Cherishing a day

This is one of those days that makes you happy to be alive. It's not a perfect day, or at least from my perspective it's less than perfect. But just because I can find things to bitch about doesn't mean it's not a wonderful day.

It's August 19, and in this part of the world that means that the nights are delightfully cool and the days have the potential to be bright, sunshiny, clear, and hot.

Sideoats Grama

Gone are the days of too-sweltering high summer, with an overhead sun driving temperatures over the century mark and evening clouds holding the heat of day long into the dank and sweaty night.

By August 19 the sun is rising noticeably later in the morning and fleeing over the west horizon surprisingly early in the evening. The nights are cool but not yet crisp, and while the days can be and often are quite hot, it's not the blazing heat of July, and it sets in later in the day and departs much earlier.

Today I did road work. It was 79 degrees when I set out at 9:15, and the mercury was touching 90 degrees when I finished at 11. There was an occasional touch of breeze, but for the most part the air was still and warm and close and filled with the sun-baked fragrances of August on the High Plains. This time of year many of the fragrances are pungent and bold. Stinkgrass, gumweed, creosote, asphalt, decomposing mud, hot shingles, baking bricks, blistering paint.

As I strode along a residential street in town I met a young girl out for a morning bike ride. School started for her this week, so summer vacation is over and this is the first glorious Saturday of the school year. Nature says it's still summer, but the reality of fourth grade says it's not. Before I'd gone half a block she'd whizzed all the way around the block and passed me again with a grin on her face. Some moments are priceless.

I went seven-and-a-half miles and challenged many hills, including four assaults on the 15th Street hill.

You should see it in 3D!

When I finished I felt good.

I threw the ball for Nona the Wonder Dog for a while but I soon grew lightheaded and dizzy. That hasn't happened in a while. Checked my blood pressure and it was 80/40, which is just a tad low.

Fortunately, I got myself wired up to a cardiac event monitor a couple of days ago.

It seems like a rather neat device. It continually records my heart activity via two leads, right clavicle and left lower ribs.

It transmits the data over the cellular system to the "home office," wherever that might be. It gives me the option of "marking" events, so I marked the onset of my lightheadedness and dizziness. After 30 days the local cardio doc will download a report and look at the ekg data. If I'm actually having any heart block or dysrhythmia it should show up, and then we'll know and be able to put together a plan.

I'm not sure I've got any real heart block, but this is one way to find out or at least gather more information. I don't like the lightheadedness/dizziness and low blood pressure. Is it a heart thing? A vascular thing? Something else?

Ah. No my pressure is up to 100/60. That's better.

Today reminds me that I've taken a lot of wonderful days for granted over the years. It's not a crime, it's what youngsters do. I didn't take this one for granted though. I marked and enjoyed it.