WHERE IS LOGAN?

 POST # 657

The look on Caper's face seems to imply that she too wants to know where Logan has gone.  The owners left here back on September 28th.  That was the last day the Caper and I have seen him.

Logan is very used to coming and going as he pleases.  He has a cat door that he uses on a regular basis, and when I have been here in the past, he just shows up for a while to have something to eat, maybe take a nap, and before long, he's out wandering around.  It seems to have worked fine for many years, but for whatever reason, this time he's decided to go walkabout.

On a couple of occasions during this time period, I noticed that some of the cat food in his dish had been eaten.  Seeing as Caper doesn't have access to it, and the housesitter has more tasty items on his menu, then the only critter that could have eaten it, has to be Logan.  At least that is a hopeful sign.  He still must be somewhere around the property, otherwise the food would have never been touched.

But the mystery continues right up until today.  I leave tomorrow, so maybe he'll show up prior to my departure.  If he does, I'm sure that I will know, because Caper always makes a ruckus when Logan comes into the house.

Perhaps Logan knows that the owners will be home soon, and he's just hanging out somewhere outside until he sees their car arrive.  I'm sure they'll let me know if that is the case. 

In the meantime, I'll just hang out with Caper, and we'll both keep our eyes peeled for our wandering furball friend, Logan.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THE SUMMER OPTION

 POST # 656

I have had the great pleasure to house and pet sit for my friends Howard and Sally for a decade now, but not until this sit, have I ever had the summer option of taking care of their home and critters, Caper and Logan.

But summer is most certainly here now, and one of the first indicators of that, was the line up of garlic in the place next to the house, where the wood is normally stacked up, for use in the wood stove.  But there is no need for a wood stove right now, as each and every day so far has been sunny and very warm.

In addition to the garlic, there are other things growing in the garden, one of which is blueberries.  There is way more than I can pick and eat, but I am happy to munch through as many as I can, while I am here.

In addition to Caper and Logan, I have a couple of donkeys to spend time with if I choose to do so.

I'll be doing another post from here on August 7th, prior to my departure.  I wonder if the weather will stay as hot as it currently is, and I also wonder just how many of those blueberries I'll consume during my stay?

In the meantime, I'll just hang out with Caper and Logan, and the donkeys, and try to enjoy each day as it presents itself.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

A VERY RELAXING WEEK

 POST # 655

It has been a very relaxing week here at Britannia Beach, and my four-legged friends seem to be having a competition to see who can be more relaxed than the other.  Have a look.

Or how about these next two images.  It appears that they are really trying to outdo one another.

And even though there is time each day to take Tank for a walk, sometimes accompanied by Mitten, the two of them have certainly perfected the art of relaxation.  What a life.

There has also been time to enjoy the wonderful views around the area.   On a walk at the shoreline with Tank, I took a photo of a mountain across the water.  As best as I can tell, it is probably Mount Sedgwick, which is northwest of my current location.

And the other day on a trip to Squamish I stopped to take a photo of this magnificent rock face, which borders the highway.

The weather has been pretty darn perfect as well, although the downside to that has been that the fire danger has gone from moderate to extreme,  just in one week.  

But now my days are winding down in this beautiful location, and come this Saturday, I will once again be on my way, heading back to Vancouver Island for a little while.  I'm certainly going to miss spending time with Mitten and Tank, but I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks with them.  I hope that they feel the same about the house sitter.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

BRITANNIA BEACH

 POST # 654

A week ago today, I headed back to Washington State along with Mary and Dora-dog, to spend a few precious days there.  Then, two days ago I returned to Canada, and arrived here at Britannia Beach, about a half hour drive north of Horseshoe Bay.  As you can see from the photo, I have a spectacular view from my front deck, and for the time that I am here, I am quite sure that I will spend plenty of hours gazing out in that direction.

Of course, a house/pet sit wouldn't be complete without a pet or two to keep me company during my stay.  On this occasion, I have two wonderful critters to keep me company, a cat and a dog, or as I like to call them, a furball and a bonehead.

Let's begin with the furball.  Mitten comes and goes all day long, but manages to be here for mealtimes.  Mitten starts to purr as soon as you get close.  That's my kind of furball.

And then there is Tank.

Tank is a very appropriate name considering his huge size, but he is a gentle giant, and is very easy to spend time with.  He likes to spend much of his day hanging out on the front deck.  I'd like to think that he is there to enjoy the view along with the housesitter, but he seems to spend much of his time snoozing.  That's his choice.

I'm looking forward to spending time with these two over the next couple of weeks, and no doubt they will teach me some lessons along the way.  It's shaping up to be a very relaxed, and quiet house/pet sit.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

FIREWORKS RELIEF IN THE CITY OF MURALS

 POST # 653

With all of the fireworks happening back in the USA in recent days, Mary and Dora-dog decided to head north to get some fireworks relief.

They arrived in Ladysmith on June 30th, and picked me up at my last housesit location, and from there we headed down the road to the town of Chemainus, also known as the City of Murals.

It's a wonderful little town, and has a reputation for all of the murals around the place.  I think that there is a total of sixty altogether.  So I went out and took a photo of some of them, and decided to post them on today's blog.

The yellow footprints on the sidewalk which can be seen in the photo with the sailing ship and the Canada Post mural, are put there to guide people to each and every mural around town.

Yesterday we took a day trip to Saltspring Island which was an enjoyable way to spend the day.

And today we head back to Mary's place in La Conner, Washington.  With any luck most of the fireworks will be over with, and Dora-dog will be very happy if that is the case.  Here, it's been very quiet and relaxed the entire time, which we were all thankful for.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

FRUIT, AND A TEDDY DOUBLE HEADER

 POST # 652

As the season progresses, the fruit in the backyard continues to ripen.  The above cherry tree has been providing me with a few treats lately.  It's only a small tree, and I want to leave some of the cherries for the owners who return here tomorrow.  In the background on the left of the photo is another very large cherry tree which is located in the neighbour's yard.  It's absolutely filled with cherries, and from what I can tell, no one is picking any of them.  What a shame.

The raspberries as well are now popping out, and I've enjoyed a few of them too.  There will be many more to come, but I will be long gone by the time that they are ripe enough to eat.

And the peach tree below, is absolutely covered in fruit, but like the raspberries, I won't be here to enjoy any of them.

This final post for the month of June wouldn't be complete without mentioning Teddy, the furball that is currently absent from here.

Yesterday, I was out in the backyard, and Teddy climbed over the fence again from the neighbour's yard into our yard.  I wandered over to the bushes, but he stayed hidden, and even with the encouragement of some treats, he neglected to show himself.  A few hours later, I was sitting inside next to the backdoor, and lo and behold, Teddy actually walked up the stairs, only a few feet away from the door.  I gently opened the door, but that was all it took to scare him away, and he vanished back into the bushes outside.  This was the closest I have come to actually getting him back in the house, but unfortunately, I was unsuccessful.  But it is a hopeful sign, that he hasn't given up on returning. So that was the Teddy double header.

Sam in the meantime keeps a watchful eye over the backyard to see if his furball friend will be returning once again.  

So tomorrow the owners return home from the extended vacation.  With any luck maybe Teddy will then decide that it is time to come home and be pampered once again.  After all, Sam needs to share his good fortune with his four legged friend.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

SUMMER IS HERE, AND A SECOND TEDDY SIGHTING

 POST # 651

Summer arrived yesterday, and the flowers are blooming out all over the place. Every day there are more and more of them, which makes for a pretty sight.

In addition to all the flowers, Sam and I once again had the opportunity to see Teddy.  A few days ago, I noticed Sam creeping towards the plants in the backyard, so I went out to see what was up.  He made a dash towards the raspberry bushes, and moments later, a black cat which once again looked suspiciously like Teddy, scrambled up and over the back fence.  It was a repeat performance from last week.  So at least he still appears to be around, and I continue to keep an eye out for him.

Aside from that, there isn't much to report about for now.  The days go by, and I continue to be amazed at how fast that happens.  It's hard to believe that an entire week has gone by since my last post, but there you go.

Sam has been my faithful companion all the way along, and he has now taken to waking me up around 4 am which is a bit early for my liking.  Instead of just jumping up on the bed, and settling in, he climbs up on me, walks all the way from my feet to my head, and then insists on crawling under the covers for a while.  Needless to say, it's impossible to remain asleep while this is going on.  But eventually he settles down, and we both fall back to sleep for a while longer.

Sam also makes sure to get in plenty of naps during the day as well.

What a life. Sleep, eat, sleep, and sleep some more.  He's got it pretty good.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer