we are the cosmos made conscious

Like oversized mushrooms brought out by light showers, a passel of tents have sprouted all over the campground. Hundreds of them. Everywhere. Boys crowd the roads and congregate around the bathrooms like small well-behaved hooligans. Yes, it is the annual Boy Scout Jamboree which has attracted boys of all ages from all over Ontario, Quebec, and even New York State. We talked to one family who were from near West Point, a 6 hour drive away.

Walking the dogs has been a bit like dodgeball with Adia straining at the leash, tail wagging wildly, trying to get to every passer-by.

I have not been offered help to cross the road.

Sadly, it is raining on and off. No big deal for us, but I think a big downer for those excited kids trying to enjoy a weekend of camping.

Last night we cuddled in the camper and watched Brian Cox’s Planets series about Saturn. Interesting. He fires up the imagination and turns science into magic. After that I watched David Attenbourgh’s program about Birds of Paradise. Another fascinating piece of film narrated by someone passionate.

We got the dogs out for a short walk this morning (not counting the 6:30 am outing of course), skirting acres of mud puddles. It wasn’t long enough for Adia, but Spike was a trooper and keen for most of the trek. They need to go out again (its almost 4pm) but the rain is keeping us inside. Oh, the walking… all our normal walk places are covered in tents so we are venturing out on more muddy roads. (just in from taking Adia out - the roads are slick mud but if I take the exact right route I can mostly keep on grass)

We sat here, in the rain, tummies rumbling, and decided on a trip to the village for lunch: a greasy, yucky, McDonalds lunch. Yuck. It was good at the time, but by the time we got back to camp I was almost ready to puke. Why am I such a slow learner?

I hadn’t prepared Adia with Trazadone ahead of time but popped one into her anyway (disguised in a chicken heart of course), moved the wire crate into the bedroom, and left her with a filled Kong. The app on my tablet was recording… we were gone 50 minutes and during that time there was less than a minute of howling. A bit more whimpering, but I don’t think it would have been heard outside the camper. And who did most of the howling… Mr. Naughty! Poor little guy has taken the loss of his sisters pretty hard as he never would have made a peep before.

“The rain is falling all around,

It falls on field and tree,

It rains on the umbrellas here,

And on the ships at sea.” 

~Robert Louis Stevenson

“We are the cosmos made conscious and life is the means by which the universe understands itself.”

~Brian Cox

never dance in a puddle

It’s raining, it’s pouring… but we are cuddled up in the camper, entertained by CNN’s coverage of the Trump/Whistleblower fiasco. Some music would be a lovely change.

I’ll let Adia tell you about the past few days:

Hi. It’s me, Adia. I’ve been having lots of fun. We got into the truck the other day and ended up back at the house home. It was great cause I could run around to stretch my legs. Being on a leash all the time is hard, but it’s not too bad as I can snack on the goose poop all over the place. Laura gets mad at me - she just doesn’t know how yummy those poops are.

The night we were at the house was school night. The teacher said that I was a superstar and I know she is right. I’m so smart. She gave Laura a piece of paper with words to say that I had passed the class. Maybe I’ll do another one to show everyone that I’m even smarter.

The next day I got to run around some more and then we got in the truck again and came back to our camper home. I like this home a lot even though I have to be tied to a rope when I’m outside. There is so much to smell and see. There are some small animals that dart around and run up trees. Laura says they are called squirrels and I’ll tell you, I’d like to catch one. I bet if I was free I’d be able to run fast enough to get one. There are also the geese that poop and leave snacks. They aren’t that interesting. Laura says that I might like to do some coursing next year.

Laura sometimes swears a bit when she steps on one of my bones. She says they should be bright orange so they show up on the floor. I don’t see what the big deal is, can’t she just smell where they are?

I wish it wasn’t raining so that we could go for a long walk. I like doing that. Laura lets me sniff around quite a bit, and then sometimes gets me to walk beside her. When we pass people they are always saying how beautiful I am. I think they are right. They like to pet me and talk about how shiny and nice my fur is. Carm says that in the days coming up it will be boy scout weekend and that there will hundreds and maybe even thousands of boys in the campground. I hope they all want to pet me.

Adia

As you can see, Adia has adjusted well to camping. She’s been great, but we’ve been missing Bella and Kabira, perhaps more than when we are at home. They loved camping and going for walks - the two of them would march side by side, steps in sync, a perfect pair. Yes, I miss them.

Spike has been perky for the walks in the early morning, but after that he toodles along at a snail's pace. It might be his new anti-pull harness, or just that he stiffens up as the day wears on. I’ve been reading about CBD oil for dogs and wonder if I should get some for him.

We haven’t done another proper howling test since I wrote about the last one - that will maybe come next week. Or maybe this weekend because there will be so much boy scout noise that a bit of howling will hardly make a dent. Oh the horrors!

Pat has been camping not far from us so we’ve been doing a bit of socializing with her. I wonder how she is managing with this rain though!

“Never dance in a puddle when there's a hole in your shoe (it's always best to take your shoes off first).”

~John D. Rhodes

friends and family

So much fun has been had since I last wrote that I barely know where to start. 

Friends E & L arrived friday afternoon in time for supper. They set up camp across the road from us, really just a hop skip and a jump away. We sat around outside until everyone was starving for supper. Instant pot to the rescue - saute sausage, add sauce & dried pasta, shut lid and a few minutes later, voila! We sat and laughed well into the night - it seemed like there was so much to share with each other. 

Saturday morning we enjoyed our coffees in the sun and then Carm and E went off on a quest for breakfast and being manly men, to get some meat for supper. L and I kept the home fires burning - toast was good enough for us. Plus I wasn’t ready to leave Adia alone in the camper with so many weekend campers around.

Once the men were back we went our separate ways, walking dogs, relaxing, and waiting for Pat and Olaf and Freya to arrive.

What a party Saturday night! Gosh, it was a blast. We ate supper squished around a rickety old picnic table and then had a roaring campfire. I’m pretty sure we were a noisy bunch but I figured I’m so quiet the rest of the time I’ve earned some noise minutes ;-)

It was though, perhaps a bit too much fun for me… I tried to keep up with little brother Olaf (who is a giant of a man compared to me), and paid for it for in spades. I will never try to be the cool older sister… no, not me! I’m not cool… I’m old and decrepit and a little bit pathetic. Yesterday I could barely get out of bed to entertain our lunch guests. Mom and Dad arrived at 11 on the dot - I dragged myself out of bed for a bit and I’m ashamed to say I didn’t last for long. Thankfully Mom brought lunch so I didn’t have to do much…

What a weekend! I hope to do a slightly less alcoholic reenactment soon!

Through all of this the dogs were great and Adia got right into the fun. We sure lucked out with her. She’s taken to camping like she was born to camp.

You’ll have to excuse all the blurry photos, most were done without a flash and my little underwater camera is not the greatest at night shots.

“It was like a Russian party, Arkady thought. People got drunk, recklessly confessed their love, spilled their festering dislike, had hysterics, marched out, were dragged back in and revived with brandy. It wasn't a French salon.”

~Martin Cruz Smith