{Yawn, s-t-r-e-t-c-h} Here we are after spending a quiet day in our new home. Not sure why but Mum overslept this morning (she didn’t do a lot of much yesterday after having her son and partner for a little brunch-sadly without images…clearly the time she’s been away trying to get us settled in has left her a bit deficit in proper brain function…i.e. she forgot to take photos) but I nudged her out of bed with my legendary “quilt” move where I jump up on the bed and smother her. But enough about her shortcomings, I love still her. It was a good day for just hanging out, getting chin scratches from the visitors and a great walk along the creek. I’ve reminded Mum the best way to settle in to the new home is to take loads of walks liberally enhanced with loads of treats for making me feel more comfortable in the new environment. We hope those of you who celebrated the Christmas holiday had a day that was merry and bright with lots of tasty snacks and good cheer.
Today we’re climbing back into the blogging saddle and joining our friends at Adventures of the LLB Gang. Be sure to check out what others shared for their Nature Friday blog hop. While Mum is trying to open her eyes with a second cup of coffee, let me share a few of the things we’ve seen over the past three weeks since our big move.
Wilson: First up…here’s the ‘before’ reveal. A real hellscape and something that had Mum wondering what was she thinking. But despite being a bit OCD about stuff being in its proper place, she put her paws in front of one another and made daily progress. Notice how hard I am working snoopervising the move in.
The Mum: Hey, that’s not fair…I noticed you howled a couple of times yourself.
Wilson: Oops, hi Mum. Thought I was doing a solo today. Ahem…sorry about that characterization. Since misery loves company, Mum reminds herself that this is a community that’s still under construction and more folks will begin to move in and enjoy the move in process that we had {snicker}. We already met the couple at the end of our lane. Mum shakes her head-those folks have managed to complete all manner of projects since moving in (i.e. painting their garage walls as well as painting the garage floor and power-washing all the mud from the sidewalks. They make her back hurt just watching these two eager beavers. I tried to make her feel better by saying there are two of them and she’s only one person. Sadly, she hasn’t been overly dissuaded about her feelings of inadequacy (she continually refers to it as slug-ness) so I’ve reminded her that envy is the thief of joy but she usually just stomps upstairs with an armload of things for the studio, grumbling with each step.
The Mum: You’re right about the theft of joy. I’ll try to do…
Wilson: {interrupting} Well I say a good place to start would be to bust open those presents of treats for me that Santa Paws delivered and stop being so stingy with dishing out the goodies he left me. And for heaven’s sake, be grateful for all you’ve done and accomplished. Sheesh, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
The Mum: I’ll try to keep that in mind. Obviously the dude in red thought you were a pretty good boy this year and not just a pretty face.
Wilson: Well I could have told you that but you were too busy being consumed with thoughts of inadequacy. At any rate, enough about the move…we could fill volumes but I have a few photos from the neighborhood around us to share.
The Mum: Yes, you’re absolutely right. What have you got for us, House Pony?
Wilson: Well, my daily walks are a veritable sniff fest. I’m beginning to think I might even be part bloodhound who’s tracking a burglar. It’s. been. awesome!
The Mum: Yes, I’ve noticed you are enjoying sniffs along our regular route. Haven’t seen as much wildlife as we’d hoped yet for but the wildlife habitat that we walk through might have provided more than just the thousands of Canadian Geese we see/hear along the trail. But there have been loads of dogs, walkers, bicyclists that we’ve passed and it has been interesting seeing so many dogs in strollers with elderly owners pushing them along. The demographics of this neighborhood range from little ones to seniors and is a nice mix of folks.
Wilson: Somehow I don’t see you being able to push me anywhere. We are both entertained with the vegetation, mostly dried grasses (the best sniffs) and downed logs along the creek which is very dry as we’ve experienced temps in the 60’s & 70’sF since after the day we moved in when there was 4 inches of white stuff on the ground making the move quite the challenge. We’ve been told the gravy train of unseasonably warm temps will run out this weekend and temps will be back in the normal range-30’s & 40’s with the possibility of some accompanying moisture. We can only hope. The sunrises have been spectacular and I can’t help but recite the old adage…”red skies in morning, sailor take warning-red skies at night, sailor’s delight.”
The Mum: The sunrises have been pretty spectacular. The above photo was taken the first morning we woke up in the new house and has been repeated numerous times during last week’s power outages amidst the hurricane force winds. Christmas was the most unusual we’ve ever experienced-it was 70F (21C).
Wilson: Well I know you’re constantly grossing about it being too dry but I’ve enjoyed these fair weather temps. You’ll get no complaints from me.
The Mum: You and a jillion others around the region but skiers and environmentalists continue to worry about the unseasonably warm weather.
Wilson: Well, I say we enjoy it while we can. January and February are coming up and they are the coldest, driest months. But there’s still lots to enjoy.
The Mum: Indeed, for a few days this week, I couldn’t help but wonder if the mallard couples may have blown away because we hadn’t seen any in the canal along on the trail this week.
Wilson: It has been mostly quiet on the trail, with only a few of the many Canadian Geese populating the nearby golf course.
The Mum: Here’s hoping everyone has a great last weekend of 2025 and a Happy Kawanzaa. We’re looking forward to ushering in a New Year next week. Which reminds me, guess I’d better get cracking on putting up shelves this weekend to better utilize the remaining time in this year and to pack up the Christmas decor now that we’ve enjoyed our first Christmas in the new house. Have a great weekend.
Wilson: And don’t forget to enjoy every single minute along your own trail.
Live, love, bark! 🐾