When I bought my house … on the road home … almost 15 years ago (GASP!!), I planned to sell it when I was 65 and use the equity to partially fund my retirement.
I say “planned” VERY loosely. I have never been a great one to plan.
But, my 65th birthday fell during the pandemic AND property values were not what I had hoped and there was no real need so …
Now, though, as I approach 66, there is some need based on my original purchase decisions. And I must make some decisions.
Currently, I am working with financial folks as well as thinking about what I want to do.
It is not clear cut thinking at all!!
I have lived in this house, on this property, with beloved pets … for nearly 15 years. That is longer than I have lived in any house, on any property in my entire life!
Still.
It is a house and a piece of land and my prior experience is that although it was difficult to leave places that I loved and enjoyed, I have been fortunate that the next place has been wonderful and more enjoyable.
So.
I am entering a period of thinking about what to do. This kept me awake for the last several nights … NOT helpful.
But, last night, in the wakeful hours, I remembered something from somewhere: “Do the next right thing”. Right, then. That thought gave me peace and I slept.
Today, I put in motion some things that will give me the information that I need to do the next right thing.
It is pretty rough and I have much to learn about editing, but I am pleased with this first try at capturing a few of the games Emmett and I play.
My thoughts on games:
learning goes easier when it is fun and there are rewards for progress (treats or pats and scratches!) AND we always end on a high note, even if that means doing something very simple that I know will be successful.
I am asking Emmett for his full attention, so I need to remember to give him MY full attention. (Thank you @shelly.and.eiger: Instagram friends in Scotland)
Small steps when learning something new. I spend pre-play time thinking about steps … then we do as much or as little as we are able without frustration or confusion. And if necessary, I stop and we do something easy. I rethink for the next session.
Games and learning new things exercises brains as well as bodies. It is kind of interesting that Emmett gets tired after 5-10 minutes of a game … more tired than after a long (20-30 minute) walk. Even inside! So the games are a great way to get both of us up and moving, even a little bit. Sometimes, inside, we “play” for just 2-3 minutes. I keep a list of things to do and rotate.
So, the video:
The outside bit is our start at learning “STOP” and then sitting or down from a distance. The inside part entailed 4 cameras: my Canon 60D DSLR, Omni Action Cam, iPhone on Omni 4 Gimbal and iPad. I wanted to experiment with putting together snippets and telling a story as well as capturing the action as it happened while we played “Find it”.
The rewards for these particular sessions were pats, scratches and voice praise only. We have played or practiced these before. The other reward is more of a technique … the reward being doing the really fun thing (getting Wubba) after doing what I asked: stop, wait, find. It is a kind of riff on: “if you eat your vegetables, you get dessert”. The idea is that if you do as I ask, even if it is something you’d maybe rather not do … you often then get to do what you really want to do.
That’s it … about 1 hour of video between all of the cameras, condensed into 6 1/2 minutes :) .
Meanwhile, Spring!
All of the things that looked like dead sticks in the woods (little upright dead sticks, not Emmett’s kind of sticks) … now have green leaves ready to burst:
The Western Larch (deciduous pine) have baby needles.
Since I began this blog, in June 2007, I have lost 2 dogs: Karl (cancer) and Bear (old age), and 2 cats: Bob (age and illness) and Auggie (to a cowardly, soul-less human in a truck).
Prior to blogging, but while in Montana, I lost another dog and cat: Zack (cancer) and Gus (probably mountain lion).
Each loss has had its own unique path of grief and … recovery. Recovery is not quite the right word. There is forever a “hole” in the heart for the lost one and forever a place of love and happy memory.
Auggie’s loss has been particularly brutal for me. Auggie was such a beautiful creature: beautiful in body and spirit … affectionate as well as an avid hunter and a unique personality.
No, I am not in deep depths of despair and most of my days are spent in joyous time with Emmett, in this house and woods that I love, doing work that I enjoy, baking, cooking, crafting … but there are times … there are times when I miss Auggie so very much and have to fight a raging anger over a person taking him as well as a heartbreaking sense of loss that he is not here with Emmett and me.
There is one of those statistics about cats that go outside … something along the line of average life span being 3 years.
Auggie was 7 years and 6 months old when he died. He beat the “odds”, but I cannot say that that is any consolation. I have said to myself, whenever I have had a cat … a cat that WANTS to be outside … that it is better that they live their desired life, even if shortened … and I do really believe that, but as a human caretaker and lover of my pets, it is not easy when the worst happens.
I have had a dog and a cat most of my time in Montana.
I don’t know.
Right now, I am mostly peaceful about my household being Emmett and me.
I have looked at the shelter cats and dogs and tried to imagine adding …
Emmett and I have been in the woods and on the state land as much as we can.
The walking is good on the game trails. Vegetation is low and we are taking advantage…
And last week, the weather was cool in the morning, warm in the afternoon … perfect for our out and about jaunts.
The green roof is actually my neighbor’s work shop. My house is obscured by trees and the end marker (red square). This top view looks very tree’d in, but in reality it is fairly open.
We have been taking advantage of the good walking and low vegetation because as the vegetation fills in, it becomes difficult to see things like, you know, bears. I always have bear spray and I keep a sharp eye out for movement of any sort. FWP (Fish Wildlife Parks) noted some weeks ago that bears were out and about.
Crazy enough, these bears were not out on the state land, but 40 feet from the “office end” of my house.
Sunday morning, about 6:50 a.m., the motion detector at the end of my driveway went off. I didn’t see a vehicle or hear the midway detector … but then, Emmett ran to the window and barked and … 2 of these three were “standing” against a tree just off the edge of the side yard.
After a little indecisive dance: watch/go get camera … I got camera and phone and thankfully got a few photos as well as called my neighbors. I know neighbor Mike walks out to get their newspaper in the morning and I wanted to let him know.
I do not have the makings of either a wildlife photographer OR a great eye witness :( … The three bears “seemed” like 3 adults and I even imagined Grizzly humps … RATS.
Not a great photo, but it is fairly easy to see that the front bear is Mama and the “cubs”, albeit LARGE cubs are smaller and they are “black bears”.
So much for my powers of observation. I am thankful that I did get a couple of photos that were recognizable and in thinking of the number of bad/blurry/too light/too dark bear photos over the years … I gave myself a head thump and instead of leaving my camera in Manual mode, am leaving it in Auto mode … so I can pick it up and shoot. It has only taken me 16 years to figure that out. I normally shoot in Manual, but that is when I have time to think.
So … hopefully … next wildlife opportunity, I might get better photos.
Just a few notes about bears … these, as well as any that I have ever encountered, want as little to do with up close to me as I do to them. These 3 took off when Emmett’s barking escalated … even though we were in the house with windows closed. The danger comes from surprising a bear or coming between Mama and cubs … generally. So, while I definitely keep watch for our safety and out of respect for the wildlife, I don’t fret (too much :) ). I will admit that after seeing these three, I have been EXTREMELY watchful, but the other thing … I do not have any food stuff around my house. Although, they are technically Omnivores, they tend to eat mostly fruit and vegetables … plus wasps, hornets, honey, i.e. humans and dogs and cats are not on their preferred meal list so the thought that they might be hunting us is not accurate. Even though I have seen a number of bears at this house, they are “pass through” bears. There is nothing to keep them here. They are moving higher/lower depending on the season.
So.
Emmett and I went out about 45 minutes after the bears left. I wanted to see what Emmett would do. He went immediately to where they had been and followed their scent.
I kept Emmett from going near the road and we didn’t follow off the property to our West, but it was very interesting to watch Emmett detect their path.
I could not see what they were interested in up the tree. My only guess is that maybe there was an old wasp nest that they could smell ???
Later…
Yes, it snowed! I wonder if the bears thought they maybe should have slept in a bit longer …
My little house’s front door opens into a small space which has a coat closet, small area for boots, shoes, hats, gloves (I call it my mudroom :) ), and the washer and dryer. I.E. the front door opens into a combination foyer/mudroom/laundry room. There is an overhead light but that light was necessary on the sunniest day. I had a dream of some natural light via a door with glass.
Dream come true – today!!
It wasn’t so much the door as having someone install the door and after Handy Bears Handyman family installed my mailbox, I asked about the door and some other things … and then ordered the door and new hardware (lock/deadbolt).
I had seen the door I wanted at my local hardware: craftsman style with a window. The doors are fiberglass and since I was replacing a door with existing hinges and existing holes for lock and deadbolt, I had to provide precise measurements for hinges, hardware “holes” and height/width.
I measured 3x on 3 different sheets of paper to make sure I got same thing each time. Above was what I emailed to the hardware …
Thankfully, all was good … some minor adjustments for the top hinge which Handy Bears was able to do on the wood frame.
The door fits nice and snug. The lockset works beautifully. The old lockset was loose in the door and its insides were not moving well. The old door … was never meant to be a front door. I think it was a “house to garage” door. I tried numerous ways to seal up around it and it was always drafty.
AND … there is natural light in my little entry.
I am SO, SO happy!!!
And that is not all. I had exterior light fixtures that I purchased YEARS ago and just did not install.
Replacing an unattractive brass fixture … brushed nickel like the new door hardware. That black print is a sticker that I need to remove.
When it warms up (see last photo), I will get out my trim paint and touch up the trim. I MIGHT paint the trim black instead of the gray, though …. thinking about it! The “nicks” are from the temporary screen that I have used in the summer. I’m not going with the temp screen this year … I might have a wood screen made, that I can pop in and out. I mostly only want a screen here, early morning when it is cool.
While all of installation was going on, Emmett and I did some training with 5 year old son of Handy Bears. All had been pre-arranged and Eric did beautifully at doing as I asked. Emmett is bark-y with children and we worked on that. Eric was also in the house part of the time. He had his tablet to do some school work and entertainment. He ended up curled up on the daybed in the boy’s room. He could hear and go see his folks and they him. Emmett and I were in my office. All of that, also helped with Emmett as 5 year old boys are not quiet … they run and jump and stomp :) So, we (Emmett and I) practiced being calm and just watching.
Overall, it was a productive and exciting morning and I think all of us are tired!
Oh … the other surprise to the day…
It snowed.
I think there were 3 snow squalls while work was happening. In between, the sun came out.
But, a good time was had by all and my little house has a new front door!
