WINTER'S LAST BLAST

 POST # 640

When I arrived at my current location, it was free of snow.  But in the past week, mother nature decided to give us one more blast of winter.  I have already forgotten which day the snow came down, but it snowed all day long.

Of course, that's no excuse to not take Toby for his daily stroll, so we headed out that morning to take our usual walk.  Toby could care less that it was snowing, as we wandered along the road.  If too much snow accumulated on his back, he just shook it off, and we continued on our journey.

One of the many fruit crops that are present in this area is apples.  When I was here last year, I took photos of apples still on the vine, having not been picked.  It seemed like such a waste to me.  But hey, I'm no apple farmer, so what do I know? 

And this year, I've come across an orchard that has finally come to an end.  At some point in time, the trees have produced as much as they can (I guess), so the next thing to do is to chop them all down, and plant something else.  I walked past this orchard a couple of days ago, and now the majority of these trees are now chopped up into small pieces, no doubt to be used for firewood at a later date.  Perhaps more apple trees will be planted here, or maybe a different type of fruit.

So the snow is now history, and by the feel of the weather, I sincerely doubt that I will see any more of it for the remainder of my visit.  Spring has certainly sprung.  Toby and I will continue our daily walks, and enjoy the warmth of the season as it progresses.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

SETTLING IN

 POST # 639

After a very delayed train journey a week ago today, I arrived very late in Vancouver for an overnight stay, prior to hopping on a bus last Saturday to head to the interior of BC.  Along the way there was some beautiful snow covered countryside to pass through.

If the bus is on time, it takes about six hours to arrive at the Kelowna airport, where the owners were awaiting my arrival.  They brought Toby along with them, and he wasn't too happy to see me at first.  But once we arrived at their home, it didn't take long before he warmed up to me.

And as I write this blog entry, we are once again best buddies.  So this has been my week to settle in and get into a routine with Toby.  It's much warmer than it was when I was here last year, and as can be seen from the photo below, there isn't any snow, which is a nice change.

So settling in is what I have been doing for a week, and I am looking forward to spending most of my hours with Toby.  He's very easy to care for, although since my last visit, he has developed the habit of whining at the back door, when he wants to go out.  Hopefully, I can help to break him out of that habit.  But time will tell.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

DORA-DOG'S FINAL LONG WALK FOR A WHILE

 POST # 638

Dora-dog is ready and waiting to go for her final long walk for a while, as I will be departing later today for Vancouver, en route to my next house sit gig.  Of course, she doesn't realize that it's her last long walk for a while, but she will know by this evening when I depart for the train station with Mary.

Thankfully, the weather co-operated for our walk today, as can be seen as we walked across the bridge heading into town.  If you look closely, you can see Mount Baker in the background.

On our approach to the bridge, Dora-dog found a nice patch of grass to roll around on, and when she does this, she seems to be at her happiest.

Because it was a nice day, there were plenty of other four-legged friends to meet and greet along the way, so she had a very enjoyable stroll indeed.  And just prior to arriving home, a woman drove by, rolled down her window, and said, "your dog is super cute."  She gets cute all the time, but this was the first time she was called super cute.

And so our walk came to an end.  And later today, I will once again have to say goodbye to Mary and Dora-dog, which is always a sad moment.  But at least I can look forward to our next get together, which should be in about one month's time.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

P.S.  Happy birthday Bill.

OUR DAILY WALK and 70

 POST # 637

As mentioned in a previous blog post,  I have been taking Dora-dog out for a daily walk.  According to google maps, the distance we cover is 3.6 miles, which is a decent walk.  It takes on average about one hour and twenty minutes to complete our journey.  Even though we travel the same route each and every day, the walk is always unique, because there are different people, and more importantly, as far as Dora-dog is concerned, there are different dogs to meet along the way.

This morning she met one of her favourite bonehead friends, who goes by the name of Kodiak.  They always enjoy a few moments together.  And of course there is her favourite UPS courier driver named Hector.  She's always excited to see him, because she gets a dog biscuit from him, and right after she eats the biscuit she barks at him.  Go figure.  Hector gets a laugh out of it, as do I, and then we are once again on our way.

On our return journey, we pass by the La Conner Brewery, which is an establishment that Mary and I have visited on occasion.  There is an entrance off of the street that goes to an outside seating area, where dogs are allowed.  Each time we walk past the entrance, Dora-dog automatically makes a turn to go in, and as much as I am tempted sometimes to follow her in, we do the right thing and continue our journey homeward.

Eventually we reach the bridge once again, and soon we are back home, after our 3.6 mile adventure.  It's time for a rest.  And she has earned it.  Before you know it, it will be tomorrow, and we will once again be off on our way to town and back.  I'm quite sure that we can both use the exercise.

Changing subjects, I am now officially 70 years old, and Mary went to the trouble of arranging a birthday dinner for me and some friends, and afterwards we headed back home to enjoy some cake.  

That rounds out the news for this past week.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

MY FINAL POST

 POST # 636

Today is my final post.  Say what???  Why on earth would that be the case?  Well let me clarify that statement.  Today is my final post for someone who is still in their 60's.  That's right.  By the time my next post is scheduled on March 7th, I will well and truly be in my 70's.  That event takes place early next week.

When I look back over the years, I do find it quite amazing that I am still here on planet earth.  It's been quite the journey, and there have been plenty of close calls along the way, going all the way back to when I was only three years old.  That's probably a story for another day.

A decade ago, when I was just 59, I was house/pet sitting a bonehead named Pippen, in Australia.  That seems like such a very long time ago.  And since that time, I have been wandering from one place to the next, and I continue to count my blessings as my journey continues. I really can't imagine that I will  still be posting  into my 80's, but hey, who knows for sure?  As long as the blood keeps pumping through my veins, I guess anything is possible.  And I just had my blood pressure checked.  The reading was 122/72, which is pretty darn good for an old fart.

And finally for today, some more words of wisdom.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

BACK IN SHELTER BAY

 POST # 635

Since my last visit to Shelter Bay, the sign at the entrance has changed.  Some words of wisdom from a very long time ago.

 I arrived back here on February 17th, and I'll be here for the better part of a month.  With Mary continuing to recover from her recent operation, I am happy to help out in any way that I can.  Of course, part of that help revolves around getting Dora-dog out for two or three walks each day.  We can both use the exercise.

On our way into town yesterday we stopped for a break underneath the bridge that connects Shelter Bay to the town of La Conner.  She has a sad look upon her face, and I'm not sure why, because when we are out walking, she seems to be happy most of the time.

We continued our journey into town, and had quite a long walk, prior to turning around and heading back home.

And here we are, pausing to enjoy the view from the top of the bridge, prior to continuing our journey back home.

Up until today, the weather has cooperated, and we've been rain free.  That ended this morning, so our first walk was a wet one.  Hopefully things will clear up so that we can enjoy a rain-free walk later this afternoon.

The weather now seems to be clearing up somewhat, so I'd best take advantage of that fact, and harness up Dora-dog for our next journey.

And that's about all the words I can conjure up for today.  

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THE BRUSHAHOLIC

 POST # 634

The brushaholic.  That's my new term for Mr. Leon.  Now, I've known plenty of furballs  over the years, but he certainly takes the cake, when it comes to wanting to be brushed.  As soon as he sees me heading towards the room that these photos were taken in, he races right in behind me, and up onto his perch, so that he can be brushed just the way that he likes to be brushed.

This happens throughout the day, and I have to admit that I probably enjoy doing the brushing, as much as he enjoys being brushed.  We're a good team.  Be that as it may, soon I will be leaving Mr. Leon, but until that day arrives, we will continue to enjoy our time together, the brusher, and the brushee.

grateful for every breath (and brush),

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer