My daughter left her pooch with us as she went to a wedding overseas. We have Juno for two weeks. Juno is a good young dog (18months), smart, pretty obedient (directions given are not always obeyed) and full of fun and beans.

That Juno, eh! She’s a shepherd-cross, also 60-something pounds and fast as blazes. Gus, on the other hand is 65 or more pounds, 6 months old, totally laid back and lumbers around like a water buffalo. Daisy is the little miss-in-between. Compared to Gus, she is a dynamo. Compared to Juno, she’s a slug. Three dogs, 3 different energy levels.

Then there is us. A whole new energy level again (if, that is, you can find any energy at all in us to measure these days). The last week has been like living in Tornado Alley in an old double-wide as a line of storms are hitting you. We live in a maelstrom. I seem to spend half my day preparing the dogs’ next meals. Sal sits down on the outside couch and within seconds there is well over 180 pounds of dog licking her face. She pulls her hoody down and goes into the fetal position. That is 300 pounds of writhing, shrieking, barking madness with tongues all over the place for at least five solid minutes.

And, so far, this is every day!

Basically, they are pretty good, though. But Juno, being older and new-to-here, is pushing every envelope. She is a bit of a handful. But we’re okay with it. Gus, on the other hand is getting a bit fed up. Seems Juno thinks he’s attractive enough to couple with and so she attempts the procedure not realizing that it just doesn’t work that way. In the meantime, Gus is being mounted as he walks around rolling his eyes and looking baleful. Coitus interruptus is usually considered unpleasant for the participants but that statement assumes consenting adults. These are non-consenting puppies. Well, Gus is non-consenting, anyway. I think he is also a bit confused.

Daisy is just miffed by the whole thing and walks away with, amusingly, her tail down (taking no chances) and her nose in the air. She is disgusted by such behaviour. Juno is a bad influence on our dog’s sense of proper guest behaviour and is making them review the whole moral fabric in other dogs.

Our take is simple enough: ‘one more week………….we can do this!‘

The boat is coming along but, I am sad to report, rather slowly. A bit of woodwork here, an installation there, planning, measuring, trying to figure out the wiring….the usual things. It has only had one run other than the maiden voyage and that one was short. Boats just eat up time and, in the past, great gobs of money. This boat will not cost as much simply because the ‘yachtie’ standards are not applicable out here and, once everything is operational, that will be the end of it for awhile. Well, maybe I’ll do some painting and such in a few years.

If there is any real news, it is this: the community is mildly depressed. Usually, by the end of May, all sorts of life, activity, visitors and events are underway. Not so, this year. This is still a Covid year, the weather has been very un-Spring like with cold and wind and rain and lately, inflation is also being felt hard (especially fuel). It sorta feels like summer in Britain. Miserable.

Things are still happening, of course. But there is just no sunshine involved and that is needed after a harsh winter. We are really due for some nice weather. I am, anyway.

One less dog, a little more sunshine, extra time for the boat and, of course, a bountiful garden…that’s what we are aiming for. Failing that, we have scotch. It’s all good.