CONTRASTS

POST # 314

San Antonio village, Belize

On this most recent journey to Belize onboard an American Airlines flight from Miami, I was struck by what appears to be a new phenomenon.   It was a beautiful sunny morning, and yet almost none of the windows had their shades up. A quick glance around the cabin which has about 30 rows, only revealed about a half a dozen or so windows with the shade up. I had two windows available, so naturally I put up both shades, in order to enjoy the view. The next thing I notice is that the guy sitting behind me, reached past the corner of my seat, and pushed the shade back down. WTF??? This little game went on for a while, and eventually he gave up. I guess it's just another sign of the times with everyone wanting to be connected to their "device" that they don't even want to enjoy the view. Flying has gone from a time when people actually talked to each other, then didn't talk, and now this. How come I'm not surprised?

In contrast with that experience, here in Belize, being "online" is much more hit and miss.  But the good news is that the less time I spend in cyber space, the less I feel I need to be connected, and I'm sure that must be a good thing.

There are plenty of interesting people to talk to and there is a new bonehead here, named Mia, so I keep busy in spite of the lack of internet time. 

Living in acceptance,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

WANDERING TO BELIZE (AGAIN)

POST # 313

Sunset at Calgary airport

By the time this is posted, I will have been in Belize, AGAIN, for about a day.  This is my 4th journey here in order to spend some precious time, with my precious friends.  With the way things are going now in our crazy world, I decided it was time to get here, before I'm not able to do so.

It has been somewhat of a "milk run" to make it to Belize on this go around. The journey  began in Vancouver, followed by Kelowna, Calgary, Toronto and Miami before touching down yesterday morning. The journey lasted the better part of two days.   Hey, I'm not complaining and in fact, aside from needing a good sleep soon, wandering around seems to be what I was born to do.

So it's time to settle in and relax for a while. After all, I've got all of that house/per sitting work to get over. A soak in the pool, and a shot of the local rum should help.

Living in acceptance,

Paul,
The Thoughtful Wanderer

HIM AGAIN

POST # 312

Dora here.  It's him again.  This guy was here once before, and to be honest I wasn't quite sure if I was going to like him.  But he showed up again last week, and to his credit, he's been doing everything he can to try and get in my good books.  He assists my owner when she takes me for a walk, he scoops up my poop, and give me treats.  But here's the best part.  For whatever reason, he's managed to work out that I like to have a wrestle every now and again, and even though he doesn't stand a chance at winning the wrestling match, I allow him to think that he has won, just to amuse him.  The things we dogs do to keep the humans happy.  It's a daily chore.

So after much consideration on my part, I've decided to allow this human to spend more time with me.  Now that I've helped to re-educate him, it would be a waste if I didn't take advantage of him to the fullest.  Slowly but surely, my plan to control humans is working.  One at a time.  It gives me something to do, and it makes the humans think that they are getting smarter.  But believe me, they've got a long way to go in that department.

One final photo for today.  Here I am again, this time with a stupid toy on my head, just to please the humans.  I guess it does have some advantage, because it makes them feel that I deserve a treat afterwards.  I've got them wrapped around my paw.

Faithfully yours,
Dora dog

The Thoughtful Wanderer here.  I thought I would let Dora have her say for today's post.  I will be away on vacation next month for three weeks (some would say that I am always on vacation), and I may or may not have internet access, but if I do, I'll make sure to post something, even if it's just a photo or two.

living in acceptance,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

DEER, SEAGULLS and CLOUDS

POST #311

Just when I thought that I've seen it all, and now this.  Deer strolling along the beach yesterday.  My first thought was that perhaps I've just been in the wrong place all of these years, and that deer on the beach was a normal occurrence.  Yesterday, being a Sunday, there were plenty of other people walking along the seawall, and a quick glance at any of them, suggested to me that this was anything but normal.   All along the wall, with their cameras in hand, people were recording this unusual event.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that I even saw a couple of seagulls taking a second look.  They've got enough competition for shellfish with the other birds, without having to deal with these two freeloaders.  But the seagulls had nothing to worry about.  The deer were happy to just take a Sunday stroll along the beach, and enjoy the day just like the rest of us were doing.

Eventually, the deer turned around and headed back in the opposite direction and before long, the beach was back to normal, and all of the birds could relax and go about their business.  And by going about their business, I mean the ongoing search for shellfish.  Lately, this has been a very successful enterprise.  It's that time of year when the tides are quite extreme, and when it's low tide, there is plenty of food available.  At high tide, the pickings are slim,  and the competition is rather fierce.  I never cease to be amazed when I watch a seagull that has recently plucked a shellfish into its mouth, then have to go through the most incredible flight maneuvers to try and keep its catch away from the others.  At times I wonder if the amount of energy expended by the seagull is actually more than it gets from the consumption of its catch?  Some seagulls manage to out-maneuver their rivals. They follow up this aerial display, by doing a steep climb in order to drop the shellfish from a sufficient enough height so that when it lands on the beach, it cracks open.  After all of that, more often than not, a rival is there to scoop up the prize, and all of that energy expended was for naught.

My time at the beach was coming to a close for the day, and as I prepared to hop back on the bike and head home, I marvelled at a cloud in the western sky.  I could probably spend as much time staring at clouds as I do watching birds these days.  Both provide me with happiness.

MAGNIFICENT

It just so happens that this cloud was in the direction of home, so I had the great pleasure of watching it change and grow, as I continued on my journey.

Deer, seagulls, and clouds.  Simple pleasures.

living in acceptance,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THE LAZY-HAZY-CRAZY DAYS OF SUMMER ???

POST # 310

It would be easy to assume that the current run of sunny days and warm temperatures must indicate that the summer season is well and truly here, but it's still more than a month away.

What's a Thoughtful Wanderer to do, after taking care of the resident furball, but to head to the beach, and just enjoy the day.

Of course, it's a stressful occupation to be sure, so after my beach time, I like to heed the words in this Spanish proverb:

Seems like good advice to me.

Now it's time to head back to the beach.

living in acceptance,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

MELLOW MYRTLE

POST # 309

MYRTLE BELONGS IN A DR. SEUSS BOOK

Long, long ago, in a land far, far away...

Hang on, let's start again shall we?  Almost 7 years ago, which isn't really that long ago, and not in a land far away, but just a few blocks from here, I had the good fortune to spend a few weeks with Myrtle.  She was much more energetic back then, and I probably was as well. I'd like to think that we're both gently ageing like a good wine.

I came across Myrtle the other day while out on my bike ride.  It just so happens that I was going past the house where she lives, and she was sitting out on the front porch with her owner.  It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, so I stopped for a visit.  Prior to my departure, the owner invited me to a "turkey and dog food" dinner.  That certainly sounded intriguing.  The owner explained that the reason she called it that, was because any left-over turkey goes into Myrtle's dog food dish.  I was relieved to hear that.

So last weekend, I peddled on over, and was one of seven guests at the dinner.  Too bad for Myrtle that there were so many humans to feed.  I didn't like her chances of getting many leftovers, considering that the owner also sent me away with a "take home" pack.

It was an enjoyable evening, and aside from some interesting conversations, I was grateful for the opportunity to once again catch up with mellow Myrtle.

MYRTLE SUPERVISING MY DEPARTURE

living in acceptance,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

SILKEN AND THE APPLE BLOSSOMS OF SPRING

POST # 308

SILKEN PUTTING HER BEST FOOT FORWARD

When you're a furball with only three feet, you have to make sure to put your best foot forward, which is exactly what Silken appears to be doing in this photo.  It probably is her best foot, as it has to support all the weight that would normally be distributed between two feet.  I find it truly amazing at just how fast she moves from place to place around the house, especially when there might be food involved at the end of the journey.  

Once again, I have the good fortune to be spending time with Silken, while her owner has gone on a trip to Africa in order to view a variety of other species, thus leaving her furball in my care for a while.  The truth be known, Silken isn't as much fun as pet-sitting a bonehead, but on the plus side, she's much easier to care for, and she is very loveable.

With the exception of today's rain, the weather (not to be confused with the climate) has been just magnificent, which is an abrupt change from the past few months.  As mentioned last week,  I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to see the sun again?  It seems like we've gone directly from winter to summer, and the trees are in full bloom.  Take for example the apple tree, here in the backyard.

Here's a close-up view.

These really are magnificent to look at, and I am enjoying my time out in the garden as much as possible.  Soon the blossoms will be gone, and the apples will come in to view.  Unfortunately, I won't be house-sitting here during harvest season, but by the looks of things, it's going to be a bumper crop for this apple tree.

 I can't spend all of my precious time gazing at the apple blossoms, and being a conscientious pet-sitter,  a certain portion of the day needs to be shared with the resident furball.  It's time well spent, and Silken seems to enjoy it as much as I do.  Here she is playing with her favourite toy, which is part of her post-breakfast daily routine.  The other part is a morning nap, and as I write these words, that's exactly what she's doing.  After all, she's been awake now for at least three hours.  It must be nap time.

living in acceptance,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer