THE SUMMER OPTION

 POST # 656

I have had the great pleasure to house and pet sit for my friends Howard and Sally for a decade now, but not until this sit, have I ever had the summer option of taking care of their home and critters, Caper and Logan.

But summer is most certainly here now, and one of the first indicators of that, was the line up of garlic in the place next to the house, where the wood is normally stacked up, for use in the wood stove.  But there is no need for a wood stove right now, as each and every day so far has been sunny and very warm.

In addition to the garlic, there are other things growing in the garden, one of which is blueberries.  There is way more than I can pick and eat, but I am happy to munch through as many as I can, while I am here.

In addition to Caper and Logan, I have a couple of donkeys to spend time with if I choose to do so.

I'll be doing another post from here on August 7th, prior to my departure.  I wonder if the weather will stay as hot as it currently is, and I also wonder just how many of those blueberries I'll consume during my stay?

In the meantime, I'll just hang out with Caper and Logan, and the donkeys, and try to enjoy each day as it presents itself.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

A VERY RELAXING WEEK

 POST # 655

It has been a very relaxing week here at Britannia Beach, and my four-legged friends seem to be having a competition to see who can be more relaxed than the other.  Have a look.

Or how about these next two images.  It appears that they are really trying to outdo one another.

And even though there is time each day to take Tank for a walk, sometimes accompanied by Mitten, the two of them have certainly perfected the art of relaxation.  What a life.

There has also been time to enjoy the wonderful views around the area.   On a walk at the shoreline with Tank, I took a photo of a mountain across the water.  As best as I can tell, it is probably Mount Sedgwick, which is northwest of my current location.

And the other day on a trip to Squamish I stopped to take a photo of this magnificent rock face, which borders the highway.

The weather has been pretty darn perfect as well, although the downside to that has been that the fire danger has gone from moderate to extreme,  just in one week.  

But now my days are winding down in this beautiful location, and come this Saturday, I will once again be on my way, heading back to Vancouver Island for a little while.  I'm certainly going to miss spending time with Mitten and Tank, but I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks with them.  I hope that they feel the same about the house sitter.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

BRITANNIA BEACH

 POST # 654

A week ago today, I headed back to Washington State along with Mary and Dora-dog, to spend a few precious days there.  Then, two days ago I returned to Canada, and arrived here at Britannia Beach, about a half hour drive north of Horseshoe Bay.  As you can see from the photo, I have a spectacular view from my front deck, and for the time that I am here, I am quite sure that I will spend plenty of hours gazing out in that direction.

Of course, a house/pet sit wouldn't be complete without a pet or two to keep me company during my stay.  On this occasion, I have two wonderful critters to keep me company, a cat and a dog, or as I like to call them, a furball and a bonehead.

Let's begin with the furball.  Mitten comes and goes all day long, but manages to be here for mealtimes.  Mitten starts to purr as soon as you get close.  That's my kind of furball.

And then there is Tank.

Tank is a very appropriate name considering his huge size, but he is a gentle giant, and is very easy to spend time with.  He likes to spend much of his day hanging out on the front deck.  I'd like to think that he is there to enjoy the view along with the housesitter, but he seems to spend much of his time snoozing.  That's his choice.

I'm looking forward to spending time with these two over the next couple of weeks, and no doubt they will teach me some lessons along the way.  It's shaping up to be a very relaxed, and quiet house/pet sit.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

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