Day 3425

Nothing to see here. Today was about what you'd expect for a rainy day. The thunder was loud enough last night to wake me up several times. I moved the chairs out of the way that get wet when the roof leaks and went back to bed. When I woke up this morning I discovered that one of the pumps had quit working. As soon as it was light enough, I climbed up on the roof in the rain to unclog the pump. You'd think all the catkins would be gone by now, but they're still falling from the Oak trees. When the pumps suck water from the roof, they also suck these catkins floating on the water into the filter and the pump clogs and quits working. It's irritating, but relatively easy to fix.

When the pumps were working again, we ate breakfast and made our grocery lists. Janet and I both get groceries but we each get different things. There was no avoiding driving in the rain today. We had things to do. Errands don't take as long these days because there is nothing to pick up for Dash. As he grew older, Dash has a grocery list that was just as long as ours. I've noticed that Peaches are back in the stores, but I'm not seeing the really good Georgia peaches yet. Clingstone peaches should be available soon and then Freestone peaches will start to be harvested later this Summer. I'm not a huge fan of grocery shopping, but it's a lot more enjoyable when I can find the things I like.

Around 2 PM the rain stopped and the weather radar looked clear for the rest of the day. I put on my boots and got started on my walk. For some reason I was slower than usual today. I'd like to think that my body runs like a well oiled machine, but like most people I have good days and bad days. I suspect that my energy level has a lot to do with what I eat. We had fried chicken last night. The tastier the meal, the more sluggish I become.

I saw lots of Barn Swallows today. These small birds fly low and fast over the water, catching insects in the air. I sometimes get Swallows and Swifts confused. but I think these were Swallows. They were smaller than Chimney Swifts and had a rust colored underbelly. I didn't feel like looking for Owls or Egrets. I felt tired today.

If it's clear tomorrow I guess I'll have to go clear the remaining water off the roof. I don't enjoy this task at all, but since I've become more diligent, the roof hasn't leaked again. Actually we haven't had a leak in a long time. I'm beginning to think that the one leak we had after the repairs were made was water that was already inside the house. There's no way of knowing what is going on between the exterior of the roof and the sheetrock on the ceiling. This one foot space is filled with insulation and is probably a haven for bugs and ants. I wouldn't be surprised if there are places where water is trapped.

Maybe something interesting will happen tomorrow. I'm not counting on it. I'll go to the gym and if I remember I'll stop at the store and pick up some more beer on the way home. I like a brew called Local Buzz. Pizza and burgers go better with beer. Since both of these things give me heartburn, a six pack of beer often lasts a month. Most of the time I just drink water.

Like I said, nothing to see here, except maybe a few water drops on the daisies in the park.

Dodger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3424

People I've never met still stop me in the park to ask about Dash. I guess it must seem strange to see me walking alone. Dot and Dash have been fixtures in the neighborhood for so long that I forget how many people used to see them every day. Rain or shine, we were almost always out there. Today a lady with two Greyhounds enquired about Dash. I've noticed her dogs for a long time too because they have matching coats for every type of weather. Today they were both wearing their raincoats. It wasn't raining but I almost wore my raincoat as well. It was one of those days where it looked like the rain could begin at any minute.

Since it was Friday, I went out to breakfast before my walk. I had Shrimp and Grits again at the cool restaurant. I've got to stop calling this place "the cool restaurant" because it just seems like your average breakfast place when you go at 8 AM. The restaurant was only half full and I was seated immediately. I had trouble finishing my meal this morning. I just can't eat as much as I used to. I probably should have just stayed home and had a bowl of cereal.

I continued exploring the idea of going to McDonald Observatory today. There is only one place to rent a car in Alpine, Texas but they seemed very friendly. The guy I talked to said they would meet you at the train station with a car if you arrived by train. Janet likes the idea of taking a train trip too. Now I've just got to wait and see whether I get accepted by NASA to attend the next Falcon Heavy Launch. As luck would have it, the first available Special Viewing Night at the Otto Struve Telescope happens to coincide with the launch date for the Falcon Heavy. We'll see what happens. Maybe one of these two events will work out for me.

I've been thinking about looking for owls ever since I met that guy in the park who showed me where they live. This afternoon, I took a detour from my regular evening walk and visited the owl habitat. A huge bird flew away as I arrived. It looked like a Great Horned Owl but I wasn't really sure. It was gone before I could get my camera focused. I kept looking and about five minutes later I saw a Barred Owl looking down at me from a nearby tree. I noticed the bird because a nearby Mockingbird was harassing it. A lot of birds in the park don't seem to like the large Hawks and Owls. Perhaps they know that they might become these birds next meal.

I hope all the walking I've been doing is good for my health. I don't feel any different yet, but the walks do feel easier now. I'd rather walk outdoors than in a gym. I gradually learn the names of the plants and animals I see. You learn to appreciate the Seasons when you spend a lot of time outdoors. I miss not having a dog at my side, but for now I'm going to do some things that were almost impossible when I was walking Dot and Dash. I carry a better camera with me now.

I got the heals on my hiking boots repaired this week. I probably should have just bought some new boots, but I hate the idea of breaking them in. Old boots are more comfortable. New or old, I see a lot of walking in my immediate future. I might not be doing much tomorrow though. The thunderstorms are returning. I can already see them approaching on the weather radar.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3423

I've been trying to think of an interesting way to occupy my time. Maybe astronomy vacations are a thing. Well yes, actually they are. I was surprised at how many options are available. In December of 2020 you can take a three week cruise around the tip of South America to view a total eclipse of the sun off the coast of Patagonia. This one's a little pricy, but you do get to go to Antartica. More reasonable are a wide variety of dark sky photo workshops. These workshops seem to take place in spectacular remote locations like Joshua Tree National Park or Badlands National park. It doesn't seem to be easy to fly into places like these, but I guess that's what cars are for. Prices vary considerably but the workshops are quite small and all seem to led by well known astrophotographers.

One of the most interesting options are the Special Viewing Nights at McDonald Observatory. Several times a year a select group of people get a chance to look at the heavens through one of the three large research telescopes at the observatory. How cool would it be to spend an evening looking through the 82" Otto Struve Telescope. Professional astronomers often wait months for an opportunity to use this famous telescope because skies at the observatory are still among the darkest in the world. You can take Amtrack to Alpine, Texas too. I'm sure there are other interesting things out there. I've just started looking.

The bad thing about astronomy vacations is that you really have to plan ahead to take advantage of these very limited opportunities. Only a few people at a time are able to get observatory access or attend a dark sky workshop. So what happens if you arrive for an event you planned months earlier and it's cloudy or raining? You lose. There is just no way to guarantee a clear day months in advance.

Weather is really unpredictable. I can't even guarantee a clear day tomorrow. It rained a little bit today, but I was able to take my walk. You see some strange things in the park. For the past week I've noticed a guy with a huge pair of calipers measuring tree trunks. He seems to be measuring every tree in the park. He writes down the diameter of the tree in a little book and then moves on the the next tree. Why? I guess I could ask him some day. I've started noticing the same runners and cyclists day after day. Often our paths cross at almost exactly the same spot. I guess I'm not the only one who keeps a rigid schedule.

I saw a film crew setting up to shoot a commercial in the park as I started my walk this morning. They were still setting up when I returned. I wouldn't be surprised if the crew spent all day to film something that lasted fifteen seconds. I used to do this. For once I felt glad that I was retired.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3422

An all day rain really tests my patience. I kept looking at the weather radar over and over again this morning, hoping that the storm would move faster. No such luck. Since I couldn't walk and didn't feel like driving in the rain, I was left with tending to the pumps on the roof and trying to stay out of Janet's way while she cleaned. I think the weather radar is more interesting than TV these days. At least there's something different every time I look. I forget what day it is when I look at the TV news. It is always the same.

Eventually the storm line moved to the East and the rain finally stopped. I immediately put on my boots and took a walk. Much to my chagrin, I discovered that my waterproof boots were no longer waterproof. They do pretty well walking through wet grass, but I had to navigate some deep puddles today. Maybe this will be the incentive I need to go out and find some high quality boots that really fit. Chances are that the ground will dry out soon enough and I'll just continue wearing the old boots. Given a chance to be decisive, I'll almost always procrastinate.

The park is interesting after a rain. You tend to see birds and animals that remain hidden otherwise. The ducks were everywhere. They were in the sky, on the water, and wandering around in the meadows looking for a place to nest. I saw a Great Egret catching a fish and I even found the White Pelican again. It was a long way away, but it was definitely the same bird. As long as I'm not actually getting wet, I love cold damp days. I'm usually the only one in the park and the soft light on cloudy days is great for photography.

I don't think our mail carrier delivered the mail today. That old adage "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night..." must not mean much anymore. Mail delivery used to be as regular as clockwork back in the days when the entire neighborhood knew their mail carrier by name. Times have changed. Every time I see our mail carrier now, it's a different person. It's probably just as well that our carrier doesn't bother to deliver the mail on rainy days. Whenever these guys do come out in the rain, the mail is a soggy mess.

I'm really becoming a Luddite. Not only am I nostalgic about reliable mail service, I've become very interested in the Transcontinental Railroad's 150th anniversary celebration. Union Pacific has restored one of the last remaining Big Boy locomotives to service and it's back on the rails right now headed toward Ogden, Utah where the golden spike was driven. The last time one of these trains ran was back in 1962. A Dallas rail museum has a non-working example of the Big Boy on display, but I had no idea that one was being restored to service. The Big Boy weighs more than a fully loaded 747 and is considered one of the most complex purely mechanical machines ever built. Kuddos to the folks who got it running again. I'd love to see this thing if it ever comes through Texas on its year long commemorative tour. I've ridden on several steam trains before, but nothing like this.

I should have no trouble walking tomorrow. I think we're going to get some sunshine. It won't last long though. Another storm system is supposed to arrive on Friday. I'm really getting tired of this extended rainy season. I keep forgetting that this happens every year. I think we get our entire year's quota of rain in May.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3421

We enjoyed visiting with the rescue dogs this afternoon. We'd do this more often if it wasn't such a long drive. Some of the dogs were new and some we'd seen before. They were definitely all Dalmatians though. Although each had their own personality, they were all charming, full of energy, and eager to play.

I photographed the new dogs for the website and we played with the others. Several of the active dogs were obsessed with chasing a ball. A small, quiet one just wanted to crawl in your lap. It was good to be around Dalmatians again. The kennel staff was nice and let us stay as long as we wanted. I think we all knew that being around people was beneficial for the dogs.

Visiting the Dalmatians was the big event of the day. Everything else was pretty routine. I made my fruit smoothie and slowly drank it with a cup of coffee while watching the morning news. After I did the dishes and checked the mail, I took my morning walk. My allergies were worse today. It was a windy day and pollen was definitely blowing in from somewhere. The White Pelican is gone. My three mile route provides a good view of the lake and I couldn't find the bird anywhere. I did see a lot of turtles though.

The band on my Fitbit broke this morning. Luckily, you can buy replacement bands for these things. When the strap on my old Jawbone UP band broke, the whole thing was toast. I wish fitness trackers were more durable, but nothing is durable these days. My boots need to go to the shoe repair guy as well. I was pleased that the shoes don't hurt anymore, but the heels are already getting worn. Things just don't last very long when you're active.

It was weird that the stock market did pretty well yesterday and terrible today on exactly the same news. I wish people would hurry up and get all the China trade jitters out of their system. Maybe a few things get a little more expensive in the short term, but nothing is going to fundamentally change.  Tariffs don't worry me a lot. I get more concerned about headlines that say thousands of animal species will become extinct within 50 years. It's also a little troubling that NASA thinks the chances are good that an astroid could hit  Earth during our lifetime. I'm glad that I've lived most of my life in simpler times. Pick any scenario you want. The future just doesn't look that promising.

I almost got caught in a bad storm on my evening walk. It was sunny when I left the house, but the wind picked up quickly and I could tell that something was about to change. Pretty soon I saw very dark clouds to the West of me and it was easy to see that heavy rain was falling downtown. The park was full of joggers and dog walkers so I definitely wasn't the only one caught by surprise. I tried to pick up the pace a bit and managed to make it home again before the rain arrived.

Tonight's rain didn't really amount to much. It looks like we are going to get a lot more tomorrow though. What else is new. We've had a very wet Spring. Despite my watering eyes and runny nose, today was a good day. I hope all the dogs we saw today find great homes. They certainly deserve it.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3420

There is a brand new opportunity for me to attend a launch at Kennedy Space Center as a guest of NASA. You never know if your application to attend these events will be accepted but what do I have to lose. When I learned I would be applying to view and blog about the next Space X Falcon Heavy launch I didn't waste any time. I've already sent in my application. I've been accepted to attend NASA events in the past. I've also been rejected. We'll see what happens. All I know is that it would be really cool to go behind the scenes on a Falcon Heavy launch. I'm a huge fan of Space X.

I need to start listening to the pollen count on the local morning weather. My allergies were terrible today. It's weird how quickly this changes. Yesterday the air was clear. Today, my eyes were burning and I was blowing my nose continuously during my morning walk. Allergies aren't going to stop me though. I have already added a short evening walk to my daily routine. Now, I am walking close to five miles a day. I see other people walking faster and longer, but this isn't a contest. It's just important for me to stay occupied right now.

I wrote another letter to my sister this afternoon. I do this about once a month. Sometimes I think she's taking this Luddite thing a bit too far. It sure would be easier to stay in touch if she had an e-mail account. I guess it won't kill me to continue putting my thoughts on paper. After all, I'm the guy who likes old TV Westerns and I rarely miss an episode of Perry Mason. I'm basically lazy though. I'm not fond of texting people, but I do like e-mail. Using e-mail has saved me an enormous amount of time over the years.

Janet has arranged for us to go visit and play with the Dalmatians at the rescue kennel. We can't walk the dogs because of the kennel's location, but we can play with them in a large room. The dogs already get a lot of attention at the kennel, but maybe these visits will help with socialization. At any rate, I'm looking forward to seeing some Dalmatians again. I see lots of dogs on my morning walks, but no Dalmatians. Dot and Dash were the only Dalmatians in the neighborhood. I need to remember to bring my camera and photograph any new dogs. After taking pictures for almost twenty years, I've probably got one of the biggest collections of Dalmatian photos in the world by now.

Peaches are finally starting to become available again. My morning smoothies always taste better when I add a peach to the other fruit. Life is pretty simple when the addition of a peach can make your day better. In theory, tomorrow should be a good day. I've got a fresh peach to add to my smoothie and I'll get to pet a few dogs. I hope my allergies behave a little better tomorrow. I've just about run out of Kleenex.

Patches is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3419

The goal these days is to keep moving. I went to the gym much earlier than usual. The place was surprisingly busy. Who knew that so many people liked to exercise early on a Sunday morning. I did my usual workout fully intending to take a nap when I got home. It wasn't meant to be. It was such a nice day that I decided to go ahead and take my usual three mile walk anyway. I really need to find something I enjoy doing or I'll be walking all day by the end of the Summer.

I keep waiting for something to find me. Today it was an auto show. I'd completely forgotten about this annual British and European Car Show. It is often held during the Spring in the park when the weather is nice. I used to go frequently when I had a cool car myself, but I haven't been in years. There is was today, right in front of me on my regular path. I enjoy looking at cars, so this was an unexpected treat.

I ended up talking with the owner of a Noble M400. I'd never seen one of these cars in person before. Only about 200 of them were ever imported into the United States. I remember a review once that said "Don't buy this car to impress girls. Only guys are impressed." The car certainly impressed me. The spectacular mid-engined supercar was lighter than a Mazda Miata and faster than a Ferrari Enzo. The owner was only 22 years old. Somebody asked the guy how much it cost to insure a car like this. "Nobody will insure this thing," the owner said. "I had to get my Dad to put it on his homeowners insurance." Then he smiled and added, "Technically, I'm not allowed to drive it."

There were no French cars at this years event. I used to enjoy looking at well preserved Citroëns. I've owned several, including a beautiful silver 1972 Citroën Maserati. I had to sell the car when I ran out of mechanics who could work on it. Body parts were in extremely short supply as well. As the car got older and older I began to realize that keeping a rare old car on the road was a rich man's pursuit. Buying vintage cars is one thing. Restoring them and keeping them running is another thing altogether.

My Fitbit was impressed with me today. I can't say the same for my feet. I shouldn't have changed shoes when I went walking in the park. My feet had swollen and the boots didn't fit like they usually do. By the time I returned home, I could barely walk. I have some excellent shoes I wear when I'm at the gym. I don't like to get them muddy though, so I changed into a pair of boots before I went on my walk. Bad move. I guess I'll know better the next time I do something foolish like this.

I probably should have gone outside and looked for meteors last night. I woke up to go to the bathroom right about the time when the Eta Aquariid meteor shower was supposed to be at its peak. I thought briefly about going outside and then went back to bed. I've seen meteors before. A short little trail of light across the sky wasn't enough of a temptation to lose any sleep over.

Bunny is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3418

I'm no expert, but the Kentucky Derby results seemed all wrong. Maximum Security was clearly the best horse on the track. When a puddle on the muddy track forced him out of his lane momentarily, he didn't interfere with the performance of Country House at all. The only horse that was conceivably interfered with was War of Will who wasn't a contender anyway. This just seemed like another case of political correctness run amok. I'm sure that the stewards knew that Maximum Security was the best horse. They just didn't want to get mired in controversy by not following the letter of the law. Oh, well. That's life. I didn't like how the Super Bowl turned out either.

I've started watching old Westerns on TV while we eat breakfast on Saturday morning. My favorites are usually Maverick and Have Gun Will Travel. All these old shows seem like Mister Rogers' Neighborhood compared to the shows that are popular now. Even shows like The Twilight Zone, which was scary when I was a kid, were just simple morality plays about good and evil. Good usually won in these shows. Now, evil seems to win most of the time. The scripts for these old shows were surprisingly good. I'm sure the fact that everybody still read books back then had something to do with it. It's too bad that just about the only way you can re-visit the past is by watching an oldies channel on TV. I wish you could still visit grocery stores and car dealers from the 1950's and 60's. I miss model train stores too. Every city had them. Dallas had three stores devoted to model trains as recently as the 1970's. They are all gone now.

I walked 4.5 miles today. I wasn't tired after my three mile morning walk, so I took another shorter walk later in the day. I could have walked further, but it was late in the day and I wanted to get home before dark. If I learn to schedule things better, it wouldn't be that hard to walk six miles every day. Three miles in the morning and another three miles in the evening sounds like a plan. It won't happen tomorrow though. When I get home from the gym, I don't feel like walking at all.

I didn't stay up last night to watch the rescheduled Space X launch, but I did watch the replay on my computer this morning. I never tire of watching the Falcon 9 booster make a precision landing on the drone ship. Space X seems to have perfected so many aspects of space flight that they must be terribly disappointed that their Crew Dragon capsule exploded during a test recently. I wonder how long that's going to set them back?

It looks like we're going to have nice weather tomorrow. We got a little rain last night but it was all over before I woke up. Still no leaks in the roof. Knock on wood. There's a meteor shower in the early morning hours tomorrow. Shall I get up and watch it? I had no problem getting up at 3 AM when Dash was around. Now it's a little harder. We'll see. A good night's sleep is probably more important than seeing a few meteors.

Crosby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3417

Today was mostly about food. I went back to the hotel for breakfast this morning. This is the place I always go when I'm in the mood for French Toast. At the table next to me were two guys wearing expensive suits. They seemed to be bankers or hedge fund managers. They were mad because they couldn't do business in Iran. They were also mad because of the high taxes in New York. It was hard to tell whether they were Democrats or Republicans. Their conversation pretty much confirmed my opinion that business doesn't really care who is in power. They just want to know what the rules are so they can learn how to exploit them.

I took my walk after I returned from breakfast. So far the weather forecast has been wrong all week. I was worried about rain when I woke up, but the skies were actually starting to clear by the time I started walking. I'm seeing lots of nesting ducks now. They must have gotten a late start this year. I'm also seeing a lot of turtles. Every submerged log in the lake seems to have a turtle sitting on it. I frequently see Red Eared Sliders, Yellow Mud Turtles, and Missouri River Cooters. Occasionally I see large snapping turtles, but I keep my distance from these guys. Water turtles are surprisingly difficult to photography. As you approach, they almost always slide off their log and go back in the water.

Three miles doesn't seem quite so far anymore. When the dogs were healthy I used to take longer walks. Maybe I will again. I'm not really trying to walk fast, but I've already managed to take five minutes off my elapsed time. I can see a time where I increase the distance to five miles. I can also see a time where I get bored with all this and quit walking entirely. Right now it just seems like a good way to spend my time.

Janet and I went out for dinner this evening. We used to do this frequently, but it's been a while. Once cooking special meals for the dogs and getting them to eat became a complicated ritual, we quit going out entirely. Our dinner tonight was delicious but neither of us eat this much anymore. I'm stuffed. We're going to have to start ordering one meal and splitting it. One dinner would have been plenty tonight. Especially since both of us like seared scallops.

I'm glad I didn't stay up late to watch the Space X launch last night. It got canceled again. The CRS-17 Mission was one of those events I could have applied to watch in person as a guest of NASA. I'm glad I didn't. This launch has been postponed again and again. It was originally scheduled for October of 2018. The people who got accepted to blog about this event have probably had to reschedule their flights and hotel accommodations quite a few times by now. If NASA continues their outreach program for bloggers and social media influencers, I'm definitely going to send in my application when opportunities arise in the future. Why not? I certainly don't have anything better to do.

This week has gone quickly. I've spent an inordinate amount of time looking at the weather radar lately, but the rainy season should be over soon. By June I won't be complaining about the rain anymore, I'll be complaining about the heat.

Milo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3416

I was wrong about the weather yesterday. We were in the path of a big storm after all. It just arrived a little later than I expected. I can't relax during storms anymore. I keep expecting a leak to appear in the living room, the power to go out, the greenhouse roof to blow away, or a large tree to fall on the house. All these things have happened in the past. I went outside and started the two sump pumps. I moved some of the furniture in the living room. And I tried to go to sleep. It was really all I could do.

The pumps ran all night and they were still pumping water off the roof early this morning. We got a lot of rain but we didn't lose power and the roof didn't leak. I wish I could say that the rain was over but I think we're going to get a repeat performance tonight. By the time I finished breakfast, the last of today's bad weather had moved to the East and I was able to take my morning walk. I saw the pelican flying low over the lake this morning. It was looking for a fish to eat. I'm glad the bird isn't injured, but I'm still puzzled why it didn't join the other pelicans on their annual Spring migration.

I got my phone bill today and was surprised to see that it had gone up. At first I though I had been charged extra for using the phone while I was in Houston, but there are no roaming charges anymore. My bill has been exactly the same for several years now. When I looked for an explanation for the increase I saw a small item in fine print that just said "service changes." I certainly haven't made any changes, so I called customer service to see what was going on. "Oh, AT&T raised your rates," the lady told me. "We grandfathered your plan for as long as we could, but we needed to bring you into line with current rates." I was irritated, but I wasn't really surprised. This was exactly what the storage warehouse people did to me. Why should the phone company be any different.

I'm not a big fan of the subscription economy. I think the whole idea is to get you hooked on something and then continuously raise your rates. Netflix does this. Microsoft does this. It looks like the phone company does it too. The world was much simpler when you could watch TV over the air for free and actually owned the software and entertainment you bought. I'm still using a fifteen year old version of Microsoft Word because I just don't feel like paying over and over again for Office 365.

You'd think I'd be getting a lot more done without a dog to take care of, but actually I'm doing less. I've lost my focus. I'm sure this will change. I'm just not clear what comes next. Walking is good. I've started fixing myself more interesting things for dinner. I'm going to continue photographing plants and animals in the park even though I've already documented everything ten times over. Janet wants to travel. Somehow I don't think going to the post office counts as travel.

Bogart is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3415

For almost as long as I can remember, the first of the month was the day we gave the dogs their heartworm pill. We've seen so many heartworm positive dogs in the rescue program over the years that we knew how important it was to treat our own dogs. It felt weird to skip this monthly ritual today. After thirty two years it was almost the way we measured time. Eventually I'll get used to a life without dogs. Not today though.

I hear thunder, but we still haven't seen much rain. There appears to be a huge storm to the North of us but it looks like we'll get lucky again. Unless the wind changes, the storm will be in Oklahoma soon. At the most, we'll just get a few showers. I hope this trend continues. I've been able to take my morning walk and run my errands without incident. I haven't even had to turn on the pumps yet.

Today's errands were minor. I had to go to the bank and then I took a thank you letter to the post office. Janet and I debated about who would write the letter since our handwriting skills have become so bad.  My handwriting turned out to be marginally better than hers, so I ended up writing the letter. There are very few occasions to write in cursive anymore. You kind of forget how to do it. My writing is still readable, but it certainly isn't very pretty. My sister has written the first draft for several books completely in longhand. Not me. It's so much easier to use the computer.

I'm trying to do at least one useful thing every day. Today I sorted through a huge pile of socks and threw away all the ones with a hole in the heel. When I was done I had filled a kitchen trash sack with socks, but I still had way too many. A lot of the remaining socks are brand new but I doubt that I'll wear them. I have trouble finding the right size. Medium adult socks often feel too small and large socks are almost always too big. My foot must be somewhere in between. It ought to be easier to find perfectly fitting shoes and socks. Why aren't all shoes available in different widths? A wide shoe is much more comfortable to me. You can't always find wide shoes. I don't like to shop either. I often just buy stuff without trying it on. I don't think you even can try on socks before you buy. No wonder I have so much stuff that doesn't fit.

The last White Pelican is still at the lake. The bird was sitting on a different log today, so at least it can move. I kind of identify with this straggler. All the other pelicans are probably in North Dakota by now. Did they leave this guy behind on purpose?  Birds can be pretty mean.  Maybe the pelican just felt no desire to migrate. It is a long way to fly and the lake is pretty nice. Who knows. A group of Quaker parrots decide to make the lake their permanent home a few years ago. Maybe this pelican will too.

I wonder if I can find something useful to do tomorrow. It definitely won't be counting socks. A two hour task sounds about right. Anything longer could seriously cut into a day of doing nothing.

Betsy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3414

I voted today. As usual, I didn't really know that much about the candidates. It was a local election. I know more about what is happening in Venezuela than at city hall. Sure, we got the usual barrage of campaign flyers in the mail, but they all said the same thing: vote for me and build a better Dallas. They can't all be right. I think the most reliable way of choosing a candidate is just to look at the yard signs in the neighborhood. I see tons of these signs on my walks. If you like your neighbor, vote for their candidate. If your neighbor irritates you, well you know who not to vote for.

I was almost certain that I was going to get wet on my walk this morning, but as usual the weather forecast was wrong. They say a stable layer of warm air about 2,000 feet above ground can keep thunderstorms from forming. Evidently, one of these 'caps' is currently in place over North Texas. This is fine by me. I hope the cap stays in place. Light rain is fine. Thunderstorms, not so much.

My mind wanders on these morning walks. I keep seeing a lone White Pelican at the lake. Why didn't this bird migrate with all the other pelicans last month? Is the bird injured, or does it just like Dallas? It's hard to tell because it is always sitting on a log out in the middle of the lake. I keep seeing a lot of fishermen too. Especially on rainy days. Why would anyone fish in this lake? It is polluted. Every month or two you hear about a sewage spill into one of the tributaries that feed the lake. Most of these spills have been contained before they reach the lake, but that doesn't mean the water is clean. People aren't even allowed to swim in this lake. Veterinarians in the area warn you to always vaccinate your dog for for leptospirosis. It's unreal how much trash flows into the lake after a big storm. The park is probably the best thing about this city, but the water quality reminds you that you are still living in a big city. It's definitely not like the mountain lakes I remember as a child in Colorado. Clear lakes you could drink out of are just distant memories now.

I made a pathetic attempt to clean the office today. This really just amounted to sorting through a huge stack of unopened mail and throwing away most of it. I really ought to go paperless. I like the idea of paper, but it stacks up so quickly on my desk. Eventually it winds up in ring binders in the storage warehouse. After a few years, I have no idea what I'm looking at. Maybe I'll go paperless one of these days, but I'm pretty old school about these things. I'm still hanging on to a world that is gone.

I wish I could figure out what gives me heartburn. Some days I'm fine. Other days I'm not. It makes sense that pizza would give me heartburn, but crab cakes? Come on. Seafood should be fine. I had some delicious crab cakes tonight and almost immediately had to take a Pepcid AC. These over the counter antacids are pretty mild and have the approval of my doctor. At least I've been able to wean myself away from proton pump inhibitors like Protonix. PPI's dramatically reduce calcium absorption and can lead to bone loss in older people. I don't need that.

We're trying to decide whether to have the landscapers come back this year. It's time. Every Spring they clear away all the leaves and put in new St. Augustine sod in the back yard. Unfortunately, every year this becomes more expensive. The grass looks nice for a few months. Our water bill goes way up as we diligently water and fertilize as we're supposed to. Then the grass dies and we repeat the process the next year. I've been told that the reason the sod has a hard time getting established is that there are too many large Oak trees in the back yard. The extensive root system sucks up all the water. This is probably all true, but it would still be nice to have grass.

Tomorrow's forecast is just like today's. It's supposed to start raining before sunrise and continue raining for the rest of the day. Oddly, it wasn't thunderstorms that woke us up last night. It was a telemarketing call at 3 AM.

Bea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3413

My old storage warehouse is under new management. When Janet's unit came up for renewal recently, they lowered her rate to encourage her to stay. This was unheard of under the old management. They kept raising my rate year after year until it was more than double what I initially paid. It's too bad this management change didn't happen a few months earlier. I didn't really want to move. If these guys had offered to lower my rent by even a modest amount, they could have saved me a whole lot of trouble. Oh, well. Too late now.

It's counterintuitive, but I've learned the hard way that things tend to last a lot longer if you use them. When you use something you tend to oil it, wash it, paint it, or do whatever is necessary to keep it functional. I used to think that storing things away would keep them in perfect condition indefinitely, but this has not been the case. Today I discovered that some mid-century furniture I'd been keeping in Janet's unit had become badly stained. I thought this stuff would do well at auction, but now it looks like it will need to go to a thrift store. Jeez. I've ruined so many things by storing them away for decades and forgetting about them. Metal gets rusty. Rubber gets brittle and cracks. Fabric gets moth holes. Heat destroys electronic components. Wood warps. These things happen very gradually and you don't notice if you aren't looking. If someone had told me all this years ago I probably wouldn't have listened. It still seems like storage should be a form of suspended animation. Why can't I put something away and then start using it again thirty years later? I guess the world doesn't work that way.

While I was picking up the mid-century furniture today we found some brand new Kuranda dog beds that were still in the shipping carton. We used to buy these beds by the dozen for the Dalmatians in the rescue program. I forgot that we even had some leftover beds. We don't need them anymore because our current kennel for the rescue dogs already provides very nice beds. The Kuranda beds didn't go to waste. We gave them to a local rescue group we like. I didn't open the box, but I doubt that storage hurt these things. Kuranda beds are virtually indestructible.

I wish I was indestructible. It is a bit disconcerting that a brisk three mile walk leaves me winded. Three miles used to be nothing. I see people every day who run this distance and probably much longer. Dot and Dash had been sick for so long that I guess I didn't realize that our walks were gradually becoming slower and slower. I'm going to continue walking. Activity is good. Walking in the park certainly beats mowing the grass. Maybe if I keep at this, I can pick up the pace a bit.

The weather forecast still looks dismal. It's supposed to start raining at 4 AM this morning and continue for the rest of the week. There's always a chance that the forecast is wrong. Weather forecasts are often wrong in Texas. Also, it could be raining in one part of the city and dry where we live. There's a pretty good chance that we'll get some rain though. We'll see what happens. The pumps and the buckets are ready.

I have no plans for tomorrow. I guess that's not surprising. I had no plans for today either.

Parker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3412

If you measure days by your level of activity, today was pretty good. The weather was nice too, so I really can't complain. I'm finally getting enough sleep as well. It's nice to know that I have no trouble sleeping under normal circumstances. Rest and activity are good. The rest allows me to stay active and the activity should motivate me. Why do I not feel motivated?

People keep suggesting things for me to do. Take a class. Volunteer. Go back to work. These are really just things my friends like to do. I need to find my own path. I've always been a clever person and have tended to work for praise. Being told you are creative over and over again can be a strong motivator to actually do something creative. Once you figure out what is going on, this doesn't tend to work anymore. I'm not looking for feedback these days. I need to find something that I intrinsically enjoy even if no one else in the entire world knew I was doing it.

I think about things like these while I'm at the gym. It's a kind of daydreaming where conclusions are unnecessary. I wonder if it is possible to do something significant if you don't have a goal? Maybe. My only goal in writing the blog was to write something for 5000 days. This sounds simple enough. You can't write for this long without thinking though. You are forced to explore your thoughts just to continue having something to say. Do this long enough and maybe you never become senile. Taking 10,000 steps a day is kind of similar. It's a mindless, repetitive activity, but it does keep you active. When I look around I find that I am healthier than people I know who don't take 10,000 steps a day.

I am not competitive at all. Even if I start taking 20,000 steps a day I will never have any desire to run a 5K. I won't join a yoga class or go to boot camp either. Even if I manage to keep writing until the day I die, I'll probably never care if anyone else is reading. I've been keeping journals long before the Internet even existed. I don't do a lot of talking. This is just a convenient way to make sure my brain is still working.

I'm happy enough to take long mindless walks and write about walking dogs and drinking fruit smoothies forever. Mowing the grass and removing water from the roof aren't part of the equation though. Even though I added quite a few steps by mowing the lawn after I got home from the gym this afternoon, it was still an irritating activity. I hate mowing the grass. The only reason I mowed today was that there is rain in the forecast all next week. If I didn't mow now, the yard would be a jungle by May.

I hope the forecast is wrong. I don't look forward to spending the week worrying about whether the roof is going to leak. Eventually it will leak again. I need to call the roofers who haven't submitted their bid yet. You'd think they'd be more interested.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3411

All the unused and expired meds in the house are gone. I took Dash's unused meds to our vet where they will be used to treat rescue animals. My own meds were a little harder to dispose of. I went to the location listed on the disposal day brochure and they told me they were full. "How can you be full," I asked. "You only opened five minutes ago." No explanation. They just told me again that they couldn't take the meds. Several other people with bags of expired medications seemed just as frustrated as I was. Why would someone print a brochure and list this location as the place to take your expired meds if they were going to refuse to take them?

The pharmacist did give me an alternate location to take the pills. This location wasn't listed on the brochure at all and was a lot further away. Since the takeback program was a one day event, I didn't want to wait another year. I reluctantly drove to the alternate location. This new location seemed eager to take my meds. There were lots of volunteers with event t-shirts and four big buckets where you could drop the meds. I thought they were going to check and see what I had, but they didn't seem to care. As I got ready to return to the car they tried to give me a frisbee and a deck of cards printed with the takeback event logo. I declined. The whole point of getting rid of the meds was to reduce the clutter in the house. There was no point in bringing back more clutter.

By the time I finished my weekly grocery shopping and was ready to take my walk, it was already pretty warm. I would have rather stayed inside, but I'm determined to continue walking at least 10,000 steps a day. The park was really busy this afternoon. There was a small music festival near the shoreline with a decent sized crowd. The musicians got lucky. They placed their stage in exactly the same spot were the little circus was last year. You might remember that the little circus got flooded out by weeks of heavy rains. No rain today. It was actually quite nice outside. There was a time when I would have stopped and listened to the music. Not today. The only thing I was interested in was finishing my three miles.

I went to a fundraiser with Janet tonight. I've skipped this event for several years since I needed to stay home and care for the dogs. There was no reason to stay home tonight. There's nothing interesting on TV and it really doesn't take that long to write the blog. We had a nice dinner, played roulette at the casino party, and enjoyed the concert. I can't see making a habit of going out at night, but it didn't kill me to do something different. We had a good time.

I doubt that I'll do anything different tomorrow. It's time to go to the gym again. I should probably mow the grass as well. I could always procrastinate, but the job will only be worse next week.

Chance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3410

The city is having one of their periodic expired medication disposal programs. I think they do this every year, but we always forget about it. This year we are determined to get rid of these old expired pills. I have some that date back to 1999. Most of the unused pills seem to be pain pills. Dentists seem to be the worse about overprescribing these things. When I've had a major dental procedure I might take one or two pain pills. I've never needed a thirty day supply. We filled a shoebox with unused medications. This probably doesn't count as housecleaning though. Pill bottles are small. We'll never notice that they're gone. Dash has a lot of unused medications too. His are still good though. We're going to find a rescue organization that might be able to use them.

I went out to breakfast earlier than usual this morning. There's no reason to wait until 10 AM anymore. I discovered that it's easy to get a table at the trendy restaurant if you go at 8 AM. The place was half empty. This seemed counterintuitive to me, but what do I know about the younger generation. Maybe they all like to eat breakfast late. I do like the Shrimp and Grits at this place. It's nice to know that it's possible to eat here without all the noise and confusion.

A three mile walk has become a regular part of my day. I can't say I really enjoy these solo walks, but I do think you need to stay active. I've certainly got plenty of time. It takes me just about an hour to walk three miles. This still leaves a lot of hours with nothing to do.

I cleared the remaining water off the roof this afternoon. There's more rain on the horizon, but keeping the water level low seems to be the key to avoiding roof leaks. One of the pumps was clogged again with debris from the Oak trees. When the catkins start falling in the Spring, they get sucked up by the pumps. I need to build some sort of cage to prevent this debris from reaching the pumps, but it seems like a lot of trouble. It's almost easier to just clean the pumps out after every rain.

Something bit me last night. The bite doesn't look like a mosquito or a chigger, so it was probably was a spider. I like Spring weather, but I definitely don't like the return of the insects. Since it was a mild Winter, we're seeing a lot of bugs. I'm finding a lot more ants, roaches, water bugs, and spiders than I saw last Winter. Oh, well. I guess we can spray again. I was always worried about insect sprays when the dogs were around.

It's already time to mow the grass again. That didn't take long. This might be the year I finally hire a lawn service. I'm really getting tired of pushing that mower. It's time to rake up all the Winter leaves too. I'm definitely getting someone else to do that. I need to find an activity that gives me pleasure. So far, sleeping seems to be the winner.

Brady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3409

I overthink things. For almost a week I've been debating about whether to go to an afternoon movie. I've looked up theaters on Google. I've read reviews for the film I was planning to see. I've fretted about the traffic. The reviews were mostly bad and I'd just about convinced myself that going out wasn't worth the effort. Unfortunately, I had way too much time on my hands today, so at the last minute I decided to go see the movie anyway. I usually like science fiction, but I should have listened to the reviewer who said that this was basically just a prison movie in space. I wasn't fond of this movie at all.

Evidently 2 PM on a Thursday isn't when people go to the movies. When I entered the theater, I quickly understood why the guy at the ticket counter told me I could sit anywhere I wanted. I was the only one in the theater. It wasn't a huge theater, but it wasn't small either. It was weird to be the only person in the entire theater.

I'm finishing breakfast earlier now. I made my morning coffee, fixed my fruit smoothie, ate breakfast, and washed the breakfast dishes before 9 AM today. When I was tending to Dash, it was usually after 11 AM before I was finished with breakfast. I guess it's good that I'm getting an earlier start. As Summer approaches I'm going to want to take my morning walk before the day gets too hot.

It didn't get too hot today. The weather was beautiful and a three mile walk seemed like a much better alternative to staring at the computer. I've finally started seeing nesting ducks. Maybe they just got a late start this year. There were lots of recumbent bikes on the bike path today. I wonder why the riders of these bikes are always older men with short white beards? I very rarely see younger men riding recumbent bikes and I've never seen a woman on one of these things.

Prairie Verbena seems to be the wildflower of the week. These little purple flowers are everywhere now. Next week a new wildflower will take the stage. Most of the wildflowers in the park are perennials. They keep coming back in the same places year after year. I've photographed all these plants before but I still enjoy seeing them. They've become familiar friends. Unlike Texas weather, the flowers are reliable and consistent.

The week has gone quickly. I've already taken the trash out to the curb and am thinking about having shrimp grits for breakfast tomorrow. I hope this nice weather continues. I didn't even have allergy problems today. Sooner or later the rain will return and so will the 100 degree days. For now I'm going to enjoy the blue skies and mild temperatures.

Pogo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day