dog – OldPlaidCamper

Tiny home

We needed to be across the island earlier this week and opted to stay overnight in a tiny house. I’ve been fascinated by tiny homes for years, and have spent many a happy hour poring over design details and reading stories of folks living in small dwellings.

Our temporary residence was very well put together, and included a kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom squeezed into a tiny footprint. My question has always been “but could a person (or two adults and a dog) really live in such a small space?”

With housing costs rocketing, some demand could be met by smaller and more affordable housing. I think this is to be encouraged, although it seems tough on younger generations that these are the only options when earlier generations had a wider choice. Most start small, but there’s small and then there’s small. Although I might have jumped at the chance! An invisible first world problem perhaps, but it’s there…

Enough of the furrowed brow stuff. This isn’t meant to be a piece about solving the housing crisis, but I will say if more jurisdictions gave permission for tiny houses to be built, they could be one piece of a housing puzzle solution…

I said enough of that! Setting all the debate stuff aside, we really enjoyed staying in a small home, and I also enjoyed fantasizing that yes, I could live like this all the time. (Especially if we had maybe one more room, and perhaps just a touch more storage?!) Oops, tiny house fail for that man…

The entrance into the home site had a large white lilac growing beside and over the gate – what a perfume – so our morning coffee on the small deck was caffeine and lilac flavoured, making for a bright and strong start!

Must leave it here, as I’m pretty sure I’ve got some tiny house plans and costings stashed away… Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

May ok!

What a relief to be off to a sunny May start! We’ve fingers crossed the sunshine will continue, if not every day, then for more than we enjoyed in April. Like the hockey playoffs or the end of a Premier League season, it’s the hope that kills you…

May Day morning sunshine on the inner harbour

I’ll keep it brief this week, and with a hopeful spirit, signing off with a few images from our hikes in a mostly bright May month so far. May ok!

May Day afternoon sunshine at our favourite cove

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Not raining

Definitely on a creative streak with these post headings recently. Looking forward to “Actually sunny” for next week. Can’t be entirely sure that’s going to happen, as the forecast – and much anticipated – long spells of sunshine due at the start of the current week have been somewhat late arriving.

“I can see my shadow, so there’s some sun, yes?”

At the time of writing – Wednesday afternoon – we’re in more of a grey skies and feeling the potential for some warmth instead of bright sunshine sort of a pattern. Hints of brightness and a couple of brief sunny spells, but less than the forecast indicated. You should see my pouty face.

Still, almost sunny and not quite raining are both improvements on the cold and damp spring we’ve enjoyed to date, so we’re optimistic that the extended warmth and sunshine forecast for Friday and Saturday arrives on time!

If not, I’d recommend not reading this next week as there is likely to be something of a toddler tantrum. I’ll enjoy my tantrum – who doesn’t revel in their own childishness from time to time? – but it’s best avoided by everyone else. Ignore him, just attention seeking…

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

“Shall we sit here and wait for the sun?” “Sure!”

Stop the press! What’s this? Thursday morning – actually sunny? Why, yes!

Raining

Scout and I decided to wait for a break in the rain before heading out. After three or four days, we gave up on waiting and off we went. It was raining.

We enjoyed the rainy view across the inner harbour:

Can we get a close up on that, confirm the rain?

Then we went to look out across the inlet to Hitacu. Scout was distracted by the mirror dog following her every move:

It was still raining, giving the place a glistening and spruced up look:

We thought we saw something pop up to say “hi” but missed it. We waited, but I think they decided it was drier beneath the surface…

When we turned for home it started to rain even more heavily. Really?!

When the hail started, even though we were very close to home, Scout insisted we take shelter and wait for it to ease up before continuing:

It’s now several days later – we’re probably still under this tree…

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend! (What was that? Our weekend forecast for here? More rain!)

An extra helping of greens?

If you’d asked me that at school, an offer at one of the delicious late 1970s school dinners I enjoyed, I might have said (politely, of course) no thank you. I’d have been thinking “that’s not green, it’s more grey in colour…” but wouldn’t have said so out loud.

Anyway, as we’ve been enjoying more greys and rains than bright days – Thursday being a welcome exception – I thought I’d keep it brief this week, a healthy snack and offering of extra greens to follow on from last week. Better that, blogging wise, than the equivalent plateful of lukewarm creamed potatoes, questionable mince and colourless vegetables. Oh, and spotted dick. Google that last one, I dare you. Did we snigger? 10 year olds? Of course we did.

“Green? Yes, but somewhat muted don’t you think?”

I think on that dubious note, it’s best we leave it here, and hope for brighter days and more wholesome inspiration in time for next week. Spotted dick. Tee hee…

“No, I’m not listening – not until you grow up!”

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Spring greens and a not too shaggy dog tale

I knew I shouldn’t have been too excited about spring appearing last week – since then, we’ve had a couple of cold and dry days, and now we’re in the middle of a rainy stretch, one where we’ll far exceed the expected monthly rainfall long before April reaches the midpoint. Oh well, it’ll keep everything green!

The other day Scout and I hit the nearby beach at low tide and we enjoyed the greenery revealed, some welcome brightness on a generally overcast/rainy morning. The chill seemed to have deterred other walkers and we had the place to ourselves, aside from the crows and eagles. And everything else I didn’t spot.

Crows! Now, aren’t they clever birds? Scout was desperate for a spa day on one of the cold yet sunny mornings, and with a little time on my (poorly manicured) hands, I was happy to oblige. To get going, I warmed up by trimming my beard, and then… nope, that was it for me. Scout’s turn. Soft brush, then hard brush to remove the shedding hair and undercoat of shedding hair. Although Scout is a shedding dog, we’re fortunate she only sheds once a year, and that her shedding season only lasts twelve months. She sheds at least five times her own body weight in hair each year.

What has this to do with crows or spring greens? Getting there, but don’t feel you have to stick around for this one – an un-shaggy dog tale…

*Is this one about me? I’ll stick around…*

A couple of crows were watching from the spring green branches hanging over our yard. Given the tremendous excitement a PlaidCamper spa day can generate, who could blame them for wanting to get closer? They hopped across to the little fence screening our yard, clearly excited. Scout has long ago learned to ignore the tricky ways of crows and their cousins, having too often been made to look foolish when she makes a friendly approach, only for the crow to hop back just out of leash range. And anyway, she was totally blissed out from the pampering to care about the crows.

We wound up the activities, avoiding the need to take before and after selfies for the Insta. I know, and so sorry to disappoint, but trust me, there wasn’t really a discernible difference. As we opened the back door, a crow cawed behind me and flew down from the fence to pick up a clump of dog hair. Away it flew into the forest. Scout shepherded me indoors, and when I turned back, down came the crow again for another clump. I didn’t clear up the rest of the hair – laziness, or curiosity about the crows? You decide…

By the following morning, all dog hair was gone. I like to think there is a happy crow couple out there enjoying their newly insulated space, yet looking at each other wondering if perhaps it smells slightly doggy and do you need a bath dear?

*Spa day? Me? Please, for the love of dog, spare me!*

Scout continues to look good, professionally groomed or not, and she continues with shedding season, so please don’t look too closely at our rugs. I’m thinking about getting in touch with the crows, see if they’d like to come inside, help themselves to all the dog hair they can carry?

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful long weekend!

Bits and bobs…

…bobbing along! Quite happy that spring hasn’t entirely abandoned us – to be honest, we’ve had more bright and sunny days than not the past week or two, although it’s grey and likely to rain today and through the weekend.

We’ve enjoyed the bright mornings that developed into positively warm afternoons, with more and more signs of spring popping out. A lone daffodil, the little brown birds peeping and peeping out from the hedges, frisky bald eagles chasing and challenging up above.

The harbours have been busier, with more boats and kayaks appearing each day as the town prepares to get livelier as the days grow more hospitable.

We were looking across to Hitacu yesterday morning, and I’d just said to Scout how we hadn’t seen a seal for a while when up one popped to say hello. It circled the same patch of water where the calm harbour transitions into the slightly choppier inlet waters, bobbing up and diving down until we lost sight of it. Probably something tasty below the surface. Fun to see, and I managed a great photo:

I tried taking a carefully composed shot of the new greenery promising to emerge, but Scout had other ideas as to what passes for excitement and the results I’ve shared speak to that. She’s right, and I’ll wait until there’s more colourful blossom and a day when she’s on a longer leash…

So there we are, happy enough to be bobbing along through the springtime splendour. These little chaps below appeared quite content, hanging around for a less than perfect photo:

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Spring Break (free range)

Finally, after many false starts and disagreements, the calendar and weather decided to align and reach a decision – spring!

To check it was really so, we went down to Combers Beach for an earlyish walk, so Scout could run a few mad beach circles on near empty sands, and we could enjoy a second cup and feel the warm sunshine.

Combers is often a windswept space, but we could tell from the still treetops in the forest fringe that the morning was a calm one.

What a delight to be able to shed off a few late winter blues, let the shoulders drop and breathe in the new season.

There were a few families turning up to enjoy a coastal spring break, and we enjoyed watching one winter-wrapped family of four gradually peel off the unnecessary outer layers as the sun gently warmed them up.

The two children, no more than six or seven years old, were almost beside themselves with excitement at being on the beach. They beach combed and splashed and laughed their way up and down the sands, checking out the logs and streams. Playground or classroom? Both! Free range, a spring without end? (Slightly obscure music reference) Totally taken with where they were and what they were doing – wonderful to see!

We’ve fingers crossed that the last of the late winter weather is behind us, and we’re looking forward to more spring!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

What’s all this?!

Got back to the warmer west coast last weekend after a brief and chilly (but chilled) eastern Canadian trip, and hoped to see early spring signs – nope, not for now. Hmm…

A very short placeholder this week, before getting back to more complete posts next week, once we’ve defrosted/dug ourselves out!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend – I’ll leave you with a taster and unsubtle hint as to where we were for a few days last week:

Coffee break and a blog break…

…stepping away for a week or two, and heading out of town for a week or two for a change of scene and some time to recharge and refresh.

Before signing off until March, here are a couple of photographs from a wonderfully welcome almost warm and very sunny spring day we enjoyed earlier this week.

Looking forward to a few more days like this as we transition into a hopefully early spring!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

	Kelly MacKay on Ontario north woods – fu…
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	Kelly MacKay on Prairie songs
	plaidcamper on Prairie songs