STAYCATION 2018, DAY 7 (SATURDAY)

Once again, Bess and I took our exercise walk first thing. This time I carried the camera. A pair of hawks have a nest along our route, and they are naturally leery of Bess and protective of their home – wherever it is. I watched the soaring hawk until he (she?) landed in the rocks across the draw, where he was actually quite well camouflaged. By cropping the picture, I was able to make him (or is it her?) more visible. And do I see a pair of hawks in the picture, or is that just a rock?

My phone rang this morning, and the caller came up as Yancey, my stepson, who is motocaching with husband Mike. I was startled because I couldn’t think of any reason Yancey would call (instead of Mike) unless Mike were incapacitated. Turned out to be Mike using Yancey’s phone. Long story short, he had lost his phone, which he said he clearly remembered putting in his jacket pocket. ("The great god of geocaching is greedy this year,” I thought to myself.) He was calling because he needed me to find his password, but then he remembered it without prompting. Fifteen minutes later he called again, and this time it came up “Mike.” Apparently Yancey had taken hold of the situation and searched Mike’s person, finding the phone in the pocket of his chaps. Too bad he didn’t do it 40 miles and an hour and a half sooner.

While staycating with dogs, I don’t feel obligated to work. The care and feeding of dogs takes considerable time, so when they nap, I relax. But today I changed the bed, did the laundry, washed dishes, weeded and fertilized the tomatoes. 

Evenings are “me time.” (Okay – you can argue that the whole staycation is “me time.”) After supper I expect my charges to settle down and leave me alone, but Nellie is especially agitated in the evening. I take her outside, and when we come back in, she immediately wants to go out again. If I don’t let her out, she paces and sits beside me and begs. Maybe she’s hungry, but as Mike points out, she’s always hungry. My solution is just to put her to bed early, but I feel badly about it. I like having her on her pillow.

Bess usually settles down, but tonight she was clearly feeling sorry for herself. I suspect she was missing Mike, who is her main person. She probably wonders if he’s ever going to come back. Nellie would just as soon be my dog, but Bess loves Mike. KW