Random thoughts I have had this week. You're welcome.
1) Last weekend I was walking Hannah and there were two tiny squirrels wrestling by a tree in front of us. Now, if you are someone without a dog with a high prey drive, you probably would not have even noticed these TEENY TINY squirrels, but I noted them because if Hannah noticed them, she would rip my shoulder out trying to get to them.
ANYWAY. They scurried up the tree when we were half a block away and I didn't worry about them anymore because Hannah cannot climb. Then, when we were within five steps of the tree, they FELL OUT OF THE TREE. They were wrestling so hard and were just babies who didn't know their own limitations, and they FELL OUT. And they seemed a bit dazed, so I did some fancy dog training bullshit (I spun Hannah around and started walking back in the direction from which we came) and we went around the other way. That's all. I didn't see any dead squirrels when we walked by later, so I assume they made it.
Also, where do the squirrels go? Like, the trees are naked right now, so I can see most of the squirrel nests in our neighborhood and there are WAY MORE SQUIRRELS THAN NESTS. Where are they going when it's negative eleventy billion degrees outside?
2) Tangentially related, but I recently listened to a podcast episode where a dog walker found a dead body. Friends, I have worries about this. Hannah and I generally walk well-trodden paths, but there's a park we regularly go to that isn't as busy and I sometimes worry that she and I are going to be out on our 6am walk and stumble upon something bad. Please take some time to remind me in the comments that finding dead bodies is extremely rare and my dog has a terrible nose for things.
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| Is it here we will find the dead body? |
3) Suzanne recently wrote a post about how when she pictures bloggers, she sort of assumes they are all the same height as her. I do not assume this because when I met up with Sarah and Anne recently, I felt like the Jolly Purple Giant. I am almost 5'7" if you want to know and these two ladies are teeny. But I also sort of assume everyone looks vaguely like me (dark hair, bad teeth, roughly my age, and apparently gigantic).
4) Wednesday and Friday are so hard for me in terms of exercise. Saturday and Sunday are generally easy on a regular weekend without a lot of obligations because I can just do it whenever. Monday and Thursday I can usually get yoga in during lunch at the student union. Tuesday I do a fitness class at the university. So that leaves Wednesdays and Fridays. The rush to get home from work, walk the dog, exercise, and deal with dinner is very challenging. One of them can usually be my day off, but then I have to grit through it and exercise on the other, which usually leads to a late dinner and not enough sleep. Argh. Why is scheduling so hard?!
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| This angle is hysterical. She does not really look like this. She's BEAUTIFUL. |
5) Let's talk about the cat again. She's doing better in that on Wednesday she had her first solid BM in about a month. Woot woot! She is still hungry all the time. And she has basically stopped cuddling with me at all in favor of hanging out by her food dish and crying for food. Maybe as her gut settles, she'll feel more like cuddling? She is starting to play again, going for her beloved brown ball, knocking pens off the table, and throwing hair ties around like she just don't care. She'll be back at the vet for blood tests in a couple of weeks and it seems like we'll do a taper so she won't be on this crazy amount of steroids forever.
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Have you ever had squirrels fall out of a tree right in front of you? What hug team are you on? Do you worry about finding dead bodies?
Squirrels! So I walk Rex with a waist leash and the number of times I have been pulled to a run because of squirrels. Barkley was the same but being only 50 pounds it was much more manageable. Also, once Barkley CAUGHT a squirrel by cornering it on our garage wall and chasing it back and forth until it became exhausted and fell off. It was probably Barkley's best day ever. I don't worry about Rex finding a human body, but he's found plenty of other dead things. I feel fairly confident this won't be a problem we'll have. Let's manifest this anyway. LET OUR DOGS NOT FIND DEAD PEOPLE THX.
ReplyDeleteJolly Purple Giant, lol, I get that, I get that. I am 5'7" and I seem to have a lot of petite friends. If we are out and I'm wearing heels, I'm towering over everyone. I think of myself as a friendly moose at parties. I know you are very self conscious about your teeth but can I say that your smile is beautiful? I hope you don't mind me saying that. From my perspective your teeth are just fine and you have a lovely smile!
What else, what else. Oh yes, the hug thing. I am such a hugger and I will initiate but I have to remember NOT EVERYONE ENJOYS ATTACKS FROM THE HUG MONSTER. Covid was hard on me, friend. I mean I can usually tell by someone's body language if they want a hug or not, but I always default to hugging. I'm also an arm-squeezer, a shoulder patter, and if someone cries in front of me I wrap myself around them like a cardigan of love. I NEED TO REMEMBER NOT EVERYONE LIKES THIS. I generally remind myself of that and will if any bloggers ever make their way up here. I should just ask up front.
Zelda sounds like she's feeling well! I'm glad to hear it!
There are many fat squirrels on our nearby trail, including one ro two red squirrels. They do well at a bird feeder that backs onto the trail in one spot.
ReplyDeleteHugs are one thing, but the French Canadian thing of air-kissing the cheek was quite another. TG I only had a very brief encounter with the situation.
I NEVER thought of you or Nicole as 5'7! I guess that's because I'm 5'3ish and always think everyone is going to be my height.
ReplyDeleteThis is me 100%: "Team I Will Not Initiate A Hug, But Will Happily Participate." I'm not a huge hugger, but am happy to oblige. Though I'm pretty sure if I met you in person I would run and jump in your arms because...well...IT'S ENGIE! Consider yourself forewarned.
I'm so glad Zelda is improving. Yay for solid poops.
I have seen my life flash right before my eyes many times with dog & squirrel situations. Let me tell you how much I appreciate having a 40 pound dog compared to a 60 pound dog for being able to put the brakes on. I've never really fretted about finding a dead body in the neighborhood, but we've had some encounters with dead squirrels and birds over the years. Walking a dog takes a lot of attention to see things before the dog does.
ReplyDeleteI'm about to meet my coworkers in person for the first time so I will get the lowdown on how tall everyone is. I'm trying to make predictions. My bet is that my boss is very tall and that the HR team is playing in my league at the 5'5" mark. I wonder if anyone is noticeably short?
I'm Team Hug, but like Nicole says I am aware that not everyone else is. I'm more likely to go for the hug if it's someone that I'm really excited to see, and next week when I meet my coworkers I have a feeling that there will be lots of awkward hybrid hug/handshakes.
Oh hooray!!! I'm so glad Zelda is better.
ReplyDeleteI'm 5'7", and also assume everyone is my height. But I just read Elisabeth's comment that she's 5'3"- how is that possible? In my mind of course she's 5'7" .
I'm on your hugging team, but I would probably hug most bloggers that I meet, because I feel like I know everyone so well already, it would feel weird NOT to hug. I'm meeting several bloggers next week and now I'll probably be overthinking it ("Do I hug? Is it weirder to hug or not hug???")
My natural inclination is to Want To Hug, but I am very mindful of other people's space/headspace, so I tend to wait for a cue. With everyone else, I go right in and grab for it.
ReplyDeleteI'm 5' 4". I used to be 3/4" taller--no idea where it went, but I informed my family that they were at fault due to crushing stress and responsibilities.
My granddog Zydrunas* has never found a dead body in 11 years; however, he does not walk extensively in areas where they may be. He is very reactive to other animals and has dragged me at least 50 feet twice. As a result, I am no longer allowed to walk him or even take him outside on his leash to pee. It is important to note that he DID feel very, very sorry each time and came back to check on me, licking my face and tucking his tail.
*Z is a 70+ pound American bully breed mix.
I'm so glad to hear that Z is on the mend! What a relief that must be. I think she will adjust to the medication and start cuddling again. I am manifesting that for you both.
ReplyDeleteCaroline Girvan's Iron series has not 1 but 2 rest days. One is an 'active rest', which means you do something else, but I would think that walking the dog counts for that. There, I just solved your problem. 2 rest days. ;)
I have never considered that I might come across a dead body, though I do think that often dead bodies are found by people walking their dogs. But dead bodies laying around is RARE and you and Hannah are NOT going to find one. I'm sorry to say that now that I don't have a dog, I avoid going places that are unpopulated, mostly out of fear of becoming said dead body. Sigh. I mentioned this to Ted, hoping it would sway him in the direction of 'well, let's get you a dog then!', but it didn't, he just said he thought I was being smart. Sigh.
I'm 5'4". My BFF is my same height, but another BF is 5'10", and so are several others, and she told me once that she was at a party with some women who were 6' or more, and she said, "Look, I'm Julie!" which to me meant, "Hey, I'm short!" but to her meant, "Oh, I'm petite!" which she rarely gets to feel. So find yourself some tall bloggers, I guess is what I'm saying.
As you know, I am Team No Hug— I’m just not touchy at all, which is probably weird but seems normal to me after almost 50 years. Also, I am 5’2” and love hanging out with Anne because I never get to be the tall one.
ReplyDeleteLove the Zelda news, poops and all!
ReplyDeleteAnd now you have me worried: Where do the squirrels go? Ditto the winter birds?
I don't think you'll find a dead body, Engie.
(Did I do that right?)