HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY PAUL

POST # 46


Jill and Jackson and Peach and Myrtle and Skidder and Breaker and Roxy and Dusty and Trouble and Otto and Oscar and Felix and Parker and Sadie and Bob and Blueberry and Mr.Bumples and Maggie and Tai and Jackson and Peach (again) and Marley and Pillow and The Girls and Tika and Oscar and Felix (again) AND THAT sums up all of the wonderfully loveable creatures I have had the pleasure of taking care of for the past year since I started this blog on October 21st, 2011. The Girls is my description of the six chickens I spent time with in Nanoose Bay and along with Mr. Bumples the toad, were the only non feline or canine critters who had to put up with me as their caregiver. As of this date I have had no nasty comments from any of these animals, in the comment section of the blog, so I can only assume that they were happy with the care I provided to them, and that's the good news, because it means that sometime in the future I may have the opportunity to help out again with any/all of the above list.

So the final tally is:
Cats-11
Dogs-10
Chickens- 6
Toads- 1

Plenty of fun and companionship was provided by all of these wonderful animals throughout the year and I would be hard pressed to single out any one of them for a special mention, because they all are unique and they all were a treat to care for. After looking through the list I see that four of my other favourite animals are not there, those being Jacob and Oliver my cat buddies in Vancouver and Einstein and the late Snoop, my dog buddies from East Vancouver, and it would be wrong not to include them here. However it just so happens, that I didn't have the opportunity during this time to be their housesitter, as housesitting at both of those venues took place prior to the start of The Thoughtful Wanderer.

Back on July 20th, 2011 I joined housecarers.com which is a website which matches housesitters with people looking for housesitters. Although at the time I had no idea how successful this would be, in fact it has turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made and has resulted in me getting to know a whole new group of people and their pets, and for that I am most grateful.

One of the primary reasons for joining housecarers was because it was based in Australia and even though it provided housesit listings from all over the world, a large portion of those were located in Australia and to a lesser extent in New Zealand.

By the early part of 2012 it would have been three years since I had last had a visit to my friends downunder, and I thought that joining housecarers would be an opportunity to do something that I love, that is, taking care of pets, and combine this with a visit south of the equator to visit friends. At least that was the plan as of July, 2011. And it seemed to me like a reasonable plan at that, and the odds were better than even that I could accomplish it. However late in the year I received an email from my friends in the Yukon, asking me if I would consider a return visit to their place in Bear Creek, just outside of Dawson City, in December to care for their three border collies and two cats. Well, for more reasons than I could list here, it was an offer I couldn't refuse, and at the time I thought, well no problem, it's only for December and I will still be able to make arrangements for early in 2012 to head south. How wrong that turned out to be.

One thing led to another and before long the housesit requests on this side of the Pacific were beginning to stack up, and as a result, I remained and still remain here on the North American continent in 2012. The geographic area has been small, for this world traveller, and has encompassed one Canadian Territory, The Yukon, two Canadian provinces, British Columbia and Alberta, and two US states, Washington and Oregon. Due to the limited area travelled, transport has been rather easy, with only the trip to the Yukon provided by air travel. The remainder has been mostly by bus or train with only the very occasional and very short automobile trips.

I had hoped when I began this writing journey, to post a different entry four times each month, however that didn't quite work out the way I planned as I did not have access to a computer terminal a few times during this period, due to my unscheduled visits to hospital. However even though it wasn't a perfect record of four per month I am happy with the result.

My "homeless" housesitter status actually began on October 1st 2011 a few weeks before I started this blog. At the time I had no idea how successful this would be, and having sold my sailboat I had intentionally put myself into a position where there might be some times when I wasn't quite sure that I would have a place to hang my hat. I did have a Plan B at least for Vancouver, that being simply to camp out at the airport, if I needed a roof over my head. After all, the airport was easy to get to and my needs are so few, one of which is to have a roof of some sort over my head every night, and the airport seemed to be a perfect solution for those in between housesit times. It worked brilliantly for a few occasions until not that long ago, when I was finally tapped on the shoulder one night, and told, politely I might add, that I could no longer use this venue as a place of rest. But hey, it was good while it lasted, and was all part of the adventure.

This year of housesitting has also allowed me to live the simple life that I find so attractive and stress free. If I have said this once I have said it a thousand times,
"as long as I have a roof over my head and a full belly, I really don't have anything to complain about." I still feel that way, maybe even more so in light of the events of the past year. Now, I am simply happy to just have another day to spend, and so it is extremely easy for me to wake up every day with a smile, knowing that I am alive and that I have another opportunity with the day ahead to just breath the air and enjoy my life for as long as it will last. Early on when I began this blog, I wrote down the letters, SAWAFAATRIAB which stands for, "Some air, water and food, and all the rest is a bonus." I'm sticking with that. It fits nicely with my view of a simple life.

The year has had many highlights which are too numerous to mention, but suffice to say that I have come away with a greater appreciation for each and every moment of life itself, and I have been provided with some unexpected happiness which I could have never anticipated when this blog began.

What's in store for the next twelve months is anyone's guess at this point. I, like many people, try to imagine my life in the future, and attempt to make plans that I hope to accomplish sometime and somewhere "out there." I guess that is just a part of being human and having a brain that can imagine a future moment in time, and I have to admit that I do like to take part in that exercise. But I also know deep down, that this precise moment in time, this second, is my life, and it's all I really have, and as a result of the events of the past year, I know that I appreciate the moment, more than I ever did before. So that's a very good thing as far as I am concerned.

My quest to head back to Australia still remains strong at this point, but in the meantime I am happy, no very happy to be right here, right now, and the mystery which is the future will unfold as it will, and I along with it. Life is truly an adventure and I hope it continues on for a little while longer.

The journey continues...

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer