The day was one of those miserable grey days with a very light drizzle, so light that it was hardly visible except that the deck was wet and there was moisture in the air. The temperature was hovering around the fifty eight degree mark but due to the damp air was of the chilly kind. Not the sort of day to want to go outside unless there was a very pressing need like feeding the fish and checking on the ponds to make sure everything was operating OK.

I had nothing planned, no doctors appointments and nothing else that I needed to worry about. Normally, I would have plenty to do outside. Yesterday, I was out in the front of the house where the yard is covered with Asiatic Jasmine which is a pretty good groundcover. Here and there protruded other taller plants and young free growing trees which kind of made for a very raggedy effect. I set about cleaning this up and cut back a lot of the unwanted growth to give the yard a more smoother contour. I do have a lot of Texas Lantana that has self seeded and is growing up through the Jasmine all at one end of the yard and I left that to grow. This is technically still winter, although it has been remarkably mild here in Central Texas and nearly all of the plants have started to grow buds and shoots already. What appears to be dead plants has this young growth making it difficult to know what is alive and what had died off. I will wait to see just how much and if any of this needs to be trimmed especially if we do have a late frost.

Which brings me back to sitting in front of my computer wondering just what to write about. The dogs are very happy and content to be indoors with each of them having there own special place to snooze. Mikey has his own chair right next to mine and often decides that it is time for a cuddle as he steps from his chair onto my lap. He will stay there for a while until it usually ends up with him getting back onto his own chair as I don’t have the most comfortable of laps. Amazing how much of their lives, the dogs spend sleeping. Not a bad way to spend your leisure time.

Sandy likes to alternate between two of the four dog baskets on the floor or on one of the two couches. Any interaction between myself and Mikey is instantly noted and in a flash she is right alongside for her share of attention. Then she goes back to her selected spot of the moment. Sometimes, she will go out through the doggy door and wander around the yard on her own but usually, she waits for Richie and me to lead the way. She has this habit of taking any dog bones that I give her outside and burying them. Yesterday, she came back in with a ratty old bone that had been buried for some time and proceeded to chew on it. I guess it tasted OK to her as she ate the whole thing.

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Buddy, the little old man of the group is a definite loner probably because he is 14 years old, very deaf, partially blind, has no sense of smell and more than a little senile. He divides his time between the other two dog baskets and does a lot of sleeping. Quite often, he will go on walkabouts outdoors where he does very well finding his way around. I have gravel walk paths around the ponds which all lead to the grassy area at the bottom of the garden which is the actual creek in my address, Murmuring Creek. This only has water in it if we have a gully washer of several inches of rain as it flows through mine and neighbors yard from the thirty inch culvert just outside of my fence.

Sometimes he gets all turned around and can be seen madly rushing from one place to another at a very healthy trot until he gets himself familiarized once more with his location. He is a funny little guy through no fault of his own and seems to be happy enough. As long as he is healthy and does not have any issues, he will always have a place in both my heart and my home for as long as it takes with no costs spared. Incidentally, the other dogs treat him in totally different ways. Mikey acts like a gentleman around him while Sandy tends to pick on him in a friendly way trying to get a raise out of him. He tends to just ignore her although if she gets too rambunctious, he will try to defend himself. Buddy, on the other hand very rarely interacts with the other two dogs and is definitely a real loner. At this particular moment it is all quiet as they are all asleep in their chosen places. Heck, he doesn’t even interact with me although I do try to make a fuss of him.

It is already late afternoon, 3:30 or so and because of the overcast skies is a miserable and very drab looking day. I do have to go to the HEB store and replenish our food supply and of course, grab my usual Starbucks Latte. This is my one major vice and as I usually buy one every day and at $4:48 a pop, things mount up. You do the math. What the hell, it’s better that being a drug addict. Wait a minute, maybe I am a caffeine addict although I like to think that my habit is just that I like to get out and about and mix with people and not for a desperate need of the stuff. There are some afternoons when I skip it and I don’t feel any the worse for it. I have my own Latte machine and make one in the mornings to have with my breakfast. I was going to say, to get me started but that kinda points to a desperate need for the Latte and its caffeine. A lot of the time, I like to get out and just drive so that I can listen to my latest Audiobook and this usually includes a Latte.

Well, I managed to find something to write about after all albeit pretty trivial stuff. Nothing earth shattering happens in my life and hopefully, nothing ever will and I like it that way.

Written 01/13/2020