THREE MORE DAYS

POST # 388

                                                                          WOW!!!

In three more days, this year, and this decade will come to a close, and it has been an interesting and a rewarding decade for The Thoughtful Wanderer.

This was the decade that The Thoughtful Wanderer blogpost began, way back on October 21st, 2011. With only a few exceptions, I have somehow managed to produce four posts each month since that date.  I'm not sure if that is due to good luck, or good management or both, but I'm glad that I have continued this effort, as it helps me to keep track of the adventures of the past, and for that reason alone, it has been worthwhile, at least for me, and perhaps a few other souls as well.

Most of my wandering in 2019 has been in British Columbia, however I've also spent time in Washington, New York, and California.  The farthest afield that I've been is New Zealand, so it has been another adventurous twelve months.  Who knows what 2020 will hold in store?

The acronym SAWAFAATRIAB which I coined in blogpost #1,  and which stands for, some air water and food and all the rest is a bonus, still seems to hold true for me.  After a person's basic needs are met, then everything else really is a bonus, as far as I am concerned.  Each day, I have many more bonuses than I can count, and I continue to be very grateful for all of them.

Because I am now getting rather long in the tooth, each day passes very quickly, which is all the more reason to really pay attention to the moments as they present themselves.  At my current housesit, an ideal way to stay focused on the moment is to spend some time each morning splitting wood to make kindling.  One needs to stay focused, or you might end up losing a finger.  I guess this could be deemed as work, however for me, it's a joy to do, and when the owners return home, I think they will appreciate the effort I've put in.

This has been a wonderful location to spend time, and there are moments when I feel as though I am back in the Yukon.  I manage to get out for a walk each day, and a few days ago, I came across this little shack in the woods.

It's a bit too small to live in, even by my standards, but it is at least twice as large as my storage locker, which contains all of my worldly goods.

Continuing my walk the other day, I came across this old fella, who goes by the name of Ruger.

So it's three more days left to go in this year, which coincidentally is the same amount of days that I have used as a guidepost for many years now.  Of course, none of us really know when we will breathe our final breath, but if for whatever reason I do know that I have only three days left,  then I am comfortable with that timeframe.
Keeping it in mind each and every day, helps me appreciate the time that I have even more.

maximizing my moments,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

RETURN TO EAST SOOKE

POST# 387

MY DAILY WALK IN THE RAINFOREST

As Earth continues its relentless journey around the sun, transporting along with it approximately 7.7 billion human passengers, we today enter the final Winter Solstice of the first decade of the 21st century.  This particular passenger finds himself back in the exact same spot as he was last year.

I guess that I must be doing something right when it comes to house/pet sitting, because the majority of my sits are return engagements.  Either the owners appreciate my "work" or maybe their pets seem happy and content when the owners return home.  Whatever the reason, I continue to be extremely grateful for the opportunity to enjoy this lifestyle, and I am thankful that there are many generous and trusting people who help me to remain on this path.  Being intentionally homeless helps motivate me to keep my calendar full.  

On this day a year ago, I was without power or running water, but so far on this return sit, everything is working just fine, including the wood stove, which was another issue that I had to deal with last year.  The critters are content, and so am I. 

Speaking of the critters, this post wouldn't be complete without a couple of photos of the two of them.

TRINITY & LEELOO

(Trinity by the woodstove)

ANOTHER CHALLENGING DAY PET SITTING

And now it's almost time to head out for my daily walk, which by the looks of it, will be a dry one for a change.  The photo below was taken just yesterday as I returned back home.

maximizing my moments,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

SO LONG TO MARY AND DORA-DOG AND ONWARDS TO VANCOUVER ISLAND

POST # 386

For the few readers last week, who may not have been able to guess the identity of "that four-legged critter" that I made reference to, please see the above photo.   Here is Dora-dog enjoying a relaxed moment, about half way through one of our daily walks.  Her face says it all.  It's great to be alive.

Here is a random selection of photos of my favourite bonehead in the world.  We've had the opportunity to spend the better part of a week together, while my dear friend Mary, visited her grandchildren in Oregon.  I've tried to spend as many moments as possible in Dora-dog's company.  I'm not sure which one of us has benefited the most, but it has been an absolute joy to spend this time together.

PRE-WALK

POST WALK

ON SQUIRREL WATCH

PLAYING WITH THE LACROSSE BALL I FOUND IN PLEASANTVILLE, NEW YORK

aka the PLB (Pleasantville Lacrosse Ball or Paul's Little Ball)

IT'S BEEN A LONG DAY

RESTING WITH MY FAVOURITE HOUSE SITTER

But as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and so it is with this most recent house/pet sit.  Today, I have to say so long to Mary and Dora-dog, as I move on to my next venue on Vancouver Island.  According to Mary, Dora-dog mopes around for a while after I leave, and that makes me sad.  But I know that she is in very good hands.  Mary after all, was the one who rescued Dora-dog almost two years ago.  I think that it has been a win-win, or more accurately a win-win-win, if I include myself in that group.

BOLTBUS MAKES ME VERY SAD

MARY ARRIVING HOME YESTERDAY

maximizing my moments,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

PETER, PAUL & HOSPICE

POST # 385

On a journey to New Zealand earlier this year, I came across this sign, which was located close to where we were staying for the night, in Lake Taupo.  It would be wonderful if we could live our lives "living every moment", even without having to be in a hospice.

On the subject of hospice, I was recently interviewed by a fellow Albertan, by the name of Peter Miller, a clinical psychologist.  I came across Peter as a result of him doing multiple video interviews with my friend, Guy McPherson.  The video link is embedded below.  From the amount of "thumbs up" it has received so far, it appears that everyone who has viewed it, enjoyed our discussion, even though it's a topic that is a challenging, but very beneficial one to discuss, in my opinion.  If you feel so inclined, have a listen, and if not, that's ok too.  Perhaps it would be more fun to go out and take your favourite bonehead for a walk, which is what I am about to do.  And for those who read this blog on a regular basis, there's no prize for guessing the name of that four-legged critter.  

Lastly, here is another good lesson to live by.  

maximizing my moments,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

D-DOG & ROCK DOG

POST #384

D-DOG

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of taking care of Dee Dee, aka D-dog, and I guess that I must have done a good job, because her owner's have invited me back for round two.  Lucky me, and I would like to think, lucky D-dog as well.  As you can see, D-dog is a very mellow bonehead.

I arrived a couple of days ago, and we've now settled in to a comfortable routine, which includes multiple walks around the area, including some beach walks. On one of those beach walks we came across this rock, which if you look closely, sort of resembles a dog's head.

ROCK DOG

It can only be viewed at low tide, because once the tide is in, a significant portion of the rock is then submerged, and the image of the dog disappears.  As in life, timing is everything.

The remainder of this week is looking like it's going to be sunny, but on the chilly side of things.  I do love this late autumn weather, and D-dog and I will make sure to get out there as often as possible to enjoy it.  With such clear skies, the final walk of the day is my favourite one of all.  This location has a minimal amount of lights, so the night sky is in full view.  While D-dog does her thing, sniffing along the way, I spend the majority of my time looking up, and marvelling at the stars above.  D-dog brings my eyes back to ground level, when she has her evening poop.  That's when I know what my REAL purpose is, in the universe. I'm just a poop scooper.

maximizing my moments,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

And a PS: Today's entry wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention the significance of the date.  It was the date my dad was born, way back in the year 1916, and it is also the date, forty years ago in 1979 when Air New Zealand Flight 901 to Antarctica, crashed into Mount Erebus, killing all on board.  It's memorable to me, as I was on the same flight exactly one year and one week prior, on November 21st, 1978.  I can still remember standing in a youth hostel in Singapore on the day after the accident, staring at the newspaper article that described the event, and feeling stunned, saddened, and lucky all at the same time. All of those 257 people would  never have thought that November 28th, 1979 was going to be their final day.  Here is a link to a short video regarding the crash.
https://www.watchme.co.nz/news/erebus-flight-901-litany-of-lies/the-chippendale-report/?ref=WatchMeSlider1

I GET TO WALK and SO LONG TO SHADOW

POST #383

 A LOVELY CABIN IN THE WOODS

Walking is something that I like to do, but more importantly, it's something that I still GET to do.  After my misadventure of tumbling down a mountain back on March 4th, 2012 which resulted in a severely broken right leg, there were many times, as I lay in my hospital bed, when I wondered if I would ever walk again. Considering that the first words out of the surgeon's mouth were, and I quote, "you have a very serious injury here, and if it gets infected, we will have to amputate your foot", I think that I was very lucky indeed. And since that date, anytime that I may have an ache or pain somewhere in my body, all I have to do is remind myself of how things might have turned out, and it becomes very easy to count my blessings.

The years continue to pass by, and the older one becomes, the faster the years go.  Thankfully, with each passing year, my leg has continued to get stronger, primarily because I try to make a daily effort of getting out for a walk.  It is truly a luxury, in my opinion, and I am reminded of this on occasion, when I pass by someone who is in a wheelchair, or maybe someone else who has one or both legs missing.  I can be moved to tears on occasion, when I think about their misfortune, compared with my continued good fortune.

On a recent walk, I came across the little cabin featured above.  What a beautifully constructed abode that I would be happy to live in for a while, but unfortunately this one isn't available.

Continuing on my walk, I took a moment to watch the sun's rays shine through the forest which surrounded me, and later on, marvel at the sunlight on a weeping willow tree.  These are more examples of views that I probably would have taken for granted, years ago.  But no more.  I try to be as present as I possibly can be nowadays.

One of the ways in which I try to stay focused on the present when I am out walking, is to concentrate on each step, and focus on my breathing.  It sounds simple, but try it sometime.  I've found that it is not as easy as it sounds.   I find it a worthwhile exercise.

Enough about walking.  Time to move on to the furball in residence, Mr. Shadow.  This has been my second visit this year with him, and I have to say, that Shadow is one very mellow dude. Don't take my word for it.  Just have a look at these photos.  

SHADOW'S SHADOW

There is no need for an alarm clock, because Shadow is always there each morning to assist the house sitter in waking up, so that I can feed him his first meal of the day.  

All in all, it's been a very pleasant time here, but later today I will say so long to Shadow for 2019, with the expectation that I will see him again in 2020.  As long as we're both still kicking, it should come about.

maximizing my moments,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

OLD AND "NEW"

POST #382

I have so much to be thankful for, when I think about my dear mom, Madonna.  In addition to all of the love that I received from her, she also helped me to form  an appreciation for shopping at thrift stores.  Mom, along with two of her sisters, volunteered every week at a thrift store.  Not only did our family get bargains on second hand clothing, mom also got a staff discount.  A discount on discounted items.  What a great deal.

Yesterday, I was reminded of this, because of a visit to a thrift store a few blocks from where I am currently house sitting.  This is the same store that I visited many years ago, and where I found my wonderfully comfortable hiking boots, a photo of which is featured in post #378.  If memory serves, I think that I paid only $16 for them.  No staff discount mind you, but a far sight cheaper than buying the same boots brand new.  It seemed like a good time to go there again, and just browse and see what was on offer.  It's not a big store, so it didn't take too long to have a look around, and finding nothing of interest, I headed for the exit.  And it was there, that I found an item that I had been contemplating buying recently, so when I saw it, I couldn't believe my luck.  After all, I was only moments away from walking out the door, but something made me turn, and look down and see it.

Here it is.

This piece of travel luggage was exactly what I had been looking for, and there it was, just waiting to be purchased.  What I had been looking for was a piece of luggage that I could either wear as a backpack, carry like a suitcase, or roll along the ground.  This piece has all three options.   Some recent browsing online in order to get an idea of what was available and at what cost, helped me to work out what would be the best model of luggage to look for.   After a closer inspection to verify that all of the zippers were functional, I strolled over to the young man at the check-out counter with my upcoming purchase.  I suppose it pays, to be served by a young cashier, because when I returned home, I took a look at the receipt, and lo and behold, he'd given me a senior's discount.  It certainly wasn't something that I had asked for, but I guess there must be some advantages to having a greying beard.  Madonna would certainly have approved of my bargain purchase.

My old Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) pack, shown below alongside my "new" pack, is no longer of any use to me.  It has served me well since purchasing it way back in 1987, when I was preparing to ride my bicycle down the west coast from Vancouver to Los Angeles. This same pack has accompanied me to Australia on numerous occasions, been once around the entire world in 1996, and it has even been all the way across the Indian Ocean on a sailboat, from Durban, South Africa to Freemantle, Australia.

But now it's time to say goodbye, and donate it to someone who needs it more than I do. Oddly enough, this house-sit where I am currently residing, is the same place over the past few years, in which I donated my last two bicycles.  When I say donate, it was just a matter of intentionally leaving them outside and unlocked, and poof, they seem to disappear in a hurry.  Perhaps leaving the pack unattended will have the same effect.  Either that, or I will find someone who needs it, and hand it to them in person, before I depart this location. It might provide a small amount of joy to a stranger.  I am reminded of the joy on a young boy's face in Kashmir, when I gave him my harmonica as a gift.  Somewhere I still have a photo of the event, and the look on his face is something to behold.  That was 39 years ago.

Like some other posts of recent times, I had a totally different subject which I was going to write about, and then my new piece of luggage came along.  I thought that it was worth a few words, and so now they are written down.  Perhaps next week I'll write about what I was going to write about today.  We'll see.


maximizing my moments,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

This just in. I have no idea why I happened to look at the Yukon News, newspaper this evening, but having done so, I came across this article.  I had the "pleasure" of receiving my own Sourtoe Cocktail certificate when I lived in the Yukon, so I can totally relate to this article.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/captain-dick-stevenson-sourtoe-obituary-1.5359630

CROSSING THE CONTINENT AND BACK IN LESS THAN ONE WEEK

POST # 381

And so begins round number two for 2019 with Shadow.  He's barely had a chance to forget about me, and now I'm back.  I'm looking forward to a couple of weeks of very relaxing time with my furry little friend, and I can only assume that he feels the same.  As much as I enjoy my four-legged bonehead friends, they do require a little more work than your average furball, so the next couple of weeks will be a breeze by comparison.

I said so long to Shadow  on October 13th, and there has been plenty of wandering taking place in the meantime.  What hasn't been covered is my most recent journey of crossing the continent and back,  so let's get to it shall we?

I departed Vancouver Island on October 30th, and following the ferry journey to the mainland, I was expecting a long wait at the Vancouver airport, however that was not what ended up happening.  One of my two upcoming flights was unexpectedly cancelled.  This resulted in me having to make a quick on the spot decision, and catch the red-eye flight en route to Toronto.  Thankfully, there was just enough time to grab a quick bite to eat, and wash it down with an expensive airport beer.  With that pleasant task completed, I hurried to the gate, and moments later I was on my way to Toronto.

A couple of hours after landing it was time to go through the boarding process one more time, as well as clear U.S. Customs and security before finally boarding my second and final flight for the day, en-route to LaGuardia airport in New York city, arriving just after 11a.m. local time. The air portion of my eastward journey was now complete.

I'd been here twice before, so I had a pretty good idea of how to proceed.  The purchase of a Met ticket, allowed me to board the M60 bus which dropped me off a while later at the Harlem/125th street train station, for my journey north to Pleasantville.

 Upon arrival at the station, the rain began to fall, and I ducked into a pizza place for a yummy slice of pizza, for just one dollar.  This made up for the expensive meal the previous night at the airport.

Next stop, 36 Hobby street, Pleasantville, the current home of my dear friends, Guy and Pauline.  I arrived about ten hours ahead of schedule. I punched in the door code and walked in, which caused a chorus of barking from the resident Yorkies, aka, baby boneheads. This commotion alerted Guy, who was upstairs, but he soon joined us. He was surprised to see me, as he wasn't expecting me until after 11pm.  And just like that, the first part of my journey had come to its conclusion.

The following day, November 1st had been designated, "Milkshakes in Manhattan Day." I joined Guy and Pauline for a journey back into Manhattan, where we met up with a variety of people that they know, and after some sight-seeing, we ended up at the Hudson and Charles Dinette.  Milkshakes turned into a long lunch, and it seems that everyone had a very pleasant time, indeed.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE MILKSHAKES???

That same evening, we enjoyed a pot-luck dinner back at Guy and Pauline's place, and somehow we didn't get to bed until 2am,  if my ageing memory is at all accurate.

The time spent in New York went by in the blink of an eye, and early on November 4th, I was on my way to JFK airport, accompanied by Guy, to continue on my journey.  Guy was off to Portland Oregon to visit a friend, and I was headed to Seattle, and eventually Shelter Bay, to join my dear friend Mary, and of course, adorable Dora-dog.

It's been a whirlwind of a week, and there were moments along the way, where I was as tuckered out as Dora-dog appears in the photo above.

But once again, I have Shadow to help keep me company, and it appears the time ahead should be quite relaxing.

DORA-DOG GIVES SHADOW A LESSON IN HOW TO RELAX

(AS IF HE NEEDS A LESSON)

maximizing my moments,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

CRISP AUTUMN DAYS AND TWO WONDERFUL CRITTERS TO BOOT

POST # 380

OUR FIRST WALK OF THE DAY

In another few days, my current house/pet sit will come to a close, and once again I will have to say so long to two of my favourite four-legged critters.  Mac, the bonehead, and Bert, the furball, will have to cope without me, but I'm sure they will be just fine.

Autumn has always been my favourite season, and the past few days have provided perfect weather.  Crisp, frosty mornings evolve into bright, sunny afternoons.  Mac certainly enjoys going out for a walk or two, as Bert "guards" the house, while simultaneously taking a nap.

This location, as well as my last one, are in rural areas, and the main advantage of being rural is the peace and quiet, which I rate as  number one on my list, when searching for a house/pet sit location.  Number two is a resident bonehead, and number three, is a resident furball.  This place gets a perfect score, so my days spent here are as good as it gets.

EARLY MORNING VIEW FROM THE DECK

MAC

BERT

Rounding out today's post are some extra photos taken on the property, and a couple from today's visit to Gabriola Island to visit my friends Talyn and Mike.  As luck would have it, Talyn's dad, Gilbert was visiting as well.  Mac had a stressful ride across on the ferry, but it was worth it, because he really seemed to enjoy himself during our brief visit.

MAC "WATERING" THE NEW TREE GROWING FROM THE OLD STUMP

AND ONE MORE

BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN LEAVES

MIKE, MAC, AND TALYN

HEADING HOME FROM THE BEACH

maximizing my moments,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

WHY WOULD I VOTE?

POST #379

Today is Federal election day. I can't think of a more appropriate date to explain why I won't be voting.  In fact, I haven't voted for a very, very, long time.

The topic of voting came up in a casual conversation with friends the other day.  They are both voters, so perhaps they might find it difficult to understand why I wouldn't want to exercise my franchise, and choose a suitable candidate/party.

As I am prone to do from time to time, I went off on somewhat of a rant about how I tar all politicians with the same brush.  In my opinion, they are ALL very good at telling the people what they think the people will want to hear, and they are ALL prone to talking out of both sides of their mouths.  As far as I can tell, there are only two goals for any politician.  The first goal is to get elected, and the second goal is to stay elected.   Anyway, that was the gist of my short rant.  One great way to change the topic of conversation, is to talk politics.

After I had dropped them off at the airport, and was on my return journey home,  I found myself mulling over this recent conversation, and that got me to thinking.  So what follows, might help the reader understand one of the main reasons why I think that spending any of my remaining precious moments going to a voting station to vote is such an absolute waste of my time.  Here goes.

Let's say that one day you woke up, and you weren't feeling well.  It didn't seem like anything serious, so you figured that you would just ignore the feeling, and hope that tomorrow you would be feeling better.  The next day arrived, and you now felt worse, not better.  Your health continued to deteriorate, so finally you decided that the best thing to do, was to go visit the doctor.  Perhaps, the doctor could diagnose your problem.

The doctor asked all kinds of questions,  arranged for a multitude of tests, and told you to return in one week.

"Please sit down" the doctor said, and right then and there, you suspected that the news wasn't going to be good news.  You were correct.  After exhaustive tests, the results confirmed that you have stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and in the doctor's educated opinion, having looked through all of the SCIENTIFIC evidence, you now had six months and maybe up to one year left to live.

You had an inkling that the news was going to be bad, but certainly not THIS BAD.   So, what to do?
At this point you really only have a couple of choices.  You can accept the news, and try and make the most of your remaining time here on earth, or you can pretend that this is all just a bad dream, and that everything is OK.  But deep down, you know that the doctor is right, and as hard as it may be to come to accepting the doctor's diagnosis, you decide that it really is the best option going forward.

Now let's move to the topic of abrupt, irreversible climate change.  This is a subject that I have been following now for 15 years, so I think that I have a pretty good handle on what the truth is.  And the truth, according to the science, is that things are very bad, and getting worse, and there isn't anything that anyone can do in order to reverse our course.  And here is where I get to the point of this essay.  And that is, there isn't anything that any politician from either side of the political aisle can do, that would have an impact on the trajectory that we are on.  Wile E Coyote has already run past the cliff edge.  Thelma and Louise are already flying through the air in their car.  You get the point.

So as the title of this blog states, "Why would I vote?"  Everything, and I mean everything comes in as a distant second place to abrupt irreversible climate change.  So no matter what topic the politicians are spouting off about, it has become totally irrelevant at this late stage of the human experience.  Hence, I won't be voting today, or any other day for that matter.

Instead, I'll spend some quality time with my current furball, Logan.  He, like all of my other four-legged friends are totally oblivious to the state of the planet in 2019.  They've got it good.

"Hey Paul, isn't it time for our afternoon nap."

"If you don't want to nap, I can always keep myself amused with the fish."

Here is a link to my previous story about the Federal election,  four years ago.  As it was then, it is the same now.  The ECONOMY always seems to be the MOST important issue.  As my friend, Guy says, "If you think that the economy is more important than the environment, try counting your money while holding your breath."  See how well that works out.

http://wherespaulnow.blogspot.com/2015/10/another-pointless-election-that-avoids.html



maximizing my moments,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer