I was listening to a favourite band on Youtube, and off to the side of the screen, the various band members' pictures were featured, with words printed across them. And for a brief moment I thought the lead singer's name must be Vip Tickets.
The Simple Life, Back to Basics, Urban Homesteading, Gardening, Dogs, and other Random Musings when I really should be doing something else...
Thursday 25 July 2024
Tuesday 16 July 2024
Rain rain rain
The past week has been amazing for rain in our area. Torrential downpours, thunder and lightning that feels extremely close, and then mini pauses between storms to give us a chance to recuperate before the next onslaught. They're saying 125 mm have fallen just today. We keep having to drain water from our 20 x 40' pool because it's threatening to overflow. We've dug four long trenches from the house, across the lawn to the street, to channel pooling water away from the foundations. The yard looks like a war zone now, but it beats having the basement flood. We will have to hire someone to come with heavy equipment and grade the yard away from the house. It has sunk over the years around the foundations. Thankful to have Son #1 here to help with the digging!
His friend sent a video yesterday -- he was riding the bus in Oakville, and the water on the road was so deep, it was washing into the bus and across the floor. Another friend said lightning hit his apartment building, and his wife had to go pick up his kid from daycare early because their roof collapsed. Whew!
My garden is also revealing its low spots where water is pooling 8 inches deep. The raspberries are looking moldy. But nothing seems to be flattened or drowned. I really think we're going to reach a point where all vegetable growing has to be done under cover, in climate-controlled structures that can catch the water and distribute it at a reasonable pace. The weather is too unpredictable, and nothing can handle such a deluge on a regular basis. And I'm pretty sure this is just the first of many storms.
Friday 5 July 2024
Funny dog
Brio is almost twelve now, still acting like a puppy other than a little hesitancy when it comes to jumping on the couch or going down stairs. He is my constant companion, not liking to let me out of his sight for a moment, so it wasn't unusual, as I was cooking today, that he was with me in the kitchen. He's always under foot, so I've learned to sort of ignore him.
I was grating cheese when I became aware that Brio was sitting at my feet staring up at me very pointedly. He has been taught to sit when asking for a treat, not jumping up or trying to climb my leg, and cheese is his favourite thing on the planet, so I knew what he was asking. I continued to work, so he scootched a couple of inches closer and sat again, quite emphatically. Thump. Just in case I missed the point the first time. So of course I had to reward him for asking so politely.
He has a new habit now, too. I let him sleep on the foot of the bed at night, and usually he wakes me by tiptoeing up and staring at me, silently, laser-like, an inch from my face until I wake up from sheer telepathy. But lately he has been creeping up and pressing himself against my back, stretched out like a hot water bottle, and then every couple of minutes he'll bump me with his hip, like he's a hockey player checking an opponent into the wall. If I don't respond, he'll bump me again. He does this every few minutes until I give up and get out of bed. At which point he leaps from the bed, shaking to rattle the tags on his collar like a tambourine. She's up! Let's go!
Who says animals can't talk?