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Me and the Mice
I don’t hate these little critters. In fact, in dealing with them the past couple of years I’ve become sort of fond of them. This is not to say I want to share our home space with them or support their free-loading ways in our RV either. But over time I have come to see how they all have different personalities and respond to the stress of being captured in a variety of ways. And I have spent many hours researching all the different ways of repelling mice…I will get to all those methods in a short while. Using humane traps to capture and then release the mice was something…
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Face Masks and Quarantine
Sewing has never been my thing. When I turned 21 yrs old my parents gave me a lovely little Singer sewing machine. And that dear little machine has followed me from Dallas to Connecticut to Maine. It has been used a few times. I don’t recall ever making any clothes, but I did make some weird looking toy things and I’m pretty sure I made a cover for my bird’s cage and used it on occasion for projects I can’t recall. No doubt some things were repaired along the way as well. I have come close to donating it a few times, but somehow I’ve never been able to. It…
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Being Home
There had been discussions about staying socially distant by remaining in Arizona for a while, traveling away from cities up the west coast, just enjoying the spacious outdoor living that RV’ing was providing us. But eventually we heard reports of closings to RV parks in the eastern part of the country and the decision was made to get home ASAP. So, pedal to the metal, 2,800 miles (5,200 km) covered in 6 days of driving with one day of rest in the middle. It was really hard on the dogs, and Charlie had to be strongly encouraged back into the RV after each walk. We traveled from ideal weather conditions…
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And…heading home!
My eyes flickered open and tried to focus on the microwave clock…5:45 am. “Are you awake?” I heard Dennis ask. I had this sense that he was about to drop some really bad news on me. “Pennsylvania is closing all the RV parks to new registrations. I think we need to start heading home today.” So, it wasn’t as terrible as I’d intuited but it was disappointing news to say the least. Today was Saturday and we were scheduled to leave Tucson on Tuesday. We had anticipated enjoying the absolutely perfect weather for the next few days, walking trails with the dogs, and continuing to enjoy our time with Lisa…
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Covid-19 and Uncertainties while RV’ing
The grandest part of our RV expedition was to include enjoying and exploring Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington. This is not to diminish our excitement at visiting dear friends in other areas on the eastern seaboard and in Texas, but visiting with friends has its own specialness, something that’s different from exploring the great outdoors. And so we relished every minute of our time with friends, and then took a deep breath and exhaled everything into the wide open spaces of the west as we finally arrived in west Texas. From Texas we made our way into New Mexico to enjoy the wonderment of White Sands State Park, and then…
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Aaah Arizona!
It’s a bit like coming home. Arizona offers a winter experience that has been more than worth the long drive from Maine. Moderate temperatures during the day, cool evenings, dry air, blue skies with little white puffy clouds, and blooming desert flowers. We have loved the vast open spaces and the dusty trails that reach far into BLM lands, giving the dogs places to run free. But what I think I love most is resting my eyes on the horizon at midday and in the evening as the sun colors the sky and clouds in oranges, reds and pinks. It all just takes one’s breath away. Tucson offered all the…
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The Other Side of Nowhere
We were amused and dubious as we pulled into Loma Paloma RV Park. There was no apparent official entrance, and no apparent office to go and check in. We stopped in front of an RV where a woman was sitting in a chair, enjoying the warm afternoon sunshine. “Where do we check in?” we asked. She just laughed and said to just pick a spot and that the owner would find us. As she finished telling us that, a woman named Maxine pulled up in a golf cart and repeated exactly what we’d just been told. And so we looked around the very large, mostly empty dirt lot and picked…
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What The Hell!
It was pretty exciting to hit the road in Fort Stockton and head south to Presidio which is located on the border of Mexico, right near Big Bend National Park and its sister State Park. One, it was exciting because we couldn’t wait to get to Big Bend, and two, because we only had a 2 1/2 hr drive on this particular day. This was very good news for Charlie who finds the driving days to be very stressful, and this was the 3rd day in a row that we were driving. We were an hour from our destination. The West Texas plains were stark and beautiful, and we could…
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A Secluded Winery
The hubbub of Houston and it’s sprawling reach took us over an hour to drive out of. We had enjoyed 5 nights just north of Houston and now it was time to get out into the Texas countryside. Our next destination was Big Bend National Park. We looked at the distances to be covered, keeping in mind stops for pup walks, people walks, and gas fill ups, and planned our next 3 days of driving. Three days! Albeit not full days of driving, but still, Texas is a huge state to drive across. Our first one-night stopover was in Vanderpool, TX and the second was in Fort Stockton, TX. Vanderpool…
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The RV Life ‘feeling’
No matter how much research we did, how many YouTube videos we watched, how many articles we read and how much information our RV’ing friends shared with us, there was no way for us to really understand what RV’ing was really about or how it works. I’m not referring to plotting next destinations on the map, researching campgrounds and jotting our plans on the calendar. What we have discovered is the flow that is part of life on the road. It ebbs and flows, it has a feeling, and it informs us on when we are to spend a single night at a campground or extend our stay to either…
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Find Rhythm on the Road
Hopefully we have finished finding the little things we think we ‘need’. It feels like we have. I write this while looking over at the little palm in its pot, placed right next to the little lamp, both of which I felt we had to have. I always have my reasons (also read as justifications). But that’s the human way. There has been an ongoing trickle of purchases for things like cleaning supplies, an occasional tool, a new squeegee with extender handle, and compostable Nespresso pods for the best purchase I ever made…a Nespresso machine. We have become very fond of our morning café Americano in our Yeti cups. The dogs like…
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Note to Self
We have lift off! Or perhaps more accurately, we have rolling earthquake! I’m borrowing ‘rolling earthquake’ from an RV inspector who was explaining, in part, why things get jiggled loose in RV’s. We are used to the creaks and groans of our mobile home now, we even think it’s pretty quiet, which is very different from how we experienced Dora (RV) on our maiden voyage. We wondered how we might ever be able to hear the radio. But that was then and this is now. We left Maine just over a week ago, hitting the road 2 days earlier than originally planned so that we could get out and south…
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Florida to S. Carolina to N. Carolina
Our last day and night in Florida was full again. Visiting old friends, meeting new friends, watching a rocket launch (!) and then the evening collapse into bed. Our good intentions of getting on the road by 9:30 am went straight out the window as our very chatty RV neighbor shared all sorts of tips and hints about RV living. And then as I was about to pull forward out of our parking spot, she ran over to share just one last tidbit of information. It was much less stressful driving this time. Everything was a bit more familiar and and we were keen to get ourselves up to our…
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RV Maiden Voyage
Meet Dora, our new motorhome, in which we plan to explore much of this country, with our dogs, Charlie and Alice in tow. The name Dora was chosen in honor of Thandi, our sweet departed black lab, who’s independent nature had us finding her in various places as she explored the great outdoors, with or without permission…mostly without. Brief overview: Dennis is retiring at the end of the year so we decided it would be a great adventure to buy an RV and drive around the country with the dogs, maybe for a month or a few months at a time. We will play that by ear. We decided we…
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The Back Story – Part 2
The first part of this story was blogged on March 31st, 6 weeks after undergoing a procedure called Discseel. The procedure was my non-surgical choice for addressing 4 ruptured lower lumbar discs. As a very brief recap; with significant disc degeneration, the deterioration in my back stability and the increasing levels of pain (that no longer responded to care in a way that provided sustainable relief) led me to seek solutions that were non-surgical. Discseel is the procedure that made the most sense to me. From the DiscSeel.com website, this is the procedure: “The Discseel® Procedure takes approximately 40 minutes and is performed in an outpatient facility. You will be offered…
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Moodiness
Oh dark and moody clouds,Hanging heavy in a burdened sky,Winds darting across the sand,Pushing hair across my face. What splendor in the dark and lightof these floating wonders,How they turn my face skywardas my awe is stirred from sleep. The blanket of clouds is whipped awayOh my! What a clear blue!And over my shoulder I see rain fallon the horizon. A cyclist on his broad-tired bike, A small pack of excited dogs,Gulls soaring and playing in the updrafts,and people…faces alive with wonder.
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A swimming and flying cell phone…and 15 ticks
In only 15 minutes of beating around the underbrush I managed to gather 15 ticks. There were 5 in my hair and 10 on my clothing, inside and out. I used the dog’s comb to get them out of my hair, because the teeth of the comb are closer together than any other comb in the house. Hopefully I didn’t miss any. I know all about ticks and the many diseases they carry, so why would I end up in dense underbrush, especially as the weather warms up? Well, it’s a weird story… Yesterday morning my cell phone dropped out of my pocket. It happened during the morning beach walk…
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Skidding into retreat
It’s a full week, this annual retreat. I think it can more accurately be described as a friend reunion. The ‘teacher’ is one of the friends. I anticipate this week deeply, look forward to the conversations, the meditations, the quiet time, the daily walks and whatever else I feel like doing or not doing. I look forward to three meals a day that I don’t have to create. And I love the exhale. But…the first day of retreat resembled chaos, for me anyway. It looked a bit like me skidding into the retreat center 10 minutes before dinner was over, stumbling up to my room with my backpack and two…
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Mud season
April, the worst and best month of the year. Rolling into winter in Maine is fun. It’s a time for cozy clothes and snowy days. Walking the dogs on the beach, even on the coldest days, is quiet and magical, and okay…sometimes just damn cold. But we dress for well for it. When we hit the middle of March we tend to be done with the multiple layers of clothes and heavy boots. We are thrilled at the first tiny green sprouts of daffodils that keep the promise of spring alive. Night time temperatures stop going below freezing every night, and because of my enthusiasm for wearing less layers, I…
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Turkey Vulture
Popped something in the oven, turned around and saw a large bird land in tree on our property. Turkey Vulture: I see you have spotted me, and I see you ran outside without shoes. I’m not so easy to photograph behind these branches…would you like me to fly to a better spot?Me: Why yes…yes I would, thank you. Turkey Vulture: Would you like me to spread my wings and make you gasp.Me: Why yes, yes I would…gasp…click, click, click. Turkey Vulture: Would you like me to turn around so you can see the front of me too, with my wings spread.Me: Why yes, yes thank you I would…(screaming in my…
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The Bench
Early in 2012, my friend Cindy and I sat on a bench on the banks of the Crocodile River in South Africa and I dissolved into tears. I was experiencing the indescribable joy of my life starting over. It was the beginning of life after Lyme disease, it was the beginning of life without old emotional baggage, and it was better than I could have imagined possible. A book was born of from it called, Chronic Illness as an Access to Quantum Healing. It is now 2019, and a couple of months ago our family was back in South Africa, and specifically, in the same area of the Crocodile River.…
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A new path to silent sharing
It’s been a few days of walking around in warm and cold air, of looking through binoculars and camera lenses. I love a scene that is broad with distance, and I love an up-close and detailed look as well. And I definitely enjoy taking photos of things that stir me. I have a new appreciation for photographers who sit in the cold snow to capture that perfect wild life shot. Those photos do not happen by chance. I have a new appreciation for how cold their hands must get as they adjust the settings on their cameras. And I appreciate those who notice the world around themselves, allow wonder to…
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Mae, a rescued mustang
Last year I pulled my old bike out of the basement, cleaned it off and started going out for rides. Somehow, no matter what route I peddled, I invariably ended up at the Ever After Mustang Rescue. I would hang out for a while, watching the residents as they grazed, sometimes watching them as they watched me. A month or so later I began volunteering at the barn each Saturday. I knew nothing about caring for horses and was just thrilled to have the opportunity to muck out stalls and begin learning about these beautiful animals. All the residents are rescues, all have endured trauma, all are now in an…
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The way the light dances
Walking along the coast line, I stood and allowed myself the awe of gazing over the vastness that is the ocean, and I breathed in the salty air. With the sun in my eyes, I marveled at the glistening water below and noticed the thoughts arising, almost as if they were begging to be arranged into a poem. If I wrote poetry it would certainly have included those first words that came to me, something about how the light dances on the water. But does the light dance? Not really. It just is. It’s steady. There is what dances in it. What reflects it. How it, whatever ‘it’ is, reflects…
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The Back Story – Part 1
My eyes opened slowly as I came to. It was all over. I was lying face up on the bed and I was quickly overwhelmed by the raging and searing pain in my lower back. The last thing I could remember was lying face down on the table, positioning my head so that the pillow didn’t pull the oxygen tubing away from my nose. It had been difficult to get comfortable. My back was miserably uncomfortable and it didn’t appreciate the hard, flat surface, even with the pillow under my stomach. But despite all that, the excitement that was coursing through me had me in exceptionally high spirits, loving everyone…
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Avoiding the feeling of helplessness
We have not tired of witnessing this phenomenon yet; the tidal pool filling up and emptying out every day. The winding river down the side of our yard is part of this wonder. At low tide it is empty except for the small stream of fresh water that flows down into the pool, and then at high tide it floods its banks as the ocean pushes inland and up the river bed. It is a morning routine to wander down to the pool for Thandi to get her morning walk. Sometimes we are there at sunrise, and the hush of the morning that is filled with bird songs is always a treat…not so…
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A Lesson in Leaving
There were three non-negotiable requirements for the next dog we were to adopt: Both our girls had to fall in love with the same dog It had to be a medium sized dog It had to be a short haired dog And that’s how we ended up with Ben. Nicole and Samantha both fell in love with the pup that had large paws and long hair. Our ‘medium-sized, short-haired’ dog grew to 95 lbs of long-haired fluff and love. And he was perfect. We loved his fluffiness, his obsession with frisbee catching, and his extraordinary gentle and loving nature. We loved how he vocalized and how he was a lapdog.…
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Doing it her way
It’s been almost a year since my dog, Thandi, was diagnosed with a tumor on her pituitary gland. It’s been a time of focus on feeding her cooked food, supporting her through seizures, and managing a steadily increasing protocol of drugs. She has been teaching me all along. Giving me opportunities to express my love for her in more ways than I thought possible. We have slept on the floor together many nights and gone through weeks of sleepless nights. Her meds gave her a ravenous appetite (3 full meals a day) and an unquenchable thirst (5 gallons of water a day!)…and the resulting pee breaks every 2 hours, 24…
