SUMMER HAS ARRIVED

 POST # 603

The summer solstice arrived yesterday, June 20th, just before 2 pm, here on the west coast of North America, and shortly thereafter, I once again boarded an Amtrak train to head south to Washington to spend some precious time with Mary and Dora-dog.

I decided to take a photo of this unusual sculpture which is located at the border crossing.  I'm not really sure what it is meant to illustrate, but it is certainly unique.

The train arrived about twenty minutes behind schedule, due to a delay waiting for a coal train to pass us by.  I counted 136 cars of coal, heading to Canada, and probably en route to China after that.

Mary and Dora-dog were at the station to greet me, and soon we were home.

As always, I am looking to spending time with both of them, prior to heading back to my next house sit gig on Vancouver Island.

A short post today, as few words seem to be popping into my ageing brain.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THREE WALKS PER DAY

 POST # 602

Three walks per day.  That's our routine each and every day.  Rain or shine.  Thankfully, for the most part, the weather has cooperated, and the majority of my time here has been under sunny skies.  The map above shows the park that we walk through, which is directly behind the house.  Our house is on Upper Canyon Rd., the third to the left of Huff Boulevard.  We simply walk out the back gate, and away we go.

On a couple of occasions this past week, we met two of Simi's bonehead friends.  A few days ago it was Fargo, and just yesterday, we met Hazel.  Because Simi knows both of them well, I let her off leash, and she had a ball, running around.  It has been the only two times that I have done that, as I would hate to have her run off, but with her four legged friends nearby, there seemed to be little chance of that happening.

We do a morning walk, just after we get up, a mid-day walk, and then once more in the late afternoon.  After the walks are all done, we have a pleasant backyard to hang around in, and play with a ball, or frisbee, or old stick, or whatever Simi decides to find to play with.

You can certainly tell, by looking at the following three photos, that she is one happy bonehead.

The owners arrive back home next week, and I'll have to say so long to Simi.  At least for now.  With any luck, I may get another opportunity to spend time with her in the future, and if that is the case, I'm quite sure that I will be greeted with a friendly smile, unlike the growling and barking that started off this house sit.

We've now become best mates, and I'm happy about that, and it appears that she is as well.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

MY NEW BONEHEAD FRIEND

 POST # 601

"Should I trust this human?"

I first met Simi last December.  I had been invited to her owner's home for a pre-Christmas get together, along with a host of other people.  I was excited to meet the new member of their family, who at the time was only about three months old.  

When I arrived, and rang on their doorbell, the barking began.  I was greeted at the door by one of Simi's owners, and Simi.  Right from the get go, she decided that she didn't like this new human standing in front of her.  I thought at the time, that her reaction was normal, seeing as this was the first time we had ever met, and I expected that by the end of the evening, I would have made a new bonehead friend.

I was wrong.  

There were probably about twenty people or thereabouts at this get together, but no matter how hard I tried, or even if I ignored her completely, Simi never warmed up to me that night.  She seemed to get along with everyone BUT me.  So much for my dog sitter charm.

Early this year, the owner's asked if I would be their sitter for an upcoming vacation, and of course I accepted, even though I wasn't too sure about how well it would go, in light of my previous encounter with Simi.

I arrived here on June 2nd, and while the owners were still here, Simi was exactly the same as she was when we first met.  If I tried to get close to her, she would bark and run away.  They left the following day, and magically, once they left, the barking stopped.  When it was time to take her out for her first walk with me, she went right along.  I was pleasantly surprised.

The photo at the top of the page was taken the next day, and it shows that she was beginning to trust me.  By June 5th, we had become the best of friends, and now she follows me wherever I go, in or out of the house. It must be the Border Collie in her.  She's herding me from place to place.

So our relationship has come a very long way in a short period of time.  And I am glad for that fact.  It would have been a very long sit, if she had continued to behave like she did when we first met.  But now we are best buddies.

She now looks very happy indeed, and I'm looking forward to the remainder of our time together.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

SIX HUNDRED

 POST # 600

It seems that Mr. Leon is rather unimpressed with the fact that The Thoughtful Wanderer has reached another milestone, that being the 600th post since I began this journey, way back on October 21st, 2011.  I couldn't have imagined back then, that I would get to my 600th post, yet here it is.  So let's just review each milestone as they were reached.

Post # 100  December 21st 2013

I was in Vancouver at the time, caring for Jackson and Peach, two wonderful Yorkshire terriers.

https://wherespaulnow.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-thoughtful-wanderer-scores-century.html

Post # 200  January 28th 2016

Back in my old stomping grounds of Dawson City.  It was wonderful to be back, and I enjoyed the company of four of my favourite boneheads, Becka, Skidder, Breaker and Roxie. (videos included) 

https://wherespaulnow.blogspot.com/2016/01/done-in-dawson-at-least-for-now.html

Post # 300  February 28th 2018

I never thought that I would get to see Abbey Road, but I was successful during this housesit.  I even had the pleasure of taking care of "her majesty" during my time there, and in addition to that, I met my very first Leonberger, named Maynard.

https://wherespaulnow.blogspot.com/2018/02/abbey-road-her-majesty.html

Post # 400  March 28th 2020 

In this post I did a review of my previous milestones, just as I am doing here.  I did mention then, that I was wondering if I would make it to #500, and now I've blown right past that number onto #600.  This was around the time when all of the Covid madness began.

https://wherespaulnow.blogspot.com/2020/03/another-thoughtful-wanderer-milestone.html

Post # 500  April 28th 2022

At this time I was introduced to Hershey and Pearl, two very loveable boneheads.  The sit wasn't a long one, but it certainly was enjoyable to say the least.  I wonder how they're doing now?

https://wherespaulnow.blogspot.com/2022/04/five-zero-zero.html

And so here we are at #600.  As I write these words, Mr. Leon is still doing what he seems to do best, and that is napping.  He'll probably be napping, when I head out the door this morning on route to my next destination.  By the time he wakes up, his owner will have returned, and that will make him one happy furball.  I'd like to think that he will miss me, but that's probably not the case.  As long as there is food in his dish, he gets brushed every five minutes, and he has a place to nap, he's happy.

So the next milestone is #700.  That is scheduled to come about on June 28th 2026.  It seems like an awfully long way into the future, but I was sceptical about reaching other previous milestones, so who knows for sure?  In the meantime, I'll continue to post for as long as I am able to do so, as it has been a great way for me to recall all of the wonderful places and more importantly, the wonderful four legged friends that I have had the utmost pleasure in spending time with along the way.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

BRUSH SLAVE PART 2

 POST # 599

 

Last week, while Mr. Leon was relaxing in one of his favourite positions, and I was pondering just how long it would be before he wanted me to once again start brushing him, I started to wonder just how much fur I've brushed since I arrived?  My curiosity kicked in, and so I decided to do a little experiment.  

Each and every day, he gets brushed on multiple occasions, and if he wasn't taking time for a nap, I'm quite sure that he would be happy if I brushed him all day long.  So my experiment was to capture the amount of fur left on his brush each day, and see just how much I would accumulate in one week.  The photo below illustrates the amount.

That's a lot of fur.  And of course, if I had brushed even more, the amount would have been even greater.  Perhaps Mr. Leon sheds more because of the season.  Or perhaps this is just normal for him.  Whatever the case may be, I did find it an interesting exercise to do, and Mr. Leon was more than happy to participate.  I'll make sure that all of this accumulated fur is thrown out prior to the owner arriving back home next week, as I doubt that she would appreciate all of it hanging around.

In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy Mr. Leon's company, and when he's not outside wandering around, or inside having a nap, I will also continue to brush him each day.  He never seems to tire of it, and I also derive pleasure from doing so.

Wandering and napping.  What a life.

And finally for today's post, I thought I would add an enlarged photo of my old furball, Kalopani.  I'm sure that one of the reasons that I enjoy Mr. Leon's company, is that he reminds me of Kalopani, on a daily basis.  Kalopani hasn't been around for decades, and how her life came to an end, is a sad story that perhaps I'll write about another day.   

And here is just one more photo of Kalopani.  She looks very much like Mr. Leon.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

LOVEABLE LILY

 POST # 598

I captured this photo of Lily, this past March, during my first, and as it turns out, the last house sit at her owner's home.  Just two days ago, they let me know that she had recently been unwell, and they accompanied her on her final journey to the vet.  Lily was almost thirteen years old, which is a pretty long life for most dogs, but I'm sure that her owners are extremely sad right now, as is their house sitter.

Lily was instantly likeable from the moment I met her, and I am so very thankful to her owners for trusting me to take care of her.  I would have liked to have had a second opportunity to do so, but that was not to be.

One thing that remains, is the memory of the time we spent together, and for that I am more than grateful, indeed.  If we were to accept that there is a dog heaven (as Gary Larson portrayed), then just perhaps, Lily is up there with all of her four-legged friends, having the time of her life.  From her gentle, and friendly behaviour during the time that we were together, I'm sure that she has earned her wings.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

MR. LEON'S BRUSH SLAVE

 POST # 597

According to my records, this is round number four with Mr. Leon, so he has had plenty of opportunity to teach me the finer points of being brushed by his human slave.  On multiple occasions throughout the day, the brush comes out, and Mr. Leon is right there to accept having his fur taken care of, just the way that he likes it.  I can tell by his purring, and the drool dripping out of his mouth, that I have perfected the technique.  The truth be known, I'm pretty sure that I get as much pleasure doing the brushing, as he gets receiving it, although I refuse to drool and purr along with him.  I have my limits.

Of course, I don't spend the entire day brushing him, because of course, he has other things to do throughout the day.  Like for instance, taking time to enjoy the fragrance of a plant situated next to his outdoor deck.

With all of this activity to keep him occupied, the poor furball has to spend a significant portion of his time, resting up in order to prepare for the same treatment the next day.

While he sleeps, I have time to do other activities, and before long, the day has come to an end, and it's time for the human slave to get some shut eye.  After all, I have to rest up for tomorrow, so that I can make sure that Mr. Leon's brush slave is ready to pick up the brush, and begin my job once again.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer