I’m going to make this a short week because the calendar says so; will try to post more regularly as the year progresses.

I promised: Black Star Co-op, possible snow, Hank the Chron Dog, Longhorn football at the Cotton Bowl, DOC at AFS, and the Legislature…I’m just going to deliver on Hank and football, plus an urban hike I took. Everything else closed, got canceled, or didn’t come through. Plus I posted three other blogs today and I’m tired.

I went into Epoch on Thursday for my Chronicle ritual, and when I opened up the paper to the pages in back, as is my wont, I actually gasped as this obituary caught my eye. I never met Hank, but I didn’t need to; his good boyness was well documented and celebrated. I saw his art car at SXSW 2024, and even then the humans said he was home and not feeling well. If you know me, you know why this one hit hard, but it sounds like he had a noble death after a life worthy of a cowdog named Hank. Vaya con Dios, good dog.

Forced myself to go to Cover3 during my lunch break on Friday night so I could watch the first half of the Cotton Bowl. It was freezing and the only available tables were outside, but I did it, then came home at halftime and got in my pajamas, which was where I wanted to be all along. Every time I try to get interested in sports again, I regret it. The Longhorns lost.

Saturday did include a stir-crazy walk that wound up becoming an urban hike where I discovered a hidden disc golf goal, another shortcut to my street, and two fallen logs perfect for sitting along Shoal Creek. And in the spirit of communing with the natural world (and an upcoming book club selection) I threw a few seeds out on this barren patch of land that had just been cleared of an encampment and, sadly, the trees that were sheltering it. So we’ll watch and see what comes off this.

Next week, getting back on track: Better Man, Wolf Moon, and Fika.