ANOTHER THOUGHTFUL WANDERER MILESTONE COMES TO PASS

POST # 400

Today, The Thoughtful Wanderer blog has now reached another milestone.  Post number 400.  Not bad for a project that began way back on October 21st, 2011 when I was house sitting in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

https://wherespaulnow.blogspot.com/2011/10/thoughtful-wanderer-begins.html

Back then, I really had no clue about how long this little online journal would last, but I suppose that as long as I am still breathing, I will continue to write something, four times each month.

Post number 100 came into existence on December 21st, 2013 when I was hunkered down in the snow at what became one of my regular gigs in Vancouver.  Jackson and Peach aka the baby boneheads kept me company during my stay there.  I even attached a very short video of the two of them running out into the snow in the backyard.

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

The above link also makes note of the approximate distance I had travelled since the beginning of the blog, and includes a list of countries and critters that had been a part of my journey up to and including that date.

Moving right along, the blog reached the 200 mark on January 28th, 2016.  I was back in my favourite "home" of Dawson City in the Yukon.  To be more accurate, I was at the little village of Bear Creek, about 12 kilometers down the highway from Dawson, where I had the great pleasure of caring for a pack of Border Collie boneheads and one lovable furball.  Time in the Yukon is always well spent in my opinion, and I enjoyed my visit.  It's the last time that I have been there.

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


On to number 300, as the months and years continued to fly on by, and as is always the case, faster than expected.  The date was February 28th, 2018.  The location was not too far from Sidney on Vancouver Island.  "Her majesty" aka the furball named Tina was my companion for that house sit, and she was certainly a good one.  I also met my very first Leonberger bonehead.  I had never come across that particular breed of dog, and he was a gentle giant.  The owner told me that Maynard was only 16 months old at the time, and that he already weighed 125 pounds.  I remember asking the owner how much he spent each month on dog food, and even though he didn't state a dollar figure, he told me that it cost him a truck payment per month.

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


And so here we are now at number 400.  When I began this project all those years ago, I really did not think that I would still be doing it at this stage, and I certainly wouldn't have thought that I would ever reach the 400 mark.  I'm glad that I have persisted over the years, as it's fun for me to look back just to see where I have been, what critters I've had the pleasure of caring for, and to re-read what I have already written.  Every now and again, I think that I have had something worthwhile to say.  Well, at least I think so, but I don't know if any of my readership would agree.

The next milestone would be the magic number 500.  And just like all the other milestones, I really can't imagine that I will get there.  After all, with an average of 48 posts per year, that would put the date somewhere around April, 2022.  With the state of things in the world as they are at the moment, I would be surprised if I get the opportunity to pen blogpost number 500, but I would be very happy indeed if that milestone comes to pass.

In the meantime, I will continue to try and appreciate the time that I do have, and try and make the best of it, for as long as possible.


grateful for every breath,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

HOLED UP AND DRIED UP

POST # 399

WHERE IS EVERYONE?

On March 16th, 2020 this Canuck crossed over the line into the USA via the Amtrak train.  The conductor informed us that this would be the last train from Vancouver BC, heading south for the foreseeable future.  As you can tell from the first photo, the train station was almost empty.  I've never seen it like this, in all the years that I have been travelling to the USA.  A coronavirus sign of the times.

Thankfully for me, my dear friend Mary greeted me at the station upon my arrival, and along with Dora-dog, we headed to her home.  This is where I am holed up at the present time.  I am most fortunate indeed,  to have a roof over my head.  As the days have gone by this past week,  the previously booked future house sit gigs that were in my calendar have all but dried up at this point in time, and to be honest,  I really hadn't considered that a house sitter could be so impacted by what is going on right now.  I guess that none of us are immune.  I'm not sure what the future holds in store, and I will continue to take things a day at a time.

In the meanwhile, Mary as always, takes good care of this wandering soul, and as an added bonus, there is always the wonderful Dora-dog to keep us both amused.  

HAPPY AT THE DOG PARK

DORA-DOG FOCUSED ON HER NEW FOUND FRIEND

LIVE ACTION REPLAY

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

GOODBYE TO KWAME

POST # 398

Tomorrow, I have to say goodbye to Kwame.  He has been a wonderful companion over the past couple of months, but it's time for the The Thoughtful Wanderer to go wandering to the next location.

I plan to be heading back to the USA on Monday, and I am curious to see how that goes.  With Covid 19 on everyone's mind these days, I suspect that it may have an impact on my travel.  In the past week, two upcoming house sits have had to cancel due to this pandemic, and only time will tell how things shake out in the end.  All I can do is continue on my journey, and deal with situations as they present themselves.  Maybe I should pack a roll of toilet paper.  It appears that it has become the indispensable product these past couple of weeks.   But seeing as I like to travel as light as possible, I'll give the toilet paper a pass.

Below are a selection of photos that I took during my time here,  and one video of a recent hail storm.

I'm rather lost for words today, so I think I'll end this short post right here, and do something more important, like go and hang out with Kwame, as our time together is now very short indeed.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

PS: Happy birthday, Bill.

ACHES, PAINS & RESTLESS SLEEPS

POST # 397

It hasn't come to this yet.  Now that I am well and truly 65, I haven't had to resort to using a cone like Brian is using in the birthday card that I received this past week.  So at least I don't have that to complain about.  In general, I don't like to think of myself as a complainer for the most part, but we are all susceptible to this behavior from time to time.  So let this post be my opportunity to complain for a moment.

Here goes.  For the past few weeks I have had more aches and pains than I can ever remember having before.  In addition to that, I seem to have lost the ability to have a restful sleep throughout the night.  The aches and pains are probably just the result of my continued aging, and I imagine that if I went around the local neighbourhood which seems to have a high proportion of similarly aged humans, and did an "aches and pains" survey, I would likely discover that my ailments are minor in comparison.  But it's the restless nights that have me the most confused, because up until recently, this hasn't been an issue in my life.  Most nights, the pattern seems to be about the same.  I go to bed around 11 pm, and within an hour or two, I am wide awake.  Waking up is always preceded by some very weird dream.  The dreams are all different, but they all have the same effect. My sleep is interrupted.  So nowadays, my normal six to eight hours of sleep has turned into a sleep broken up into two or three parts.  I don't like it, but like Kurt Vonnegut would say, "so it goes."

OK, that's enough of that.  I'll put it all down to the ongoing aging process, and with any luck, this will be the last time I will complain about these issues.  As my life has proven over many decades, things could always be a lot worse.  My blessings far outweigh my trials and tribulations.

On a final note for this week, if it ever comes to the point where I am forced to wear a cone like Brian, then I'll make sure to take a photo, and post it on this blog.  If that ever happens, whatever readership I have up to that point, will probably take their eyeballs elsewhere.  And I wouldn't blame them for a minute.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

WHAT IS OLD, ANYWAY?

POST # 396

How happy is he born and taught

That serveth not another's will

Whose armour is his honest thought

And simple truth his utmost skill

Way back when, on November 28th, 1981, my dear old dad turned 65 years old.  At the time, I was just 26.  I would have considered him an old man then, and compared with me, he was old.  Considering what he had been through in his life up to that point in time, he was probably older than many of his contemporaries.  Life has a way of wearing us down at different rates, and in addition to the life that we lead, which includes some of our bad habits, there is also the genetic component that we have no say in.  Stack on top of all of that, the numerous close calls that most of us have faced from time to time, and it's a wonder that anyone gets to the ripe old age of 65, or even longer, like the gentleman featured at the top of this post.

So what is the point of all of this talk about being 65?  Well, by the time I post my next blog on March 7th, I will have crossed over to that age, assuming that I make it that far.  I think that the odds are in my favour at the moment.  Mind you, Kwame the furball might decide to attack me between now and then, but the chances of that happening are very low, as he is a mellow fellow to be sure.

Getting back to my dad for a moment, I do think that he was older at 65, then I will be next week at the same age.  Mind you, I have had a dream run in comparison and not a day goes by that I don't appreciate that fact.  Sure, I have had more than my share of close calls along life's path, perhaps more than some, and less than others.  However, I've never started a single day in my entire life having to wonder if I was going to get anything to eat, or have fresh water to drink.  So in comparison to a large number of souls on the planet, I have lived an extremely privileged life up to this point in time.  For that, I am always grateful.

On my daily walk, I go past a local graveyard, and yesterday instead of just whistling as I walked on past, I decided to take a few moments to have a closer inspection of some of the headstones located there.  That is where I took the photo featured at the top of this post.  That man had a pretty good run as far as the number of years he got to spend on the planet.  Near his grave, there was another one, with just a first name on the gravestone.  Seth was the name and he only lived for two years.  It's a bit of a cosmic lotto, this thing called life.  I took that photo, because I really liked the words inscribed on the gravestone.  I can relate.  However, as much as I would like to think that I too will make it to the age of 77, I certainly don't like my odds at this point.  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind living that long, but I just don't think that it will happen.  All the more reason to enjoy each day as it presents itself, and live each day like it's your last,  as written on the gravestone below.

In any event, and for however long my life goes on, I'll continue to enjoy the simple things in life, like fresh air, a walk in the woods, or even an afternoon nap.  I have Kwame the furball to set an example for me in the napping department.

As I mentioned last week, Kwame is now 14 years old, and if we go with the generally accepted rule that one cat year equals seven human years, then he is now 98 years old.  He's had a good run, and perhaps it's due to his sleeping habits.  Plus he's still got another eight lives to go.

So what is old anyway?  I'm just happy to be here, and happy to be alive.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

I TURN 14 TOMORROW

POST # 395

"Kwame is a Twi and Akan day name given to a boy born on a Saturday."

The resident human has put this stupid thing on my head.

Kwame here.  Apparently I turn 14 years old tomorrow, whatever that means.  Humans seem to have this obsession with a thing called time, and I'm not really sure why that is. 

They are so obsessed with time, that they have even invented something that they call a calendar.  According to this calendar, February 22nd, 2020 is the day that I showed up on the world scene back in the year, 2006.  My memory of that time is pretty vague, but I seem to recall that I was surrounded by others that looked more like me.  Somewhere along the way, I moved here, and I've been here ever since.  This is now my entire world, and I normally share this space with two other humans. For reasons I don't quite understand,  those humans haven't been here for a while now.  Instead, there is a new human on the scene.  He seems to know what he is doing, and I made sure right from the get go, that he understood who is running the show around here.  That would be me, Kwame.

Humans are such push-overs and it didn't take long for me to have this one under my spell.  I have my daily routine just the way that I like it, and I've got him just where I want him, so I couldn't be more content.  In fact, he spends even more time pampering me than those other humans that used to live here.  Occasionally, he disappears for a short while, but for the most part he is here, under my complete control. 

Right up until this morning, I was perfectly happy sharing my place with this new human, and then without any notice, he attempted to put this stupid thing on my head.  If one looks closely, you can see the shock in my eyes as I wonder just what the heck is going on.  Thankfully, he only tried this manoeuvre a few times, and because of my reaction, he seems to have backed off for the time being.  But I'll keep a close eye on him.  He needs to know who's boss.

So, as I stated at the beginning, tomorrow I will be 14 years old.  As far as I am concerned, it will be just another wonderful day, and I will plan on spending it like I do every day.  Sleep, eat, sleep, watch the birds outside, sleep, let the human cuddle me, and then sleep.  It's my favourite way to spend my time.  I'm not sure what the human has in mind for tomorrow, but I guess that I will find out soon enough.

He just did it again.  Crazy human.

Purring blissfully,
Kwame

grateful for every breath,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer aka Kwame's slave

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

POST #394

MARY & DORA-DOG

Thank you, for being you, and for saving Dora-dog's life*.  Happy Valentine's day.

*Mary and Dora-dog's first meeting was on Feb. 14th, 2018.

grateful for every breath,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer