Freddie Occupies the Ukraine and Receives a Business Proposition

Those of you familiar with the Blogger program that I use for Walking With Freddie will know that it's possible to find out where, geographically speaking, the site's page views are happening. Predictably, most of WWF's traffic comes from Canada and the US, followed by the UK, Oz, and Mexico.

That Doggy in the Window

But who, I'd like to know, are the intrepid Ukrainians who've been finding time in the midst of political upheaval to visit this blog?? And who, while I'm at it, are the Russians who've been ranging over WWF pages in slightly larger numbers? I'm pleased to report that there have been no violent outbursts in the Comments fields — in view of which, I heartily invite all parties in that ordeal to use this space as a forum for working out their differences. This could be the first in an ongoing series of Walking With Freddie Peace Talks!

Hudson Elementary's Peace Mural

Mail Jail

Closer to home, my post-D-Fiz blood work results (the "open wound" test!) indicate that, in terms of my average blood sugar levels, I managed not to do any noticeable damage. A haemoglobin A1c (ie. average blood sugar over the previous 2-3 months) of 6.4 is considered pretty damn good for a T1 diabetic (non-diabetic "normal" is 4.5 - 6). 'Course, there's always the matter of how one arrives at such a number. Being high half the time and low half the time will yield a good-looking average. But I don't think I spent much time in the low zone, so I'm pretty happy with my 6.4 (it remains a goal of mine to "score" an A1c that wouldn't instantly identify me as diabetic). 

Daffodil Oasis

Upworthy

Today was an adventure hike day with Leah, Kali, and Plouf. We did a big forest loop, starting at Spanish Banks and returning by way of the dog beach.

Jeez ... I hope the owner of this shirt just got hot or something!

Kali-Bear

Former Mexican shelter pup livin' the Good Life

(I should practice my Spanish with her!)

Leah the Stick Hurler

Freddie the Retriever

And now an update on the vow I made yesterday ... Freddie and I returned to the park above the dog beach this afternoon, where it was blowing a gale.

The water was a stunning colour:

The guy wasn't there, but a couple of his things (I think they were his) were stuffed behind the dumpster next to the toilet block. I left this bag with a container of stew, a spoon, an apple, and some nuts inside. Who knows if the guy will get to it before the raccoons do ... or if he'll want any of it. I would have preferred to offer the stuff in person, but I also didn't want to leave without having done anything tangible at all. I'll try again.

Mist Over the City

To wrap up, I have a further bit of amusing blog news: it appears that Russians and Ukrainians aren't the only surprising visitors to Walking With Freddie. A natural pet supply company has asked me to review one of their products and, possibly, to enter into an advertising arrangement with them (I think regular bloggers often receive such offers). My response at this point is, essentially, "Maybe. It depends." The review is more interesting to me than the advertising — I'd have to be pretty impressed to be up for the latter — but I can guarantee that WWF will never compromise its principles and that any endorsement profits will be turned over to some worthy cause! :)

What do you think? (about anything!) Enquiring minds want to know!