THE THOUGHTFUL WANDERER SCORES A CENTURY

JACKSON AND PEACH CHECK OUT THE SNOW ON DEC. 20, 2013 in VANCOUVER



POST # 100


Way back in October 2011 when I began to write this blog, I don't think that I ever really expected to reach the century mark of 100 entries, but as of today, this is now the case. It's humbling to realize that my blog, a collection of digital ones and zeros on a computer screen has now made it to its hundredth birthday, and that I won't even come close to that mark. Oh well, such is the plight of a human living on planet earth in the year 2013.

I spent some time going through all my posts prior to writing this one, just to have another look at where I've been over the past more than two years and I found it quite remarkable. In round numbers, I have travelled almost 37,000 kilometers (about 23,000 miles). In fact, those numbers are as the crow flies. If the actually road distances were calculated, it's probably closer to 40,000 kilometers (just under 25,000 miles) which is pretty darn close to the earth's circumference at the equator. Wow!! And yet, I've spent this entire time in only three countries, Canada, USA, and Mexico. It appears that the "wanderer" part of "The Thoughtful Wanderer" is alive and well, at least for now.

My travels have taken me to over twenty different house/pet sitting assignments, some of which I returned to more than once. British Columbia, Alberta, and the Yukon in Canada, Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Hawaii in the USA and Baja in Mexico, round out the list of locations visited. It's been quite an experience to have taken part in and certainly not boring, in spite of the fact that one of the places visited was Boring, Oregon. All along the way, my computerized journal has kept track of it, and I am grateful for that.

Of course, I have met some wonderful animals along the way, including some of the human variety, and that, more than anything else, has made the journey more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. Without naming names, the human animals which have made an impression will know who they are, and as far as the four legged critters go, it would be extremely difficult for me to single out just one or two. Let's just say that they have all been a real treat to care for and it's been fun to do. In alphabetical order, they are as follows:
Blueberry, Bob, Breaker, Dusty, Einstein, Essie, Felix, Gaffer, Jackson, Jake, James, Jill, Lamington, Maggie, Marley, Mr. Bumples, Myrtle, Ollie, Oscar, Otto, Peach, Peugeot, Pillow, Polly, Roxie, Sadie, Sally, Shadow, Skidder, Snoop, Sophie, Tai, Tika, Trouble, and finally Watson. In addition to the above dog and cat list, I also cared for six chickens and two birds whose names escape me at this time.

Now I am back in Vancouver for a spell caring for Jackson and Peach again which is always plenty of fun. Yesterday morning when we awoke, there was a huge dump of snow on the ground, which surprized all three of us. In just a few short hours from now, it will be officially the first day of winter, so the snow arrived just slightly ahead of schedule. Tonight, up in Dawson City, there will be plenty of partying going on. It's always a big deal up there, this winter solstice thing because the locals can now look forward to the days getting longer. Having spent many long nights living up there at this time of year, I can totally understand the cause for celebration.

The snow stopped falling late yesterday, however today there is still plenty of it remaining on the ground and I suspect that will be the case for the next little while. Jackson and Peach with their short legs, and me with a wonky leg, have to be extra careful on our walks now, but so far, so good. The owners managed to escape to Hawaii just in the nick of time, and after sending them a video clip of the dogs in the snow yesterday, I'm quite sure that they are glad that they left when they did.

The baby boneheads are giving me the look, as in, "get away from the computer and come and play with us for a while," so I'll use that as my excuse to end this prattle, and go have some fun with Jackson and Peach.

Happy Trails,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THE CURRENT EASE OF TRAVEL

POST #99

The movie, "Trains, Planes, and Automobiles" comes to mind when I think of where I have recently been and where I now find myself yet again. All three of these forms of transport are taken totally for granted in our current industrial civilization. We move from place to place, without giving much thought as to just how amazing it really is to be able to cover such vast distances with very little effort and in a minimal amount of time.

Take for instance my recent travels. Since November 21st, I have wandered from Vancouver B.C., to Everett Washington via train. From there, a journey by car took me to Bend Oregon and back to Everett. Another short car journey followed, to Seattle airport, in order to board an airplane that deposited me in San Francisco for three hours. A subsequent plane ride allowed me to be in Tucson Arizona. The total time required to get all the way from Seattle Washington to Tucson Arizona, was around four hours. INCREDIBLE! The distance between the two is around 1700 miles,(over 2700 kms) a couple of hundred miles less than that when you fly.

Departing Tucson, the next form of transport was via Greyhound bus (perhaps the above movie title should be revised to include this transport option as well) followed once more by a journey in an automobile. My return trip here to Vancouver was basically the same, but in reverse, with the exception of the Greyhound ride.

All of the above was only possible (at least for now) with the use of fossil fuels. When I arrived on the scene way back in 1955, fossil fuels had already been in use for a very long time so of course these types of travel options all seem very normal. Just yesterday I was at the airport here, and I had the pleasure of spending time with my sister Gerry, which is a rather rare event these days. It's not because we don't get along, far from it. The reason is, she lives in Edmonton and I don't and so the geographic distance is the limiting factor. During our conversation yesterday, the topic of a family reunion of sorts came up. But with the five remaining members of the family spread around between two countries, the odds of that happening aren't that great, in my opinion, in spite of the above mentioned travel options. We all have our separate lives now, and those lives get lived out in a variety of locations. It's rather ironic really. Fossil fuels allow us to move around relatively easily, but it's these same fossil fuels that have helped to separate us. A hundred years ago, we would all probably have been living in the same town or city, and we would have had plenty of interactions with our extended family and friends. But that isn't the world we live in. Tomorrow, another sister, Rosie, will be travelling with her husband and daughter, all the way from northern British Columbia to the distant country of India. Their journey will take them through Vancouver, and a city in Europe prior to their arrival at their destination. It will be over 9000 miles each way,(over 14000 kms) and they will accomplish this journey in a matter of mere hours, not days or weeks. AMAZING!

But this is now. This is 2013, and in spite of all the talk or should I call it hype that one hears about many countries wanting to become energy independent, the fact is, we have all been tapping into a limited fuel source for many, many decades now, and the time has long since past where the cheap, and easy to get to fossil fuels were available. Now we live in a world of offshore oil rigs, tar sands, and fracking, none of which will make for energy independence, and all of which are helping to seal our fate regarding climate change. In fact, I would say that our fate is already sealed, what with the now, TWENTY EIGHT self reinforcing feedback loops that are currently in play with regards to the climate, but that's maybe a topic for a future post. For up to date information on this subject, a mouse click over to my friend Guy's website NATURE BATS LAST at guymcpherson.com will provide the reader with all the latest news. Guy revises his "Climate-change Summary and Update" on a very regular basis. It wasn't that long ago when there was only ONE feedback loop, so we've come along way, and it ain't pretty.

In the meantime, the travel options mentioned will continue to be available, until of course they can't. That will be a very tough pill for many folks to swallow, and my guess is that it will cause plenty of friction between people and nations. Aside from the relative luxury of air travel, the majority of people are going to be extremely put out, if they can't hop into their four wheeled personal conveyance and go where they choose, when they choose to. That's when the fecal matter will begin to interact with the rotating air convenience, and how that all pans out remains to be seen. And yet, in my travels around, I only see, more cars, more traffic jams, more smog, more airplanes, and more airport and road expansions. More, more, more. Infinite growth on a finite planet is IMPOSSIBLE. It will be a harsh transition.

For now, The Thoughtful Wanderer will still have the ability to move from place to place to care for a variety of animals. But it won't be too long, I suspect, when my wandering will be confined to a very small geographic area. Perhaps my trusty bicycle, and my hop a long walk, will be sufficient modes of transport.

Happy Trails,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THE MUD HUT RE-REVISITED

POST # 98

This is my third visit to the Mud Hut here in southwestern New Mexico. I arrived yesterday after the long journey from Seattle via San Francisco and Tucson. A few airport benches along the way helped to round out my trip.

My friend Guy, met me at the Greyhound station in Lordsburg and we arrived safe and sound in late afternoon. I am very happy to be back here because with each passing day, the moments spent seem more and more precious than the last. I suspect that this may be my last trip to the Mud Hut but I don't know that for sure. However, I continue to be amazed that our industrial way of life continues to limp along. I can't help but think that things may all fall into a heap in 2014, but somehow the powers that be, manage to find enough duct tape and wire to keep things running.

So I am here now to spend time with like minded souls and enjoy the moments while we can. Since my last trip here, there are now three goats and two dogs instead of the reverse back in May. In addition there are two turkeys. Actually, they were here before but were only days old at the time. Now they are huge.

I'm not sure what's in store for the weekend but I'm just happy to be here one more time. Guy and I drive back to Tucson on Monday and I'll be heading back north soon after to mind the baby boneheads, Jackson and Peach one more time. That's always fun.

That's all for now. I have more words to write but writing on an iPod is much slower than a laptop so let's call it a day shall we? Apologies for any errors or omissions.

Happy Trails

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THE LONE CANUCK

POST # 97

Today, I will be the lone Canuck, sharing American Thanksgiving with others, here in Bend Oregon.

And if dad were alive, he would have been 97 years old today.

Plenty of other thoughts roaming around in my mind, but I think that for now, I will just leave them there.


Happy Trails

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

WANDERING AGAIN

POST # 96

For reasons that have been stated in an earlier post, November 21st has been a significant day in this wandering life of mine. And today I will be wandering once again. Destination, Washington State for a break from all of this stressful house sitting. A guy needs to take a break every now and again. Shadow the cat, my companion for the past two weeks has been a real treat though, and I'll be a bit sad to have to say goodbye to him. Perhaps I'll see him again next year at this time.

However, when I think about a whole entire year ahead, I can't help but wonder just what things will be like by then. If Fukushima doesn't finish us all off, then there's always climate change, which by all accounts that I follow appears to be picking up pace, and even as that happens, the climate bureaucrats sit in Warsaw Poland this week discussing the matter. I reviewed a video clip this past week from the climate summit in Rio way back in 1992, at which David Suzuki's daughter had some choice words to say to the delagates all that long time ago. She was just 12 years old then. It made me cry, just to watch it. Fast forward to 2013, and nothing has been done, and that tells me all I need to know on that front. The big difference now though, is that the climate has taken charge, and so all of the bureaucrats can talk until they're blue in the face, and it won't make a hill of beans worth of difference. They've been doing it now for over 20 years, talk, talk, talk. They'll probably be at it next year. I wonder how many self reinforcing feedback loops will be in the system by then?

OK, so I've got that off of my chest, for this week at least but I'm sure that I'm not done with the topic. All I can do is to keep spreading the message for those who care to dig a bit deeper and look at the facts.

In the meantime I will continue to put one foot in front of the other and face each day, knowing that it's all that I have. Precious moments, one after another. In spite of it all, there is still time for laughter and joy. And time to wander.

Happy trails,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

PS. If you want to watch the speech by Severn Suzuki, just google Severn Suzuki at Earth Summit 1992 and that should work. Have some tissues ready just in case.

PLATO

POST # 95

Due to a glitch on my home computer, I have come to the library and only have a short time to write for today, so I thought that a quote from Plato would be in order.


THOSE WHO ARE ABLE TO SEE BEYOND THE SHADOWS AND LIES OF THEIR CULTURE WILL NEVER BE UNDERSTOOD, LET ALONE BELIEVED BY THE MASSES.

PLATO
BORN 427 BC
DIED 347 BC


He hit the nail on the head all those years ago.


Happy Trails,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

SHADOW REVISITED

POST # 94

Sometime around 4am this morning I heard voices, but then I drifted back to sleep. My sleep was interrupted around 6:30am to the sound of "Meeeeoooowwwww". It was Shadow the big black cat letting me know that it was time for breakfast, don't ya know. "Chill out Shadow, it's way too early for that." Thankfully he took my advice and allowed me to enjoy a couple more hours of beauty rest prior to getting up this morning.

After an extended vacation in Hawaii, I am now back to "work" taking care of another pet. This is round two with Shadow, having been here exactly a year ago, and it should be a very easy house sit. I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks, while the owners relax in Mexico for their annual holiday.

Wow, another entire year has gone by. They sure do pass quickly these days. Last year I was hobbling around with a cane, and this year I'm down to a pronounced limp, so I'm thankful for that.

Try as I might, I am finding it difficult to get Fukushima off of my mind these days. The latest news, is that TEPCO has decided to delay the removal of the fuel rods from reactor number 4. For how long, I'm not sure. Either way though, the situation looks rather precarious. Removing them is going to be dicey, and leaving them where they are isn't much better. In the past week, even David Suzuki put in his two cents worth, when speaking to an audience at the University of Alberta in Edmonton at the end of October. See below.

David Suzuki at the University of Alberta, October 30, 2013 (At 2:45 in): Fukushima is the most terrifying situation I can imagine. You ask, what can we do? First of all you have got a government that is in total collusion with Tepco, they’re lying through their teeth. […] The fourth one has been so badly damaged that the fear is if there’s another quake of a 7 or above that that building will go, and then all hell breaks loose. And the probability of a 7 or above quake in the next 3 years is over 95%. […] They don’t know what to do. We need to get a group of international experts to go in with complete freedom to do what they suggest. Right now the Japanese government has too much pride to admit that. I’ve seen a paper which says that if in fact the fourth plant goes under an earthquake and those rods are exposed, it’s bye-bye Japan, and everybody on the West Coast of North America should evacuate. Now if that isn’t terrifying, I don’t know what is.

Any way you slice it, things are getting very "iffy" over there in Japan, and so I prefer to keep up to date with what's going on. All of a sudden, Vancouver isn't looking like the best place to live after all. Events will continue to unfold and decisions will need to be made accordingly.

In the meantime, I am going to enjoy my time with Shadow. Sometimes I think it would be easier to just be a cat.


Happy Trails,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer