August 2016

August 2016

Monday 01- 112 degrees.

I did my stretches, lifted the 20lb weights, took Cassie for a one mile jog.

Cassie and me out for a ride this evening on my new Sondors Ebike

Tuesday 02- 109 degrees.

I did my stretches, weight bench, yoga, took Cassie for a one mile jog, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

Wednesday 03- 112 degrees.

I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

We went to Sherry’s so she and I could go shopping while Cassie played with her friends. We did shopping and had linder (lunch/dinner) at the Sizzler.

Thursday 04- 109 degrees.

I did my stretches, weight bench, took Cassie for a one mile jog, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

Friday 05- 104 degrees.

I did my stretches and took Cassie for her morning and evening walk.

Saturday 06- 105 degrees.

I did my stretches, weight bench, took Cassie for short walk, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

Sunday 07- 108 degrees.

I did my stretches and yoga. Took Cassie for her walks.

Tonight I sat in my camping chair under a beautiful starry night. I was looking through my Celestron 15X70 Skymaster binoculars watching as the waxing crescent Moon sank behind and beneath the San Bernardino Mountains near to the west revealing pine trees and boulders on the ridges. I then turned to see Mars in Scorpio where it outshines Antares which is sometimes mistaken for Mars; it’s a good time to compare the two.

I alway find it hard to find the constellation Hercules, but I then recall it is between Corona Borealis and Vega; here you will find M13 the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules. In my 15X70 binoculars it appears as a tiny dust ball. In a decent telescope you will see somewhere around 300 thousand stars. M13 is 25 thousand light years away.

Later, I was looking for the coathanger asterism in the constellation Vulpecula when a meteor flashed across my binocular lens and it was the only meteor I saw tonight. The coat hanger asterism lies about four fingers at arm's length from the Constellation Aquila towards the bright star Vega. I like the coathanger asterism because it’s sometimes hard to find.

Monday 08- My Birthday! 105 degrees.

I did my stretches and lifted the 20lbs dumbbells and took Cassie for a walk.

I spent some time on FaceBook replying to all the birthday wishes my friends posted there.

I’ve been recently looking for a travel trailer and maybe do some traveling. I went to Yucca Valley to see one, but it wasn’t what I expected. We talked for a spell about the trailer and other things and I told them it is my birthday today. The lady who was selling the trailer, and her Mom and Dad sang happy birthday to me! I taken by their kindness I gave the lady a signed copy of “Azure Sea of Dreams”.

I then went to WalMart to get my haircut and a roasted chicken to share with Cassie.

Tonight was hazy with the smoke from the Pilot Fire in the San Bernardino Mountains. I smelled it last night around 1am and went outside to see if it was a nearby house on fire, but didn’t see any signs of a fire at all. Also the Moon seemed brighter tonight as it shined on the suspended smoke particulates, so the seeing wasn’t all that good. I did see three satellites; one was a tumbling piece of space debris.
I noticed that Cassiopeia was up way to the northeast. By following a string of stars, about a fist length from the brightest pointy tip of the sideways “M” southeast (at this time). And as you follow these stars you have to drop down a bit till you find three stars in a straight row that almost lead right to the Andromeda Galaxy. I always use this method when seeing is poor to find the galaxy, but I am sure there are other better ways of finding it. You can actually see the Andromeda Galaxy on a clear night with the naked eye if you don’t look straight at it and use the rods of your eyes instead of the cones. This technique is called Averted Vision. The Andromeda Galaxy being 2.4 million light years away is the farthest object you can see with the unaided eye.
I was about to go back inside when a very bright orange yellow meteor zipped out of the southwest almost making its way to Cygnus before it vaporized leaving behind a very nice translucent tail to rapidly fade into the darkness.

The winds have shifted and I can smell the fire again. I am wondering if my CERT team will be activated.

Tuesday 09- 106 degrees.

I did my stretches and took Cassie for her walks.

Wednesday 10- 104 degrees.

I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Thursday 11- 105 degrees.

I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk and then went to my Doctor’s appointment. The Doc is setting me up for all the test and shots I need for the EMT class I may take next spring semester.

I stopped at the Health Club and registered for their Silver Sneaker program that my new health insurance covers.

We actually had a cloud burst a little after 2pm and it rained for about fifteen minutes. Pretty cool to go out there and dance in the rain.

Cassie and I sat outside and watched the Perseid Meteor shower. I couldn’t stay up late because I had an appointment to go purchase a cargo trailer in Redlands and had to be there before 1pm.

Friday 12- 108 degrees.

I woke up early, took Cassie for a walk, and then drove down to Redlands 80 miles away to pick up a 6X10 cargo trailer that I will convert into a travel trailer. I was worried that I’d have trouble driving up the 62 hwy grade, but with one eye on the temp gauge and going a bit slower up the hill than I usually do I didn’t have any problems. It looks much bigger in person than it did online.

I took Cassie for a nice long evening walk.

Saturday 13- 109 degrees.

I did my stretches, weight bench, took Cassie for a one mile jog, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

Sherry dropped by to say hi to Cassie and while we were yapping Roger Smith stopped by and we yapped some more in the heat blistering Sun beating down upon us.

Sunday 14- 111 degrees.

I did my stretches, weight bench, yoga, took Cassie short walk (it was 101 degrees by 10am), core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

Monday 15- 113 degrees.

I did my stretches, worked out with the 20lb dumbbells and took Cassie for a walk.

Did some cleaning around the house; even with the swamp cooler pumping away it was still too hot to do much of anything.

Tuesday 16- 109 degrees.

I did my stretches and took Cassie for a short walk, too hot already this morning when we got started.

I drove to the college to check out the textbook for the Medical Terminology class. I decided right then and there that it would be too much added on to what I want to do to get my already written book “Desolation” edited and published.

Went to Stater Bros while I was out and picked up some chicken for me and Cassie.

Wednesday 17- 108 degrees.

I did my stretches, weight bench, went for a one mile jog alone; just too hot (103 degrees) for Cassie to come along and I don’t think she minded one bit, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

Thursday 18- 103 degrees.

I did my stretches.

Got a call from my Stepmother’s friend Smita telling me my Stepmother had passed away. I called to inform my Sisters of her passing. I wrote a poem for my Stepmother Aki who we all loved. She had made the decision to discontinue her chemo and went into hospice, so her passing was expected but still saddening.

Friday 19- 109 degrees.

I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I then went down to Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage to have lunch with my sister Leeanne and our very good friend Robin. I found out after a few miles from my home that the air conditioner on the Cougar was not working and I was cooking all the way down to Rancho Mirage where it reached 114 degrees that day. I made it okay but felt a little off. We ate at the buffet and yammered on and on about this and that... getting up to date on things. We stayed there yakking for almost two hours until I started feeling out of sorts and decided it was time to say our goodbyes. I got out to the car, opened the door where a blast of hot air hit me and the insides were like a oven and I was the turkey needing basting. The steering wheel was hot to the touch all the way back home. I had to drive with the windows open, which wasn’t much help seeing it was over 110 outside. I had planned to do a little shopping when I got to Yucca Valley, but only got gas and drove on home. I was still sweating and that’s a good sign, but once home and out of the car I ran water from the garden hose all over my body to get me cooled off.

Only after the sun went down did I take Cassie for a walk.

Saturday 20- 107 degrees.

I did my exercises and took Cassie for a walk.

Later in the evening when it was cooler we went for a mile run.

Sunday 21- 93 degrees and cloudy; a few sprinkles in the morning!

I did nothing except take Cassie for her walks.

Monday 22- 101 degrees.

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and punched the heavybag for three minutes. Too hot for a walk or a run for Cassie and I decided not to go myself.

Tuesday 23- 99 degrees in 29Palms and 114 in Palm Springs.

I got up early and did my stretches.

I took Cassie over to Sherry’s to be among her own kind for a few days. I spent the day taking Sherry to the doctors and then to the ER at Desert Regional and didn’t get back home until 10:30pm. I left Cassie there for a ‘stay over’ and will pick her back up on Friday.

Wednesday 24- 101 degrees with haze.

I did my stretches, weight bench, yoga, went for a mile jog, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

In the evening I rode the Sondors electric bike 6 miles!

Thursday 25- 103 degrees and hazy.

I did my stretches, yoga, went for a mile jog, exercised with the 10lbs dumbbells, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

Friday 26- 100 degrees with clouds here and there.

I did my stretches, went for a mile jog and punched the heavybag for three minutes.

I went to Yucca Valley to have some lab work done for the EMT class in spring semester. This is just in case I want to take the class I have to have it done.

I then went to WalMart to get a few supplies.

Cassie was staying at Sherry’s and I went to pick her up and have spaghetti that Sherry cooked up for me and Kathy that was mighty good.

Saturday 27- 93 degrees.

I did my stretches and me and Cassie went for a mile jog.

I went to Potluck and got pretty stuffed on the mighty fine grub there.

Venus Jupiter conjunction... I've been watching these two grow closer every night and thought I'd take a few pictures.

Sunday 28- 99 degrees.

I did my stretches and took Cassie for a morning and evening walk.

Monday 29- 106 degrees.

I did my stretches and took Cassie for a morning and evening walk.

Tuesday 30- 107 degrees.

Went to Sherry’s and dropped Cassie off there so I can go to the lab in Yucca Valley to have some blood work done for the EMT registration requirements. I did some shopping at WalMart and then back to Sherry’s to help clean-up her yard (poop patrol)... I bought two California burgers at Carl’s Jr and some ice cream from Stater Bros to share with Sherry.

Wednesday 31- 103 degrees.

I did my stretches and took Cassie for a short walk before I had to go to town in Twentynine Palms: Post office to pick up two packages, Stater Bros. to get a few things I missed yesterday and then on to the ER at hospital for a chest X-Ray; another EMT registration requirement.

***** Stuff I Wrote this Month******

Passive are the shallow waters, which runs beneath the realms of mortals, a sea without sympathy that observe our plight, as we silently slip beneath a shroud of darkness and into an abyss of eternal light.

~RD

They say if one door closes another opens... sometimes we may linger a little longer than we should... in a memory of what once was and seemed to always be, but now recognizing it never really was. Feeling not abandoned, but alone, yet smiling at your good fortune. I am comfortable with my solitude, but I still find myself standing in some damp darken corridor of my mind wishing this sealed door in front of me just might open a crack... allowing a small ray to bleed through, a bit of that sunshine of bliss I used to bathe in with thee, to shine upon my soul, to brighten these darken corridors of my mind once again...
~RD

*************