COLD WEATHER, INCUBATORS & TANK

POST # 252

TANK*

I was going to insert two other photos on today's blog.  The first photo was the snow falling outside at the moment, and the second was a photo of the fire from last night in the wood stove.  Unfortunately for whatever reason, I can't seem to get the download function to work for either one.  I'll blame it on the cold weather.  
As I type these words, I can see my breath. Yes, it's a tad chilly in the house, and I'm clothed with as many layers as I have to keep warm.  Thankfully I also have a sleeping bag here which I can wrap around myself.  I'm grateful for these small luxuries.  How does that old saying go, if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger?  Perhaps.  All things being equal, I will be glad when the weather warms up, and the sun reappears.

In spite of the cold and snow, my little hummingbird friend is here every day, slurping from the feeder outside.  In addition, the hoot owl has been talking up a storm most evenings, and yesterday he even appeared in the daytime as he flew across the yard and nestled in one of the trees.  Amazing.

The other day when I was in town shopping, someone had left a copy of the local newspaper on a table in the store.  I scooped it up to use for kindling later on, but once home, I decided that I may as well have a read before burning it in the wood stove.  Like most newspapers there is an obituary section, or as it is named in the Peninsula Daily News, "Passings."  One entry caught my eye.  Her name was Lucille Conlin Horn.  She made it to the ripe old age of 96.  At birth, her twin sister died, and Lucille was a mere two pounds.  Her parents took her to Coney Island, where a Dr. Martin Couney put babies on display in incubators to fund his research.  He was a pioneer in the use of incubators.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_A._Couney

As a fellow incubator baby, on the threshold of yet another birthday later this week,  I am thankful for people like the good Doc Couney for doing his research all those years ago.  I guess I was lucky enough to be born when I was, or to even be born at all.  It's been quite the journey so far.




living a life of simple acceptance,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

*This is Tank.  He has featured before on my blog, but I ran into him again the other day, and as a result, I will be going down the road to feed him for a couple of days later this week while his owner is away.  It's always good to spend some time with a bonehead. And Tank is a good bonehead.

MY OLD FRIEND BILL, AND OTHER NEWS

POST # 251

There he goes.  That's my old friend Bill, heading back to town on his morning walk along the beach, here in Port Townsend.  As some readers may remember, I met Bill last year while I was here.  We would occasionally run in to each other when I was out for my morning bike ride, and he was doing his daily walk.  Here is a link to a post from last year that includes among other things, a photo of Bill.
http://wherespaulnow.blogspot.com/2016/09/some-final-port-townsend-thoughts.html

Yesterday morning I decided to head out a bit earlier than normal.  The weather radar was showing that rain was on the way and I do prefer riding when it's dry.  On the way to town,  I had a feeling that  maybe I would see Bill, and sure enough, just as I was rolling up to the bench that I sit at to read (and where I originally met Bill), he was just getting up to continue his walk.  I arrived in time to say hello.  We had a few moments to chat and catch up on things, prior to him continuing on his way.  Perhaps we'll meet again before I leave town.

Feeling adventurous this past week, I decided to sleep outside one night.  There is a small structure out back that is suitable for this purpose, so I set up "camp" and hunkered down for the evening.  I enjoyed a very restful sleep.  It was dry, warm,  and quiet.  What's not to like?    I expect to do this again in the future.

The next morning it was time for my daily gruel* sitting in my favourite chair which is located directly beneath where I had slept the previous evening.

* This batch of gruel, has oatmeal, cinnamon, peanuts, honey, banana, and apples and blackberries which I harvested and froze last year.  Yum!!!


Different seasons bring different critters and I noticed this exquisite one the other day while wandering around outside.  There are always plenty of wonderful things to observe, if one pays attention and focuses on living in the moment.

All in all, it's been a wonderful week.  Looking at the weather forecast for the near future, it appears that at this stage anyhow, I may see more of the sun.  That will provide the opportunity to get out earlier on my daily bike ride, and with any luck, I'll have the chance to catch up again with Bill.  That would be a rewarding experience.


living a life of simple acceptance,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

SIMPLE ACCEPTANCE

POST # 250

While scrolling through some old emails the other day, I came across this little poem which I had saved.

SIMPLE ACCEPTANCE

Acceptance allows us to strike
Discomfort from out of our psych;
It's easy to do
For me and for you-
Except for the things we don't like.

Being back here in Port Townsend in February is allowing me to continue to work on my daily goal of acceptance.   House sitting here this month forces me to accept colder temperatures.  Don't be fooled by the photo above, which I happened to take yesterday while sitting out in the yard next to the woodpile.  At that moment with the sun beating down, I was most assuredly warm.  The same can't be said for inside the house, and that is where the bulk of the work on acceptance is taking place for the time being.  As each day passes, the season progresses, and the sun continues to be higher in the sky.  The snow that was here only one short week ago is now all gone, so I know that the temperatures are on the rise, albeit slowly.  Thankfully, patience is one of my strengths.

There is a wood stove to help take the edge off of the chill in the air, however I have chosen to use it sparingly because most of the wood in the woodpile is fairly "green" and somewhat on the damp side.  
Necessity is the mother of invention or so they say, and I've managed to rig up a wood drier of sorts.

 It 'aint pretty, but it's functional, and it gives me something to do in the evening.

Of course, some things haven't changed since last summer.  I still have my dear deer friends to keep me company during my stay.

And as always,  I like to get out on my daily bike ride if the weather is co-operating as it was yesterday.  While down at the beach I captured one of my favourite cloud types.  This is a lenticular cloud, which gets its name from its lens shape caused by the high winds at that altitude.

All things considered, aside from the chill in the air, it's pretty easy to be in the mindset of acceptance.  Life is good.

living a life of simple* acceptance,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

*I live a simple life, so I'm changing the sign off from the word profound to the word simple.

MOVING ON

POST # 249

No, this isn't me.  But I suppose that if my life had taken a different trajectory  it could have been me.    A man and his faithful companion, heading out from the dock to, where??  Perhaps another boat at anchor in the harbour.   He will remain a mystery.

Piper the furball is now history.  Well not literally.  He just stayed put in his domain, while the house sitter has moved on to the next venue.  I MISS HIM ALREADY.  He's probably forgotten about me.  But that's OK.  It comes with the territory.  There are already plans in the works for a return visit.  I'll have him in my spell once again.  The poor furball doesn't stand a chance, or so I keep telling myself.  I think he has more control over me, than I do over him.

Here is a rare photo of Piper with his eyes open.  It's not his preferred option.  Why be awake when you can be sleeping?  In fact, during my stay at Piper's place,  I came across a book supposedly authored by one of his feline friends, the title of which is, "YOU NEED MORE SLEEP."  Who else but a furball could come up with a title like that?

Full disclosure.  The odd time that Piper is awake is put to very productive use.  Here we see him once again conning the  house sitter into providing him with "just one more" treat.  Who's kidding who? Piper is a master in the art of persuasion.  This photo says it all.  I didn't stand a chance.   

With the snow falling, I headed out on my bike to the bus terminal to begin my journey to my next house sit.  From bike to bus to boat on a journey south to Port Angeles. 

Here is my lonely looking bike on the foredeck of the boat.  Or if you'd rather have the video version with the snow falling, here it is.

Arriving in Port Angeles, I was met by my friends Dahr and Laurie and from there we returned to Port Townsend.  Some dinner, a visit, and then it was early to bed because we were up again at 2am  so that I could journey to Sea Tac airport in Seattle with Dahr.  He headed out to Guam, and I departed the airport about 4:30am on my return to Port Townsend.  Even at that early hour, I was struck by the amount of traffic on Interstate 5.  I was thankful when I could exit onto highway 16 at Tacoma, and continue my journey back home, arriving at 6:30am.

The place certainly has a different look than when I was here in the summer, as can be seen by the following image.

It's nice to see that the chair that I found abandoned on the highway last summer, has managed to remain in the yard.  I'm not sure how much time I will be spending out there reading at this time of year, but who knows?  It's good to be back and I look forward to the silence of this place which is only broken occasionally by the haunting sound of the resident hoot owl*.  

*Listen closely and you'll hear the hoot owl.

living a life of profound acceptance,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer