I'm supposed to fly back to New England to visit my aunt and spend a week or so touring around amidst the fall foliage, but wish I could avoid the whole experience right now. Although I know I can look forward to a relaxing air travel experience similar to the scene above, the leaving of the house for a week, trip to and through the airports, and extensve driving around while there all leave me wishing I had never proposed the idea.



Fall is well underway here, and I recall that last year we had a pretty good snow before the end of October. If I do go back east for that third week of the month, I guess I had better make arrangements for both leaf AND snow removal prior to my return. Planning to spend the winter here, possibly broken up by some travel to the West coast. I'm going to try and not repeat my past assertions that only fools would choose to live in a climate like this when other options were available. Half the year it's great (at least the climate), but winter are a serious dead zone in several respects. I'll sure be grateful for my sunny kitchen and little gas castiron hearth at one end of it.


At least the sun shines a lot during the winter.

I had originally planned to soend some time in Mexico this winter, but recently I find myself wishing I could have a dog to spend time with, and this is not really compatible with extended stays out of the country. I suppose it might be possible to travel by car down there, but it imposes some serious limitations. The original purpose of this blog was to document the move South, but at this point I might like to simply find a base in the U.S., and get comfortable with a simple life that includes a dog. One possible solution that might allow me to have some quality dog time and still get away to Mexico would be to provide a limited-duration foster home for one or more (sequentially) dogs, then get away during the bleakest months. I'm currently signed up as a foster home for four shelters or rescue places, but haven't had a foster dog here for some time. I did attempt to adopt a very nice little dog recently, but tragically (for me - she was re-adopted into a good new home and is presumably doing fine) this did not work out as it might have.


Little Bailey, a very nice young dog toward the end of her brief stay here. I miss her.

Mexico might still hold some promise for a future life, but after too much change in too short a time, I seem to need a break right now. Of course, if things go downhill fast and far economically and politically for the country here, Mexico relocation may become a practical alternative worth considering more quickly.

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