Sometimes ya just gotta go for a walk!

I've been limiting my time on the computer this week, trying to catch up on a bunch of little chores that I have let slide, things that are now starting to bug me.

However, I'm not making much progress - a quick trip to the mainland Sunday for my mom's 93rd birthday,

Happy 93rd, Mom!

was followed by my writing group Monday afternoon and my book club Monday evening. Can someone explain why hours and hours of ferry and car travel, followed by a day of sitting around chatting with friends leaves me more exhausted than working full time while looking after 12 piggies, an alpaca, four dogs and a cat ever did??? Tuesday was a write-off!

Wednesday morning I cleaned the hall runner which Charley had annointed with runny poop, only to have her annoint it again that afternoon. And the fleas that I thought I had conquered last week made a re-appearance (albeit on a much smaller scale) so it was back to vacuum, vacuum, vacuum, launder, launder, launder. So much for making any progress on the 'to do' list on Wednesday.

This morning I awoke to a beautiful fall morning - cool and crisp, a light blanket of fog, hints of sunshine to come. I took Charley for a little walk and enjoyed the volunteer flowers in the back lane and the mist rising off the hills.

Flower blooms in back lane

Mist rises off hills

By the time we returned, the sun was streaming through the windows - revealing the urgency of one of the tasks on my list:  must wash windows! If I got right at it, I had time to do all the windows and screens before getting ready for my shift at the theatre in the afternoon.

I looked at the windows. I looked at Sadie. I looked at the ocean and the sunshine and the rainbow of leaves lining the streets. And I put back the bucket and cloths and squeegee and said - C'mon Sadie, we're going to the beach!

A sunny Thursday morning at the beach

And I'm glad we did. The air had the wonderful salty smell that I love, the beach was full of ducks and geese and oyster catchers and gulls all flying and swooping as they dined on fresh-caught oysters and clams and fishies and who knows what else. The sunshine was warm but not too warm, the breeze was light, the trees and bushes were resplendent in fall colour, and Sadie was feelin' good, happy to trot along as far as I wanted to go.

Sadie on the beach

Heron and boat

Geese, ducks and gulls

We spent a long time just watching a gull battle a fish head along the shoreline - dragging it 25 feet one way, then 25 feet back again, splashing and pecking and shaking and tugging as he ripped tasty morsel after tasty morsel from its frame.

Sadie was quite happy to watch with me, and the gull seemed unperturbed by our presence.

Sadie watching gull with fish

Two hours later we returned home - too late to do the windows, but oh so glad to be alive. It sure is beautiful out there. Even if I'm looking at the world through panes of dirty glass.