Day 4225

Daisy, the new dog at the kennel, is wonderful. This three year old owner surrender is good looking, has a great personality, and is fully trained. We were amazed that she seemed to know every single command we gave her and had no trouble following commands from two total strangers. She even knew tricks and would roll over to get a treat. She was an athlete too and would leap high in the air to catch a ball. She never missed and would even return the ball so we could throw it again. Not surprisingly, Daisy already has a long waiting list of people who want to adopt her. I have a feeling that she won't be at the kennel very long.

I wish that Charlie and Cooper could find a home this quickly, but they both have to overcome their past. In rescue it is customary to let any potential adopter know if a dog has been involved in a bite incident. Charlie and Cooper are very nice dogs, but they both have bitten someone. I don't think it was their fault and they are definitely not aggressive dogs, but you can't hide the fact that somebody got bit. Eventually Charlie and Cooper will find a home with a person who understands that any dog can bite under the right circumstances and will give these boys a chance to shine again. I can't blame someone for picking Daisy first though. Daisy is perfect. I don't think I've ever seen a better dog in rescue.

I wish we'd left Charlie's possum at home so he would play with his other toys. As soon as Charlie saw the possum today he began gently carrying it around and wouldn't play with anything else. He looked kind of sad. I have no idea what this means. Maybe Charlie needs a friend.

It was considerably cooler today. Many parts of town got rain, but we stayed dry for some reason. Our sunrise walk with Dawn was very enjoyable and I had no problem taking my own long walk in the park when we returned from the kennel. A ten degree drop in temperature makes a huge difference. You could still tell it was summer, but it wasn't miserable outside. For a while I thought I was going to get wet today. On my way home I found myself walking directly toward a very ominous dark cloud and I kept hearing thunder and seeing lightning off in the distance. The storm passed slightly to the Northeast of me however and I never got wet.

Dawn is still licking her paws whenever she can get her socks off. The paws don't appear quite as red and raw now, so maybe something we're doing is working. We've started giving her probiotics and a little goat's milk on the recommendation of friends. She has an appointment at the vet tomorrow to make sure her urinary tract infection has cleared up. I'm sure the vet will weigh in with his own opinions on Dawn's paws as well. Like everything else in life, if you ask ten people for their opinion, you will get ten different answers.

I've read several article recently that say brisk walking is one of the best things older people can do to prevent Alzheimer's and dementia. I've read that journaling has many benefits as well. If this is true, I should live forever. I'm tired a lot, but you'd be tired too if you slept four hours a night and walked as much as I do. I go to bed too late and get up too early. It's not a good combination. We'll see if I can get an extra hour of sleep tonight. I had leftover pizza for dinner though, so that's not working in my favor.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4224

Sundays are all about walking. I usually take three walks on Sunday. We still get up early to take Dawn on her sunrise walk. We wait until around 11 AM to take Dawn on her Sunday outing, mostly because the ice cream shop doesn't open until eleven. This is plenty of walking, but usually around mid afternoon I feel compelled to take my long walk in the park as well. Sundays usually result in 20,000 step days. I'm sure I could think of better things to do if I tried, but a day of walking seems good enough to me.

Dawn woke me up twice last night licking her paws. She's figured out how to get the socks off. I don't understand the licking at all. It started rather suddenly. There are no injuries or hot spots. There are no signs of discomfort if you hold the paws or try to examine them either. She's an equal opportunity licker and goes after all four paws. This is either behavioral or medical and our goal next week is to find out what is going on. My guess is that it is a behavioral issue, but I could easily be wrong. We'll probably have to do a skin patch test for allergies as a starting point. There's got to be a specific reason for this licking, although our initial trip to the vet didn't turn up much. It's always something with dogs. We've had lots of dogs over the years and the times when there were no problems were few and far between.

For a long time I've noticed that there was a vertical pole above one of the water fountains in the park. I just assumed that there was a bird bath on top of the pole because there was a dish that certainly looked like a bird bath. Today I discovered that if you press a button on the pole you will get sprayed with a fine mist of water. I wish I knew about this before. I've been soaking my shirt and hat with water before I leave on hot days and I pass this handy pole just about when my clothes have dried out again. I sprayed myself with water today and it made the walk much more enjoyable. I can take advantage of the mist in both directions too, since I pass the pole again on my way home.

Today while I was walking I saw a guy with a cat carrier walk up to a bunch of ducks and release a duck from the carrier. There was a lot of quacking and some startled looks from people nearby. The guy explained that the duck had been living on his front porch and he thought it would be better off living with other ducks. This may explain some of the weird looking ducks I've seen in the park. This kind of looked like a domestic duck, but I don't know my ducks that well. We'll see how well this duck gets along with the wild ducks in the days ahead. Somehow, I doubt that this one is going to fly away.

I read an article last week saying that people are stealing duck eggs from nests in the park and eating them.   Maybe this explains why I've seen fewer baby ducks this year. It probably explains the no poaching signs as well. Stealing eggs from wild ducks seems all wrong to me, but then all eggs are basically stolen. I doubt that chickens lay eggs just so we can eat them.

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about what kind of car I want next while I'm walking. For a while I was convinced that I wanted a Sprinter Van that had been converted into an RV. These vans are large and inconvenient to drive around town and I think RV toilets are disgusting. The last thing I want to do on a trip is spend my time cleaning out the black water tanks. I've had passing fantasies about sports cars for years, but they are so low to the ground that it is frightening to drive on freeways with eighteen wheelers on both sides of you. Lately I'm leaning toward getting one of the new Broncos. I configured one on the Ford website today and you can basically get a Bronco with all the bells and whistles for less than the cost of a base model Land Rover Defender. I owned a Bronco once. It was very reliable. I don't think I ever opened the hood the entire time I owned the car. The thing I don't like is that the Bronco's rear seats don't fold flat. Nobody's rear seats fold flat anymore. Why doesn't anyone make a car with two seats in the front and a big flat area in back where you can carry anything? My old Defender came close, which is probably why I liked it so much.

I've heard that there is a new Dalmatian up at the kennel. I'll take my camera and hopefully we'll get to meet her tomorrow.

Beemer is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4223

I got a letter from the observatory saying that they were returning to pre-covid operations in September and were looking for volunteers for star parties and special events again. Sounds good to me. I told them that I could spend a week or so out there whenever they needed me. I was thinking of going out to the observatory in October anyway, but September is close enough. I don't know why I like staying out at the Astropnomer's Lodge so much. It feels a bit like a strange secular monastery. I have a simple little room with fast WiFi and all my basic needs are taken care of. You get three meals a day and the food is great. There is no TV or radio at the lodge, but it's easy enough to make a phone call if I need to reconnect with the world. It is very peaceful living on top of Mount Locke. I'm not looking forward to the long drive, but it's always worth it when I get there.

We slept in a bit later today, but still got a fairly early start on Dawn's morning walk. Janet and I are both retired but we still keep the same basic schedule we did while we were working. Weekends are for shopping and sleeping in, even though we could easily do this any day. I noticed that Dawn's paws still looked red and raw while we were walking this morning. As soon as she finishes her antibiotics and gets a clean bill of health on her urinary tract infection, we are going to get her tested for allergies. My gut feeling is that the problem isn't allergies, but a skin patch test is the next logical step. One way or another we've got to figure out what is is causing Dawn to bite and lick at her paws and get her back to normal again. There's a solution for everything, but sometimes it can be very hard to find.

Signs that there was a pandemic last year are slowly starting to disappear. There are no mask mandate notices on the front doors of stores anymore and I noticed today that those stickers on the floors of grocery stores showing you how to stay six feet apart in checkout lines have disappeared as well. About 25% of the people you see still wear masks. I suspect that some people will continue wearing them forever. I still carry a mask in my back pocket because it hasn't really sunk in that this is over yet.

It was too hot to walk today, but the gym was closed and I felt compelled to get my steps. I soaked my clothes and hat in water, thinking that this would keep me cool during the walk. The plan actually worked pretty well, but my clothes were dry again around the halfway point. The skies were partly cloudy though, so the sun was under a cloud a lot. I guess I'll do the same thing tomorrow since the gym still isn't open on Sundays either. I wonder how long it will take them to get back to pre-covid operations? Maybe they're aiming for September as well.

I picked up a pizza for dinner tonight. I love pizza, but it is number one of the list of foods that give me heartburn. I'm already regretting eating the pizza. You'd think I'd just quit eating problem foods. You'd think I'd stop shopping on busy Saturday's as well. I'm a creature of habit and I keep doing the same things over and over again. Some of the things like long walks are good. Other things like pizza are not so good. Janet is trying to convince me to take my own car out to the observatory this Fall, but I'll probably just keep renting cars. Rental cars have gotten to be a habit as well. I'm superstitious that my car will break down in the middle of nowhere, so I just don't drive it out of town. Don't ask. It all makes sense to me.

Riley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4222

Dawn chewed up one of her socks today, so getting her paws to heal is going to be an uphill battle. I expected the socks to fall off frequently, but I never thought she'd chew them off. Dawn is not a destructive dog. Janet and I both think we are putting the socks on securely. When I put them on I'm convinced that they'll stay on her feet all day. An hour later they are lying on the floor somewhere. The vet gave us a special spray that is supposed to be soothing and prevent itching and discomfort. When Dawn sees the bottle she runs away and won't let us get anywhere near her. The weirdest thing is that this behavior is new. We've had her for over a year and never thought she was allergic to anything. She never used to bite at her paws and all of the sudden it has become an obsession. I have no idea what has changed. Very little changes in our life these days, but maybe I'm not looking at things from a dog's point of view.

Fridays aren't much different than any other day of the week. I need to remember to retrieve the trash can from the curb and bring it back to the house. The trash truck comes later now, but usually the trash still gets picked up. The city has postponed picking up the blue recycling bins because they don't have enough drivers. We don't have a lot of glass bottles, tin cans, or cardboard so this change doesn't affect us much. Most of our trash is plain old garbage. Dawn contributes a lot of dog poop as well.

I've gotten pretty good at predicting what the weather is going to be like later in the day while we take our sunrise walk. You can tell by how the clouds are moving and what the humidity feels like. Even though we had a very pleasant sunrise walk, it didn't seem like an auspicious day for a walk in the park. When I went out to check the mail after I finished breakfast, my suspicions were confirmed. Today was too hot and humid. I was going to the gym again.

I still turn on the computer as if I was going to work, but my computer time is mostly just looking at Facebook these days. It's a mystery what Facebook chooses for me to see. For a while I'll get a lot of posts about old forgotten rock groups. Then I'll get a bunch of pictures of abandoned houses. I'm getting a lot of pictures of National Parks now. If you are not an active user, I think Facebook just throws stuff at you randomly to see if you'll click on anything. If you do, you'll get more of the same. Curiously, I see very few sponsored posts about things I am actually interested in. You'd think I'd get a ton of posts about dog food and telescopes. Nope. They still seem to think I'm interested in Dr. Who cosplay and buying a Tesla. At least my feed is still filled with pictures of Dalmatians. I love the Dalmatian pictures. If it weren't for the Dalmatian pictures I wouldn't bother with Facebook at all.

My performance is improving a little when I go to the gym. I shaved over a minute off my time for completing three miles around the indoor track. I can do more repetitions on the abdominal crunch machine and I'm working with ten pound hand weights now instead of five pound weights. The whole process is still very boring, but it beats being out in the heat. The air conditioning bill for this gym must be enormous. They keep the place really cold. It still seems strange to see so many people with personal trainers. I think some people hire a personal trainer just to have someone to talk to. Everyone seems to be having a non-stop conversation with their trainer. It's mostly gossip and small talk. The job description for these trainers must include being a good conversationalist.

I've already got a long grocery list for tomorrow. I hope I'm able to get an early start, because I'm going to have to walk in the park whether it's hot or not. Sure wish the gym would open on weekends again.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4221

It was a typical July day. The sky was filled with white puffy clouds. The constant sound of cicadas was punctuated by the sound of yard crews with leaf blowers. The humidity wasn't opressive, but you knew you were in Texas and not Nevada. There is a laziness to mid-summer days that makes it hard to do anything substantial. I mostly just try to get through the day.

We can't figure out what is going on with Dawn's paws. She doesn't appear to be in any discomfort, but she licks them constantly now. This is new, but there is nothing new in Dawn's diet or daily routine. If allergies were causing this, you'd think we would have noticed this behavior earlier. The grass and plants in the yard and park have always been the same, so we don't think this is the problem. We haven't changed detergents or household cleaners. Dawn's meds haven't changed and the lab report from her recent exam looked excellent. She's getting used to wearing protective socks around the house and this seems to temporarily stop the licking. It's kind of a dumb solution to what may be a serious problem, but it's all we've got for now.

The weather seemed a little cooler when we took Dawn for her sunrise walk, so I thought I'd take my long walk after breakfast instead of going back to the gym. Sometimes this is the only decision I make all day. To walk or not to walk. I should try to make more ambitious plans, but I can't think of why. There is an abundance of time in retirement. You just need to make your plans modest, because there isn't always enough money.

I still can't figure out why an hour at the gym is still more tiring than a two hour walk. I walk up and down hills and my Fitbit says I'm burning a lot more calories on my walk than I do at the gym. The gym is still tiring though. I think this is because I basically find going to the gym boring. I constantly daydream on my walks, while I just count laps and the number of repetitions I'm doing at the gym. Something about being outdoors triggers memories. I seldom think about anything at all while I'm at the gym.

I used to buy things or at least window shop when I was bored. There were several independent camera stores where I liked to hang out. There were two telescope stores in town at one point. My model train collection started at three eclectic little stores that sold nothing but model trains. Even computer stores had more personality back in the day. All these stores are long gone now. What's the point of going to a Best Buy or a giant shopping mall? I always hated joining clubs, but I did like to hang out at little stores with like minded people.

The park was pretty empty today. You can tell that people are returning to work and that the pandemic is basically over in Dallas. Maybe it's just the summer heat that keeps people away, but there were a lot more people in the park last July when everything was shut down. Did all the restrictions really make any difference, or was the pandemic more like a wildfire that would have run its course whatever we did? I have mixed feeling on this. I do tend to think that humans like to think they have more influence over natural events than they actually do.

This week has gone quickly. The week's trash has been taken out to the curb again and I'm already thinking about the weekend. I'm pretty sure it will be the same as last weekend.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4220

You can probably skip this post because nothing really happened today. I followed the usual summer routine. Janet gives me a ten minute warning when it's time to get up for Dawn's morning walk. I hate to get up and wish I could sleep longer, but the walk is always nice. Dawn really enjoys these sunrise walks and all the hesitancy she showed several months ago is gone. Our route varies from day to day, but we always end up walking about one mile.

After I make the bed, I fix my morning smoothie. The recipe never varies. I combine a little half and half with two raw eggs, three heaping tablespoons of uncooked oatmeal, some collagen power, lots of strawberries and blueberries, a whole peach, a banana, a little cinnamon, some turmeric, a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, and a cup of crushed ice. This makes quite a bit, so it takes a while to drink it all. This is my big meal of the day. I usually eat a light dinner.

After breakfast I check the mail, which never arrives this early. I'm lucky if the postman delivers the mail at all. I turn on the computer and prepare for work. There isn't any work of course, since I am retired. I look through the mountain of spam that arrived overnight just in case there might be a real message. There seldom is. I look at Facebook and say Happy Birthday to whoever happens to have a birthday that day. I check the Lab Padre live feed to see what is happening with Starship down at Boca Chica. There is really no need for me to turn on the computer at all.

I need to check on Dawn more frequently now to make sure she is not licking or biting at her paws. We have her wear some socks that protect her paws now. They fall of a lot, but they seem to be working. Hopefully the antibiotics she's taking for her urinary tract infection will help clear up some of the redness as well. Since most of the paw licking occurs at night when we are asleep, we just hope that the socks stay on.

I called the company where I ordered the replacement foam for my camera case this morning. My first order got destroyed by the post office. I reordered the foam inserts again over a week ago and they still haven't shipped. Somehow I imagined that someone would just take these foam inserts off a warehouse shelf and put them in the mail. Nope. A guy in Ohio cuts them individually by hand. He said that there isn't enough demand for the foam that fits older Zero Halliburton cases so he doesn't keep an inventory. For some reason he was behind because it was raining a lot. Oh, well. At least I know now. It's not like I actually need the camera case. I haven't used the old Nikon cameras in years.

I always need to decide whether to walk in the park or go to the gym. I was hoping for some cloud cover and a cool breeze, but it wasn't meant to be. I went to the gym again. The same people seem to be at the gym every day. It is a small group at 3 PM. I found a machine today that allowed my to stretch my arms above my head. The arm with the bad shoulder is very weak, so I couldn't add many weights to the machine. Maybe if I keep using this, it will give me some more mobility. The idea is to sit on a bench and grab a bar above your head and then pull the bar down while raising some weights attached to a cable. I can't raise my right arm above my head on my own, but this machine pulls it up. We'll see if this helps. I'd like to have a little more mobility with this shoulder.

I've been hearing thunder this evening, but it only rained for a few minutes. I don't think this is enough to trigger the leak. Maybe I should put a bucket out just in case.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4219

When we took Dawn on her sunrise walk this morning you could tell it was going to be a hot day. The pre-dawn air was still cool, but there was no wind and the sky was completely clear. I checked the weather forecast and my instincts were right. The temperature was going to be in the 90's before I finished breakfast. I'm glad that Dawn enjoys these early morning walks because they are the only walks she gets on days like these.

After finishing my morning smoothie, I wrote a letter to my sister. My plan was to take the letter to the post office on my way to the gym. There would be no long walk in the park today. It was too hot for that. When I went to the post office I noticed that there was no longer a 'mask required' sign on the door. The plexiglass barriers protecting the postal clerks were gone as well.

Why do I keep thinking this is all a little too soon? I'm not wearing a mask myself, but I do have my doubts. Will the Delta variant cause cases to spike again like they are in Europe? I have a runny nose this week. Is this allergies or did I catch a cold by being around other people again? How can you tell? Everyone used to get the sniffles and colds were commonplace in the pre-covid days. Almost nobody caught a cold last year. Almost nobody had the flu either. I doubt that this is a coincidence. Oh, well. I always was a hypochondriac. One of the consequences of the pandemic is that I'll probably never feel entirely comfortable around other people again.

I'm glad my gym is never very crowded. Most of the people I used to see have returned, but it was never a large group. Maybe younger people come to the gym early in the morning or after work. When I go in the middle of the day, it is always people my own age. Some seem even older than me. I guess this makes sense. What else are retired folks going to do on a hot day?

I don't have the patience to stay at the gym as long as I stay outdoors in the park. My long walks take two hours and I seldom stay at the gym much longer than an hour. This allows me to walk three miles. I walk two miles around the track and an additional mile on the treadmill, walking as fast as I can to get my heart rate up. I do some crunches on a new machine that is designed to strengthen your core and then work with free weights for a while. My right shoulder is so bad that I can't even lift the lightest weights all the way above my head with my right hand anymore. It is what it is. I'm still not going to have shoulder surgery.

We've got to do something about Dawn's feet. She keeps licking them at night and all four paws are becoming red and raw. We've started putting booties or socks on her feet to prevent her from licking, but it is not an easy job. When she sees us with a sock she runs away. So far, a medical wrap that attaches with velcro is the only thing that will stay on for any length of time. These wraps are very light and she can still walk around fairly normally. They have to come off when we take her outside to pee though, so this is a problem. We're hoping that the antibiotics that Dawn is taking for her urinary tract infection will help clear up some of the redness on her paws as well. If we can just keep her from licking her paws for a few weeks, maybe we can lick this problem. 

I'm glad that Dawn has overcome her fear of the kitchen. As soon as I finish fixing her meals, she is right there at her bowl. We have been able to mix the new wet food with her old dry food so that the dry food won't go to waste. As long as the dry food is completely coated with the wet stew, Dawn loves it. I'm wondering if the urinary tract infection, the red and raw paws, and Dawn's aversion to her old food are all related. If Dawn was really uncomfortable, it might cause her to chew at her paws and might even throw her off her food. The Cephalexin Dawn is taking already seems to be working. Hopefully in two weeks she will be back to normal.

The sensor that monitors our electric system warned me of a brownout while I was at the gym this afternoon. Please don't let there be power outages this summer. I can't handle the heat. I'll even turn off the dehumidifiers and turn up the thermostat a bit. The air conditioner has got to stay though. This is Texas and it's a hot summer.

Watson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4218

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

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

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

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

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

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

Winston is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4217

I watched Richard Branson's spaceflight this morning on the Virgin Galactic feed. Unity is a pretty cool little spacecraft. I wonder how many people remember that this flight started over 17 years ago when Bert Rutan won the X-Prize with his futuristic looking Spaceship-1, supported by the financial backing of Microsoft's Paul Allen. Branson bought the technology from these guys and was determined to create a space airline that would take regular folks to space and back. The regular folks would have to pony up $250,000 for a ticket, but that didn't seem to bother Branson. Over 600 people have already bought tickets for future flights, despite the fact that 3 people died during a rocket engine test in 2007 and one of the pilots of an earlier version of today's spacecraft died when his ship disintegrated during a test flight. 

Branson's flight today was certainly not without risks. It was not without its rewards either. Commercial sponsors are already jumping on the band wagon. Under Armor made the space suits for the Unity astronauts. Land Rover was designated as the official ground support vehicles. I imagine it won't be long before there is a Land Rover commercial featuring their new Defender towing the spaceship back to the hanger. None of this crass commercialism bothers me. 

Maybe this is why I admire people like Branson, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk. They represent individual exceptionalism at its best and have been willing to take huge risks with no guarantee of success. All of these guys could have easily failed and lost everything. These space pioneers follow in the footsteps of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. You don't have to be a nice guy to change the world, but Branson actually does seem like a nice guy.  I hope his eccentric adventures inspire young people to value individualism again. The collectivism their teachers seem to prefer isn't going to get us anywhere. 

I didn't change the world today, but I did wash the car. What has happened to me? When I kneel down to scrub the grime off the wheels, I have trouble getting up again. Maybe I need a cane. Janet washed her car too, but she seemed much more nimble than I was.

It rained during the night but the thunder and lightning was over by morning. When I got up this morning there was some water on the floor next to Dawn's food bowls. I couldn't tell whether there'd been a roof leak or if Dawn had spilled water while drinking from her bowl. It could have been Dawn because she is a messy eater.

Since the skies were clearing by the time we ate breakfast, Dawn got both her sunrise walk and her special outing to her Sunday park. She loves this Sunday outing now and gets really excited as we get ready to leave the house. She got her ice cream cone too, so it was a successful day from a dog's point of view.

I took my long walk through the park as soon as we returned home in hopes of avoiding the hot afternoon sun. This added up to a lot of walking and I now have two 20,000 step days in a row. Really all I did today was walk, wash my car, and watch a rich guy rocket into space. I guess that's enough for one day.

Sophia is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4216

I wish it wasn't so hard for me to get up in the morning. Our sunrise walks really are the nicest part of the day. When the temperature is in the 70's and there is a nice breeze, it's hard to believe that just a few hours later it will be in the high 90's and genuinely miserable outside. If I were smart, I would just continue walking after Dawn completes her one mile loop, but I have my priorities. I like to eat breakfast and today is grocery shopping day.

It's still hard to believe how empty the roads were just a few days ago during the holiday weekend. I wish everyone had stayed wherever they went on their vacations. Now that the population has returned, the stores are crowded again and the traffic is terrible. 

I don't wear a mask when I go shopping anymore, but I'll have to admit that I do have a few misgivings about returning to a pre-pandemic lifestyle. There are all these people in the stores and some of them are probably sick. I went for an entire year without even having a runny nose. I think it was almost entirely because I had very little contact with other people. Stay away from other people and you won't get sick. It's that simple.

I think the pandemic amplified feelings and tendencies that all of us have always had. Introverts like me are even less trusting of people than we were before, while extroverts are already trying to make up for lost time. It seems so strange to me that large segments of the population are really eager to sit shoulder to shoulder with total strangers at concerts and sporting events again. That's the way it is though. I know several people who can't wait to go to a concert. 

I had to go to several stores to find blueberries today. I'm fairly inflexible about my smoothie ingredients. Blueberries are essential. I eventually found everything on my list and picked up some take-out for dinner as well. Not surprisingly, by the time I got home and put everything away, it was pretty hot outside. Of course I had to take my long walk anyway. I wish my gym was open on Saturday afternoon. They keep saying that they don't have enough staff to stay open during the weekend. This doesn't make sense though. The gym is open on Saturday morning. Why can't those people just stay for the rest of the day. Maybe working at the gym was never a good job to begin with. After having an entire year to contemplate how shitty their old jobs were, a lot of people have found something better. There are a lot of ways to work from home now. I've been working from home for almost thirty years. It's not a bad life. It certainly beats working for tips in a restaurant. I doubt that I would like working for minimum wage in a gym either.

Dawn really likes her new food. She's even started following me out to the kitchen when I fix her meals again. Finding something she likes to eat seems to have changed Dawn's whole personality. She genuinely seems like a happier dog now. How were we to know that she didn't like her food? She seemed to enjoy her meals for over a year and was always eager for breakfast and dinner. Something changed rather abruptly, but Janet and I still can't figure out what it was. It seems strange to go from liking something to refusing to eat it in a matter of weeks unless there is a medical problem. The vet assures us that Dawn is fine. She's eating fine again too. I guess we'll just consider the problem solved.

I think we'll just repeat what we did last week for Dawn's special outing. It worked pretty well to take her to the Sunday park right after breakfast. We'll still do the sunrise walk as well. Taking two walks in a row doesn't seem to bother Dawn at all. I won't have to walk as far later in the day as well. The only thing that might throw a wrench in the works is the weather forecast. The weather forecast is seldom correct, but it is supposed to rain again tomorrow.

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4215

It was a little cooler today. That made it easier to do some things I've been avoiding. I finally got around to mowing the grass. It grows quickly since we've had a wet Spring. I don't like mowing the front yard now, since traffic has gotten heavy on our street. When I've got the mower down by the curb, cars and big trucks will barrel past me at forty miles an hour. This constant traffic makes it hard to get out of the driveway too. Things have changed a lot in thirty years.

I was tired when I finished mowing both the front and back yards, but the weather wasn't bad today so I decided that I'd go ahead and take my long walk after a short nap. Dawn got the best part of the day when we took our sunrise walk early this morning, although the rest of the day was much better than I expected. It was overcast with a pleasant breeze. There was a chance of rain in the forecast, but all we got were a few light sprinkles. Actually the light showers helped keep me cool while I was walking. It felt more like a mist than an actual rain shower.

Mowing the grass and taking a long walk seemed to eat up my entire day. I didn't do much else today. We heard from the vet and Dawn does have bacteria in her urine. The second sample we took to be analyzed looked exactly the same as the first. Janet picked up the antibiotics the vet prescribed and we'll see if we can get her back to normal. At least Dawn still loves her new food. I guess you solve one problem and another one takes its place.

I'm having a hard time staying motivated. My days consist of deciding what to eat and when to walk. I probably won't even try to go back to Kennedy Space Center until Artemis-1 is ready to launch toward the end of the year. Rental cars are almost impossible to find in Florida now and hotels have gotten quite expensive. There are a lot of Starlink launches this Summer, but nothing that really captures my interest. I hope I don't lose the contacts I've worked so hard to build down at the space center, but it is what it is. It's a lot easier to go out to McDonald Observatory when I feel a need to get out of town. It's a lot more peaceful as well. I have no real desire to visit a big city again.

I should be working hard to master PixInsight and the other astrophotography software I was introduced to at the last workshop I attended. I have these application on my computer, but seldom open them. Truthfully, taking pictures of dogs is more fun than taking pictures of stars. I love staring up at the sky on a clear, dark night but I think I enjoy visual astronomy more than astrophotography. Astrophotography is very technical in nature. I think I enjoy the spontaneous side of photography more. I loved shooting fashion back in the day. I'll continue to work on becoming a better astrophotographer though. It's definitely something I haven't mastered yet.

Time passes so quickly now. It will be the middle of July soon and 2021 still just feels like an addendum to 2020. Has anything actually happened this year? It's time to make a grocery list again. I bet the stores will be more crowded tomorrow. I'm not sure where everyone went over the holiday, but they're definitely all back now.

Greta is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4214

Everyone must be back from their vacation. The traffic is terrible again. It's weird that so many people do evereything at the same time. One day the streets are empty and the next day it's back to traffic jams. I think I'm going to look back at 2020 as a very peaceful year. I liked the slower pace of life under Covid restrictions. Now that life is getting back to normal, it's just the usual chaos of life in a big city.

Dawn had to go back to the vet today for another urine test. The first sample was contaminated and bacteria was found in the urine. The vet wanted to get a clean sample and do another urinalysis before he put Dawn on antibiotics. This was probably a good idea. Now that Dawn is eating again, a strong antibiotic could upset her stomach and make her lose her appetite again. We should find out the results soon and hope that everything is OK.

It's getting harder and harder for me to get up early for our morning walk. All I want to do is sleep these days. Luckily I can get dressed in a few minutes. Dawn and Janet are usually ready to go by the time I get out of bed. It's still really nice outside just before sunrise. It's a shame that the temperature rises so quickly.  The day starts in the 70's and usually ends up near 100 degrees.

It was too hot for me to take my walk in the park again today. It was too hot to go up on the roof or mow the grass as well. I wonder if it's going to be this way all summer? Except for that one week where everything was frozen, we had a pretty mild winter. Now it just looks like a typical hot Texas summer.

I went to the gym again this afternoon. I'm putting a few more miles on the car since I'm going to the gym almost every day. I guess I really do need to make a service appointment. The car runs fine, but that 'service required' light is going to win in the end. I always end up doing what my mechanical masters want.

I don't walk as far at the gym as I do outdoors, but I always feel like I've had a good workout. The place is so cold that I often feel like wearing a jacket. If you stay active you warm up quickly though. I guess that is the whole idea. I mostly just use the treadmill to get my steps for the day and then do a little work with free weights to improve my upper body strength. I think I did a lot more before Covid, but who's counting.  My plan to stay healthy is simple. Keep moving and eat healthy meals. That should be enough. I probably should add getting enough sleep to the mix, but that isn't as easy as it sounds.

I ordered some replacement foam inserts for a camera case last week and got a notice today that the post office had destroyed my package accidentally in transit. I got a refund from the company, but now what do I do? Should I try again and see if I have better luck next time. It really shouldn't be that hard to ship open cell foam. 

Dawn still likes her new food. Just our luck that she has taken a liking to something that is twice as expensive as her old food. Oh, well. Life goes on. I've taken this week's trash out to the curb and am waiting for another uneventful week to begin.

Trevor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4213

Dawn and Janet were ready to walk when I woke up this morning. I could have slept for several hours longer, but I quickly got dressed and off we went. No matter how hot it was the previous day, it always seems nice before sunrise. Today, the sky was blue and there was no wind at all. I knew that this was as good as it was going to get. This was going to be a very hot day.

When we returned home I made the bed and fixed my breakfast. I was in no hurry because there was absolutely nothing on my agenda today. I kind of hoped we would get a short afternoon shower to cool things down, but that didn't happen. When I took Dawn outside to pee around mid-morning I could already tell that it was going to be way too hot for a long walk in the park.

Dawn still loves the new food we got for her. There's probably no going back to kibble now. We are able to mix a little of her old dry food in with her tasty new stew. Eventually, we'll be able to use this food up, but it will take a while. We still have no idea what her long term diet will be, since we haven't gotten the lab results from the vet yet. I hope we can find a solution that is healthy for Dawn, won't cause crystals or bladder stones to form, and most importantly that she will continue to eat. 

The more comfortable Dawn becomes at our house, the bossier she gets. I'm not really surprised since she's an old mama dog who has raised many puppies. The first thing she let us know was where she wanted to sleep. Next, she let us know how long she wanted to walk. Now, she's trying to tell us what she wants for dinner. In the beginning I think she was fearful that we might punish or hurt her if she didn't do exactly what we wanted. Now, she's pretty confident that she has a safe place to live and that we are both pretty nice people. Dawn is still a little scared of me, but even that is getting better. We probably should be a little more firm with her, but we just like to see her happy. This dog has had a very rough life. She deserves a little happiness.

I deserve a little happiness too, but usually I just settle for exercise. I went to the gym this afternoon mainly because I knew it was going to be cool inside. I can't even imagine what the electric bill is for this gym because they keep the place really cold. I did a little work with free weights today, but mostly I just walked around and around the indoor track. I don't know why it seems to take longer to walk a mile indoors than it does outdoors. I walked three miles around the small track and it seemed to take forever. When I looked at my Fitbit my pace was almost the same as it was outdoors. Maybe it's just boring to walk around and around in a circle. Time goes a lot quicker when you're outdoors counting ducks.

I'm getting tired of seeing the "service required" light come on every time I start the car, but I still haven't made an appointment to take it to the Land Rover dealer. I haven't made the doctor's appointments I keep getting e-mail reminders about either. At a certain point you realize that you are just a source of revenue for other people. There is a routine checkup for everything now. The HVAC guy wants to check your furnace. The car dealer wants to check your car. Every doctor you have ever seen in your life wants you to come in every six months for a check-up. Nine times out of ten there is nothing wrong. Maybe this is why it is so irritating to see the "service required" light in my car when I know there is nothing wrong.

Janet said that Dawn did well in training class tonight. I hope this class is good for her. It would be nice if she finally realized that life isn't so bad and that there is nothing to be fearful of. I'm one to talk though. I'm fearful of all sorts of things. 

Delaney is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4212

We took Dawn to the vet today. She had some lab tests done and we came home with some new dog food. We didn't learn anything today, but hopefully when the lab results come back we might find the answer to why Dawn is not eating normally and continues to lick her feet. I'm still thinking that we have a smart and very stubborn dog. She was certainly eager to eat the new wet food we brought home today. Dawn might just be training us. Why are we even worried about a temporary loss of appetite? Well, when our other dogs stopped eating, they usually died. It is not unusual for a dog to get tired of what they are eating. We've had to change a dog's diet many times for a variety of reasons. You've got to take loss of appetite seriously though. Dogs love to eat and when they stop, it could mean that something is seriously wrong.

We got some scattered showers today, but if you blinked you probably missed it. I noticed that the grass was wet several times, but I never actually saw any rain fall. We were able to take Dawn on her morning walk without getting wet and there was no rain while we were at the vet either. I could see a lot of dark clouds when I went to the gym later in the afternoon, but the rain always seemed to be somewhere else. This was all fine by me. I didn't feel like washing the car and I certainly didn't feel like dealing with the roof leak again.

My gym must be offering a special deal on personal trainers because almost everyone seemed to have one today. Maybe it just seemed that way because the gym was fairly empty. I think the city is still on vacation. Everything is open again, but the roads are still surprisingly empty. I wasn't even planning on going to the gym today, but the humidity was oppressively high. This didn't seem like a day to be walking six miles outdoors. As I circled around and around on the small indoor track, I kept watching the trainers pushing the people they were working with to go a little faster or work a little harder. I don't think I could work with a trainer. I can't deal with people telling me what to do, even if it might be in my best interest. It's hard enough for me to go to the gym as it is. If somebody was there pushing me to test my limits and improve myself, I'd probably stop going altogether.

Improving myself is not very high on my agenda these days. I still read articles about astrophotography, but I probably forget most of what I learn because you can't really see stars in Dallas. Setting up my gear and actually taking photographs several times a year out in West Texas probably isn't enough. In theory I could probably find some reasonably dark skies within easy driving distance, but I don't feel comfortable being out at night in the city anymore. Whenever I turn on the local news, the lead story is always about someone being shot late at night. Dallas isn't as bad as Chicago or Philadelphia, but it's a lot, lot worse than Fort Davis or Marfa.

I think that future historians will write about this period of time the same way we currently think about the fall of Rome. We're definitely on a downhill slope and the barbarians are already at the gates. It's such a shame because it didn't have to be this way. When I was growing up there wasn't a single murder in my town during my entire childhood. Parents let their kids roam around town on Halloween without any supervision. Nothing bad happened. It was kind of like growing up in Mayberry on that old Andy Griffith Show. 

Luckily, I'm still pretty confident when the sun is up. If the weather stays cool I'll take my long walk. If it gets hot, I'll go to the gym. Either way, tomorrow will be pretty much the same as today. I'm sure the telescopes will stay inside.

Cisco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4211

I guess the holiday continued into today. The markets and banks were closed. There wasn't any mail delivery. The Dalmatian's kennel was still open though, so we were still able to visit Charlie and Cooper. I took my camera because there were supposed to be two new Dalmatian puppies at the kennel. They were both at the vet for their check ups when we arrived though, so maybe we'll see them next week.

The day started normally enough. We got up early and took Dawn on her sunrise walk. I can already tell that the days are starting to get shorter. Sunrise seems a few minutes later each day. Dawn is now reluctant to eat the new food we got for her, so we made an appointment to see the vet. We need to know if she's just being a picky eater or if there is a medical problem. We are a little worried about her kidneys since we've known that they are a potential problem for some time. We'll get some new blood work done and a urinalysis, along with anything else the vet suggests. Hopefully, Dawn is just being stubborn. She has no problems eating people food.

The traffic was still pretty light when we went up to the kennel. I guess that holiday travelers aren't visiting Dallas. There were a lot of boarding dogs at the kennel, but we were still able to secure a room where we could play with Charlie and Cooper. Charlie was still very gentle with his new possum toy. This is the only toy that he doesn't toss in the air and get rough with. He just carries it around like he's looking for a safe place to hide it. We've never seen Charlie act this way before. It's actually encouraging to know that he has a softer side.

I was planning to go to the gym when we returned from the kennel, but I decided to take a walk at the last minute. I don't know why I thought it would be cool enough for a long walk in the park. Maybe the sun was behind a cloud. I managed to complete my six miles, but I was hot and tired by the time I returned home. I would have been tired at the gym as well, but I wouldn't have been as hot and sweaty. It's too bad I don't enjoy exercise more. It's very necessary, but I'd rather just sleep.

I paid some bills today and noticed that the electric bill has take a sharp rise upward. It's summer in Texas. Next month's bill will be even worse. The water bill will be a lot higher next month as well, now that we are trying to keep our new grass alive. I was never as aware of prices when I was working. Living on a fixed income puts a whole new perspective on things. 

I didn't sleep well last night. I've been having weird dreams again. For some reason my dreams frequently involve choosing food in buffet lines, being lost inside buildings, or being back in college. Last night I was dealing with all three of these things. At some point a professor asked me to come up with an equation that would generate an outline in the shape of Africa. I kept trying to convince the class that you could accomplish the same thing with a much easier equation that gave you the area of a circle. Just pack a whole bunch of little circles together and you'll have your map of Africa, I told the class. Hey, I was never very good at math. Maybe I was distracted by the fact that right after I had chosen a pathetic looking roast beef sandwich for my lunch, service workers bought out huge stacks of much better looking meat and replaced the entire buffet table. The flying dreams I had as a kid were much more enjoyable.

Hopefully the vet can tell us why Dawn keeps licking her feet and has lost her appetite. It might be nothing at all, but you never know with a dog. It's too bad dogs can't talk and just tell you what's wrong.

Isabella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4210 - Independence Day

It was unusually quiet for a major holiday. The streets were empty. Neighborhood cafes didn't seem busy. Even the park wasn't very full. It really felt like the entire city had left and gone to the beach. Bad weather or the pandemic certainly weren't keeping people indoors this year. They were just someplace else. I have a feeling that every lake, sandy beach, and National Park was pretty crowded today.

The weather was actually very nice this morning and we tried to take advantage of it. Dawn got a nice early walk after we got up. We slept in a bit this morning, but it was still cloudy and cool when we left the house. I'm glad that Dawn is eating normally again. It makes life a little less stressful. When we returned from our walk, Janet and I had a holiday breakfast of pancakes and bacon and then took Dawn for her Sunday outing. Dawn expects this trip now and gets really excited as we get ready to go. Janet works on Dawn's training exercises while we are walking and I can already tell that Dawn is getting better. We both think the training class has been good for her. She is becoming much more confident now. 

When we took Dawn for her ice cream cone on the way home, we were the only customer. This was really strange because the place is usually packed on weekends. As we ate our cones in the car, we didn't see a single car go through Andy's drive through. Today was perfect ice cream weather too. Where did all the people go this year? It felt more like last year's lockdown Fourth of July than a normal Independence Day.

I still think Independence Day is worth celebrating. If you read the Declaration of Independence and think about what it says, it is a remarkable document. The founding fathers were brilliant and thoughtful men who were able to create something that has lasted for over two hundred years by recognizing that individuals should control the state rather than the state controlling the individual. If these leaders were alive today they would seem more like libertarians than democrats or republicans. They believed in very limited government and created a republic rather than a representative democracy specifically to prevent the federal government from becoming too powerful.

The United States has grown and evolved over the years, but the goal has largely remained the same. There has been a strong desire to provide equal opportunities that would allow individual exceptionalism to flourish. Individualism is what made this country great. Individual states and individual communities were free to chart their own path as long as they operated under the umbrella of a rule of laws that were outlined in the constitution. It's a shame that all this is in jeopardy now. There are those who want to diminish the importance of individualism and substitute the collective will of the state. There are those who think equal outcomes are more appropriate than equal opportunities. I find this very sad. When you destroy the individual and reduce everything to the lowest common denominator you basically destroy civilization itself.

It isn't surprising that people like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are almost desperate to get off the planet and start over. They know what's coming. There are too many people in the world and globalization, along with a benign world government run by the United Nations will only makes things worse. Global corporations would love to turn the entire world into affluent consumers. The more we consume the quicker we all become extinct. The planet simply cannot support a world full of affluent people cutting down all the trees for homes and eating all the fish in the sea. Why don't people understand this? If your spirit animal is a unicorn, you're doomed. Humanity's goal should be reducing the population rather than increasing opportunities so everyone can consume more. Ahh, but maybe somebody does understand. Maybe the pandemic was just a practice run. Maybe the next one will wipe out everyone except the Chinese. The Chinese win the long game you know. They don't have to deal with this messy little moment in time that the founding fathers created. Have a happy Independence Day.

Matao is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4209

When I woke up this morning I was surprised at how cool it was outside. The temperature was in the 70's when we took Dawn on her early walk and I don't think it got above 84 degrees all day. There was a pleasant breeze as well. I complain about the weather a lot, but we have some of the best weather in the country right now. We're not in the middle of a drought. There are no wildfires. There are no hurricanes. The temperatures tend to be high, but they're still lower than people in the Pacific Northwest are experiencing. Maybe I shouldn't complain so much.

My grocery list was small this week, so shopping didn't take as long as it usually does. I was surprised that the stores didn't seem full for a holiday weekend. The roads weren't crowded either. Did the entire town go to the beach or something? I'm still getting used to a post-pandemic world. Very few people wear masks in stores anymore. The signs on the doors are gone and everything has more or less returned to normal. There are fewer shortages as well. Shelves that were empty a few months ago are fully stocked again. The only thing weird about this July is that everyone seems to want to take a vacation at the same time. I'm glad that I don't have a terrible urge to travel right now. Maybe by Fall the vacation surge will have run its course and I can think about going somewhere.

I wanted to take advantage of the cooler weather, so I took my long walk as soon as I put the groceries away. It was quite pleasant outside. There was a nice breeze and it was mostly overcast so there was no direct sun. It's too bad I still felt sore from yesterday's workout at the gym. I use a completely different set of muscles at the gym and these muscles didn't really feel like walking today. I took it slow and finished my six miles, realizing that staying in shape would probably be an uphill battle for the rest of my life.

Janet found some food that Dawn will eat. It's not a long term solution, but hopefully it will keep her eating normally until we find something better. Finding the perfect food for your dog is never an easy task.  If you ask ten people what they feed their dog you will get ten different answers. We stopped asking our vet years ago because all they recommend are Hills Science Diet products. Probably the best thing is to cook fresh chicken and rice. We've done this before and dogs seem to love it. If you start cooking for your dog, there is no turning back though. Its hard to get them to eat dog food again. We always wondered if we were leaving out essential nutrients and vitamins. Most premium dog foods claim to be a complete, balanced meal for your pet and have a long list of ingredients. Chicken and rice is just chicken and rice. I'm sure we'll be able to find something that is both good for Dalmatians in general and tastes good to our own somewhat picky Dalmatian. There certainly is plenty to choose from. I'm always amazed at how many varieties of food there are when you go to a pet store.

I noticed a lot of signs in the park saying that fireworks were illegal in the city of Dallas and that you could face up to a $3000 fine for setting them off. I wonder if that will take care of the problem. Usually it sounds like a war zone on the Fourth of July. It's certainly quiet now. In pervious years, we'd be hearing fireworks right now. Some of our dogs have been terrified of fireworks. We're not sure how Dawn will react, but I suspect that they won't bother her since she doesn't react to thunder and lightning at all. 

I hope our cooler weather continues. I'd like the roof to dry out so I can inspect it again. I'd also like to take a long walk since my gym is still closed on Sunday. It remains to be seen whether we watch the fireworks displays tomorrow evening. There's a good viewing spot just up the street from us, but it's not a high priority now.

Bob Hope is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day