May 2018

May 2018

Tuesday 01- Thunderstorm 70° | 53° 0.01 in of rain.
I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged three miles.
I listened to four podcast episodes of Astronomy Cast.
I finished chapters 18 and 19 (1000 to 1300 high middle ages) of my history book.

Wednesday 02- Thunderstorm 70° | 50° 0.22 in of rain.
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 3 miles.
I listened to four podcast episodes of Astronomy Cast: 425 Naming Spacecraft, 424 Lightning, 423 Cyclones, and 422 Geysers
I finished chapter 20 (continuing high middle ages) of my history book.

Thursday 03- Clear 82° | 53°
I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged two miles with Cassie.
I listened to four podcast episodes of Astronomy Cast: 429 Living on Mars, 428 The Moons of Mars, 427 Clickbait vs Clear Science, and 426 Confirmation Bias
I finished chapter 21 (continuing high middle ages) of my history book.

Friday 04- Clear 89° | 57°
I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, and jogged a good mile.
I finished chapter 22 (still stuck in the high middle ages) of my history book.
Watched Launching of InSight Mars Lander... moved really fast towards the south... I believe I saw about two or more minutes of the glow of the rocket before I lost it :)

Saturday 05- Scattered Clouds 96° | 63°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 1.5 miles.
I took Cassie for a night run. It was overcast so I didn’t watch the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower.
I received word that my friend Mike Long’s sister Mae had passed away.

Sunday 06- Scattered Clouds 99° | 64°
I did my stretches and jogged a good mile.
Kjtel invited me over for lunch. She lives about a quarter mile away, so I just walked. We had a very nice veggie meal she prepared and then watched a movie called “Gravity” a sci-fi thriller about being stuck in space with few options to get back to Earth.
Still overcast, so it’s a no go for the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower.
I also listened to 2 Astronomy Cast podcast: 431 The Search for Life on Mars, ans 430 Coming Home from Mars, Part 2.
I received word that my dear friends Dorothy Jacobsen had passed away; she was 90 years old.

Monday 07- Scattered Clouds 96° | 70°
I did my stretches.
I went to the post office in Twentynine Palms to pick up a ..... Subway then on to Staters Bros.

Tuesday 08- Scattered Clouds 100° | 70°
I did my stretches and jogged a good mile.
I went over to Kjtel’s with Cassie and my guitar. Barney wasn’t feeling well so he had to stay behind. We messed around playing songs and we ate a veggie lunch.

Wednesday 09- Scattered Clouds 104° | 73°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 1.5 miles. On my run I tripped over a root that was exposed above ground and took a good tumble. I got right up and continued my jog. I was a little bruised, but I’ll keep an eye on myself for the next couple of day and kinda take it easy.

Thursday 10- windy Scattered Clouds 98° | 70°
I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.
I went to Yucca Valley and got my blood work done, stop over at Subway, then over to Staters...
I’m getting a little concerned about Barney. He isn’t eating much and is having a hard time with his back legs standing.

Friday 11- Scattered Clouds 90° | 66°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 3 miles.
I also listened to 4 Astronomy Cast podcast: 435 The Butterfly Effect, 434 Am I On An Alien World? 433 Volcanoes on Mars , and 432 Geologic Ages of Mars – From Wet and Wild to Desolate Desert

Saturday 12- Clear 82° | 62°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 3 miles.
I worked cleaning up the patio sweeping up all autumn and winter leaves and dirt buildup and tossing the whole mess into the dumpster. Did some watering of the plants and picking up trash in the yard.
I also listened to two Astronomy Cast podcast: 437 Destroy and Rebuild, Pt. 1: The Torino Scale , and 436 Common Misconceptions in Probability.

Sunday 13- Clear 84° | 61°
I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged 1.5 miles.
I went to the poetry reading at Space Cowboy Books in Joshua Tree. I had my poems already picked out and on my Fire Tablet which decided to do a system update just then. I had to apologize to the audience, quickly go back to my backpack, grab a book with some of my poems. I jumped back on stage to fumble through a couple of poems I wasn't prepared to read. Other than that I had a wonderful time with some really great poets and storytellers.
I also listened to 6 Astronomy Cast podcast:  443 Destroy and Rebuild Pt. 7: Tsunamis, 442 Destroy and Rebuild Pt. 6: Magnetic Pole Reversal, 441 Destroy and Rebuild, Pt. 5: Continental Drift , 440 Destroy and Rebuild, Pt. 4: Supervolcanoes! 439 Destroy and Rebuild, Pt. 3: How Do We Terraform Earth? And 438 Destroy and Rebuild, Pt. 2: Geoengineering


Monday 14- Scattered Clouds 84° | 61°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 3 miles.
I read a few pages of my “A Short History of Western Civilization” (1300-1500) I’m now in the Late Middle Ages. I kinda gotten tired of the history book, it’s the one I used in my history class in college, and started on the “Chemistry- A Molecular Approach” textbook. I also listened to one Astronomy Cast podcast: 449 Robots in Space! 448 Prepping for the Eclipse, 447 Animals in Space Pt. 3: Dogs, Monkeys and More, 446 Animals in Space Pt. 2: Mice and Other Small Animals, 445 Animals in Space Pt. 1: Insects and Arachnids, and 444 Fractals.
I did a night run with Cassie and then fell asleep watching a video on Quantum Theory and why physicist can’t agree on which Hypothesis to use; the Copenhagen interpretation, Many Worlds Quantum Theory, or a number of others.

Tuesday 15- Clear 90° | 63°
I did my stretches and jogged 3 miles. I’ve been really building up on my jogging mileage lately and also upping my time spending ten minutes punching on the heavybag, but I need to take a day off tomorrow to rest up.
I was given penicillin for Barney to take. He doesn’t like it. I switched dry food to only canned dog food and he seems to be eating more.
I listened to four Astronomy Cast podcasts: 453 Favorite Things We’ve Done These 10 Years, 452 Summer Observing Challenges, 451 When Can I Buy My Ticket To Space? And 450 Inflatable Habitats.
Cassie cut her ear and there was blood all over. Freaked me out when I first saw her with blood running down her head to drip big splotches on the floor; ears bleed a lot! Every time I got her bandaged up she would flap her ears like dogs do and it would start to bleed again. With the help of a friend (my guest who is staying in my trailer who wants to remain nameless) we were able to stim the flow and bandage her up. I was going to start editing book two of “Upon Ashen Roads,” but my mind isn’t into it because of Cassie’s injury.

Wednesday 16- Clear 91° | 60°
I did my stretches and yoga.
Took the dogs for their morning and evening walks. Barney is feeling much better now and is putting on some weight. Cassie’s ear is healing and has stopped bleeding thank goodness.
I tinkered around outside putting some cactus in planters and watering the plants with water from the laundry I did.
Fedex delivered my new iPod Touch I ordered the other day. My old one wasn’t holding a charge for long and would die in the middle of a lecture.
I listened to two Astronomy Cast podcasts: 455 Your Practical Guide to Colonizing the Milky Way! And 454 Things We’re Looking Forward To...
Dream:
I was in a classroom taking a test. The teacher handed them back. I was at the right front first desk. The test I got back was someone else's. It had one hundred percent. I could not read the writing of the name, it was blurry, but it looked like Rachell with two Ls. I looked around asking for her, but no one seemed to know her; I might have gotten the name wrong. I went back to my desk and there sat a bunch of books bound with twine with a note on my notebook. I thought maybe the teacher put the books there for me to take back to the library. I pushed them aside rummaging through my notebook for my own test to see what grade I received; it wasn’t there. I went back to trying to see if I can find the student whose paper I had. It was recess and the students left the room to go out into the school yard. I followed. There were a few tough boys who said something mean to me, I looked different from the rest of the students, so I took them no notice. I found I could float an inch above the ground and glided through the yard. There were others doing the same and I followed them trying to rise my feet higher to my knees. We floated to the back right side of the chain link fences which separated the school grounds from a dense jungle. We were going to follow it around to continue, but a mass of rebels, some wearing army fatigues and peasants wearing Asian rice hats, were carrying machetes and rifles broke down the middle of the fence and charged the school. They didn’t see us. I decided to get out of there by going over the fence and hiding. There was a street on this side with small industrial buildings. This is where my dream ends.

Thursday 17- Clear 88° | 62°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 3 miles.
I listened to one Astronomy Cast podcasts: Ep. 456: Pluto Revisited.
Barney stopped eating so I made another change in his diet; he likes cooked hamburger.

Friday 18- Clear 90° | 63°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 1.5 miles.
I listened to four Astronomy Cast podcasts: Ep. 460: Earth from Afar: Remote Sensing, Ep. 459: Arecibo Observatory, Ep. 458: The Science of Cassini, and Ep. 457: Why Did Cassini Have To Die? In Memoriam.

Saturday 19-  Scattered Clouds 91° | 66°
I did my stretches.
I went to my dear friend Dorothy’s services. The parking lot was full and I was 20 minutes early. I saw many of our potluck friends there. The services were very nice and comfortable.

Sunday 20- Scattered Clouds 91° | 66°
I did my stretches, yoga and jogged with Cassie for over a mile. She likes to run with me.
I listened to four Astronomy Cast podcasts: Ep. 461: Measuring the Weather with Satellites, Ep. 462: Modeling the Weather, Ep. 463: Pareidolia and the Moon, and Ep. 464: Why the Hype over an Exorock?
I’m still stuck in the Late Middle Ages reading in the history book. I read a little more of chapter one in “Chemistry- A Molecular Approach” textbook.
I went over to Kjtel’s for dinner at 6pm and took Cassie and Barney with me. It was a fantastic meal with fish and vegetables. Afterwards we watched “New York: A Documentary Film” episode 1 which was two hours long, but very interesting.
I dreamed I was an astronaut and almost missed my flight because some thief stole my yellow VW Baja Bug. I walked up to a curved road which led to the launch site. Because my ID was in the bug a young man had to hack the system to get me through the gates. I found a shortcut on my own and was strapped into my seat and the rocket took off for the stars.

Monday 21- Partly Cloudy 86° | 66°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 3 miles.
I listened to one Astronomy Cast podcast: Ep. 465: Exploiting Interfering Light.
I finished chapter 24: “political, economic and social tensions 1300- 1500” in the history book, and read a little more of chapter one in “Chemistry- A Molecular Approach” textbook.
Cassie and me went for a night run up the hill and back. Barney looks like he may be recovering from whatever it was he had.

Tuesday 22- Scattered Clouds 87° | 63°
I did my stretches.
I went to Tractor store to get 4 bales of hay for archery. I then got gas filling mt truck with about 11 gallons and a five gallon gas can for $70!
I went to WalMart to pick up a few things and bought a small pool. I got home putting stuff away and I went outside to see what the dogs were barking at; it was a woman walking down the street! I asked her where she was headed and she said to Landers. I told her Landers is about 15 miles away and gave her a ride. Her name was Stephanie. 
I went over to Kjtel’s to watch episode 2 of “New York a Documentary Film” with her.
I dreamed I was back in the Army and no matter how I tried I couldn’t find my locker and no one would help me. This is a continual dream I had many times.

Wednesday 23- Clear 89° | 64°
I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag for 10 minutes, and jogged 3 miles.
I listened to three Astronomy Cast podcasts: Ep. 466: Origins of Zero (0), Ep. 467: Resonance, Ep. 468: Simulations for Science and Fun.
I worked in the yard doing the Poop Patrol and also clearing and preparing a spot of flat ground to put the 10 foot pool I bought the other day at WalMart for $44; gotta cool off when the summer and the high temps come. I also stacked the four bales of hay I bought at Tractor Supply on top of each other for my archery target site.
I finished chapter 25: “the decline of the church 1300-1500” in the history book, and read a little more of chapter one in “Chemistry- A Molecular Approach” textbook... this textbook is going to take me some time to finish.
I took Cassie for a night run up the hill and back.
I practiced guitar.

Thursday 24- Clear 91° | 64°
I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged 3 miles.
I listened to three Astronomy Cast podcasts: Ep. 469-470- 471-472: Sci Fi books part 1 2 3 and 4. Episode 473: remembering the best space science of 2017.
Worked more on clearing a spot for the pool; lots of junk and debri to move and clean up.

Friday 25- Clear 86° | 63°
I did my stretches.
Finished chapter 26 of my history textbook.
Ep. 490: What’s New with Supernovae, and Ep. 491 Exoplanet update.
I did some more work in the yard clearing a spot for the 10 foot pool, but it was too windy to set the pools up.

Saturday 26- Clear 80° | 57°
I did my stretches.
I went to Potluck today with my usual rice... maybe someday I’ll surprise them and cook something else for a change. Jeff Dongvillo simmered a crockpot full of beef chunks and veggies. Mack made up some pasta that got all eaten up. Cal Mayers brought a tray full of assorted fruits to share. Dyan Carroll cooked up some delicious enchiladas, chicken casserole, a banana split truffle, and asparagus puff pastry. Chris VanNortrick made up an egg and cactus stew, along with a chicken casserole. As usual, Yvonne Frances waltzed at the last moment with KFC bucket of chicken, cake, and pasta. We all sat around yammering about everything under the sun and had a great time doing it!

Sunday 27- Clear 88° | 60°
I did my stretches and jogged a mile with Cassie.
I finally got the pool all setup and filled it part way with water. It took longer than I thought to fill it up and I wanted to go inside to watch a movie and I didn’t want to forget and have it overflow, so I turned off the water and will fill it all the way up tomorrow.
Barney stopped eating altogether and can hardly stand. His back legs keep going out.

Monday 28- Clear 93° | 68°
I did my stretches and yoga.
Got the pool all filled up and went for a nice dip!
Me and Cassie walked over to Kjtel’s for dinner and watched episode 3 “New York: A Documentary Film.” I told my friend Ami Ven it was made before 911 and you can see the Twin Towers; I guess history never stops. She replied, “Old documentaries - and especially old non-fiction books - can be fascinating that way. They're true, up to the point when they were made, which might have been a long, long time ago.”
I was home and I heard both dogs barking, Barney was up on all fours at the fence howling like hound dogs do. I looked to see what it was, there right across the dirt road was a big coyote walking up the hill growling at my dogs. Barney went back to lie down. This would be his last act of providing Cassie, me, and the house protection, because he wouldn’t be able to walk anymore.


Tuesday 29- Clear 97° | 72°
I did my stretches.
I have a doctor’s appointment at 3pm so I left the house early and did my all shopping before going there.
Took Cassie for a long walk when I got home.
I played guitar for Barney, about two hours worth, while he laid curled up not feeling well. I decided for now on to keep Barney inside the house in my bedroom next to me and Cassie on his favorite cushion where he likes to sleep. 

Wednesday 30- Clear 98° | 73°
Had to run into town to get my shoulder X-Rayed... On my way there was a guy walking down Winters Road and I gave him a ride to Yucca Valley. I went to the pharmacy, and Staters to get lots of healthy vegetables for my high cholesterol my doctor now says I have to eat.

Thursday 31- Windy Clear 91° | 64°
Drove Cassie to the Vet for her rabie and other shots.
We got back only to find Barney had passed away while we were gone... I covered him up and carried him to the front room so Cassie wouldn’t see him like this. I put her in the bedroom and closed the door. I found a nice spot in the yard near where he liked to lie in the sun, chase lizards and bury his bones. I dug deep a resting place for my dear friend and my last connection with Sherry, his former owner, who I am sure Barney is with right now.

**************** Stuff I wrote this month ****************

How time drifts away, moments turn to memories, only to fade slowly from my mind as age takes its final bow to bend a knee to thee my love.
~RD

I hold no hate towards anyone just dismay for those who do...
~RD

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

April 2018

April 2018

Sunday 01- Clear 84° | 63°

I did my stretches and jogged a mile and a half.

Easter Sunday I went to Joshua Tree Zine Fest at our Community Community...

I drove to my mailbox on Border Ave. to collect my mail.

I finished chapter 19 and started chapter 20 of the geology textbook.

Monday 04- Clear 84° | 60°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells, and ran a good mile.

Continued reading chapter 20 of the geology textbook. I listened to two podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

Tuesday 03- Clear 82° | 61°

I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 1.5 miles.

I painted the whole guest trailer in Snow Coat... took all day, but I got it done. Now it’s all bright white.

I finished chapter 20 and began chapter 21 of the geology textbook.

I listened to 3 podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

Wednesday 04- windy Clear 86° | 57°

I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged 1.5 miles.
I went to Yucca to do some shopping at Staters and WalMart for supplies.

Thursday 05- Clear 88° | 64°

I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 1.5 miles.

I went to drive-in movie with a friend to watch “Ready Player One,” and “Tomb Raider.”

Friday 06- very windy Clear 88° | 64°

I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged a good mile.

Saturday 07- scattered showers 93° | 66°

I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, exercised with the 20 and 30 lbs dumbbells, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 1.5 miles.

Sunday 08- Clear 84° | 59°
I did my stretches.

Monday 09- Clear 87° | 57°

I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 1.5 miles.

I finally finished studying the Geology textbook.

I listened to 2 Astronomy Cast podcasts: 414 Navigating Far and 413 Navigating Near

Tuesday 10- Clear 91° | 55°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 30 lbs dumbbells, and jogged a good mile with Cassie.

I listened to 2 Astronomy Cast podcasts: 416 Fireballs from the Sky! and 415 Temperature of the Universe.

Wednesday 11- Clear 81° | 61°

I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 2.5 miles.

Thursday 12- really windy day- Clear 79° | 60°

I did my stretches.
I listened to 2 Astronomy Cast podcasts: 418 Error and 418: I’m a Teapot! And 417: Expectation Failed

Friday 13- Clear 72° | 54°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, rode my ebike 2 miles, and jogged 2.5 miles.

Worked on the Harley for a spell.

I listened to 3 Astronomy Cast podcasts: 421 Space Games! 420 FIRE! And 419 DragonCon 2016 Live – Rocket Girls.

Saturday 14- Clear 81° | 44°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 3 miles. Bike got a flat or I would have ridden it.

I got a call from my friends Wessel and Greg from Holland telling me that they are at the Denny’s Restaurant in Twentynine Palms... I jumped in my car and raced to meet the two of them there for dinner. We yammered on about things and times gone past... good times :)

Sunday 15- Clear 84° | 52°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged with Cassie a good mile.

A friend dropped by to watch 3 episodes of “Lost in Space” on Netflix tonight.

Monday 16- Cloudy 78° | 48°

I did my stretches; to many particulates in the air to do any heavy exercising.

I worked most of the day securing my home from high winds gusting up to 60 mph at times.

A friend and I watched one episode of LIS tonight.

Tuesday 17- Clear 68° | 44°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

Cassie got away, but I was able to get her to run home after me on the scooter.

Wednesday 18- Clear 78° | 44°

I did my stretches and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I drove on over to WalMart to replenish my food supplies.

Thursday 19- Cloudy 66° | 50°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged with Cassie a mile.

2Gig RAM  for Toughbook CF-30 I’m working on was delivered and rode scooter to mailbox on Lear Ave to get it. I installed it and the CF-30 runs mighty clean now.

Friday 20- Clear 81° | 52°

I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged with Cassie a mile.

Rode the scooter to pick up battery and parts for Toughbook CF-30 I’m working on. Testing it out now to see if the battery is any good.

Saturday 21- Clear 87° | 57°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged with Cassie for a mile.

New battery for Toughbook seems to be okay.

Sunday 22- Cloudy 91° | 63°

I did my stretches and jogged with Cassie for a mile.

I worked in the yard

Monday 23- Cloudy 93° | 64°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged with Cassie a whole mile.

I did searches on all my backup drives to collect songs I wrote and recorded. Went through some photos of friends from times gone past as I searched.

Tuesday 24- Cloudy 93° | 64°

I did my stretches... had a toss and turn sleep last night; probably something I ate.

I went to the post office in 29 and also did shopping at Stater Bros. there.

Wednesday 25- Cloudy 93° | 64°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged with Cassie for a mile.

Thursday 26- Cloudy 95° | 64°

I did my stretches and jogged two miles.

Friday 27- Clear 95° | 66°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

Saturday 28- Clear 87° | 57°

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

I went to potluck:

Cal Mayers brought his son Calvin and daughter Tina along toting a tray full of assorted fruits to share. Chris VanNortrick stirred us up some veggie chili mac casserole along with a pumpkin cheesecake pie. Dorothy Jacobsen rolled up a bunch of spicy meatballs for us to enjoy. Dyan Carroll was busy in her kitchen cooking up an enchilada casserole, a chocolate pie, cauliflower with cheese sauce, and a very decadent southern sour cream raisin pie. Bruce cooked up some magical baked beans he said would sing to you when you get home. Yvonne Frances slid into the community center at the last moment with her yummy banana pudding. I brought my usual pot of rice which went well with the Dorothy’s meatballs. Birthdays this month were Tina Mayers and John Jacobsen. We would have sung Happy Birthday to them, but everyone was too busy eating the fantastic grub. I went for seconds and thirds as did everyone else.

Sunday 29- Clear 82° | 59°

I did my stretches and took Cassie and Barney for a very long walk.

Monday 30- Cloudy 77° | 57°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 10 and 20 lbs dumbbells, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile with Cassie and Barney.

**************** Stuff I wrote this month ****************

In my dream I followed a steep trail making my way carefully, climbing over boulders, scaling ridges, and traversing gullies and streams. Ever so slowly higher through the pass I climbed as billowing clouds before me grew ominously darker with turbulent black foreboding. With much arduous effort I finally reached the summit of a great mountain I fought. I saw a man standing alone before me, immobile, right forefoot at the edge of precipice, looking casually out at the wide expanse of mountainous ranges. Wind blown hail pelted him as his long black cloak rippled like the sounds of a gale ripping through sails of a mighty clipper ship rounding Cape Horn. Weaken by my climb, I clung to rocks and crevices as I slowly crawled to the foot of the man. Fighting the bitter wind, frost formed encrusting my beard, teeth chattering, and I could no longer feel my fingers as I reached out to grab onto this omniscient man’s ankle. He finally took notice and bent ever so slightly down to peer questionably into my face. Stunned by what I saw I lost my grip and was swiftly swept away to be thrown back down the mountain trail far from the raging madness at the edge of forever.
~RD

Yes Ariji, blood does not make a family. Family is sword. Forged in the fires of infinity from the finest metals, laid bare upon the hard anvil of sacrifice, pounded and folded over many times to remove impurities by the hammer of truth, then sharpened by time, honed to a razor’s edge, protecting the ones we love.
~RD

Whispering to a future whose burdens I will never bear. Whispers that glide upon waves of time, forever left behind... left behind... will I always be left behind? Written words gather, collects like dust on windowpane. Be it me or another, it doesn’t matter... it’s really all the same. Whispering to a future whose burdens I will never bear... did I make myself clear? Will they even listen, will they even care?
~RD

So symmetrical the tiny snowflake, so surreal the structure; fragile but firm, to drift from great heights falling upon my palm, then in an instant it’s already gone.
~RD

I have to laugh at myself when I look back on all the dumb things I did and all the crazy people I’ve met in my life... and you know what? I wouldn’t change a dang thing!

~RD

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

March 2018

March 2018

By the way, if I missed mentioning this in my journal here and there; I take my doggies for a walk everyday and do the poop patrol every two or three days... just if ya wondered.

Thursday 01- windy and cold. 64° | 37°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with 20lbs dumbbells, and went for a mile jog.

Friday 02- windy 68° | 36°

I did my stretches, exercised with the 10lbs dumbbells, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile.

Saturday 03- very windy with scattered Clouds 63° | 43°

I did my stretches and messed around online and worked on my computers.

Sunday 04- Scattered Clouds 57° | 39°

I did my stretches and jogged a mile.

Tegan came by with her car wanting to know if I knew a good car mechanic. I told her I do all my own work on my vehicles, but I’ll take a fast look-see. I couldn’t see anything wrong under the hood, so I told her where my friends take their cars for repair in Yucca Valley. I found out she is a writer too :)

Monday 05- Scattered Clouds 61° | 41°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs, and jogged a good mile.

Tuesday 06- 69° | 41°

I did my stretches.

I went into Twentynine Palms to the post office to pick up another package. I went to Building Supply that use to be Bar Lumber. I had thought they had closed down, but I was told different, and I took two propane tanks down there to get them filled.

Wednesday 07- Scattered Clouds 66° | 39°

I did my stretches, yoga, I did the core trainer and weight bench for the first time since my fall, punched the heavybag, and went for a mile jog.

Thursday 08- 79° | 46°

I did my stretches and jogged a mile.

Been doing some writing and coming up with some ideas for a new book. I still have to edit Book 2 of “Upon Ashen Roads” and a few poems I haven’t completed.

Friday 09- Scattered Clouds 79° | 51°

I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, weight bench, punched the heavybag, and went for a mile and a half jog.
I worked in the yard cleaning it up and doing a poop patrol. 

Saturday 10- Rain! 63° | 43°

I did my stretches.

I did more clean-up of the yard. I want to get rid of everything that doesn’t serve a purpose.  

Sunday 11- partly cloudy 69° | 51°

I did my stretches, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells, and jogged a mile.

I went to the poetry reading at Space Cowboy Books. I read my poem I wrote just before getting in my car and driving there... when you get inspired you just have to stop everything and just do it whatever it is.

Monday 12- 77° | 50°

I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a good mile.

I went to Yucca Valley to LabCorp to have my blood tested. I also went to Stater Bros and WalMart to get supplies and a haircut.

I got home and the phone rang. It was a person at LabCorp telling me they have my results. I thought that was dang fast and told her I just had it done today. She double checked and found it was last years. I asked her what the results were from last years... my whatchamacallit was high at 69 and normal was 46. She told me she should have the new results by Wednesday and would give me a call.

Tuesday 13- Partly cloudy 78° | 57°
I did my stretches and jogged a mile and a half.

I cleared out all the pans, food containers, and other mess from under the kitchen counter. I will clean and wipe it down real good tomorrow.

Kelly’s kitten Running Cloud passed away this evening. He was 19 years old and a very brave and wonderful kitty.

I saw the first flowers this year.

Wednesday 14- a very windy day! 75° | 51°

I did my stretches.

I got my results for my blood test from LabCorp and my whatchamacallit was 46.1 down form a high of 69, so I am back to normal I guess. I have to go in for another test in one month.

I cleaned the kitchen counter shelves with bleach and Pinesol; took most of the day. I also removed the sink drain U-joint to get all the yucky stuff trapped there.

Thursday 15- rained early this morning. 64° | 45°

I did my stretches, and jogged a good mile.

My HP G72 laptop has an Intel 4500HD video which does not have a driver for Windows 10 I found out. Now I know why Win 10 kept hanging on updating for the past year... I tried to reinstall Win7, but says it isn't genuine; which it is!
I have found this mess everyone's calling Windows 10 a complete failure for me and many others folks. After a lot of effort and time spent on the G72, I finally installed Linux Mint and it runs just fine and I don't have to "babysit" my computer when doing an update or bow down to Big Corporate Microsoft’s finagling. I have a few other machines running Win 10, but I kinda switched over to OSX, Mint, and Chrome without all the hoops and hassle Microsoft forces you to navigate.

Friday 16- 66° | 41°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells, and jogged with the dogs for a good mile.

Saturday 17- windy and cold 62° | 42°

I did my stretches, yoga, and ran a good mile.

Kicking back taking it easy. I did my exercises earlier in the day... did some work around the house; stuff like that. Real windy and cold right now.

Sunday 18- 64° | 41°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 10lbs dumbbells, and jogged a good mile.
I cut a whole lot of firewood from old leftover 2x4s given to me many years ago when the county was tearing down old shacks in the neighborhood.

I did a load of laundry done an hung out to dry. Got another load in the tub soaking overnight. 

I did the poop patrol... I think I feed the dogs too much!

Monday 19- Scattered Clouds 68° | 39°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile.
I did another load of laundry...

I rode my bike over to Kjtel’s to visit and have a nice chat. Later she came to my home with her van and we worked on her driver’s side door window. The cable to the motor had gotten bound up and wouldn’t close the window all the way. Finally we, after some effort, had to cut the cable and then hold the window closed by tying a nylon line to secure it in place. I enjoyed our little quality time we had working on the van door.

Tuesday 20- Scattered Clouds 75° | 45°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a mile and a half.

Put some more clothes in the small washer to soak overnight.

Gathered up my taxes to send away to my sister Lynn’s husband Paul to do for me, but first I have to convert them all into PDFs. My scanner doesn’t work on Windows 10, so I had to get out my Windows 7 laptop. I had everything setup, but when I went to turn on the laptop Microsoft said my copy of Win 7 wasn’t genuine (I’m really disgusted with Microsoft)... had to jump through hoops again and finally got my copy approved. It got late and will update the program and drivers for the scanner tomorrow.

Wednesday 21- Scattered Clouds 75° | 51°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile.

Too overcast today, so the clothes in the washer gets to soak another day.

I updated the program and drivers for the scanner and turned all my tax forms into PDFs to be sent off.

I used up a whole gallon of Henry White Roofing Sealant on the seams of the guest trailer. As I was on the ladder with the putty knife doing this, a few drops of rain fell on my head, but that’s all the rain we got. 

I did my stretches and Cassie and I ran up and back down the hill in front of my house.

Did some studies- listened to two astronomy podcasts and read some in the geology book about streams and erosions.

  

Thursday 22- high winds and rain 73° | 55°

I did my stretches.
I saw a skinny old woman at WalMart get lifted up into the dark cloudy skies and carried off to who knows where!

Friday 23- 75° | 51°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged three miles.
It was sunny enough today to finish my laundry and hang them out to dry.

I am trying to get back into my studies after my bad fall and a few other setbacks, so I began reading from the geology textbook starting where I left off at chapter 16. I listened to three podcasts of Astronomy Cast. 

Saturday 24- 72° | 52°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile with my dogs in tow.

I read from the geology textbook and finished chapter 16. I listened to two podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

Sunday 25- 68° | 48°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile with my dogs in tow.
I read from the geology textbook and started chapter 17. I listened to two podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

A lost woman, Susan, drove into my driveway looking for directions. I helped her out with that and also looked at her car she said was making a bad bumping noise. It turned out one screw came loose on a skid plate next to her exhaust, but was secured by two others. I told her it wouldn’t case a problem until she could get the screw replaced later.

Monday 26- Scattered Clouds 64° | 45°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile with Cassie; Barney didn’t want to come.

It was Kjtel’s Birthday and I went to her house and had a wonderful chat.
I read from the geology textbook and finished chapter 17. I listened to two podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

Tuesday 27- 68° | 48°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile.
Kjtel called for me to come visit and meet her two friends who will be staying with her. Their names are Giovanni and Damon, both 24 years old and twins. Seems like good folks to me.

I read from the geology textbook starting chapter 18. I listened to two podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

Wednesday 28- 79° | 46°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile with my dogs.

I read from the geology textbook and finished chapter 18. I listened to two more podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

Thursday 29- 84° | 51°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged a good mile.

Post office Stater Bros.
I read from the geology textbook started chapter 19. I listened to two podcasts of Astronomy Cast, one I had to listen to because I fell asleep to it yesterday.

Friday 30- 88° | 55°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells and weight bench, punched the heavybag, and jogged 2.5 miles with my dogs.

I finished chapter 19 of the geology book. I listened to two podcasts of Astronomy Cast.

Saturday 31- 88° | 57°

I did my stretches, yoga, exercised with the 20lbs, and jogged a good mile. 

We had a wonderful Easter Eve Potluck at our little community center Saturday evening with plenty of food to go around and lots to take home, too. There was David King’s baked ham and beans. Dyan and Dorothy’s chicken broccoli casserole and carrots hollandaise. Yvonne's pasta chicken salad and lemon cherry tarts. Kip Fjeld tasty strawberry pie. Mack cooked up some yummy pasta. And lastly, Chris VanNortrick presented us with two casseroles, banana bread, and cupcakes.

On a special note: Dorothy Jacobsen finally ate a chocolate carrot cake made by her loving daughter Dyan Carroll, from a recipe Dorothy read about 50 year ago. 

It was a mighty fine day indeed.

**************** Stuff I wrote this month ****************

Put a little more of yourself
into your day...

~RD

Without love there is hate and sorrow. Without hope there is only defeat.
~RD

I live in a destination, a beautiful area known as Joshua Tree. Now AirBnBs are popular, buying up property, changing the population and culture by pushing denizens of the desert out, changing it into their city. Big Box stores are trying to find a toehold in Joshua Tree, changing it so it isn’t special anymore... Once this happens Joshua Tree won’t be a destination, it will be like everywhere else and people will stop coming here for the unique “Roughing it” experience and solitude that they themselves seek from wherever large cities they came.
~RD

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February 2018

February 2018

Thursday 01- Scattered Clouds 75° | 44°

I did my stretches. I’m kinda kicking back for a spell after giving blood yesterday.

I drove the truck to Home Depot to get some 2x4s to start framing the trailer.

I walked the dogs when I got back.

Friday 02- Scattered Clouds 77° | 46°

I did my stretches, yoga, lifted weights, went for a good mile jog, core trainer, and sit-ups punched the heavybag. 

Saturday 03- Scattered Clouds 77° | 48°

I did my stretches and worked all day on the trailer.

Sunday 04- Clear 77° | 50°

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, situps, punched the heavybag and went on a good mile jog.

Continued to work on the “Guest House”.

Monday 05- Clear 79° | 48°

I did my stretches, situps, punched the heavybag and went on a good mile jog.
I went to Home Depot to get some more building material.

Last night at the black house across the way frome me, some man was going crazy screaming and cursing at the top of his lungs for over 6 hours. I also believe he was playing music very loudly. He was acting very strange and scary like he took some bad acid or something. The police finally came out after 11pm and I'm not sure what happened after that, but all went silent after that. The owner of that Airbnb where the man was staying should be a little more careful on who he rents to. 

Tuesday 06- Clear 75° | 50°

I did my stretches.

I went right to work on the ‘Guest House” cutting and trimming, hammering and sawing.

Wednesday 07- Clear 73° | 43°

I did my stretches, jogged a mile, situps and punched the heavybag.

Thursday 08- Clear 78° | 45°

I did my stretches and then worked on the trailer (Guest House) all day long.

Friday 09- Clear 80° | 46°

I did my stretches.

I went to a reading at Space Cowboy Books to listen to Susan Rukeyser read from her new book “Not On Fire Only Dying”. I had a pleasant time there taking to others in the group of poets I seem to belong to.

Saturday 10- Partly Cloudy 80° | 50°

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, situps, punched the heavybag and went on a mile jog.

I continued to work on the Guest House and finally completed one whole side.

Sunday 11- Scattered Clouds 62° | 45

I did my stretches, situps, punched the heavybag and went on a mile jog.

I went to a poem reading at Space Cowboy Books and read a poem.

Monday 12- Scattered Clouds 63° | 45° very windy.

I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, situps, punched the heavybag and went on a good mile jog.

I was working on the trailer and got knocked down hard to the ground when a big gust of wind hit me when I was carrying a sheet of plywood. Dang stupid what I did. Man, I was down for the count. There I laid for 20 minutes before getting back up because at first, I thought I was going to die. I thought I had broke something. I found out I just pulled something in my groin area left side and hurts like hell when I cough, sneeze or try to get up or bend in a certain way... also cuts abrasions, and contusions.  I've been resting in bed trying to recover... I hurt all over.

Tuesday 13 through to Saturday 17- very windy and cold these days...

 After my fall I rested for two days trying to stay off my feet. I watched Youtube videos of all kinds of science and computer stuff. I wrote many poems which I submitted to Cholla Needles monthly poem publication. I bricked my  OLPC X01 (One Laptop Per Child) three times. I finally found a way to do a restore and brought it back to factory setting. I did a little light work on the guest trailer. My guest moved in on the 16th and will be staying with me for a couple of months.

Sunday 18- Clear 71° | 37°

I did my stretches.

Monday 19- Rain 51° | 37° with high winds

I did my stretches and very lightly exercised with the 10lbs dumbbells.

Tuesday 20- cold and windy 48° | 30°

I did my stretches and very lightly exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Wednesday 21- cold and windy,  Partly Cloudy 50° | 27

I did my stretches and exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Thursday 22- cold and windy 57° | 30°

I did my stretches...

I went to Twentynine Palms, got gas, visited the post office to collect my WringMaster wringer and other packages and then hopped on over to Staters to get supplies.

Friday 23- Scattered Clouds 52° | 35°

I did my stretches and l exercised with the 10lbs dumbbells. Still trying to keep it all light and not pushing myself too much until I feel better. That fall I had really did a number on me.

A young woman, Tegan, from the little cabin above me dumped trash in my dumpster... nice girl, said is renting and landlord told her to dump her trash here. I told Tegan it was okay for her to use my dumpster, but told her to tell her landlord to contact me; I never gave her landlord permission to use it. 

Saturday 24- Clear 55° | 32°

I did my stretches and exercised with the 20lbs dumbbells.

Just before I was to go to potluck FedEx finally delivered my mattress that was supposed to be here on Tuesday.

We had another yummy potluck this last Saturday. The serving table was overflowing with wonderful delicious offerings prepared by loving desert folk. This month’s theme was Valentine’s Day and the tables were decorated in pink plastic table covers with red hearts. Dorothy Jacobsen, her son John and daughter Dyan Carroll amazed us all with fish patties, red lobster biscuits, mac and cheese, and a tasty vanilla cherry trifle. Chris VanNortrick cooked up a fantastic meatloaf and a side dish of pea salad. Yvonne brought her world famous pineapple angel food cake along with ham and potatoes au gratin. David King outdid himself this time with a braised beef simmering in a crockpot along side veggies; mighty good stuff. Cal Myers continued Bob Seely’s tradition of bringing in a fruit tray for those who don’t partake in meat or have gluten intolerance. Upon leaving, Dyan handed out little gift bags with a big pink cookie heart in each and filled with candies to match the occasion; I thought this very thoughtful and nice. I wish I could cook and bring something other than rice, but I'm very gastronomically challenged. There was enough food leftover for seconds and take-home; which I took full advantage of.

Sunday 25- Clear 57° | 37°

I did my stretches and rode my bike over to visit my neighbor Kjtel.

I setup my new queen side bed and took the tiny one me and Cassie been sharing since she was a puppy. She outgrew the bed and practically took it over from me. Now we got a lot of room on the bed. I took the old twin bed out to the guest house and set it up there.

Monday 26- Clear 64° | 30°

I did my stretches, exercised with the 20lb weights.

My very good friend, Scott Tooher came out with his wife Debra for a visit. I haven’t seen Scott for over thirty years. They brought a bucket of KFC chicken with all the trimming too! We yammer on for over four hours about friends and times gone past. It was a wonderful visit and I hope to catch up with them on the road some time when I go traveling around the country. Good times!

Tuesday 27- Partly Cloudy 53° | 39°

I did my stretches and jogged a mile.

I setup my propane powered shower device outside and we had a nice hot shower going. It’s been sitting in the garage for a couple of years and just now decided to hook it all up.

Wednesday 28- Scattered Clouds 61° | 37°

I did my stretches, exercised with the 20lb weights, and finally got up the courage to jog a good mile. I had a friend at potluck who uses a cane to walk come lean up to me saying he envied me how I get outside and exercise and jog almost every day. I didn’t tell him I had a fall and haven’t jogged in a few weeks, so I got out there today and did a mile jog and it felt mighty good.

**************** Stuff I wrote this month ****************

I didn’t know how alone I was until I tried being around people....
~RD

To be creative you must fly. If you cannot fly you must believe that you can.
~RD

It’s always 8:15 somewhere in the world.
A student lost in thought stares out the classroom window; it’s 8:15 someplace.
A mother caresses her newborn child; it’s 8:15 somewhere.
Families gather across this great nation to mourn fallen sons and daughters killed on battlefields far far away; it’s 8:15 and gloomy.
Supermarkets filled with customers, cute children sitting in shopping carts reaching out for their favorite cereals; it’s 8:15 in the afternoon.
Politicians assemble to make laws while the privileged pull strings to control them; it’s always 8:15 elsewhere.
Birds build nests in trees, park sprinklers turn on to water the fresh cut grass; it’s 8:15 and sunny.
Even as the Doomsday Clock ticks ever closer to midnight; it’s always 8:15 there.
On a beautiful August morning, the aroma of cherry blossoms, sounds of everyday life, the laughter of children in schoolyards playing suddenly cease by a blast so loud nobody heard. All these lovely things reduced down to their elementary particles and swept up to mingle in a rising cloud of hot raging plasma. Only the skies overhead witnessed the lonely aircraft flying away. Shadows painted on the walls at 8:15 in the morning.
~RD

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