ROLE REVERSAL

POST #376

HAPPY DORA-DOG, THIS MORNING

As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.  A short two weeks ago, the rolls were reversed.  Dora-dog was looking sad, while Murphy was the happy one.  But here on September 28th, things have changed.

MURPHY'S LOOK AS I WALKED OUT THE DOOR

Dora is having fun with The Thoughtful Wanderer,

and Murphy?  Well I'm not sure what he is doing at the moment, but my guess is that he may be relaxing in one of his favourite positions,  and by now, he will have totally forgotten about the past two weeks that we spent together.

YOGA, MURPHY STYLE

Perhaps some day in the future, the two of them will have the opportunity to play with each other again, so that they can both be happy at the same time.

maximizing my moments,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THE LAST DAYS OF SUMMER 2019

POST # 375

 

 If I don't mind saying so, the photo above is one of my better efforts.  It was late afternoon, and for a change, the sun was shining, the light was perfect, and Murphy was looking very regal, as he "stood" upon the flower in the foreground.   I couldn't have asked for a better photo, and I was thankful that Murphy co-operated by looking into the camera.

Autumn officially begins here, at 12:50am, Monday morning, September 23rd which is a little bit later than usual.   

"During the equinox, the Sun crosses what we call the “celestial equator”—an imaginary extension into space of Earth’s equator line. The equinox occurs precisely when the Sun’s center passes through this line. When the Sun crosses the equator from north to south, this marks the autumnal equinox; when it crosses from south to north, this marks the vernal equinox."

The above quote was taken from "The Old Farmer's Almanac" so I guess that is as good of a source as any other. 

The days are winding down regarding the season, and so too are my days remaining with Mr. Murphy. As before, he has been a wonderful companion, for which I am grateful.  In spite of the fact that I call him Dora every now and again, he doesn't seem to have taken it personally, and our relationship has remained firm throughout.   

Aside from our daily walks, there is plenty of time to interact with one another, and Murphy has become my four-legged shadow.  As was the case last year, I will be sad to say goodbye to him when I leave, but who knows, perhaps I will have another opportunity at some point in the future, to spend time with this wonderful critter.

Last night, we were fortunate enough to do our evening walk, just as the sun was setting, so I took the opportunity to snap one more photo of him, prior to returing home.

 

 The sunset was much more spectacular than it appears here, but at least Murphy was doing his part to assist the photographer in capturing the moment.


maximizing my moments,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

PS: My sister Gerry had a birthday this week, and the date ended up being a palindrome, 91919 which was rather unique.

HELLO AND GOODBYE

POST # 374

 

 HAPPY MURPHY

Yesterday, I arrived at my current house/pet sit, accompanied by my dear friend Mary, and Dora-dog.  Mary generously offered to drive me here, and we arrived at Murphy's place in the early afternoon.  Murphy was out for a walk with one of his owners, so the three of us went looking for them.  Within minutes I spotted Murphy, and called out his name.  He came bounding across the field to meet us, and more importantly, to meet Dora.  The two of them hit it off right from the get go, which I had expected, but it was still a relief to see them playing together.

Back at the house later, the four humans, and the two dogs had time for a visit, prior to Mary and Dora getting back in her car in order to head back home to Washington.  As much as I am happy to be here for the second time, it was sad to see Mary and Dora drive away.  I took this photo of Dora just moments before they drove off.  Her face reflected my mood as well.  Such is the life of a wanderer, but by now I am very familiar with this feeling, and I also know that it won't last forever.  

In no time, Dora will be back chasing squirrels, bunny rabbits and deer, so I'm quite sure that she will be OK, as will Mary,  as will I. Perhaps I will make the transition a bit more effortlessly, because of all the wandering that I have done in my journey through life.  Saying hello and goodbye is as natural to me as breathing, however the goodbyes are always more difficult, and especially so, considering the world we live in, in late 2019.

But for now, it's time to settle in with Murphy, and enjoy my time here.  It's all that I can do.

 

 SAD DORA-DOG

maximizing my moments,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

SO LONG CONE

POST # 373

CONE FREE

Now that looks like one very happy bonehead.  Finally, after two long weeks trapped within the cone,  Dora-dog is free again.  Because this is the first post for September, I was going to explore another topic, however I decided that this would be an appropriate follow up from last week, and it brings to a conclusion, the saga of the cone.

The cone was removed on Thursday, and today we went down to the local beach which has become Dora's favourite location to run and to swim.  Normally she heads straight for the water, but having not been there for more than two weeks,  she decided to go on a sniffing tour of the beach first.  She had to find out how many of her four-legged friends had been there in her absence.  That procedure took the better part of fifteen minutes, and then it was time to jump in the water, and play fetch the stick.  She was in her element.

Like I stated at the beginning of this short post, Dora is one very happy bonehead.  And her happiness  is contagious.  

maximizing my moments,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer