Sunday, December 20, 2020

Hansel's 4th cone, watching the conjunction

The mornings have been icy lately.  This morning I took Zeke, Sweetie and Gretel on a 2.5-mile walk around the hood.  Hansel was not happy being left behind and barked and whined to come along until I was no longer in earshot of him.  He is not a happy camper wearing a cone and having to rest.  Sneaking out of the house without him, with all dogs watching me, is a daily chore. 


By 10am he had torn off the cone and I had to rush over to Petsmart for his 4th one, this one smaller and more pliable, but even that one was cracked in three places by the end of the day.  The antibiotics do seem to be working, though, and the open wound is no longer draining.


I had wanted to check out the work on the border wall in the early afternoon, but then relented and joined Susan on a river walk.  All six dogs wanted to come.  Bringing Hansel was probably not a smart move, but leaving just him behind was impossible, as all the dogs ran out barking with joy. Hansel's diaper had to be removed in the end as it got wet and too heavy to fit properly.


It's getting hard for Minnie to move.  Both Susan and I have noted how painfully stiff her movements are now, coming from all four legs.The 1.5 miles route we take the dogs on is now as far as she can go.


I was home an hour, then took off for the 3rd time with Zeke to drive up to Montezuma's Pass to see the conjunction of Juniper and Saturn at sunset. The two planets will be at their closest since 1623. I walked an old illegal trail I had been on years ago to get away from other parked cars, but that old trail seems to have been buried now.  I didn't get very far on it before turning around, as I didn't want to be hiking up a steep hillside after dark.


The sunset at 5:22pm across the valley and into Mexico provided for some color, but it was waiting for the two planets to make their appearance that made the 40-minute trip here worth it.  A chilly wind began to howl.  Two more cars came up to park at the pass, but at 5:52pm, 30 minutes after sunset, did Juniper make its appearance in the southwestern sky, and then Saturn right behind it a few minutes later.  The two planets don't look like much via a cellphone camera, but one can see the two planets right next to each other.  Tomorrow they will align as one and be called "the Christmas star."


I left the pass shortly after 6pm. Lights frpom the construction site were now visible as I drove down the mountain.  The conjunction was now visible above the pass as zi drove home.


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