Day 3956

We woke up to heavy rain this morning. Where did that come from? I guess I haven't been keeping track of the weather. Along with the rain came a new cold front. It was actually pretty chilly today. We couldn't take our regular morning walk because of the weather, so I got the pumps on the roof started, ate my breakfast, and tried to make the bed around Dawn, who refused to move.

Eventually the rain stopped and we took Dawn on her walk. She loved the cold weather. She was frisky this morning and had a lot more energy than I did. The rain must enhance smells, because she wanted to stop and smell everything. When we arrived at Pelican Bay, all the Pelicans were out of the water and up on the shore. This was the first time I've seen this happen. Usually the birds perch on submerged logs in the shallow water. The Pelicans were huge up close, but Dawn had no interest in them. She mostly just wanted to check her pee-mail by sniffing every rock and tree.

The abrupt change in the weather made me feel even older than usual. Every joint in my body hurt this morning. Most of these aches and pains were very familiar. They are a big reason why I try to stay active. If I were sedentary, I think I would feel the effects of aging even more. Activity does help. By the time we returned from our walk, I was starting to feel normal again.

I don't know where the day went today. I certainly didn't do all that much. Two walks, breakfast, dinner, and a short nap seemed to use up the entire day. I was planning to practice using the stacking software again this afternoon, but never got around to it. I didn't spend much time watching the Boca Chica live feed either. Things were strangely quiet at Space X for a change. 

I didn't watch the debate last night, but clearly it didn't change anyone's opinion. When I was channel surfing during breakfast this morning, Fox and OAN said that Trump clearly won the debate, while MSNBC and CNN said the Biden clearly won the debate. No wonder I just watch the business channels these days. I'm sick of politics.

I hope my car starts tomorrow morning. I haven't used it in nearly two weeks. I always rent a car for my trips and I haven't been shopping lately. It's time to get groceries again though. Hopefully my battery is still good. I have no real desire to go to the grocery store any more, but we still need food. We are actually eating better during the pandemic than we were before. Having a good meal is definitely something you can still do at home.

I'd kind of like to buy a new telescope, but it makes no sense whatsoever. There is nothing to see in Dallas's light polluted skies and I'm still apprehensive about driving to a dark place out in the country late at night. Every time I turn on the local news there's something about another overnight shooting on city streets. Sadly, Dallas is not a safe place to be driving around at 3 AM.

I guess I'll have to be content with periodic trips to McDonald Observatory. I feel safe out there and the skies are amazing. The only amazing thing about Dallas is that it has always been a great place to find a good job. Dallas has been good for my career. Not so sure if it's a great place to retire.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3955

I learned something new today. I downloaded the compositing software I needed, watched a few YouTube tutorials, and started stacking a sequence of Milky Way photos I'd taken out at the observatory. The whole idea of stacking is to take a series of identical images and then layer them on top of each other to eliminate artifacts and electronic noise. The software actually works and really does clean up night sky images while leaving everything looking natural. The process takes a lot of time though and I'm not sure if it's that much better than the internal noise reduction that's already built into my camera. I took some pictures using the camera's internal noise reduction and they were almost as good as the time consuming stacking procedure.

Actually, I was more pleased to discover that my pictures look pretty good right out of that camera than I was to learn how to stack images. It's always nice to learn something new though. Even thought I'm too lazy to stack my night sky images all the time, I'm sure I'll use the stacking software in the future. It's always good to be knowledgable about this stuff when you're talking with other photographers.

It's a good thing I had something new to learn today, because there wasn't much else going on. The weather is still nice and Dawn continues to do well on her morning walks. We have no idea if her seizures will return at some point, but for now everything seems fine. Dawn is definitely back to her old ways, taking long walks in the morning and then sleeping on the bed for the rest of the day.

I kind of felt like sleeping on the bed for the rest of the day myself. I'm still having a hard time catching up on my sleep. I go to bed too late and get up too early. I thought I'd sleep a lot less while I was out at the observatory, but I got almost the same amount of sleep out at the Prude Ranch that I get here. I stayed up a lot later, but I also slept in a lot later every morning. It appears that I get about five hours of sleep each night wherever I am.

When I took the trash out to the curb tonight I was amazed at how few stars I could see. It felt like Dallas was on a different planet than Fort Davis. It's clear out tonight, but basically all I could see was the moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. It's a shame that I now know how to take good star pictures, but there are no stars to photograph. Oh, well. I guess I could drive out in the country to find darker skies, but I don't like driving at night and there's nowhere close where I'd even feel safe.

The Boca Chica live feed was interesting today. The Space X folks added the nose cone and forward wings to the SN8 booster that was already sitting on the launch pad. This thing is huge and really looks like a rocket now. It is quite impressive. It's amazing how different Space X is than NASA. They basically drive the rocket parts down a state highway and assemble them in a field. The activity never stops. There are three shifts that operate 24 hours a day. I still think these guys are going to get to Mars first.

They say Covid cases are spiking in Dallas again. It's a shame that nobody can seem to get a handle on this. I don't think the Europeans are doing any better than we are at this point. I don't even know anyone who is sick now, but we continue to be bombarded with dire statistics every day. This is not good. I'm always wondering when my luck is going to run out. 

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3954

I didn't do much today, but it still felt like a busy day. Dawn must have felt good this morning because she chose a longer route on her own. We walked almost five miles this morning with no issues at all. Dawn completed all her meds several days ago with no signs of a relapse. Her temperature is normal. Her behavior is normal. And all is well.

After spending an inordinate amount of time eating breakfast, I did some accounting and paid a few more online bills. I wish I had the nerve to just quit keeping track of things. One of my fantasies has always been having the ability to just buy what I want whenever I feel like it without even considering the price or how much is in my account. That's not going to happen. I'm a methodical, careful planner, but it gets old sometimes.

I had a conversation in Messenger this morning with a young niece who is interested in the same things I am. These conversations are rare, but I always end up feeling slightly better about the millennial generation. Many of these kids are hopeless, but the ones who chose to take STEM classes and pursue a difficult goal no matter how hard it seemed at the beginning are going to do just fine. I feel the same way about some of the younger folks I've met at NASA events. The future belongs to those who chose science over selfies.

I spent some time this afternoon learning how to enhance photos of the night sky by stacking multiple images of the same scene using special software that can align all the stars in each images. Usually you need at least ten images to see much of a difference. I have plenty of raw material to work with, but this is going to take a while. I just watched some YouTube tutorial videos today while looking at my notes from the workshop. When I find some time later this week I may start stacking some real images.

The rescue group got a call today from a veterinarian who still wants to do Christmas photos. This came as a surprise to me. I was fairly convinced that there would be no Santa Paws photos this year because of Covid-19. Everything else has been canceled this Fall, so I just assumed that photo events would be canceled as well. I'm a little apprehensive about doing this, but the more I thought about it, I'm pretty sure everything will be fine. Unless Santa himself has the virus, I'm spending most of my day with a bunch of dogs. Dalmatian Rescue could certainly use a fundraiser, especially since our golf tournament got canceled. Anyway, if I survive my upcoming trip to Florida to attend the Crew 1 launch, doing Santa photos will be a piece of cake.

When I looked at the Boca Chica live feed today I noticed that they are putting a nose cone on the current Starship prototype. This thing is starting to look like a real rocket now. No more flying grain silos I guess. I'm still amazed at how fast Elon Musk works. NASA has spent years developing Artemis, but Elon has already accomplished more with his Starship program in just a few months. I'd still like to go down to Boca Chica and see a Starship launch myself, but it's going to be hard to get invited.

Janet says there's a new Dalmatian at the kennel now. I'm curious about this new dog and will need to update the website the next time we go visit the kennel. Dalmatians, rockets, and stars. What else do you need? It may seem like a small world to you, but it is an entire universe to me. 

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3953

The weather was warmer today. You can almost tell what temperature it is by how fast Dawn walks in the morning. She seems very sensitive to temperature and walked a little slower this morning. I'm equally sensitive to changes in the pollen count. My allergies have returned with a vengeance. I'm blowing my nose constantly again. It's hard to know what to wear on our morning walks. Sometimes the temperature remains constant. Other times it is ten degrees warmer by the time we return. The only thing constant about Dallas weather is that it is constantly changing. Needless to say, I liked the cool, dry, and allergy free air in the Davis Mountains a lot better.

Today was uneventful. I unpacked my bags, put my stuff away, and set then up a few more accounts for online payments. I guess I'm done with writing checks and paying for things in person. I've even set up an online account for the storage warehouse. I used to pay for my storage space a year at a time. I'm paying month to month now in hopes of getting rid of enough stuff to move to a smaller, cheaper unit later this year. Janet loves to throw stuff away, so she said she'll help.

I got a bid for taking down the big Oak tree in the back year. The bid seemed horrendously high, so I guess I'm get another bid. I wish this tree was healthier, because one of my favorite things about the yard when I bought the house years ago was all the big mature trees. Sadly, these tree are nearing the end of their life. I see trees just like our own trees fall in the park for no reason at all there doesn't even need to be a storm. Every time I see one of these huge trees fall, I wonder if one of our trees is going to be next. I'd hate to have a tree fall into the house, or even worse into the lawyer's house next door.

I have all these cool pictures from my trip, but I decided years ago that I would always include a single square picture taken on the same day as my latest blog post. All I could find today was some pathetic leaves trying their best to show some Fall color. Most of the leaves just turn brown here, but occasionally we get a little color. I guess I could always add more pictures, but I won't do it for the same reason that I always drink a large fruit smoothie every morning. Consistency is everything to me. It drives some people nuts, but I find comfort in doing the same things over and over again. Maybe I'm really a dog. All our dogs have been nervous of changes in their schedule and wanted a very consistent life.

I'm glad I already voted. It looks like the lines are getting longer now. The trouble with social media is that there are no secret places anymore. If there is a polling place without much of a line, everyone takes selfies and brags about how quickly they voted. The next day the place with no line has a huge line. I think life would be so much better if social media didn't exist. We don't really need to know what everyone else is doing.

I wonder when NASA is going to reschedule the Space X Crew 1 launch? I was feeling pretty good about making the trip to Florida when Covid cases seemed to be declining. Now, cases are spiking again almost everywhere. I wonder if we're ever going to get a handle on this thing? I'm pretty good about wearing a mask and keeping my distance, but there's that pesky airline flight to Orlando. I learned recently that a Dallas woman actually died of Covid while she was on a plane returning from Arizona. That's a little unnerving.

Emily is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3952

No more head in the stars for a while. I have returned to my regular routine. We visited Charlie again today. He's still the only Dalmatian at the kennel. As you can see, he's always happy to see us. Charlie might have to remain the only dog for a while. When Covid took away the rescue group's ability to have in-person events, it also took away our biggest source of revenue. We usually have a golf tournament every Fall as a fundraiser. There won't be one this year and it's going to hurt. Like everything else about the coronavirus, everyone hopes we can return to normal soon. The dogs depend on us.

Janet and I spent quite a while with Charlie this afternoon. Like many rescue dogs, Charlie has a few issues, but he is very smart and loves to play. He probably needs to be the only dog when he finds a home, but he'd be a great companion for the right person. I keep thinking that he'd be fabulous at agility events. He's very athletic, learns commands easily, and loves to play.

Dawn is very quiet and reserved compared to Charlie. She doesn't race around like a maniac or endlessly fetch a ball, but she does love her walks. Since it was cooler again this morning, she was in fine spirits. We had a nice walk before breakfast and took our time so she could smell every rock and tree. Dawn finished all her meds a few days ago and we're hoping that she's back to normal now. Only time will tell, but so far she is doing very well. Hopefully, she won't have another seizure for a very long time.

I still haven't finished unpacking yet. I think I need to catch up on my sleep. I stayed up very late every night at the observatory, but still woke up when I normally do. The lack of sleep catches up with you. Especially at my age. Every time I thought about getting organized today, a little nap seemed a lot more tempting. There's no rush. I've got all the time on the world to put my cameras away, do some laundry, and put my clothes back where they belong.

I looked at the pictures I took at the observatory with a critical eye today and was pleased with the results. I was a little worried that the pictures might not be in sharp focus, since it's always hard to tell with the camera I use. When I looked at the images on a good monitor though, most of them were very sharp. It's hard for me to focus on stars, since they are very dim in the viewfinder. Since the lenses I use are able to focus past infinity and I often shoot with the lens wide open, getting the focus perfect is critical.  There is not much room for error. I've heard that some photographers nail their focus in the daytime and then duct tape the lens in place so the focus point can't move. I might try this next time, although I would never use duct tape on an expensive lens. It seems like you should be able to lock the focus on a lens, so you don't accidentally twist it to a different setting in the dark. Believe me, it is easy to do.

I found the replacement part I need for my Gitzo tripod. I guess I'll order it tomorrow. I probably won't need the tripod again for a while, but I like to have my equipment ready. I'm also kind of obsessive about broken things. It doesn't matter whether it's a car, a musical instrument, or a piece of photo gear, I want my equipment in good condition and ready to go to work. Too bad it's not this easy to replace the worn out things on my own body. I think my cameras are in better condition than I am.

I have no real plans for tomorrow. I guess it would be a good time to unpack. There's no need for suitcases cluttering up the office. There's way to much clutter here already.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3951

I'm back in Dallas again. As always, I miss the Davis Mountains. The stark difference between this isolated wilderness and the urban sprawl I call home doesn't really hit me until I reach the outskirts of Fort Worth. The closer I get to home, the worse the traffic gets. I thought the streets would be fairly empty, since I was arriving on Sunday evening. Wrong. It seemed like rush hour on a normal work day to me. I counted three major accidents between downtown and my house. I had just finished a 1500 mile journey without seeing a single wreck. During my stay in the Davis Mountains, I didn't hear a single police siren or firetruck either.

There were only ten people at the astrophotography workshop. Most were serious amateur astronomers or professional photographers. Almost everyone was envious of the astronomers who lived at the observatory. "You must love living out here," we'd say. "It's so peaceful that you can almost forget that the rest of the world exists." "That's true," one of the astronomers told us, "but you have to remember that there are no good grocery stores anywhere in the area, I haven't been to a good restaurant in years, and I have to travel over one hundred miles to see my doctor."

This is definitely not a lifestyle for everyone. I'd think that you would either love it or hate it. The truth is that most of the residents at the observatory love the place and hate it. It is just so different from almost anywhere you could compare it with. If your interest is astronomy, this place remains the holy grail. It's hard to overlook the fact that Mount Locke has the darkest skies of any professional observatory in America. When you look up at the sky at night, you learn to overlook the observatory's many limitations.

I really enjoyed my trip. One of the best things was that I spent four days without any knowledge of what was happening in the rest of the world. There was no TV or radio at the ranch cabin where I stayed. I didn't even listen to the radio during the long drive to and from the observatory. During the long nights on the mountain, there was plenty of time for conversation with the nine other workshop participants. Not once did anyone mention politics. There was no talk about the election or the supreme court. Nobody argued or bickered about anything. I liked these people. These were interesting, very intelligent folks who realized that there is a lot more to life than the 24-hour news cycle.

I was amazed that I made the trip back to Dallas today on a single tank of gas. I had to stop for gas on my way to the observatory, but not on the way back. Weird. The only thing I can think of is that it takes more energy to go uphill than downhill. There's quite an increase in elevation between Dallas and Fort Davis. Consequently, it's all downhill coming back. I made the entire trip without stopping. That's a long time to remain seated. When I finally got out of the car, it felt strange to stand up again. I also really had to pee. It took me a minute or so before walking felt normal again. I wonder how long haul truckers and pilots do this sort of thing. It can't be very healthy.

McDonald Observatory is having star parties again, but it's not the same. 300 people applied to attend the most recent star party, but only 40 got to come. It's that restrictive now. Visitors don't get to look through telescopes anymore. The telescope part of the evening is all virtual now. Instead of looking through telescopes, people watch telescope images projected on a big screen set up in the outdoor amphitheater. I suspect the experience is kind of like watching a YouTube video. All of us at the workshop were wondering when the observatory would return to normal again. There weren't any answers. We were the first group to get any sort of access to the mountain. It's a start, but there is still a long way to go. As I watched a thin crescent moon set over Mount Livermore last night, I wondered when I'd be back. I just don't know.

Little Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3950

I was a little better organized today. Instead of lugging all my heavy gear all over the mountain, I left most of it in the car and just walked back to the car when I needed to change lenses. I figured out how to program the Prude Ranch into the GPS, so it was easy to find my way home tonight. We learned a lot at the afternoon workshop sessions. I think I understand the principals of stacking now and took long sequences of picctures to assemble later when I get back to Dallas. We went to new locations tonight. The stars were the same, but the surrounding were different. It's still a little hard for me to find my way around in the dark without a flashlight. I almost fell in a hole, but I survived the evening without a mishap. I didn't drop or lose any equipment tonight. Like I said, I was better prepared.

It's weird being up on the mountain at night. It's so quiet that you can hear a human voice from five miles away. At some point during the evening the coyotes began to howl. One coyote would howl and then other would answer from all over the place. There were dozens of them. We were surrounded by coyotes. The astronomers why live ion the mountain seem used to the wildlife. Everyone has had an encounter with rattlesnakes and one of the workshop leaders said he opened his back door one evening and a bunch of Javelinas tried to come inside.

One of the hardest things about astrophotography is trying to keep your camera focused in the dark. Autofocus doesn't work on stars and sometimes lenses focus past infinity. It's easy to bump things in the dark and there is no reliable way to check your focus until after your exposure is taken. You hate to take a sequence of twenty pictures and then discover that your focus was off a bit. Stars are supposed to be crisp little points of light. Even a tiny mistake will make them go soft. I had plenty of perfect exposures, but as you might expect, I had my share of failures as well.

I went back to Indian Lodge for breakfast this morning. This time, instead of taking my meal back to the ranch, I walked over to a little picnic table overlooking a small canyon and ate my breakfast outside. It was a beautiful morning and a bit warmer than yesterday. The Davis Mountains State Park is a bird sanctuary and it was peaceful to listen to all the birds sing while I ate. It's amazingly quiet up here I like that.

It's kind of sad that there are no real plans to reopen the observatory to the public. They've started having star parties again, but nobody can look through telescopes anymore. Attendance is really restricted as well. My astronomer friend opened up one of the domes for us tonight so we could photograph a telescope looking out at the sky through an open dome. Everyone wanted to look through the telescope, but that was off limits. I have a feeling that it's going to be a long, long time before I get to look through the eyepiece of one of the large telescopes again.

We all had an opportunity to stay for a third day and do some more photography Sunday night. I've already photographed everything I can think of though, and I'm very tired. I've really enjoyed my stay, but two nights on the mountain is enough. I'm always the oldest person at these type of events. My age is starting to show, but I'm still hanging in there. I'll make the long drive back to Dallas tomorrow. At least the traffic will be a lot better on Sunday. There are still a lot of people on the road though. Now that nobody is flying, they're all taking road trips instead. The Indian Lodge is completely booked through December. 

There may be another workshop out at the observatory later in 2021. I'll probably go to that one as well if it ever happens. I don't even care what the topic is. There's something special about The Davis Mountains. I just like being out here.

Diva is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3949

The first day of the astrophotography workshop was a big success. Yesterday's high winds cleared away all the dust and I woke up this morning to beautiful clear skies. I was able to get a take-out breakfast at the Indian Lodge restaurant a few miles down the road and then took a walk along one of the ranch roads before heading for the observatory.

Since I arrived a little early, I learned that I was the last member of the general public to leave the observatory before Covid shut the place down and was also the first person to return. It was good to be back. This afternoon we learned a lot of specialized camera techniques designed to make shooting pictures at night a little easier. I know my way around a camera pretty well, but I learned a lot that I didn't know before. Nobody could answer my questions about how to avoid losing things in the dark. I was very careful tonight, but I did end up losing a small piece of my tripod. I don't know how it fell off, but it's a safe bet that I'll never see it again.

I think I got some nice shots tonight, but nothing is finished yet. A lot of astrophotography is about the processing you do afterwards. To get the best images, you take a lot of pictures of the same thing and then stack them all together. This eliminates the grainy look you see in some night sky photos. We're going to learn how to do this tomorrow.

One thing I learned tonight was that I'm not really made for standing outside for six hours on a cold night. My feet were killing me when we finished our photo session around 1 AM. I definitely showed my age every time I had to kneel down and get back up again. It's hard to set the camera when your hands get really cold as well. I'm not complaining though. It was a memorable evening. The sky was even clearer than it was last March. It's amazing what you can see on a dark night. I saw at least ten meteors tonight, and there wasn't even a meteor shower. If you look carefully, you can often see satellite crossing the sky. I should have brought my binoculars, but I had way too much heavy stuff to carry already.

It's a good thing I was driving slow on the way back to the Prude Ranch after the workshop was over for the night. I almost hit a deer. It was a huge buck with quite a rack on his head. When I was walking this morning, I saw Mountain Lion tracks. There are lots of critters up here. When we were up on the mountain tonight we saw someone shining a searchlight way off in the distance. This was in an area where there weren't any roads, so everyone wondered what was going on. "Some rancher is out hunting wild hogs," we were told.

I'm going to sleep late on Saturday morning. At least I hope I will. I should have written the blog earlier, but then I wouldn't have had anything to say. Daily blogging and astronomy aren't really a great mix, because both happen at night. At least I've finally figured out how to backdate a post so it will appear on the correct day. It may say I posted this late Friday night, but it is really the wee hours of Saturday morning.

If you want to try this sort of thing, get a pair of the most comfortable shoes you can find and dress very warmly. You are going to get cold anyway, but it's worth it. There's something very peaceful about looking up at the night sky. In today's crazy world, I'll take any kind of peaceful I can get. I'm looking forward to doing this again tomorrow night.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3948

What a long day. I wanted a little activity before starting the long drive to West Texas, so we took Dawn on a four mile walk before I left the house. I ate a light breakfast, finished packing my bags, and off I went. I wanted to be on the road before 9 AM, but it was closer to 10 before I was on my way. This always happens. It is next to impossible for me to get an early start.

I thought I"d remembered everything this time, but as the miles rolled along, I kept remembering little things that I'd forgotten. I forgot to take shampoo. I forgot a nail clipper. I forgot a ball point pen to take notes with. I'm sure I'll think of other things I forgot as I go to sleep tonight. Usually there is shampoo and pens at the hotel. Not this time. The little ranch cabin I'm staying in only has the bare necessities.

It's such a long drive to West Texas. Most of the drive is on I-20 which is always filled with large trucks. I find myself passing eighteen wheelers every few minutes. The highway between Midland and Odessa is filled with even larger oilfield trucks. There always seems to be construction too. Traffic really backs up quickly when the freeway becomes a one lave road. I wish there were scenic backroads I could take to the Davis Mountains, but basically the middle of Texas isn't very scenic and I-20 is the only choice you get.

I was making pretty good time today until I stopped for gas at a place where the pumps wouldn't accept my credit card. The logical thing to do would be to just drive on to the next station. Never mind. My tank was low and I wasn't sure I could make it to the next station. I finally got the station attendant to get the pumps working, but the whole process made me thirty minutes late. I need to fill up more often on the trip back.

With the exception of the gas stop, I drove straight through. I was hoping to catch the Prude Ranch manager before she left work at 5 PM. Needless to say, that didn't happen. I arrived around 6 PM and the place seemed empty. I went from building to building until I found the office. The place was dark and empty, but a map of the facility and my room key were waiting for me on the front desk.

I'm glad I took a cooler with sandwiches and water. There definitely wasn't any place to eat as evening approached. I brought one beer with m so I could relax after the long drive and immediately wish I'd brought more. Janet made me an excellent ham and cheese sandwich, which I ate in my room. Actually, eating in my room was probably a lot smarter than trying to find a restaurant. The observatory will be serving us some sort of an outdoor dinner tomorrow evening, so all I've got to worry about is breakfast.

Hopefully, the skies will be clear tomorrow night. I drove through a major dust storm getting here. I couldn't even see the David Mountains until I was about thirty miles away. It was very windy today, so maybe the dust will blow away. I can't hear any wind now. It's so quiet out here that it is kind of spooky. There is no traffic noise. No planes overhead. No police sirens. And no barking dogs. It seems unnatural for it to be this quiet. I should sleep well tonight. On the other hand, if I do hear a noise, it will probably break me out. 

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3947

It's time to get serious about packing. I really haven't started yet. I'm the absolute worst about travel planning. I wait till the last possible minute. I forget things. I can't even decide what to take. I'm still undecided about which cameras to bring with me and I have no idea where I'm going to eat breakfast. There were several restaurants that I tried to call, but nobody answers their phone anymore. I can't even get the ranch where I'm staying to answer their phone. They did send me a confirmation letter a few days ago, but I still have fears of arriving late and finding the entire place dark and locked up.

I did pick up my rental car, but even that was a little weird. When Janet dropped me off at the Enterprise office, I quickly discovered that the place was empty and locked up. What now? I wandered around aimlessly for a while, looking for an entrance and finally a maintenance guy pointed to the nearby Alamo office and told me, "You have to go in there." For reasons that were never explained to me, Alamo was renting cars for National and Enterprise too. There was a small staff that didn't know the available cars very well, but eventually I found something with in-dash GPS and blind spot warning lights on the mirrors. I never care what kind of car I get, but I always make sure it has GPS and blind spot indicators. Hopefully, this car has cruise control as well. There are very long stretches of flat uneventful roads in Texas.

We had another nice walk this morning. Dawn loves these cool Fall mornings. The temperature was in the high 50's when we left the house and didn't climb past the mid 60's for the rest of the morning. When the temperature remains low, Dawn is back to her old self. She didn't even seem that tired when we returned to the house. 

I wish ground fog was easier to photograph. There was lots of fog early this morning. It's very pretty visually, but it often seems to disappear in the camera. I did notice that all the Pelicans were back this morning. We haven't seen the female Muscovy duck in over a week though. Hopefully, we will never see the coyotes when Dawn is with us. I don't want to tangle with a pack of coyotes.

Now that I'm on the press list for both ULA and Space X, I'm starting to get lots of notices about upcoming launches. It's kind of an abundance of riches. I could never afford to go to all these launches, but it's nice to know I'm invited. I still plan to attend the Space X Crew 1 launch, but it hasn't been rescheduled yet. It was scheduled to launch on Halloween at one point. I hope the launch isn't pushed back to Thanksgiving now. Janet an I would still like to have a nice Thanksgiving dinner. It's a shame that buffets have probably disappeared forever. A lavish buffet brunch on Thanksgiving is the best.

I might not have WiFi on my trip. Yikes. The observatory is still officially closed and the astrophotography workshop is being held outdoors. There will be no fast Internet at the Astronomer's Lodge this time. The remote ranch cabin where I'll be staying probably doesn't have WiFi either. This presents a real problem for a daily blogger like me. What do I do if I can't upload a post each evening? I might have to write my entries offline and then post them retroactively to the correct day when I return. I hope it doesn't come to this. I've gone a long, long time without missing a day.

We'll see what happens. I wish I was more of a free spirit and wasn't so apprehensive about travel. I usually enjoy myself after I have arrived at my destination, but getting there can be a bitch. Hopefully, this trip will go smoothly.

Abby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3946

I voted today. There was a line, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the lines I've been seeing on TV. The whole process took me about thirty minutes from start to finish. The line moved smoothly and everyone was very polite. I think all sides were well represented at my polling place. Behind me in line was a nervous looking guy wearing a N-95 mask with a clear plastic visor on top of it. Ahead of me in line was a couple wearing Duck Dynasty t-shirts. I don't really understand the controversy about voting in person. My experience this afternoon seemed easier, safer, and much less chaotic than going to the grocery store.

I'm officially a Sky & Telescope contributor now. I signed a contract with the magazine this afternoon. Working with this magazine is very different than other magazines I've written for. They are very detail oriented. They also pay pretty well, which was a welcome surprise. I'm used to getting paid in author copies of the publication. I don't know if I will ever become a prolific author of articles about astronomy and space travel, but this is a good start.

The weather was cold enough this morning to require long pants on our morning walk. This is the first time this season that I haven't worn shorts. Dawn loved the cooler weather. She not only seemed strong on today's walk, she actually seemed frisky. All our Dalmatians have preferred cold weather. We have sweaters for really cold days, but usually the dogs think wearing a sweater is ridiculous. 

About half the Pelicans have returned to Pelican Bay. I have no idea where they went yesterday. I also have no idea where the other half who didn't return are today. I don't know why Janet and I spend so much time trying to guess what the ducks and pelicans will do next. We have very little knowledge about the habits of waterfowl. The birds are interesting though. I'd rather speculate about ducks than the people we encounter in the park.

My seasonal allergies were so bad this morning that I took an Allegra-D for the first time this season. The pill appeared to do nothing. I woke up with a stuffy nose that was making me breathe through my mouth. As soon as I got dressed, the stuffy nose turned into a runny nose. I went through quite a few of those blue Scott shop towels on our morning walk. I don't even use Kleenex anymore. It just isn't strong enough. My congestion cleared up a bit later in the day, but I still don't know if there was a change in air quality or it just took a long time for the Allegra to kick in. I guess I'll take some antihistamines with me on my trip. I don't like how they make me feel, but I don't like a constant runny nose either.

The Delta IV Heavy launch got delayed again. Maybe if the NROL-44 mission keeps getting delayed it will eventually take place at the same time as the Space X Crew 1 mission that I've already been approved to attend. It is doubtful that this will happen, but it would be nice to be able to see both launches with a single trip to Florida. The Crew 1 mission keeps getting delayed as well. So far, these delays are fine by me. The later the launches are scheduled, the more likely it will be that hurricane season will be over. Colder weather means fewer bugs as well.

I hope the air is clear tomorrow. These seasonal allergies are driving me nuts. Dogs get allergies too, but mostly it shows up as skin irritation. I don't know if itchy skin would be worse than a runny nose. Luckily, Dawn doesn't seem to have any allergy problems.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3945

The sky looked very weird this morning. The air felt clean and cool, but there was a thick haze that totally obscured distant objects and dimmed the sun. Was this fog, smoke or dust? Usually you hear something on the news about dramatic weather like this, but Janet and I had heard nothing. My guess is dust, but where was it coming from? I guess the hazy sky could have also been caused by the wildfires on the West Coast, but the fact that the sky was clear again by mid-afternoon made this seem less likely. The haze wasn't fog though. I know fog.

The other strange thing we noticed on this morning's walk was that all the White Pelicans were gone. Several dozen birds had just disappeared. All the other ducks, geese, and assorted cranes and herons were still in their appointed places, so the disappearance of the Pelicans was even more of a mystery. Was there a connection between the hazy skies and the disappearance? Who knows. Nature can be very complicated.

Today was Dalmatian day again. Charlie is currently the only Dalmatian residing at the kennel, but he still deserves a visit. Charlie is always very glad to see us. We play ball with him until he burns off his excess energy and feels like relaxing. Sometimes this takes a while. Charlie is always chewing something. He loves squeaky toys, but we've learned that those indestructible red rubber Kongs survive a lot longer.

I received a copy of my edited manuscript from Sky & Telescope today. Not bad. They cut about seven hundred words so the article would fit the layout, but it still felt like something I wrote. Hey, it was a long article. Seven hundred words wasn't that much of a loss. I've learned not to argue about editor's changes. Sometimes the changes make the article better and it's very rare that the changes actually make the article worse. Usually the changes are just to make the article fit in the space allowed. SpaceFlight Magazine always changes everything to the British spelling which took a little while to get used to. Now I kind of like these British spellings. I'm feeling a little British myself.

I've got to start packing for my trip to the observatory soon. I've always hated packing. I like to travel light, so I inevitably forget something essential. The temperature is already very cold at night on the top of Mount Locke, so I'm going to have to take winter clothes. The last time I was out at the observatory I brought the wrong shoes. What are the right shoes though? I still don't have any shoes that are comfortable for long periods of time. I'll probably err on the side of caution and wear snake-proof boots again.  It's probably already too cold for the snakes to be active, but there are lots of them out there. Did I mention that I hate snakes.

Mars reaches opposition with the sun tomorrow night. Since the planet won't get this close to us again until 2035, I took my telescope out for a look. I saw a bright orange disk, just like I did at the last opposition. My telescope isn't big enough to see polar icecaps or distinct features. It's still worth a look though. Maybe I'll get a better view when I'm out at the observatory.

It feels like another cold front has arrived. It was certainly cold when I took Dawn outside to pee before bedtime. I appreciate the cooler temperatures, but I wish the weather was more consistent. It's a crazy world. I wish everything was more consistent.

Kuuipo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3944

The people who visit the park in the morning are completely different than the ones who visit in the afternoon. When I walk in the morning I see people full of purpose. I still have hope for humanity when I see these people. They are athletes in training. They are trying to lose weight. They are walking their dogs. They are lugging cameras with long telephoto lenses to photograph shorebirds. I want to give these people a thumbs up when we pass them on the trails.

I completely lose my faith in humanity on my afternoon walks. Today I saw a photographer taking family portraits in a patch of poison ivy. I saw a group almost start a grass fire with their barbecue grill. I saw a guy fall out of his hammock on his ass. And I saw a mother and daughter going way too fast down a steep hill on skateboards. They both crashed and although neither seemed seriously injured, there was a lot of blood.

I guess I identify with the purposeful people, even though I have a strong lazy streak. I finally hauled a bucket of liquid silicon up to the roof today and continued my repair work. I was able to patch most of the questionable areas before I became too tired. Even though the weather was nice on our early walk this morning, it had warmed up considerably by mid-afternoon. After an hour or two on the roof I was exhausted and drenched in sweat. I still have enough of the silicon material for two more repair efforts. I think I'll wait until after the next rain and see how these repairs hold up.

I didn't even think about going to the gym today. After taking a short nap to cool down, I vacuumed the house. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to find some camera gear that I want to take with me to the observatory. I know I've used this little adapter that allows you to connect one brand of lenses to a different brand of camera. I couldn't find it anywhere. Sadly, this is a frequent occurrence. I can't remember where anything is anymore.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not as sharp as I was in my 30's and 40's. This is why I wonder why we let so many really old people run for public office. Term limits might be a good idea, but age limits would be even better. When I see some of these geezers on TV, it's embarrassing. Both parties are to blame. Apparently, power is very addictive. I wouldn't know. I've never had any.

This weekend has gone quickly. Tomorrow is some sort of holiday. Is it Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples' Day? Maybe it's both. At any rate, we won't be getting any mail. I'd better not plan any trips to the bank either. I'm sure stores will be open. I still need to go to REI and look for a headlamp with a red beam that I can use to check camera settings in the dark. On second thought, I might not do any of these things. I just remembered that tomorrow is Dalmatian day. We still need to visit Charlie at the kennel.

Dawn continues to get better. Janet fixed a delicious dinner tonight. Sky & Telescope really seems to like my article. Im old and forgetful, but life is good.

Katy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3943

Dawn had a great day. For the first time since she became sick, we were able to complete our regular five mile morning walk. The nice weather helped, but Dawn seems to be getting better as well. When we returned, she still had plenty of energy and was eager to beg for treats while we ate breakfast. I hope this continues. Dawn is almost finished with her meds, so we should get a better idea soon if her condition is stable.

I had a lot of items on my shopping list today and ended up having to go to several stores. I'm still a bit surprised at how crowded stores have become. Why are we worrying about restaurants and churches when the grocery stores are jam packed? People wear their masks, but nobody pays any attention to distancing. All those little X marks and circles on the floor appear to mean nothing. I've heard all the arguments about air flow in restaurants and singing in churches. I guess they make sense until you realize that airlines are still filling their planes to capacity and people are mingling and talking as loudly in public as they ever did. Rules are rules, but a lot of them are completely arbitrary.

I found out today that the Space X Crew-1 launch has been postponed until sometime in November. Good thing I haven't started making travel arrangements for that trip yet. It's amazing how many launches have been canceled or scrubbed this Fall. Maybe this is a good thing for me though. Creating more distance between the trips to West Texas and Florida makes it a little easier for me to pay for them. Hopefully, later in the year there will be fewer bugs in Florida as well.

I'm trying to decide when the lines at the polls will be shortest. Do I go early, before everyone knows that early voting has started? Or do I wait until the initial rush is over? It's hard to say. Sometimes it just depends on which polling location you choose. Early voting is still the best though. The lines are always longer everywhere on election day.

I still haven't made it up on the roof. I guess it just shows how much I hate this job. I keep checking the weather every day because I know that I'm going to regret it if I slip up and let it rain again before I make any repairs. Everything still looks good, but the weather app on my phone is remarkably unreliable. Will I get the job done tomorrow? Who knows. They say that Sunday is a day of rest.

I'm wondering what I'm going to eat in West Texas. There were never many restaurants to begin with, and most of them are closed now. I thought about bringing food from home, but there's no way to heat it up out at my spartan ranch cabin. I was looking for ideas when I was shopping today, but all I could come up with was granola bars. Oh, well. I've still got a few days to think about this.

One of these days I need to start going back to the gym. My gym is bound to be cleaner and safer than the grocery stores I visited today. Walking is good exercise, but it doesn't do much for my arms. While I'm walking it's easy to ignore the fact that I'm lazy. I don't know why Dawn and I haven't become instant soul mates. Both of us love to sleep.

Neo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3942

Dawn seems really sensitive to temperature. It was a little warmer this morning and she didn't seem to have as much energy. We turned around early on our morning walk and only walked three miles today. I don't think anything is wrong. Dawn seemed fine for the rest of the day while we were at home.

I continued my correspondence with the Sky & Telescope editor today. This editor seems much more detail oriented than my editor at SpaceFlight Magazine. I answered a ton of questions this afternoon about little details that apparently weren't clear when reading the article. The good news is that the magazine seems to really like the article and is eager to publish it. At some point during the day, several people at McDonald Observatory got involved in the discussions because the magazine wants to use some pictures taken through one of the large telescopes by my astronomer friend. It still appears that my article will be published in the February 2021 issue. It's strange how slow this whole process works. I'm pretty sure I was already talking about Sky & Telescope a year ago at this time on the blog.

I finally got my reservation confirmation from the ranch I will be staying at while I am visiting McDonald Observatory for the astrophotography workshop. It looks like the accommodations will be fairly spartan. There was a little message at the bottom of my confirmation letter saying that my room does not have: TV, telephone, mini fridge, microwave, shampoo or conditioner. I can ride horses if I want though.

It doesn't look like I will be taking a star tracker with me to the observatory. I found one I liked, but it can't be delivered in time. Not surprisingly, the tracker is made in China. I got a quick reply to my questions from a Chinese representative of the company, but even though they have a warehouse in the United States, it still apparently takes them too long to process and ship my order. Just as well. This trip is complicated enough as it is. I'll worry about star trackers at a later date.

I wish I was rich so I could just charter a plane to Marfa. I never look forward to the long drive to West Texas. Texas is a really big state. I always rent a car because I'm afraid that mine will break down along the way. No worries about Covid on this trip. The only worry is staying awake and alert on the long drive. When I was young, an 800 mile drive was no big deal. I used to drive long distances frequently. It's a little different now. You get tired a lot more quickly as you get older.

I need to decide what to do about my storage warehouse before my contract runs out. There's nothing really valuable in the warehouse anymore, but it's so much trouble to actually clear the place out. Storage warehouses never let you use their dumpster, so even throwing things away is problematic. A lot of the stuff I store is fairly heavy. I just hate dealing with this, but I can't ignore things indefinitely. Maybe I'll start paying month-to-month now instead of a year at a time to force me to deal with the situation. I need an assistant to take care of things like this. I wouldn't trust them though. It's a dilemma.

Another weekend has arrived. It's time to go grocery shopping again. Janet seems to thing something bad is going to happen and that we should stock up on canned goods again. I hope she's wrong, but I've got a list of things to look for. I don't think we've used up all the canned goods we bought back in March, but luckily we both like soup and tuna fish.

Maverick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3941

Now that I am retired, I often wonder how I used to get so much done during my working career. I've really slowed down. All I basically did today was carry on an e-mail correspondence with three different people and it just about wore me out. Things are definitely starting to happen. I am getting messages about the astrophotography workshop from McDonald Observatory, messages about the upcoming Crew 1 launch from Kennedy Space Center, and messages from my editor about the Sky and Telescope article. For a while today, I actually started feeling like a working journalist.

I definitely didn't feel like a working roofer today. I postponed making repairs with the silicon coating again. I've done this a lot lately. I had used up so much time eating breakfast, walking Dawn, and answering e-mail messages that there wasn't much time left for dirty, messy work. It was hot this afternoon too. Basically I just didn't feel like climbing up on the roof. There's still plenty of time. The weather looks good for the next week.

Dawn continues to do well. We are back to our old walking schedule now with no adverse effects. Dawn still spends a lot of her day just lying on the bed, but I don't think there's anything wrong. She's basically just a lazy dog. She and I should be soul mates. I wouldn't mind spending a lot of my time just lying on the bed as well.

I did some research on star trackers this afternoon. I'm debating getting a tracker for my trip to the observatory. They dramatically improve pictures of the Milky Way and there are actually quite a few to choose from. These little gadgets are fairly expensive though. It's hard to justify getting something like this when I know it will rarely get used. There is way too much light pollution in Dallas to take pictures of the stars at all.

We passed another downed tree during our walk in the park this morning. Every time I see something like this, I think one of the Oak trees in our back yard is going to be next. Coincidentally, I passed some tree trimmers in the neighborhood on my afternoon walk. I thought about asking them to stop by my house after they finished and give me a bid for taking down the tree that got damaged last Summer. The workers were all up in the neighbor's tree however and I didn't want to bother them, so I just kept walking. Another missed opportunity.

It doesn't seem like a week has passed since I hauled last week's trash out to the curb. For that matter, it doesn't seem like a year since I had my last eye exam. Time goes by so quickly now. I guess that's a big reason why I don't want to pass up opportunities to do things I enjoy. There just isn't that much time left. Almost every week I read about someone I went to high school with who has passed away. Jeez. Van Halen died the other day. I didn't even know he was sick. I need to make a resolution not to waste a single day. Maybe I'll do that later after I waste a few more days doing nothing. Like I said, Dawn and I should be soul mates.

Madison is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3940

It's going to be a very busy month. I'm still planning my trip back to McDonald Observatory for the astrophotography workshop and I found out today that I have been cleared by NASA to attend the upcoming Space X Crew 1 launch. I was quite surprised to receive media accreditation for this important launch because Kennedy Space Center is still restricting media access because of Covid. Maybe persistence pays off. I'm still near the bottom rungs of the ladder, but I'd like to think that I'm slowly rising among the ranks of space journalists. At any rate, my magazine seems excited that I am welcome again at Kennedy Space Center and is planning to do a feature on the Crew 1 launch.

To be honest, I'm still a little apprehensive about flying as well as making that long drive out to West Texas again, but life goes on. I simply can't spend the rest of my life doing nothing but taking long walks in the park. Both the astrophotography workshop and the opportunity to witness another manned launch are events I've been wanting to do for a long time. I'll look for some really good masks and be as careful as I can.

Our beautiful Fall weather continues and Dawn definitely seems to approve. We took another four mile walk this morning and Dawn did great. She did better than me actually. On the final stretch as we were returning to the house, Dawn had so much energy that I gave the leash to Janet and they both pulled well ahead of me, arriving home almost five minutes earlier than me. I really slow down toward the end of our walks these days, mostly because my feet start to hurt. I've really got to find some better shoes.

By all indications, Dawn is back to normal again. She is certainly acting normally. Hopefully, this will continue and Dawn will remain stable after she had completed taking all her medication. I would like to think that this seizure is a rare event and if it ever reoccurs in the future we can just repeat the treatment that we are using now. Janet and I are both hoping to avoid complex MRI and CT scans when there is no practical medical solution anyway. 

In theory you can do brain surgery on a dog, but it is risky and not very common. There are no guaranties that the dog's life will be any better afterwards. Sometimes I think we went too far with extreme medical intervention with our other dogs. I'm still not sure that spinal surgery helped Dot all that much and we never should have attempted liver surgery with Gretta. She never made it out of the hospital.

I may be forced to try taking Allegra soon if my allergies don't clear up. With two long distance trips on deck, I just can't risk sneezing constantly. Sneezing and a runny nose are awkward at best and might even be alarming to someone else when you re wearing a mask. I could explain again and again that I am just suffering from seasonal allergies but nobody would believe me. I am so tired of this pandemic. I've always has seasonal allergies. They've gradually gotten worse as I've grown older and I doubt that there is anything I can do about them. I will test some antihistamines later this week, but I already know how they make me feel. It might be better than sneezing in public though.

I still haven't started my roof repairs. I did write a letter to my sister though and took it to the post office. One day at a time. I always try to accomplish something.  Today was actually pretty good. I think I accomplished several things. So did Dawn. We are both moving forward.

Hersey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day