What happened today (Note: It is nothing dire. It is just a day.)
First, I woke up at about 4 a.m., in the guest house of the property I am caretaking. I am in a comfy double bed with a down comforter and natural cotton sheets, and next to me, on the floor (in a comfy doggie bed with a fleece atop it), my beloved Belgian Shepherd is curled into a tight ball, snoring. It is a cool, foggy pre-dawn. I pull up the covers for her (my freebie white cotton blankie that I got from an estate closing) and she shnurfles adorably.
Then I wake up for real around 5:30, and the dog and I shuffle off to the main house (after potty breaks for each of us: me in the guest house bathroom, she under the redwoods down the driveway) and I fix her breakfast. She eats so enthusiastically.
Then I go back to the guest house and make coffee. It is 6:00 and I have a television that works, so I tune in to "Angel", which is showing the episode about Darla's turning (way back when in the Virginia colony). I make the bed, then curl up on it with my coffee and a cashmere throw-blankie. The dog rejoins me and nods out.
After "Angel", on a different channel, there is BtVS, and one of my favorite eps, "Ted". I watch this while brushing my hair, washing my face, putting in my contacts, and applying sunscreen (yes, it is still overcast, but I have been living in California for some 30 years now). Once Ted has shorted out for good, I gather our gear and the dog and I hop into my car and go up the road another mile or so. I park down the driveway of another client. Leaving the pup in the Honda, I go and release the kitties for the day, and I put their dry food and water in an accessible place on the deck. I also take the morning paper, but I don't ever do the crossword because I am totally bored with crosswords.
Then the Belgian and I go for our hike. She is on the leash more than usual, because I am desperately trying to keep her from ingesting some sort of foxtail - ooh, bumper crop this year. So far, so good. Alas, a tick attacks my plump and desirable lower middle back. I know immediately that it's a tick, and within 30 minutes, I have removed it using a mirror and tweezers. It is still a great big welt, but better a tick on me than a foxtail on her. There is no trade-off, just the fact that an embedded foxtail is gonna hurt her and cost at least $300 to remove.
Anyway, it is still a good hike, and we have fun and meet our usual friends, including the perky three-legged dog who doesn't know he's disabled. There is also the beautiful little English spaniel whose name is Olive, but I call her Freckles.
Then we're back home, and I go over every inch of the Belgian, looking for anomalies. I do some minor housekeeping, then I begin transporting houseplants to the various sinks for watering.
The Belgian and I go for several short walks, one of which is to retrieve the mail. There is a pretty Crate & Barrell catalog. She naps on the fleece, which I have dragged out onto the brick patio. It's sunny now, with a cool breeze. I am reading "Kabul In Winter" by Ann Jones.
Other stuff happens, and then I am off to my 3:00 appointment with an elderly Wheaten Terrier. She is so strange, but we're bonding. Today she's not up for a long hike, so we wander around the nearby roads and trails.
Then I go back to the kitty house and prepare their supper, change the water, check the litterbox. Next I have to round them up, because they're supposed to be in the house over night. Oh, I also pick up the mail. Boring - no good catalogs. I sit for a while, outside near the pool, holding the little girl cat.
Then I'm back to the primary house. I take the Belgian for a short walk, and then I fix her supper. She watches from her Down-Stay position, and doesn't budge until it's all ready and I stand back and say "Okay!"
After that, I get the Ketel One bottle out of the freezer, pour a modest swig of it into a glass, pop in an olive, and go back out to the patio. I read my book some more, and the Belgian curls up at my feet. It's way too cool to swim, but the pool sparkles all fresh and aqua. In a minute I will start watering the outdoor plants that are not on the irrigation drip. But OMG: loving dog, icy vodka, warm sun, cool breeze, and the ability to read: it doesn't get much better than this.
Then I wake up for real around 5:30, and the dog and I shuffle off to the main house (after potty breaks for each of us: me in the guest house bathroom, she under the redwoods down the driveway) and I fix her breakfast. She eats so enthusiastically.
Then I go back to the guest house and make coffee. It is 6:00 and I have a television that works, so I tune in to "Angel", which is showing the episode about Darla's turning (way back when in the Virginia colony). I make the bed, then curl up on it with my coffee and a cashmere throw-blankie. The dog rejoins me and nods out.
After "Angel", on a different channel, there is BtVS, and one of my favorite eps, "Ted". I watch this while brushing my hair, washing my face, putting in my contacts, and applying sunscreen (yes, it is still overcast, but I have been living in California for some 30 years now). Once Ted has shorted out for good, I gather our gear and the dog and I hop into my car and go up the road another mile or so. I park down the driveway of another client. Leaving the pup in the Honda, I go and release the kitties for the day, and I put their dry food and water in an accessible place on the deck. I also take the morning paper, but I don't ever do the crossword because I am totally bored with crosswords.
Then the Belgian and I go for our hike. She is on the leash more than usual, because I am desperately trying to keep her from ingesting some sort of foxtail - ooh, bumper crop this year. So far, so good. Alas, a tick attacks my plump and desirable lower middle back. I know immediately that it's a tick, and within 30 minutes, I have removed it using a mirror and tweezers. It is still a great big welt, but better a tick on me than a foxtail on her. There is no trade-off, just the fact that an embedded foxtail is gonna hurt her and cost at least $300 to remove.
Anyway, it is still a good hike, and we have fun and meet our usual friends, including the perky three-legged dog who doesn't know he's disabled. There is also the beautiful little English spaniel whose name is Olive, but I call her Freckles.
Then we're back home, and I go over every inch of the Belgian, looking for anomalies. I do some minor housekeeping, then I begin transporting houseplants to the various sinks for watering.
The Belgian and I go for several short walks, one of which is to retrieve the mail. There is a pretty Crate & Barrell catalog. She naps on the fleece, which I have dragged out onto the brick patio. It's sunny now, with a cool breeze. I am reading "Kabul In Winter" by Ann Jones.
Other stuff happens, and then I am off to my 3:00 appointment with an elderly Wheaten Terrier. She is so strange, but we're bonding. Today she's not up for a long hike, so we wander around the nearby roads and trails.
Then I go back to the kitty house and prepare their supper, change the water, check the litterbox. Next I have to round them up, because they're supposed to be in the house over night. Oh, I also pick up the mail. Boring - no good catalogs. I sit for a while, outside near the pool, holding the little girl cat.
Then I'm back to the primary house. I take the Belgian for a short walk, and then I fix her supper. She watches from her Down-Stay position, and doesn't budge until it's all ready and I stand back and say "Okay!"
After that, I get the Ketel One bottle out of the freezer, pour a modest swig of it into a glass, pop in an olive, and go back out to the patio. I read my book some more, and the Belgian curls up at my feet. It's way too cool to swim, but the pool sparkles all fresh and aqua. In a minute I will start watering the outdoor plants that are not on the irrigation drip. But OMG: loving dog, icy vodka, warm sun, cool breeze, and the ability to read: it doesn't get much better than this.