MY RECENT WANDERINGS

 POST # 627

After one final walk with Dora-dog, it was time to get ready to once again be on the road to my next house sit gig.  Mary drove me to the train station this past Thursday so that I could catch the evening train back to Vancouver.  Once she and Dora-dog had left, it was time to wait for the train.  And wait, and wait, and wait some more.  About a half hour after the scheduled departure time of 7:34 pm, a member of the staff at the station informed us that the train would not be arriving, due to a landslide on the tracks, south of our location.  So now what?  Fortunately a bus had been organised, and it eventually arrived around 9 pm.  Now that it was a bus journey, we would have to clear customs at the border, which is something that I haven't done for a few years.  Thankfully, there were only six passengers on the bus, and we were in and out of customs in under ten minutes, and then on our way to Vancouver.

I arrived very late, and I was ready for bed.  The next morning I had a quick visit with Nicole and Dan prior to them heading off to work, and me getting ready to head to the ferry terminal.  Of course, there is always time to take a photo of Ollie prior to my departure, and after that was completed, I was on my way.

Howard met me at the ferry terminal in Nanaimo, and we headed back to their place just west of Duncan.  Caper, the bonehead seemed to be happy to see me, so happy in fact that she jumped up on the bed for a while.  Something tells me that this is where she will be sleeping during my stay.  But that's okay, as I am used to having bonehead friends next to me on the bed. I also have Logan, the furball to care for, so the bed might get a bit crowded from time to time.

But just prior to arriving here, Howard stopped in Ladysmith at the supermarket so that I could pick up a few items.  While I was in the store,  I needed to use the washroom, and when I got to it, there was this access code on the door.  Now what are the odds, that I would be in a random grocery store in Ladysmith B.C. and find an access code that is the exact numbers to match my day, month, and year of birth?  How crazy is that?

Howard and Sally left earlier today, and I went with them to the Brentwood Bay ferry, and dropped them off there, prior to heading back home.  When I arrived, Caper was happy to see me, but not so happy that Howard and Sally didn't walk in with me.  I'm sure she'll get used to the new arrangement soon.  But while we were away, Caper took it upon herself to add a few shoes to my bed.  This must be dog code for something, but I am not sure what.

I expect that all will go well, during my stay, and with any luck, the snow will not arrive until after I leave.

And finally, today is winter solstice, so the days will now begin to get longer, which is always a good thing in my opinion.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

A SWIFT EDUCATION

 POST # 626

After leaving my recent house sit with Sal and Gracie, I boarded the Skytrain to head back to Vancouver.  For a Sunday, it seemed unusually busy.  The other thing that I noticed was that the vast majority of the passengers, at least the ones in my carriage, were female.  And it also appeared that many of the females were a mother/daughter combination.

Sitting across from me, and a couple of rows back, was one of these mother/daughter combos.  They were all dressed up in sparkly outfits, with plenty of things dangling from their wrists, and both had the number 13 printed on some part of their bodies.  What on earth could all of this mean?

The journey continued on, and at one point, another mother/daughter couple boarded the train, and because it was by now, standing room only, they had to stand right beside the mother/daughter with the number 13 printed on their bodies.  The recently arrived mother/daughter, also had the number 13 on them, and they were also all dressed up in sparkly outfits.  What's going on here, I asked myself?

I had absolutely no clue whatsoever.  At some point these four females started up a conversation, and it wasn't long before one of them mentioned the name Taylor Swift.  I've heard of the name, but that's about it.  And now I was getting a Swift education for sure, as they continued their conversation.  It didn't take too long before I worked out that they, and probably most of the rest of the people on the Skytrain were heading to a Taylor Swift concert.  

The station that I left the train, was the closest one to the stadium that the concert was being played at, and the neighbourhood was inundated with carbon copies of these women that I had seen on board the train.

The following day, I boarded the Amtrak train, to head across the border once again to visit Mary and Dora-dog.  The train was sold out, and now I know why.  It was packed with concert goers, now returning home from the concert, the night before.

So that was my Swift education.  I sat down with Dora-dog, and patiently explained to her who Taylor Swift is, and what she does for a living, and this was her reaction.

She appears to be as impressed with the news as I was, in other words, not impressed at all.  But I guess that if you're an old fart like me, or a bonehead like Dora-dog, Taylor Swift doesn't have much of an impact.  And that is probably as it should be.  I for one, won't be going out anytime soon, to get the number 13 painted onto my skin.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THANKS SAL AND GRACIE

 POST # 625

Two very relaxed looking boneheads.  It's the end of another day, and they are both getting ready to settle in for the night.

Sal has boundless energy, but when it's time for bed, even she settles down.  Gracie is always settled down, and that is mostly because of her advanced age, as mentioned in last week's blog post.

Their owners arrive back home tomorrow, and then I will once again be on my way.

In my very long list of house sits, Gracie wins the prize for being the oldest bonehead that I have had the pleasure to get to know.  It certainly has taken some extra effort on my part to take care of her, but it has been worth every minute of it.  So thanks Gracie, for teaching me some new lessons.

Sal on the other hand, has been a very faithful companion during my stay here.   She's always by my side, no matter what part of the house that I am in at any given moment.  A true buddy.  So thanks Sal, for spending time with me.

The journey continues.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

BORDER COLLIE DOUBLE HEADER

 POST # 624

Sal and Gracie

In all of my years of house/pet sitting, I have had the pleasure to get to know a number of Border Collies, but this is the very first time, that I have had the opportunity to take care of *two of them at the same time.  A Border Collie double header as it were.

I arrived here in Delta, a couple of days ago, and only had a couple of hours or so to spend with the owners in order to go through any information that I needed to know about the house, but more importantly about Sal and Gracie.  The time went by very rapidly, and then they were off on their vacation to Hawaii.

Now it was just the three of us. Time to get to know one another.  Sal is the younger of the two, and right from the start, she was doing her Border Collie best to "round me up" as it were.  She follows me from one room to the next, and it didn't take long for her to decide that this new human can be trusted.  Of course, a few dog treats along the way has helped to cement the relationship.

Sal

Gracie on the other hand, is content to remain on the ground floor.  In actual fact she is 16 years old now, so she is pretty unsteady on her feet, and she doesn't have the ability any longer to climb stairs.  So part of my job is to make sure that I spend time on both levels of the house, so that both of them can have the opportunity to interact with the new human.

Gracie

Gracie spends much of her day, lying down and sleeping.  She doesn't have the energy to do much of anything else.  She lets me know when she needs to go out, and when that happens, I guide her around the yard, to make sure that she's okay, and eventually we make it back inside.  At that point, she settles in once again for a nap.  Gracie is certainly the oldest Border Collie that I have had the opportunity to spend time with.  No doubt, she will teach me a few lessons, during my stay here.

Sal on the other hand, has plenty of energy to spare, so we make sure to get out for our daily walks around the neighbourhood.  

So it's early days for now, and the three of us are still getting used to the routine.  But if the time spent so far is any indicator, it looks like things should go pretty smoothly for the rest of the house sit.  I'm looking forward to hanging out with these two.

* It is true that this is the first time that I have cared for two Border Collies, however I did care for four of them all at the same time, way back when during a sit at my friend's place in Bear Creek, in the Yukon.  Here is a link to that post from January 14th, 2016.  It includes a few videos, including one with all the dogs barking as was their habit, when the daily plane to Whitehorse took off for its journey south.

https://wherespaulnow.blogspot.com/2016/01/back-in-bear-creek-yukon.html

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

HEADING SOUTH ONCE MORE

 POST # 623

The look in Doug's eyes seem to be asking me the question, "where do you think you're going?"  This photo was taken just prior to my departure from his home this past Tuesday.  It was the first time since my arrival, that he blocked the door.  The suitcase and backpack were an obvious sign to him, that something was up.  I gave him an extra special pat on the head, and thanked him for his company, and with that I was out the door, and on my way to Nanaimo to pick up his owner.  His sadness would soon turn to joy, once he saw her return a short while later.

I continued my journey, on to Vancouver for an overnight stay at my niece and her husband's place.  Of course, Ollie the furball was there as always, and he's so cute, I of course had to take a photo of him, prior to leaving.

Here he is, testing out his new favourite box.

Then it was time to go to the train station, to head south once again to Washington, on board the Amtrak Cascades train.

The train departed right on schedule, as we began our journey to the border.  I have been on this journey multiple times, but I had never seen such an empty train as this one.  I walked through four carriages to do a head count, and the total including myself was just nine passengers.  My carriage was completely empty except for me, so I took a photo for the record.

It was a windy and rainy night, and we arrived about fifteen minutes behind schedule, which is normal for this journey.  In fact, I don't think that I have ever arrived on time.  Mary and Dora-dog arrived soon afterwards to pick me up, and we continued our journey to Shelter Bay.  My travel day was now complete.

This morning I just had to take another photo of Dora-dog, just because she's so damn cute.  A visit to Shelter Bay wouldn't be complete without at least one photo of her.

That just about sums things up for this blog post, except to say thank you to my niece, for coming up with a suggestion for how to upload photos once again.  Thanks Nicole.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

OUR DAILY WALKS

 POST # 622

 Now that's a happy looking Doug.  Like most boneheads, he loves to go out for a walk or two each and every day.  It has been somewhat of a challenge, in light of the wet weather that we have been experiencing lately, but we usually get in at least one walk.

When we were out walking yesterday, I was thinking about how each walk is like a new experience for him.  Doug is like all the other boneheads that I have come to know over the years, in that regard.  We humans can be thinking that it's no big deal, but these four-legged critters look upon a walk as if it's just the very best thing that could be happening.  They are as always, living in the moment, and as a result they take full advantage of that time.

Our walks these days, only take place around the neighbourhood.  In times past, Doug would hop into the truck with me and we would go off on an adventure to a nearby beach location, or for a walk in the woods.  But nowadays,  Doug is unable to hop up into the truck, so all of our walks are close to home.  He doesn't seem to mind.  He's just happy to be out there checking out the sights and smells as we stroll along.

After we return home, it's time for  a treat for him, and soon after, he is settled in for his afternoon nap.  No doubt he will be dreaming about our next walk, and when it happens, he'll be just as excited to go, as he was the previous time.

Once again, our four-legged friends are giving us a lesson about living in the moment.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

A DOUG DAY

 POST # 621

Doug wants his breakfast.  And he wants it now.  With that kind of expression on his face, how could I resist?  

And so another day with Doug begins.  Having been here a few times in the past, I know the routine very well.  Minutes after I get up, it's time to take Doug out for his morning pee and poop, and the very next item on the agenda is breakfast.  There would be no way on earth, that I could expect to do anything else at this hour but get his food ready.  Thankfully he knows the routine very well, and so he is patient while the house sitter gets the food prepared.  But once I have his dish ready, then the excitement shows, along with the drool dripping from his mouth in anticipation of things to come.  Once I place the food dish on the floor, he gets right to it, and even though I haven't timed him, I suspect that it takes less than a minute for him to have licked his dish clean.

With breakfast out of the way, we usually have fun playing with his many toys.  And then at some point, I get to have my own breakfast.

Eventually it's time to head out for a walk around the neighbourhood, so that Doug can check out any "pee mail" that his dog neighbours may have left behind.

The days go by pretty fast, and before long it's time for Doug to relax on the couch prior to bedtime.  He's having his pre-sleep rest.

He is certainly an easy bonehead to care for, so I am lucky to have his companionship for a while longer.

I like to think that he enjoys my company as well, so it's a good match.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer