Saturday, October 31, 2015

Day 2146 - Halloween

When I was walking Dash this evening, I noticed that some of the neighbors were turning a nearby tennis court into a Halloween party. There were spooky Halloween decorations and tables had been set up with baskets filled with candy. This seemed like an odd way to trick or treat, but I guess it made sense. There aren't many children in the neighborhood and since parents only seem to take their kids to houses with other children of the same age, having a central trick or treat location probably saved these people a lot of driving across town. Dash seemed curious about what was going on, so I took him down to the tennis court to investigate. Right after we arrived, someone decided to test the sound system by playing spooky witch noises. The cackling witch scared Dash and he immediately lost interest in the party preparations and headed toward home. Poor Dash. He is scared of just about everything.

It was a dreary day, but after 24 hours of solid rain, damp and overcast was just fine. We didn't have the flooding problems that plagued Austin and Houston this week, but we certainly got a lot of rain. Basically, we received our entire Summer's quota of rain in two days. Once I determined that things were drying out, I went up on the roof and cleared away the standing water. Every time I do this I find thousands of new acorns on the roof. I sweep them over the edge and more appear the next day. This bumper crop of acorns probably means that there will literally be hundreds of little Oak seedlings sprouting in the St. Augustine grass next Spring.

The FedEx driver did make an appearance this morning to deliver my package. I was glad to have that issue resolved. I could have asked the driver why he blew me off yesterday, but what would that prove? Yesterday is in the past and I have my package now. It made more sense to just sign for the package, thank the driver for coming out on a Saturday, and move on. The package wasn't damaged either, so that was a bonus.

Tonight's episode of Dr. Who seemed more like an episode of the X-Files. The whole show seemed to be some sort of an allegory about immigration, terrorism, and other contemporary events. A lot of fans seem to think Season 9 is great. Personally, I prefer the Christopher Eccleston/Billy Piper era. I got bored with the show at some point and switched over to Saturday Night Live, watching Barack Obama introduce the opening sketch wearing a Barack Obama mask. Strange times. I couldn't decide if it was weirder to see Dr. Who making a thinly veiled statement about radicalization and terrorism, or see the President of the United States wearing a Halloween mask of himself.

Janet wanted to dress the dogs up for Halloween when we took them on their evening walk. The complex harnesses they both wear now don't lend themselves to costumes though. We found an old tutu that Dot used to wear and just put it around her head like a necklace. It's just as well. If she wore the costume properly, she would have peed on it or worse. Dot has worn many memorable costumes over the years, but she probably never liked any of them. Halloween and Daylight Saving Time don't make much sense to a dog. When the time changes tomorrow, we're going to think it's 6 AM, but Dot and Dash are going to think it's 7 AM and time for a walk. So much for sleeping in.

Roxie is today's Dalmatian of the Day
Watch of the Day