Raindrops keep falling ...

Vancouver rain joke #54: What comes after two days of heavy rain in Vancouver? Answer: Monday. Ha ha ha. Except chances are always good that Monday will be grey and soggy, too ... and Tuesday, and so on ... until a visit to the dog park requires head-to-toe mud-proofing, and the laundry basket fills with "paw towels."

Would I rather be tromping my dog through 50 shades of frozen precipitation in a wind chill of minus 25? Probably not. But the past few days have, even by Vancouver standards, been pretty spectacularly wet. These are the days that dog owners, past and present, warned us about before Freddie came to live with us. So ... is it a drag going out 3-4 times a day in this ... ?

(View from our kitchen, around noon)

Spot the texter ...

Well, it's like this: what's a drag is looking at the rain and thinking about being in it ...  

... being inside, all cozy with my latte and my laptop, and imagining having to go outside within the half hour. That's kind of a drag, sometimes.

But once I actually rouse myself and get out there ...

... don the red raincoat and the famous rubber boots ...

assuming I'm not sick or injured or under-dressed ... it's fine! More than fine. Fresh air and exercise — it feels good. Same goes for riding my bike — which I did yesterday evening, in mighty wet weather, back to Home Depot, of all the uninspiring destinations. If I'd taken a Car2Go, I would have been looking out at all the cyclists (and in Vancouver, "all the cyclists" is rarely an exaggeration) and thinking Brrr ... chilly! I'm glad I'm not you right now. But the reality was completely different. I had my rain gear, my lights, my mirrors. It never occurred to me to look at the people in their cars and wish we could trade places. :)

Later today I'm planning to finish the installation of faux-cedar deck tiles on our balcony. So I've been paying attention to balconies. The rooster's a nice touch, I think.

This morning actually dawned dry and partly clear.

Those pigeons from the photo above? Here they are after an ambulance sped by, siren wailing.

This paramedic was just getting off shift when Freddie and I walked past the ambulance dispatch centre on Arbutus. The medic asked if he could get some doggy love, and Freddie was happy to oblige.

One of the gang at the Quilchena off-leash park this morning

Nearing home ... yay.

Arbutus Walk — a break in the rain

I discovered this morning that Freddie had somehow lost his tags — licence and name/phone number. This is an ID tag I picked up at Tisol (phone # + "Diabetic Alert Dog" on the back). Must order a replacement licence from the City.

C'est tout ... off to attempt deck tiles in a downpour!