Blog

The Unfamiliar

Our orange tabby cat Sam sleeps in the basket of a short cat tree

Today was my first day at the new job and while it went well, it was still a day where everything was unfamiliar and will be for a while. Even the simplest things like finding my desk again after going somewhere else was a daunting task and only accomplished after a few wrong turns. But it’s the kind of day, and will be the kind of week if not month, where you just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other with the knowledge that in time this too will become familiar.

And that applies to everything right now, the new city, the new state, the new region, the new climate, the new house. At least I understand the reason for the change and can look forward to the opportunity it brings, the pets aren’t so fortunate. Not surprisingly our dog Ellie has adapted the quickest, although with the warmer weather she has not been interested in long walks. She is loving having us all on one floor for once again she can sleep in the same room as us and follow us wherever we go in the house.

The cats have done well all things considered but the stress is easy to see when you know them as we do. My wife picked up this short cat tree / cat bed and all three have used it, Sam is in it here but Trixie has claimed it the most. It is during these times where you take advantage of every bit of trust that you’ve built up over the years to give them comfort as you can. Soon enough even for the little ones the unfamiliar will become familiar.

Until then, patience, patience, patience.

Home

Our dog Ellie rests on tile in front of the sliding glass door of our rental house in March 2018

We are home even if it doesn’t yet feel like it. We arrived at our rental house in Arizona in the late afternoon, the pets are a little stressed but did well all things considered. Ellie has adapted the quickest, here resting on the tile near the backyard door. You can’t see it from this angle but there’s a big pool behind her and some citrus trees further back. A rabbit ran out of the bushes when we arrived and four Gambel’s quail sauntered through the backyard right after sunset, a nice welcome. Thankfully I have tomorrow to recuperate as I am wiped out, on Monday I start the new job.

Getting There

Our cats Sam and Boo sleep on a hotel bed in Redding, California

Today is the last day of our three day drive to Arizona, we should be in our rental house this evening. The pets have done far better than I expected but it’s clearly been stressful for them, particularly the cats. Both hotels have a 2 pet per room limit, so my wife and I have gotten separate rooms and split the pets, she’s had Ellie and Trixie while I’ve had Sam and Boo. The first night we stayed at the La Quinta in Reddng, CA, and enjoyed the hotel. Although the brothers fell asleep after the stress of a long car ride, Boo woke me up at 4 a.m. and kept mewing, so I tried to comfort him and keep him quiet. I’d get him settled when Sam started up and this continued for the next hour and a half. So I didn’t get the best night’s sleep but that was no fault of the hotel, and the next night we gave them a mild sedative in the evenings and I had a wonderful night’s sleep. The sedative has also kept their stress levels down during the car ride but still left them alert.

The Last Picture I Took in Portland

Our three cats in their cat carriers, waiting to be loaded into the car, as our dog Ellie sleeps in the background, taken in Portland, Oregon on March 29, 2018. Original: _DSC5118.ARW

This is the last picture I took before leaving Portland, the three cats crated up, the last thing to be packed into the car. I love how Ellie snuck into the picture. I thought today was going to be more emotional than it was, leaving the house for the last time after 16 years, leaving Portland, leaving Oregon. Maybe it’s because the past month has been a slow-motion move, maybe it’s because I just want the move to be over with, maybe it’s because I’m more than ready to start my life anew in Arizona.

Goodbye House, I Love You

Our cat Boo gives our cat Trixie the side-eye

I’ve saved my last goodbye for the house that has been our home for sixteen years. Built in 1925, old homes have their charms and their challenges. This one has charmed me and it’s hard to say goodbye but it is time. The movers are packing our belongings and loading it onto the truck. Tomorrow we leave for Arizona.

It’s funny what you fall in love with, sometimes it’s the little things. I’ll always remember the wooden grate over the heating vent that attracted the cats like a watering hole in a dry savannah. Trixie loves it, as have many of our cats, including Boo who was already occupying it and wondering about his sister’s intentions as he gave her the side-eye on her approach.

The mover’s were surprised we aren’t taking the stained glass windows with us, which hang just inside of the real windows. They were here when we bought the house, home-made I would guess, but do a lovely job of providing privacy while letting in light.

These old houses have their challenges too. I won’t miss the tiny one car garage. You get used to contractors coming out to fix what seems like a simple problem and hearing them say “I’ve never seen this before”. We had an electrician out recently who based on my description of the problem thought it would be an easy fix, as it had been a long day and he was ready for home. Two hours later …

When I think of home I think of this house. I’ve never lived anywhere nearly as long as we’ve lived here. It will still be a home, just not ours. I hope it protects and delights its new owners as well it has us. Goodbye, I love you.

A stained-glass window that sits inside of the real window in an old house in the Irvington neighborhood of Portland, Oregon

Goodbye Washington, I Love You

A hoary marmot rests on a rock in the late afternoon on the Summerland Trail in the Sunrise area of Mount Rainier National Park

Washington lies across the Columbia River just to our north. I’ve spent a lot of time at Ridgefield and I’ve written about my love for that little refuge but there are two more parks that are near and dear to my heart: Olympic National Park and Mount Rainier National Park. The Olympics literally go from the rugged coast (and tide pools) to rain forests to the snow-capped Olympic mountain range, along with plants and animals endemic to the Olympic peninsula. Rainier has its massive namesake where you can easily hike trails from the lodges and within minutes see pikas and marmots. There are many other trails too, such as the Summerland Trail in the Sunrise area where I met this hoary marmot sunning itself on the rocks. Sometimes I saw bears in both parks, sometimes quite close, sharing the trail with me. Deer and elk, birds, ground squirrels, so much wonderful wildlife living in such breathtaking scenery.

Washington has many other wonders I never explored, I never even visited Seattle for that matter apart from one quick business trip. But I could have explored these parks alone for the rest of my life and never gotten bored. Goodbye, I love you.