Journey To The Center  

Once again, it’s been awhile since I posted anything here. It’s not for lack of things to write about, but perhaps more of a motivational thing. Sometimes it’s difficult to decide what to say. Anyhow, I continue to work on preparing for a move to points as yet unknown. Most of my belongings are now packed and stacked in boxes waiting to go… to… somewhere. For several weeks, I’ve divided my time between packing and getting the house ready to sell. Now, we’re living in, what is essentially, an empty house. Both of the dogs have discovered that their barks are greatly amplified due to the lack of sound-absorbing furniture. They seem to relish trotting through the house, barking at ghosts or other invisible intruders. And these days, when I say “don’t” it actually sounds like I mean it.

Although I seem to have had little time for nature observation, there is quite a bit going on, but certain things do seem slow this year. Perhaps that has to do with all of the rain — buckets full of rain several times each week. Day and night temperatures are also somewhat cool. Very few moths appear around the porch light during the brief periods when it is switched on. In past years, a dozen or so moths would appear within a few minutes, but this year, only one or two. However, the mosquitoes are loving this soggy weather and rise up in great clouds as we walk the trails around the farm. The barn swallows are also loving it — no doubt, they are feeding on mosquitoes. After dark, fireflies light up the darkest corners of the garden. With this damp weather, it might be a good year for them. I haven’t been finding all that many caterpillars, but did find the above individual just a few steps from the house. It might be a dark variation of Spilosoma virginica. It reminds me of a “silverback” gorilla — it’s funny how sometimes one thing will make me think of something quite else.

Sage is changing before my eyes. She’s losing her puppy-ness as her coat grows longer and coarser. She continues to want to be involved in whatever it is I’m doing. If I prune tree branches, she bites at them too. If I’m sawing a piece of wood, she’s chewing on the other end of it. If I’m weeding the garden, she’s tugging at plants right beside me.

Sage is still at that playful puppy stage where she enjoys pestering Sabrina. Here’s a movie clip… somewhat large at 4 MB… of how a typical play fight gets started and then plays out (click on the link or the above photo to watch the clip). Although Sabrina sounds grumpy, she actually enjoys the puppy’s attention.

As for everything else…
I do have a van now — a used van imported from the U.S. (that’s a whole other story deserving of its own post). It’s a larger van set up more for camping. It will be our home for awhile (for how long, I don’t know) once the farm is listed for sale. The other night, I stopped at a grocery store I’ve started going to occasionally. A more-talkative-than-usual cashier asked me how my day was going and what I’d been up to. I replied that I was getting my house ready to put up for sale. She wanted to know where I was moving to. I found myself saying, “I was planning to move to Nova Scotia, but lately I’ve been thinking that I might just go on the road for a year or two.” She asked, “Like, doing the Harley thing?” and I replied, “No, more like doing the camper van thing.” She said, “Oh, how cool! I wish I was doing something like that! I’d love to just take off and see the world.” I didn’t bother to crush her excitement by telling her the circumstances behind my decision to travel. Instead, I said, “Well, everyone should get out and see the world.” So, once the house is listed for sale and the van is equipped and packed, that’s just what we’ll be doing — at least for awhile.