Parker stayed home today, which is why today's Daily Parker includes perhaps more personal information than I generally share. I have a spare laptop, so I was able to set up the ParkerCam in our bedroom today. So here he is, in his Safe Place, proving that he's cuter than all get-up even when he doesn't know anyone is watching:
This shot is from earlier today. I didn't use a more recent shot because the little darling found a pair of my boxers, and that is simply too personal for this blog.
Finally, for you weather junkies, here's the current temperature map, which you can compare with one from this morning:
The cold front has arrived a little earlier than expected. I'm running around Chicago between meetings, and the temperature has dropped from 14°C (58°F) to 9°C (49°F) in the past hour. I should point out that I left my coat at home this morning, too. Brr.
The temperature is holding at 14°C (58°F) right now, but I have a feeling it's about to cool off considerably:
For comparison, it's 8°C (47°F) in Rockford, which is about 100 km (60 mi) from here; 5°C (41°F) in the Quad Cities (250 km, 150 mi); and already -2°C (29°F) in Des Moines, 450 km (300 mi) away.
The temperature change could be staggering. Kansas City has seen a 22°C (40°F) drop in the past 24 hours, from 20°C (68°F) to -2°C (29°F):
Yum-O!
It's still 16°C (61°F) in Chicago, which is more like September than November. But apparently there's a change in the air:
Can't wait. But for now, I'll enjoy these wonderful temperatures.
As promised, I brought both the dog and a camera to the Dawes Park dog beach this afternoon. (I forgot bags though. Oops.) It's a freaky-warm 16°C (61°F) today, so while Parker and I both found it a little too chilly for a dip, we both had fun with the other dogs (including his friend Louie from his morning play group). Here he is conteplating the vastness of Lake Michigan:
A little later, after some heavy wrestling with an American bulldog-boxer mix named Quincy, Parker seemed pretty happy (and oblivious to the sandy slobber all over his body):
Now he's back at Inner Drive World Headquarters dreaming about squirrels and liver treats.
Parker, ever the office puppy, got his first experience on a beach this afternoon when we walked over to the Dawes Park dog beach. He met a whole bunch of new dogs, had a great time, and has now deposited his sand-covered butt on my office carpet.
It's 13°C (55°F) right now, and it may be this warm again tomorrow. If so, I'll bring Parker—and a camera—back to the dog beach.
Now I must brush my jeans off.
Some memes obscure deeper truths. "Liberal" and "college town," for example, often go together, as in the lede from a story in Tuesday's New York Times:
BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 14 — Voters in this liberal college town have approved what environmentalists say may be the nation's first "carbon tax," intended to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases.
This lede bothered me for several reasons. First, I don't believe that wanting to reduce catastrophic climate change is so much a "liberal" idea as it is a "sensible" idea. Second, if Boulder is "liberal," that makes my home town (Evanston, Ill.) "socialist" and puts Cambridge, Mass., on the loony fringe. And I'm not sure Greenville, S.C. really wants the label "liberal" any more than Evanston wants the label "reactionary right-wing religious nuts."
We get this via Talking Points Memo: Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) explains what's really causing global warming.
We'll be watching him lose his chairmanship as the new Congress takes office in 46 days and 20 hours.
I took a walk this afternoon and wound up here:
And then this happened:
Cool.
It's cold this morning (-6°C, 21°F), but not cold enough to keep Parker from running himself ragged at the dog park. I love this, because today is an Office Puppy day. As is our custom, we left from the park, stopped at my office to pick up my coffee mug, and then made our ritual pilgimage to Peet's. There Parker and I met Georgiana Penelope ("my husband called me Georgiana but my family called me Penny"), a local resident, who said Parker had beautiful markings and was the sweetest puppy she'd met. Parker ate it up and fell in love with her. Actually, Parker ate up the banana muffin she gave him, which contributed to his good behavior.
When I came out, Georgiana had Parker's complete attention:
The weather this weekend has obviously helped the CTA. Already by 9 this morning they had almost completed the Church St. viaduct replacement:
Also, a few days ago I posted a photo of the ivy on our building. Two days later, the leaves had fallen. Before and after:
Must be autumn.