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

THE MYSTERY CONTINUES

 POST # 650

The mystery continues.  Where is Teddy?  To help solve the mystery, I put Sam in charge of watching out for him.  As you can see in the photo below, Sam takes his duty very seriously, and is keeping a keen eye out for his buddy.

So far, from his vantage point, he has been unsuccessful in his quest.  But a few days later, I was looking out the window and noticed Sam slowly crossing the yard to the back fence.  He appeared to be stalking something in the bushes near the fence.  I quietly walked outside, careful not to disturb him, and slowly walked up behind Sam to try and get a glimpse of what he was after.  I was only a few feet from him, when all of a sudden, he raced into the bushes, and immediately after that, a small black cat climbed up and then over the back fence.  I only had a couple of seconds to look, but my guess is that it was Teddy.  He was there, and then he was gone.  Was this an effort by Sam to scare him away?  Well if it was, it certainly worked, because since that day there has been no other sign of Teddy.  Then a couple of days after that, I met a neighbour who mentioned that he had also seen a small black cat roaming around, and my guess is that it was another sighting of Teddy.  But since that happened, I haven't seen him again.  I have left food treats out in the back yard just in case he comes around, and yesterday I noticed that they were all eaten.  Of course, that doesn't mean that it was Teddy who gobbled them up, but it's yet another potential indicator that he may be around the area.  So the mystery continues, but in the meantime, Sam and I will stay on the lookout.  Maybe we'll get lucky one day.

Moving on to another topic, three days ago was the full moon for the month of June.  I managed to get a blurry image of it, as it rose up in the night sky.

June's full moon is called a strawberry moon, which is an appropriate name considering what is growing in my backyard.  Each and every day, I manage to pick a few choice strawberries, which is a wonderful way to start the day.

So as the strawberries continue to ripen, Sam continues to be the sole furball here.  As you can see, he looks pretty happy about that, which makes me wonder yet again whether he plotted Teddy's getaway a while back.  Of course I'll never know.  In the meantime, I'll enjoy his company, and continue to ponder the mystery of Teddy's current location.  

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THE GREAT ESCAPE

 POST # 649

                                         Teddy                                                         Sam

The planning for the Great Escape had been in the works for months.  It began not long after Teddy arrived on the scene.  Teddy had confided in Sam that one day he would like to be back outdoors, where he had spent plenty of time prior to his arrival here.  Sam told Teddy to be patient.  After all, Sam had not been in this situation ever before, where he was tasked with helping one of his fellow furballs to make an escape.  He would need more time to work out the details of his plan, and once he was confident that it could be successfully completed, he would let Teddy know.

The months went by, and each day Teddy would ask Sam if today was going to be the day to escape.  Sam told him that he was still working out a few details, and that as soon as he had the details finalised he would inform Teddy.  Teddy continued to wait.

The biggest challenge as far as Sam was concerned, was to make sure that the two humans in the house would be either outside, or if inside, at least not in front of the door featured in the photo above.  This was the key to the success of the escape.  Things were looking good, and then for reasons unknown to both Sam and Teddy, a strange new human appeared on the scene.  Sam wondered how this was going to affect the carefully thought out plan that he had concocted. He told Teddy once more to be patient, and he would think about what to do next.

Then one day shortly after the new human arrived, the other two humans left the house, and Sam and Teddy were now confronted with this new situation.  Unfortunately for them, this new human seemed to have an obsession with this entrance to the house, and he seemed to hover around this area any time the two of them were near the door.  Weeks past.  And then one day, the two original humans arrived home, and the new human left.  Finally, it seemed like the escape plan could be put into action.

A day later, when one of the humans was outside, and the other human was upstairs, Sam told Teddy that the time was now right for him to make his great escape.  Sam gently opened the screen door, and as a result of that simple action, Teddy was now outside and free.  Apparently he hung around for a while, maybe wondering whether he should stay or go.  But eventually he decided that he wanted to be free, and with a final thank you meow to Sam, Teddy wandered off, never to be seen again.

Sam was surprised when a couple of weeks later the same human showed up, and the two humans left once again.  What's going on here?  Sam wasn't quite sure, but one thing that he did know, is that he liked this new human, and what's more, he now had the new human all to himself.  No more competing with Teddy for this human's affection.  

So that is the state of affairs now.  If I were to speculate, I think that Sam had this Great Escape planned right from the time that Teddy arrived.  But of course I'll never know for sure.  In the meantime, I'll try and enjoy his company as much as he appears to enjoy mine, and while doing so, I will keep an eye out for Teddy.  Wouldn't that be a happy situation if he decided to return. Happy at least for the owners, but maybe not for Sam.

And finally, I did ask Sam today if he would demonstrate how he opened the screen door for Teddy.  He was happy to oblige.

The Great Escape Artist in action.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

SUMMER CUT

 POST # 648

I wasn't expecting to be here on this date, but the owners of Teddy and Sam decided to take a few more days in between their two planned vacations, so once again I am back in Shelter Bay.  Lucky me.  As a result, I had the opportunity today to go with Mary to the dog grooming place in Anacortes, so that Dora-dog could get her summer cut.

The photo below shows Dora-dog prior to her haircut.

But the days are getting quite warm now, so in preparation for summer, it was time to get this taken care of, so that she could be a bit more comfortable with the warm temperatures. 

Dora-dog wasn't looking too happy about being out front of the dog groomers place,

and she was even less happy once we were inside, and getting ready to say goodbye to her.  She looked very anxious indeed, but we assured her that we would be back soon, and with that we left her in the hands of the dog groomer.

Eventually it was time to pick her up, about two hours later, and she was very happy to see us.  She looked even happier once she was back in the car, heading for home.

Now that she has had her summer cut, she'll no doubt be thankful that she doesn't have that extra fur to trap the summer heat.  I think that she looks more cute with long hair, but I'm not the one who has to bear the uncomfortable heat as a result of having that long fur.

Lastly, here are the most recent words of wisdom posted at the gate coming into Shelter Bay. Good for a chuckle or two.

I'll now be heading back to Ladysmith on June 2nd, so in the meantime I have a few more days to spend with Mary and Dora-dog, and I am happy about that.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

PS.  I usually try to post at 3:55 pm but our trip to the dog groomer didn't allow me to do that.  Next post for sure.

TEDDY'S TRUST INCREASES

 POST # 647

After another week with the young furball named Teddy, his trust seems to be increasing.  At the beginning of this house sit, I would have been hard pressed to occupy the same room as him.  As can be seen from the above photo, he seems to have finally warmed up to the house sitter.  Mind you, with that one claw visible, perhaps he's just reminding me who is in control in this relationship.  Bit by bit, our bond continues to strengthen.

Sam on the other hand, appears to have moved into the second best spot on the house sitter's body.  He is always the first one to jump up on the couch if I am there, but now Teddy pushes him out of the way in order to get the best location.  And Sam looks somewhat annoyed with this new arrangement.

The owners return home later today, in order to prepare for the next phase of their vacation.  I will head out tomorrow, and return on the 27th to resume my duties with these two furballs.  Hopefully Teddy will remember who I am, and we won't have to go through the same trust building exercise that we have just been through.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

LADYSMITH, THE MOON, FLOWERS and FURBALLS

 POST # 646

On a recent walk through town the other day, I came across this sign, which tells a brief history of Ladysmith.  It's a quiet little town, and a pleasant location to spend time.

The other night, May 12th to be exact was the full moon for the month of May.  I managed to take a photo of it as it was rising in the night sky.  It certainly looks full.

The name of the moon for the month of May is the flower moon, and as you can see by the next couple of photos, it's an appropriately named moon.  The flowers here are well and truly in bloom.

And of course, a post from my current location wouldn't be complete without the furballs being included.  As you can see, we have a rather stressed out life.  Sam always manages to get the best location, while Teddy is content to settle for a spot behind him.  It's a curious thing how one tail is draped over one leg, and the other over the other leg.  I guess it's all a part of their plan, to keep their resting spot (me), tied to one location.  So far, the plan seems to be working. Teddy is giving me the look, as if to say, "don't you even think about moving."

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

ANY COLOUR AS LONG AS IT IS BLACK

 POST # 645

Sam (top) and Teddy (bottom)

You can have any colour you want, as long as it is black.  Apparently that was what Henry Ford said about his cars, all those years ago.  And today, in 2025,  you can have any coloured furball you want as long as it is black.  At least, here at my current location in Ladysmith, that is well and truly the case.

I arrived here at the beginning of the month, so I've now had an entire week to spend with these two furballs.  I had met Sam on a previous house sit, but Teddy is the new kid on the block.  He's somewhat cautious of the new human in his home, but as each day passes, he is becoming much more comfortable with my presence.

Sam is the only one that is allowed outdoors, at least for now, but Teddy looks through the glass and wonders why his buddy Sam is the only one who has that opportunity.  I have to be extra careful to make sure that I am letting out the right customer, and so far, so good.

The two of them have taken to hanging out on my bed each day, and of course I let them do so.  It's a way of bonding with them.

So that's all for today, as I will have plenty of other opportunities to blog about these guys in the upcoming weeks.  They are great companions for sure.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer