for a lot less. A Porsche 911 and a well appointed Sprinter conversion van are about the same price. You could buy a decent house for less than some of those huge Type A motorhomes. So much for thoughts of living on the road.

I need to find a way to make my walks more interesting. The benefits of this type of exercise are obvious, but the walks are becoming boring. I guess I keep walking because being outdoors is still a lot more interesting than walking on a treadmill at the gym. The best thing about walking is the solitude. The worst thing is being drenched in sweat with sore feet. Maybe I'll enjoy things more in the Winter.

I noticed that the tree guys dumped all their lunch trash in my garbage can. Most people wouldn't be bothered by this, but I'm obsessive. I hate loose trash. I always bag and seal everything. I emptied out the can and put all the loose stuff in a big black leaf bag. I was surprised at how much food the tree guys eat on the job. I don't eat lunch at all. Falling branches and logs also damaged a few things in the yard. I expected that though. At least they didn't drop anything heavy on the roof while they were removing the tree.

I guess I'll watch the final episode of the Ken Burns documentary later this evening. I don't ever listen to country music, but I know a lot more about it now. I'm always fascinated watching the credits at the end of a Ken Burns movie. Hundreds and hundreds of people seem to work on these things. I wonder what Ken Burns actually does? I made a few documentaries back in the early 1970's. There wasn't much need for credits. It was just me and a sound man.

I got caught up on a lot of things today. That doesn't leave much for tomorrow. I'm sure I'll think of something though. I've got an entire day to fill.

Rosie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3561

Jeez. It costs more to remove a tree than it does to take a nice little vacation to the Davis Mountains. This was the third time I've had to have the tree guys out this year. I bet they'll be back again. Janet wanted them to remove another tree as well, but the Elm tree was all they had time for today. I hate spending money to make the yard look even worse than it did before, but what are you going to do? Mother nature always wins these battles. These trees get blown down in windstorms or they fall from rot or old age. Mature trees the same age are falling in the park all the time. There's not much I can do to stop this.

At least the Elm tree is gone and I can check one more thing off my to-do list. The tree was located very close to the house, so we can't use a stump grinder to remove the stump. There is too much danger that the stump removal process would break the glass in the bedroom windows. The tree was close to our sewer line as well. One more reason not to get a stump grinder involved. People in the country often burn a tree stump out. Nope. That's not going to work. Sounds like a good way to burn down the house. I guess I'm going to have to get used to living with the unsightly stump.

Treasure's surgery went well. She had three growths removed, but none was cancerous. One growth was a benign fatty lipoma, another was a mammary tumor, and the third growth was scar tissue from an earlier surgery. Treasure should be on the road to recovery soon. What she needs now is a home.

There are a lot of Dalmatians that need a home right now. The rescue group has been asked to take in as many as twenty new dogs recently. This is way more than usual. We've already picked up six of these dogs, but it's a real challenge to find the funds to do something on this scale. Vet bills, food, and boarding expenses really add up quickly. Hopefully the group will find a way to bring all these dogs into the rescue program.

When I was taking my walk this morning, I could hear the tree guys chain saws from a long way away. Chain saws are really noisy. I wonder why people choose this line of work. There is a lot of skill involved to bring down a large tree without destroying everything in the vicinity. There is also a lot of danger. I've known several people who have experienced serious chain saw injuries. For that reason alone, I won't go anywhere near a chain saw. I'm glad there are people who will do this work. If you've got a tree on your roof, you've got a serious problem.

I just upgraded my phone to IOS 13 a few days ago and there is already another update. I guess it doesn't take long for bugs to be discovered. I downloaded the new update as well. I have no idea why it is needed, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

I skipped episode six of the Ken Burns documentary tonight. I'm sure I'll watch it later though. They rebroadcast these things over and over. I still can't decide whether to go see Ad Astra in a theater. Now that I've started taking long walks, there isn't a lot of time for a matinee movie. I eat breakfast, I walk, I do a few unavoidable chores, and I write the blog. Lately, I call that a pretty full day.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3560

I don't think I'm cut out to binge watch a series on Netflix. I'm enjoying the new Ken Burns documentary on PBS, but it's so long that it makes me fidgety. It's hard to turn away though. Every segment is interesting and some of the recent shows bring back memories. I don't like to sit in front of a TV for this long though. Especially in the evening. It disrupts my schedule. I've probably missed a lot of interesting shows writing the blog every night for so many years. On the other hand, I might have missed nothing. Writing seems more valuable to me than passively watching something. To me it's the mental equivalent of walking. You've got to keep your body and mind on the move.

I got my walking done early today so we could spend the afternoon with the Dalmatians. It's amazing how relaxed the new dogs seem now. They have adjusted well to life in the kennel. For dogs that were running stray or were abused, the kennel is kind of like a halfway house. It allows them to relax and start to feel safe again while they wait for their forever homes.

Rolly is gaining weight and is almost finished with his heartworm treatment. Sock's skin problems are  getting much better and he is turning into a very handsome dog. Hank is on a special diet now and it appears to be working. So far, there has been no more vomiting or bloody stools. Jasmine and Jelly Bean are playful now and eager to see us. It's hard to believe that they were so nervous just a few weeks ago. Charlie continues to amaze us with the progress he's made. He's a very smart boy.

Poor Treasure was the only one with problems today. We noticed a suspicious growth on her belly a few weeks ago and it turned out to be a mammary tumor. We think the tumor is benign, but it still needs to be removed. When we finished visiting with all the dogs we took her to the vet on our way home. She will have surgery in the morning. Treasure has already had another tumor removed when she first entered the rescue program. Hopefully, this will be the last. You'd never know she was headed for surgery tomorrow. She was full of energy this afternoon and as always, enjoyed rolling over for treats.

Tomorrow, the tree guy returns to remove what is left of the large Elm tree that fell earlier this Summer. The yard is going to look bare without this once impressive tree. I hope we won't end up losing all the trees. All of them have seen better days and most have lost a few limbs over the years. Hopefully the tree removal won't cause neighbor problems. One of our neighbors hates having the alley blocked even for short periods of time.

The security light in the back yard has quit working again. It must be the temperature that is causing the problem. The hotter the day, the shorter amount of time the light stays on at night. One of these days I'll break down and get the silly thing fixed.

Sage is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day