2014- COMES TO A CLOSE

POST # 150  (Please note- I may not have access to a computer for my Jan 7th blog)

When I began writing this blog back in October 2011, I had no idea at all how long I would keep up with it.  But here it is, almost the end of 2014 and I'm still at it.

It's certainly been an adventure, perhaps even more of an adventure than I would have liked, considering my March 4th, 2012 escapade of tumbling down a mountain and breaking my leg.  That might have been the end of the blog right then and there, after barely five months.  Thankfully, my *brain and fingers weren't injured, so the key pecking continues. (*With what I write sometimes, some will think that I did injure my brain.)

My travels in the last three years have taken me to a variety of locations in Canada and the USA, and now I find myself back in Australia after an absence of almost six years.  When I joined the housesitting website, HOUSECARERS.COM, back in 2011, one of the main reasons for doing so was to be able to apply for housesits in Australia.  As the company is based here, a vast percentage of their housesits, are located in Australia.  However,  somehow I got into a groove back in North America, and kept getting asked back to places I'd housesat previously.  Finally, it took an email from an old friend here, offering me the opportunity to care for his place, to finally convince me to make the jump across the pond.  That email, and my view that long distance flying will be something that is coming to and end in the future, was enough to convince me that now was the time to visit.

So far, I'm glad to be here, and it's a nice break from the winter weather that is now engulfing the northern hemisphere.  The Christmas crazy season is over, and life here has settled into a typically lazy Aussie summer.  I'll soak it up while I can.

On this date back in 2011, I was hunkered down in the Yukon for the winter, taking care of three Border Collies, by the names of Skidder, Breaker, and Roxie, and two cats, Dusty and Trouble. There have been plenty of miles travelled since then,  and many wonderful animals and a few humans to keep me company all along the way.

This housesit has no pets, however, if I need a dog fix, there are a couple of old dogs next door to keep me company, plenty of bird life around, and just out back a few kilometres I can always find a couple of kangaroos to verify that I am in Australia.
I'll try and upload some photos/videos later today.



Happy Trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer


HOPPERS                                                                             BIRDSONG AT MY PLACE

CHOCKO AND CHLOE

VICTOR HARBOR AND SPRINGMOUNT RETREAT

POST # 149

The journey continues here in South Australia. The view I have everyday from my deck overlooks a golf course of all things.  It wouldn't be my first choice of a place to live, but hey, I'm just here for a short while.

The beach is close by and  is a regular place for me to visit on my daily bike ride.

Strange sights can be seen while at the beach.

Hey, wait a minute now, what country am I actually in at the moment???

Moving right along, another place that I am required to visit is Springmount Retreat.  My friend Dave has me taking care of  it while he is away.  It's about a half hour outside of Victor Harbor.

And last but not least, what would a visit to Australia be without a few of these bounding around the place.

I'm about half way through this current house sit and life has settled into a nice relaxed rhythm.

Happy trails,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

A CHANGE OF SEASONS

POST # 148

So where is Paul now?  Boris the cat had an opportunity to visit with the Thoughtful Wanderer in the past two weeks, and it appears that he appreciated the visit.
But that was back in late November and since then I have settled in at my latest house sit which is pet free for a change.  I prefer having the animals around,  but it's nice not to have the responsibility every now and again.
An email from a friend a few months ago requesting my assistance to housesit, sent me on my latest journey.  This is the same friend who inadvertently put my life on its present trajectory to study everything I could regarding climate change and all the other related topics that go along with that, including near term human extinction. (for details please go to guymcpherson.com)
Dave, suggested I come to his place while he and his partner spent a month in Germany.  After weighing up my options, I decided to take him up on his offer, and began to put the wheels in motion to achieve this goal.
My first stop en route to Dave's place was at Los Angeles International Airport where I came across this sign over a water fountain.

This isn't a very good sign to read, especially when you're thirsty. What can't be seen, and immediately to the left of the water fountain is a water cooler selling bottled water.  Either LA has a serious problem with their water supply, or someone from the company selling the water maybe paid the airport to install this sign.  Either way, it was a surprising sight to see.
My journey continued and soon I found myself in need of a nap on an airport bench.  It's one of those things which I do best.

Henry David would have appreciated that I wasn't spending any extra funds on a place to sleep, however I doubt he could have even imagined a future with such a thing as an airport.

As my journey continued I passed by this house with a great view.  It would be a magnificent place to housesit but alas, this was not my friend's house.

Eventually I arrived at my destination, Victor Harbor South Australia, which is where Dave currently resides.  It was time for a change of seasons.
I'll be here for about a month prior to wandering off to my next house sit.

Happy trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

PEARL HARBOR ANNIVERSARY

POST # 147

My plan for today was to write about my recent journey to my latest housesit.  However, yesterday a news article came to my notice, and I thought I would share the link for those who may be interested in a bit of history that is rarely discussed.  The article is written by James Perloff and it goes into detail of what really happened in the lead up to the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.  Seeing as it's the anniversary date today, I thought it would be an appropriate blog entry.

http://jamesperloff.com/2014/11/06/pearl-harbor-roosevelts-911/

Now I realize that information like this won't change anything regarding the course we

 are on as 

we continue down the one way street to near term human extinction, however the article

 is instructive 

in showing how society in general can be lead down certain paths all because of lies

 coming from high

places.  In this case, the lie was what took the US into WW2.   It seems like nothing

 has changed in the 

intervening years, except that maybe the lies have just become bigger.

Similar lies have been used for the past twenty plus years to play down, if not

 discount completely 

human caused climate chaos.  So here we find ourselves now in 2014 with the 

climate spinning out of 

control, and even though some of the main stream media has an article now and

 again, it still remains

a taboo topic for most people.

And if one dares to mention, near term human extinction, then you really get looked

at in a very strange manner.  I've come to know that look very well indeed.

Of course, I will continue to talk about it here, and who knows, maybe I will even

 change a few minds.

It gives me something to do in between petting cats and walking dogs, and just

 enjoying each precious moment of life as it happens. 

Next week, it will be time to fill in the readers on my latest housesit.

Happy trails

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

PS: Apologies for the broken up lines, however the computer seemed to want to do this

because of the link that I added.

MR. IN BETWEEN

POST # 146

Currently I am in between house sits and moving around, with limited computer access.
By the time December 7th arrives, I will be settled in my new digs, and will be able to update my readers with what's been going on lately.

Happy trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

SAYING GOODBYE TO CHUMLEE AND NANOOSE BAY

POST # 145

Chumlee's sad.

I decided to take a closer look to make sure.

Yep! He's sad alright. Perhaps he's thinking about the fact that his house sit buddy is going to be heading out the door soon, and he will be stuck at home alone until the owners return later today, which is what I would like to think that he is thinking,  however he's probably just wondering who exactly is going to be feeding him his next meal or perhaps he's contemplating another nap. It's a cat thing.

Yes, another house sit comes to a close, and it's been a very relaxed one indeed. I've had plenty of opportunity to take bike rides.

Plus, Chumlee has had lots of chances to play with his favourite toy, his green straw.

Once the day has come to an end, it's time for the two of us to sit in front of the fire, and enjoy its warm, comforting glow.

All things considered, life has been very relaxed here in Nanoose Bay.

Now getting back to Mr. Chumlee. Once I leave later this morning, he will be left on his own to amuse himself until the owners return home. He has plenty of choices, but one of his favourite things is to do his "tap dance" at the kitchen sink.

I love how his head keeps time to the "music" of the dripping tap.

So goodbye for now, Chumlee my furball friend.  I look forward to perhaps another opportunity to take care of you in the future, but for now, the Thoughtful Wanderer must continue his journey.

Happy trails,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

JET STREAMS, CHUMLEE, THE WOOD STOVE, AND ANOTHER RELAXED WEEK AT NANOOSE BAY

POST # 144


The earth continued its journey around the sun last night and by this morning, the sun appeared in the sky to the east. It's been sunny here all week, but the temperature has certainly cooled off from when I began this house sit.

However, in comparison to other places on the continent, here in Nanoose Bay it's relatively warm. That meandering jet stream is playing its roll again, with temperatures in some parts of Alaska, warmer than the south eastern USA. A small sliver of the west coast is on the "right" side of the jet stream, ie: the warm side, and Nanoose Bay is included. Not sure how long this will last, but Chumlee and I are enjoying the sunshine for now.

On my bike ride yesterday, I came across some ice in the ditch by the side of the road,

and a short while later, a deer in the neighbourhood. There are plenty more like this one around.

Continuing on my ride, I found a path in the woods that I hadn't seen before, so I took a slight detour to check it out.

This was a good place to stop for a while, and just BE. It was very soothing to the soul.

Eventually, I returned home to enjoy my view of the back yard.

Because it's been rather chilly lately, it was time to fire up the wood stove. The act of making a fire takes me back to my Yukon days and living at SNUG.

Chumlee appreciates the effort and likes to take full advantage of the heat that the stove provides. I don't usually start the wood stove until later in the day, and an alternative is to hide out in the office with a small space heater. Chumlee's never far behind me.

It's amazing how close he likes to be to the heater, but I guess he knows his limits, so I just let him be. I told Chumlee a very funny dog joke, and it just cracked him up with laughter. This is him laughing.

I received such a great reaction, I decided to tell him an even FUNNIER dog joke, and this is the result.

He gets so exhausted from laughing so hard, that he needs to take a well deserved rest on his bed near the window.

Eventually the day comes to a close, and it's time to give Chumlee a kiss goodnight.

Then one more task to complete prior to bedtime. A walk outside to listen to the sea lions barking across the bay, and a few precious moments to gaze up at the night sky, and just be amazed at the beauty of it all.

Happy Trails,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

MY NEW CHUM,CHUMLEE

POST # 143

So I've had about a week and a half to settle in at my latest housesit here in Nanoose Bay, and it has allowed Chumlee the furball and me to become pretty good chums.

"CAN YOU PET ME PLEASE?"

"THANKS PAUL, THAT FEELS GREAT"


It didn't really take too long for the two of us to bond. Chumlee has a frisky streak to him, however he was unaware that he would have to deal with the cat whisperer. He seems to have accepted his fate, and we have come to enjoy our time together. In fact, he even takes time to help me out on the computer every now and again.

"MAKE SURE TO DO A SPELL CHECK, PAUL"


When he's not being my office assistant, he can be found just hanging around at times.

"I NEED A REST FROM ALL THAT OFFICE WORK"

Sometimes Chumlee likes to get a better overall view of his world, so he stations himself at this location, so that he can keep an eye on the housesitter.

"IT'S A GREAT VIEW, BUT YOU HAVE TO BE A CAT TO GET UP HERE"


When I'm not hanging out with my chum, Chumlee, and if the weather is co-operating, I make sure to get out for a bike ride with the fancy mountainbike that the owners left here for me to use. Some interesting sights can be seen along the journey.

\
FARMLAND CLOSE TO WHERE I CURRENTLY LIVE

A VERY OLD CAR, AND AN EXAMPLE OF THE FUTURE OF INDUSTRIAL CIVILIZATION

And finally, some pumpkin art left over from halloween.

Upon returning home, I can relax in the living room and gaze out at the backyard view of green things.

While this is happening, Chumlee can usually be found here, having his well earned afternoon nap.

As the day progresses into evening, Chumlee, having exhausted himself from all of his napping during the day, can almost always be found here on his cat perch, having a rest, in order to get in the mood for bed.

And finally, after a long day of r and r for the both of us, it's time to turn in.

Tomorrow is another precious day to look forward to with my new chum, Chumlee.



Happy trails,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

BACK ON VANCOUVER ISLAND

POST # 142

An early 6am flight from Redmond Oregon, plopped me into SeaTac airport in Seattle for a couple of hours, prior to my second flight to Vancouver. With some time to spare I managed to get to the library and finally the ferry terminal in Horseshoe Bay for my journey to Nanaimo.

There I was met by Don, and we drove to Nanoose Bay to start my next house sit. So I'm back on the island with a new furball to care for. His name is Chumlee. He is a Siamese cross, so he certainly won't be as cuddly as Piper in Nanaimo, but then again, he's never spent time with the cat whisperer, so it will be a learning curve for both of us.

I'm just down the road from where I housesat almost three years ago, and it feels both strange and comfortable to be back here. Nanoose Bay is quite small and more rural than urban which I prefer these days. It's quiet.
Plus, the locals voted to not have street lights, so on a clear night, the sky is magnificent to gaze at.

So it's time to settle in, get to know Chumlee, and enjoy the area. The owners have supplied me with a bike, and I plan to take advantage of it while I'm here.

Happy Trails,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

PS. For those interested in a short video by my friend Pauline Schneider in which she spent a year following Guy McPherson on his travels, it can be found at this link.



http://guymcpherson.com/2014/10/pauline-schneiders-film/

It requires a password which is Going Dark. Make sure to use a capital G and a capital D and put a single space between the two words. Enjoy.

NEPAL BLIZZARD and GENOA FLOODS

POST # 141

I came across a story the other day about trekkers in Nepal who had been killed in an avalanche. October is meant to be the prime trekking season there, so things like this shouldn't be expected. The effects of a tropical cyclone that hit the Indian coast, brought unusually heavy snowfall to the Nepal region. The story caught my eye for two reasons. The first, is that the storm took place in a trekking area called the Annapurna circuit. That part stood out, as I had hiked that exact trek many years ago, climbing over a mountain pass called Thorong La, which is almost 18,000 feet above sea level. The second thing that caught my attention was the unseasonal nature of the blizzard. Here again is another example of the impact of climate change. A warmer planet means a warmer atmosphere, and a warmer atmosphere has the ability to hold more moisture, and whether the moisture comes to the earth either as rain, or in this example, snow, it can have un-foreseen consequences.

TREKKING AREA IN NEPAL WHERE THE BLIZZARD TOOK PLACE WITH MOUNT MACHAPUCHARE IN THE DISTANCE

In a different part of the world the precipitation came in the form of rain, and the location was Genoa Italy. These types of scenes are becoming the norm these days. The warmer atmosphere in addition to the wavy, and slow moving jet stream, causes any precipitation in a specific area to not only be heavier than normal, it also gets stuck in a specific geographic location for an extended period of time.

As can be seen by looking at the above images, infrastructure that has been in place for a very long time, just can't cope with the new weather systems.

-----------------------------------------

The house sitter has a week off at the moment, but I'll be back on duty again soon, with a new fur ball to care for, and I'm looking forward to that. In the meantime, I'm holed up in Bend, Oregon with a dear friend.

Happy trails,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

PIPER THE DOG CAT and THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING NON-HUMAN

POST # 140

In the past couple of weeks, my feline friend, Piper has displayed some very dog-like tendencies. Almost all of the "normal" cats that I have had the pleasure of knowing going as far back as I can recall to about 1958, have been very independent. The human/s who attend to the cat's needs are like slaves attending to a King or a Queen. You may want to pick up, pet, cuddle, play with, or simply just move the furball, however if it doesn't want to co-operate (99% of the time), then the human is likely to end up with at minimum a few scratches, or worse.

Up until a couple of weeks ago, my friend Piper fit the above profile almost to a tee. And then something changed. Even though I have had plenty of experience with cats, I would have to admit that I have absolutely no idea what goes on in their brain. Perhaps, because I spend so much time with Piper, he now acts more like a dog than a cat. He spends the entire night on my bed. He's right there in the morning when I go to the bathroom, to the living room to open the blinds, and when I head to the kitchen, he's there meowing away, as he awaits his breakfast. Once breakfast is done, he searches me out, and settles in for a nap in what ever room I happen to be in at the time. With the exception of him going outside to do his business, he has become my shadow. Even when I go for my bike ride, he is there to watch me leave, and is waiting in the driveway when I return. I like that.

At the beginning of the housesit, there would be long stretches of time when he would be on his own. You see, Piper has a second residence, I call his cat "condo", which is located in the garage. This is what it looks like.

THE STAIRWAY TO THE CAT "CONDO"

THE CAT "CONDO" (upper right hand corner in the rafters)


But he seems to have lost interest in his home away from home, and now spends most of his time indoors with his housesitting buddy. Lucky me.

As far as the advantages of being a non human, I think that there are basically two. I strongly suspect that like most animals, with the exception of humans, cats live in the present, appreciating each moment as it happens. In addition to that, they have no idea about what crazy, stupid, dangerous, or self centred plans and schemes that humans are up to on a regular basis. Lucky for them. If they did know, we might see them marching in protest around the White House, or the Parliament buildings in Ottawa in an effort to tell their two legged companions to clean up their act, and do it now. But instead of that, we see this:

Piper, blissfully unaware of what humans are up to.

However, I could be totally wrong as might be demonstrated by the photo below. Perhaps Piper knows what's really going on, but like his human friends, he chooses to turn a blind eye.

I just don't want to know.

Whatever the case may be, I am very grateful that I have had the time to spend with Piper, and I will miss him when I leave, but the life of a Thoughtful Wanderer has me getting ready to be on the move yet again. I'll be curious to hear from the owner, after I leave, whether or not her furball, continues his dog like behaviour.

Time to say goodnight my furry friend, and soon it will be goodbye. (At least for now)


Happy Trails,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

The autumn garden

A CAT'S EYE VIEW

POST # 139

This is PIper's view of the world.

The point? It may be wise to see another species point of view; something that the human species has done very little of.

Happy trails,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

SPRINGBANK AND JETSTREAMS

POST # 138


As a former Calgarian, I do glance at the headlines in their local newspaper called the Calgary Herald from time to time. This morning was one of those times. A headline that caught my eye had the word Springbank in it, and as I have friends that live there, I wanted to read what it was all about. It turns out that the new Premier of the province has come up with a suggestion to build a dry reservoir west of Calgary in the Springbank area, in order to protect the city from any chance of future floods, similar to the ones that happened in 2013. In addition to that, the province is analyzing a feasibility study to build a 5km tunnel from the Glenmore reservoir to the Bow River in order to divert water from the Elbow river. The combined cost of these two projects if they were to be approved is expected to be around $700 million, and would take years to complete. Naturally there is some opposition to these plans, however as quoted from the article,


Prentice defended the Springbank dry reservoir as the “most cost-effective” and “most environmentally defensible solution in the immediate term.”

While negotiations with landowners living within the boundaries of the dry reservoir would be handled with sensitivity, the government often needs to make difficult decisions, he added.

“Government involves tough decisions and tough choices,” Prentice said. “And our government is intent on making those choices.”


it appears that the government will probably go ahead, in spite of opposition which seems to be the norm for governments in this day and age. Even huge public demonstrations on a variety of issues has little or no effect on the outcome. Another quote from the article seems to confirm this:

But the coalition of Springbank landowners and environmentalists blasted the province for approving the dry reservoir, claiming the government did not adequately consult with residents and chose the reservoir because it was a “politically convenient option.”


Assuming the projects go ahead, there is absolutely no guarantee that it would make any difference in the long run. Why? Meandering jet streams. I've spoken about this in previous blog posts but just to review. Due to the rapid warming of the Arctic, the temperature gradient between the pole and the equator has been reduced, which has caused the jet stream to both slow down, and meander. The greatest side effect of this, is to cause weather systems that would normally pass through a particular area fairly rapidly, to slow down and get stuck. A classic example is what is going on in California at the moment causing severe drought conditions. The opposite of course is a torrential downpour. It all depends on which side of the jet stream you're on.

So let us get back to Mr Prentice and his plans to mitigate flooding in Calgary in the future. The money will be spent, and it will no doubt be more than is assumed at the moment (it always is), and Calgary will then think it is prepared for the next big rainstorm. The last one dumped between 8 and 10 inches of rain on the area, and the infrastructure just couldn't cope with that much water in such a short period of time. But what's to say that the next time it happens it won't be twice as much rain, or three times as much? Or perhaps the opposite happens and the Calgary area is affected by a long term drought as in California. The point is, that trying to now put in place systems that will mitigate the effect of these positive feedback loops like the meandering jet stream, are way too little, and way, way too late. It's like a doctor putting a band aid on a gaping wound. It will have virtually no impact and the patient will soon die.

But this is the world we live in now, as insane as it all seems. Perhaps the people running the show in Alberta could do a bit of study on what's really going on regarding climate change and its impact, however I don't expect that to happen. Instead, they, like many others have chosen the option below, as a way forward.

In the meantime, back here in Nanaimo, there is a furball named Piper who is wanting some attention because he is looking for a treat. Plus it's a beautiful sunny Sunday, so I want to spend some of my precious time outdoors. It's time to sign off until next month.


Happy trails,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer