FIREWORKS RELIEF IN THE CITY OF MURALS

 POST # 653

With all of the fireworks happening back in the USA in recent days, Mary and Dora-dog decided to head north to get some fireworks relief.

They arrived in Ladysmith on June 30th, and picked me up at my last housesit location, and from there we headed down the road to the town of Chemainus, also known as the City of Murals.

It's a wonderful little town, and has a reputation for all of the murals around the place.  I think that there is a total of sixty altogether.  So I went out and took a photo of some of them, and decided to post them on today's blog.

The yellow footprints on the sidewalk which can be seen in the photo with the sailing ship and the Canada Post mural, are put there to guide people to each and every mural around town.

Yesterday we took a day trip to Saltspring Island which was an enjoyable way to spend the day.

And today we head back to Mary's place in La Conner, Washington.  With any luck most of the fireworks will be over with, and Dora-dog will be very happy if that is the case.  Here, it's been very quiet and relaxed the entire time, which we were all thankful for.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

FRUIT, AND A TEDDY DOUBLE HEADER

 POST # 652

As the season progresses, the fruit in the backyard continues to ripen.  The above cherry tree has been providing me with a few treats lately.  It's only a small tree, and I want to leave some of the cherries for the owners who return here tomorrow.  In the background on the left of the photo is another very large cherry tree which is located in the neighbour's yard.  It's absolutely filled with cherries, and from what I can tell, no one is picking any of them.  What a shame.

The raspberries as well are now popping out, and I've enjoyed a few of them too.  There will be many more to come, but I will be long gone by the time that they are ripe enough to eat.

And the peach tree below, is absolutely covered in fruit, but like the raspberries, I won't be here to enjoy any of them.

This final post for the month of June wouldn't be complete without mentioning Teddy, the furball that is currently absent from here.

Yesterday, I was out in the backyard, and Teddy climbed over the fence again from the neighbour's yard into our yard.  I wandered over to the bushes, but he stayed hidden, and even with the encouragement of some treats, he neglected to show himself.  A few hours later, I was sitting inside next to the backdoor, and lo and behold, Teddy actually walked up the stairs, only a few feet away from the door.  I gently opened the door, but that was all it took to scare him away, and he vanished back into the bushes outside.  This was the closest I have come to actually getting him back in the house, but unfortunately, I was unsuccessful.  But it is a hopeful sign, that he hasn't given up on returning. So that was the Teddy double header.

Sam in the meantime keeps a watchful eye over the backyard to see if his furball friend will be returning once again.  

So tomorrow the owners return home from the extended vacation.  With any luck maybe Teddy will then decide that it is time to come home and be pampered once again.  After all, Sam needs to share his good fortune with his four legged friend.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

SUMMER IS HERE, AND A SECOND TEDDY SIGHTING

 POST # 651

Summer arrived yesterday, and the flowers are blooming out all over the place. Every day there are more and more of them, which makes for a pretty sight.

In addition to all the flowers, Sam and I once again had the opportunity to see Teddy.  A few days ago, I noticed Sam creeping towards the plants in the backyard, so I went out to see what was up.  He made a dash towards the raspberry bushes, and moments later, a black cat which once again looked suspiciously like Teddy, scrambled up and over the back fence.  It was a repeat performance from last week.  So at least he still appears to be around, and I continue to keep an eye out for him.

Aside from that, there isn't much to report about for now.  The days go by, and I continue to be amazed at how fast that happens.  It's hard to believe that an entire week has gone by since my last post, but there you go.

Sam has been my faithful companion all the way along, and he has now taken to waking me up around 4 am which is a bit early for my liking.  Instead of just jumping up on the bed, and settling in, he climbs up on me, walks all the way from my feet to my head, and then insists on crawling under the covers for a while.  Needless to say, it's impossible to remain asleep while this is going on.  But eventually he settles down, and we both fall back to sleep for a while longer.

Sam also makes sure to get in plenty of naps during the day as well.

What a life. Sleep, eat, sleep, and sleep some more.  He's got it pretty good.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THE MYSTERY CONTINUES

 POST # 650

The mystery continues.  Where is Teddy?  To help solve the mystery, I put Sam in charge of watching out for him.  As you can see in the photo below, Sam takes his duty very seriously, and is keeping a keen eye out for his buddy.

So far, from his vantage point, he has been unsuccessful in his quest.  But a few days later, I was looking out the window and noticed Sam slowly crossing the yard to the back fence.  He appeared to be stalking something in the bushes near the fence.  I quietly walked outside, careful not to disturb him, and slowly walked up behind Sam to try and get a glimpse of what he was after.  I was only a few feet from him, when all of a sudden, he raced into the bushes, and immediately after that, a small black cat climbed up and then over the back fence.  I only had a couple of seconds to look, but my guess is that it was Teddy.  He was there, and then he was gone.  Was this an effort by Sam to scare him away?  Well if it was, it certainly worked, because since that day there has been no other sign of Teddy.  Then a couple of days after that, I met a neighbour who mentioned that he had also seen a small black cat roaming around, and my guess is that it was another sighting of Teddy.  But since that happened, I haven't seen him again.  I have left food treats out in the back yard just in case he comes around, and yesterday I noticed that they were all eaten.  Of course, that doesn't mean that it was Teddy who gobbled them up, but it's yet another potential indicator that he may be around the area.  So the mystery continues, but in the meantime, Sam and I will stay on the lookout.  Maybe we'll get lucky one day.

Moving on to another topic, three days ago was the full moon for the month of June.  I managed to get a blurry image of it, as it rose up in the night sky.

June's full moon is called a strawberry moon, which is an appropriate name considering what is growing in my backyard.  Each and every day, I manage to pick a few choice strawberries, which is a wonderful way to start the day.

So as the strawberries continue to ripen, Sam continues to be the sole furball here.  As you can see, he looks pretty happy about that, which makes me wonder yet again whether he plotted Teddy's getaway a while back.  Of course I'll never know.  In the meantime, I'll enjoy his company, and continue to ponder the mystery of Teddy's current location.  

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THE GREAT ESCAPE

 POST # 649

                                         Teddy                                                         Sam

The planning for the Great Escape had been in the works for months.  It began not long after Teddy arrived on the scene.  Teddy had confided in Sam that one day he would like to be back outdoors, where he had spent plenty of time prior to his arrival here.  Sam told Teddy to be patient.  After all, Sam had not been in this situation ever before, where he was tasked with helping one of his fellow furballs to make an escape.  He would need more time to work out the details of his plan, and once he was confident that it could be successfully completed, he would let Teddy know.

The months went by, and each day Teddy would ask Sam if today was going to be the day to escape.  Sam told him that he was still working out a few details, and that as soon as he had the details finalised he would inform Teddy.  Teddy continued to wait.

The biggest challenge as far as Sam was concerned, was to make sure that the two humans in the house would be either outside, or if inside, at least not in front of the door featured in the photo above.  This was the key to the success of the escape.  Things were looking good, and then for reasons unknown to both Sam and Teddy, a strange new human appeared on the scene.  Sam wondered how this was going to affect the carefully thought out plan that he had concocted. He told Teddy once more to be patient, and he would think about what to do next.

Then one day shortly after the new human arrived, the other two humans left the house, and Sam and Teddy were now confronted with this new situation.  Unfortunately for them, this new human seemed to have an obsession with this entrance to the house, and he seemed to hover around this area any time the two of them were near the door.  Weeks past.  And then one day, the two original humans arrived home, and the new human left.  Finally, it seemed like the escape plan could be put into action.

A day later, when one of the humans was outside, and the other human was upstairs, Sam told Teddy that the time was now right for him to make his great escape.  Sam gently opened the screen door, and as a result of that simple action, Teddy was now outside and free.  Apparently he hung around for a while, maybe wondering whether he should stay or go.  But eventually he decided that he wanted to be free, and with a final thank you meow to Sam, Teddy wandered off, never to be seen again.

Sam was surprised when a couple of weeks later the same human showed up, and the two humans left once again.  What's going on here?  Sam wasn't quite sure, but one thing that he did know, is that he liked this new human, and what's more, he now had the new human all to himself.  No more competing with Teddy for this human's affection.  

So that is the state of affairs now.  If I were to speculate, I think that Sam had this Great Escape planned right from the time that Teddy arrived.  But of course I'll never know for sure.  In the meantime, I'll try and enjoy his company as much as he appears to enjoy mine, and while doing so, I will keep an eye out for Teddy.  Wouldn't that be a happy situation if he decided to return. Happy at least for the owners, but maybe not for Sam.

And finally, I did ask Sam today if he would demonstrate how he opened the screen door for Teddy.  He was happy to oblige.

The Great Escape Artist in action.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

SUMMER CUT

 POST # 648

I wasn't expecting to be here on this date, but the owners of Teddy and Sam decided to take a few more days in between their two planned vacations, so once again I am back in Shelter Bay.  Lucky me.  As a result, I had the opportunity today to go with Mary to the dog grooming place in Anacortes, so that Dora-dog could get her summer cut.

The photo below shows Dora-dog prior to her haircut.

But the days are getting quite warm now, so in preparation for summer, it was time to get this taken care of, so that she could be a bit more comfortable with the warm temperatures. 

Dora-dog wasn't looking too happy about being out front of the dog groomers place,

and she was even less happy once we were inside, and getting ready to say goodbye to her.  She looked very anxious indeed, but we assured her that we would be back soon, and with that we left her in the hands of the dog groomer.

Eventually it was time to pick her up, about two hours later, and she was very happy to see us.  She looked even happier once she was back in the car, heading for home.

Now that she has had her summer cut, she'll no doubt be thankful that she doesn't have that extra fur to trap the summer heat.  I think that she looks more cute with long hair, but I'm not the one who has to bear the uncomfortable heat as a result of having that long fur.

Lastly, here are the most recent words of wisdom posted at the gate coming into Shelter Bay. Good for a chuckle or two.

I'll now be heading back to Ladysmith on June 2nd, so in the meantime I have a few more days to spend with Mary and Dora-dog, and I am happy about that.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

PS.  I usually try to post at 3:55 pm but our trip to the dog groomer didn't allow me to do that.  Next post for sure.

TEDDY'S TRUST INCREASES

 POST # 647

After another week with the young furball named Teddy, his trust seems to be increasing.  At the beginning of this house sit, I would have been hard pressed to occupy the same room as him.  As can be seen from the above photo, he seems to have finally warmed up to the house sitter.  Mind you, with that one claw visible, perhaps he's just reminding me who is in control in this relationship.  Bit by bit, our bond continues to strengthen.

Sam on the other hand, appears to have moved into the second best spot on the house sitter's body.  He is always the first one to jump up on the couch if I am there, but now Teddy pushes him out of the way in order to get the best location.  And Sam looks somewhat annoyed with this new arrangement.

The owners return home later today, in order to prepare for the next phase of their vacation.  I will head out tomorrow, and return on the 27th to resume my duties with these two furballs.  Hopefully Teddy will remember who I am, and we won't have to go through the same trust building exercise that we have just been through.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

LADYSMITH, THE MOON, FLOWERS and FURBALLS

 POST # 646

On a recent walk through town the other day, I came across this sign, which tells a brief history of Ladysmith.  It's a quiet little town, and a pleasant location to spend time.

The other night, May 12th to be exact was the full moon for the month of May.  I managed to take a photo of it as it was rising in the night sky.  It certainly looks full.

The name of the moon for the month of May is the flower moon, and as you can see by the next couple of photos, it's an appropriately named moon.  The flowers here are well and truly in bloom.

And of course, a post from my current location wouldn't be complete without the furballs being included.  As you can see, we have a rather stressed out life.  Sam always manages to get the best location, while Teddy is content to settle for a spot behind him.  It's a curious thing how one tail is draped over one leg, and the other over the other leg.  I guess it's all a part of their plan, to keep their resting spot (me), tied to one location.  So far, the plan seems to be working. Teddy is giving me the look, as if to say, "don't you even think about moving."

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

ANY COLOUR AS LONG AS IT IS BLACK

 POST # 645

Sam (top) and Teddy (bottom)

You can have any colour you want, as long as it is black.  Apparently that was what Henry Ford said about his cars, all those years ago.  And today, in 2025,  you can have any coloured furball you want as long as it is black.  At least, here at my current location in Ladysmith, that is well and truly the case.

I arrived here at the beginning of the month, so I've now had an entire week to spend with these two furballs.  I had met Sam on a previous house sit, but Teddy is the new kid on the block.  He's somewhat cautious of the new human in his home, but as each day passes, he is becoming much more comfortable with my presence.

Sam is the only one that is allowed outdoors, at least for now, but Teddy looks through the glass and wonders why his buddy Sam is the only one who has that opportunity.  I have to be extra careful to make sure that I am letting out the right customer, and so far, so good.

The two of them have taken to hanging out on my bed each day, and of course I let them do so.  It's a way of bonding with them.

So that's all for today, as I will have plenty of other opportunities to blog about these guys in the upcoming weeks.  They are great companions for sure.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

HEADING NORTH ONCE AGAIN

 POST # 644

The tulips are just about done, but I happened to find one that looks just like me.  Tulips are a big thing around this neck of the woods, at this time of year, but like every other year, they come and go, and with that most of the tulip tourists leave the area as well.

Another week has gone by, and soon I will be heading north once again, this time to Vancouver Island, to take care of a couple of furballs, that I have spent time with before.

A few other projects have been completed around Mary's yard, and I have been happy to help out where I can.  

Dora-dog has been our companion all along the way, and a blog post from here wouldn't be complete without a picture of her.  Here she is looking happy, as I get ready to take her for her daily walk.

She likes to stare out the front door and occasionally a critter walks by.  In this case it was a deer crossing the road. You can see the deer, just to the right of the mailboxes.  Dora-dog watches its every step with a focused concentration.  If I opened the door, she would be gone in a flash, so she has to be satisfied just to look.

The latest sign out front of Shelter Bay contained some words of wisdom from the Dali Lama with whom I had the pleasure to meet one day back when I lived in Melbourne, Australia.  

I was going to end the post with a political comment or two, as today is election day in Canada.  But why spoil a good post to talk about politics.  Having not voted in a federal election in Canada for at least two decades, to me it's just another day. 

And a PS.  Here is nature at work.  Even from a concrete block, a seed begins to grow.  Amazing.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

A SPRING PROJECT

 POST # 643

One week ago today, I departed Vancouver enroute to La Conner Washington, to visit Mary and Dora-dog.  Arriving at the station, I was happy to see that the Amtrak train was indeed back in business, after being suspended for a short time, while they worked on getting some newer cars on the route.  That was the first good news after arriving at the station.  The next potential hurdle was customs.  It's sounding more and more like a journey into the USA is not going to be as easy as before.  Imagine my surprise when I fronted up to the customs agent, and he just looked at my passport, stamped my customs card, and I was on my way.  He didn't even ask me one question.  Now, that's never happened before.  I was happy to board the train and soon we were on our way south.

We arrived at my stop of Mount Vernon about fifteen minutes behind schedule and Mary and Dora-dog were there to greet me.

Now that spring is here, there are projects that need to be completed, and the first one on the list was getting a new surface on the driveway.  

The first job was to put down the landscaping fabric, which looks like an easy job, but the day that we did this, the wind was blowing, which made it difficult to get the fabric in place.  With patience and persistence, we eventually had the driveway covered, in anticipation of the truck arriving the next morning with a load of gravel.

Somehow we managed to get that large pile of gravel spread evenly all along the driveway.  The man at the head of the driveway is Peter who was there to help us out.  So it was ***Peter, Paul and Mary working hard to get the driveway completed.

The final job was to compact the newly dispersed gravel.  The neighbour had a machine to accomplish this task, and so I had the opportunity to give it a go, and finish the job.  Mary took this photo of me at work.  I look like a grumpy old man.  I was actually enjoying the work, so I have no clue as to why this expression was on my face.

So that job is done, but I am sure there will be other jobs to complete during my stay.  

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

***This is the second time that Mary and I have been together when a man named Peter arrived on the scene.  Some years ago we were house sitting together, and a man rode  up on his motorcycle to visit the owners.  He introduced himself, as Peter.  I said "hi, my name is Paul and this is my friend Mary."

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

 POST # 642

My most recent journey began yesterday.  As soon as the suitcase was in view, Toby wasn't too happy about it.  I'm sure that he thought that I would be leaving him at home, but once he realised that he was coming along for at least part of the trip, he settled down, and became my travel companion to Kelowna airport.  Even though I wasn't going to be boarding a flight, this is the location that the E-bus stops at to pick up passengers heading to Vancouver.

Once we arrived, Toby was once again in a happy mood, because he saw his owners coming out of the airport.  They had just returned from a trip to Australia, so we had a quick visit, and the three of them headed home after their long journey.  I took up residence at the airport to wait for the E-bus.  I had two reservation forms, one for the trip from the airport to Kelowna, and the other from Kelowna to Vancouver.  I mistakenly looked at the departure time for the second bus trip, which is later than the one from the airport, and if I hadn't checked it a second time, I would have still been at the airport when the bus came and went.  Something in my brain told me to re-check the forms, and I'm glad I did.

The bus ended up being about twenty minutes late.  A little side note.  There was one person getting off the bus, and he had the exact same luggage as me.  What are the odds?  I went over to say hello, and we both had a good laugh about it.  I should have taken a photo.

So we were on our way, first stop being downtown Kelowna, and then across Okanagan Lake to West Kelowna and beyond.

There are plenty of stops between there and our final destination of Vancouver, but it was an uneventful journey, with the exception of one individual on the bus that snored almost the entire way.  Oh, and also the fact that the odour emanating from the onboard toilet was a fragrance that was to say, a very memorable one indeed.

I arrived late last night at Nicole and Dan's place, and I will be leaving this afternoon for Washington.  Ollie has been kind enough to keep me company while I am here.  Nicole and Dan both left earlier to head to work.

I expect to be boarding the Amtrak train later on today.  There was news a while back that they had cancelled their service from Vancouver, but apparently not.  I guess I'll know for sure once I get to the station.  Hopefully all will go well, although when one reads some of the news regarding border crossing from here on out, I do wonder how things will go.  I'll know soon enough.

So I've got a little while longer to hang out with Ollie, and then I'll be on the road again.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer