This morning, my usual 5:00am routine of getting up; having breakfast; going downstairs (basement) to work on railway stuff until around 7:00-8:00am was not meant to be! As I was getting my 5:00am breakfast, Ray was standing next to me.
This was unusual because he usually doesn’t stir until he hears me switching off lights in the basement. When I come back upstairs between 7:00-8:00am, he is waiting for me to let him out and get his breakfast for him.
Why the difference? Outside was very dark; very noisy; and had erratic flashing lights! Our hot, humid and extremely dry spell of weather was being interrupted by quite an impressive storm!
Ray always goes outside to pee before he has his breakfast so, just in case he really had to go, I opened the back door (at 5:00am!). He stood in the doorway studying the outside scene. It was not raining at that time, but there were lots of rolling thunder sounds. He turned and went back inside and lay down near Carol’s bedroom door and the storm continued.
I decided not to go downstairs as I would not necessarily know if Ray changed his mind and decided going outside was quite critical. While he has never shown any signs of excessive concern with thunder noises, he is clearly uncomfortable and I wanted to be sensitive to that fact and “be there” just in case!
After my 5:00am breakfast, I therefore decided to boot up my laptop and catch up with Blogging stuff and all went well until around 7:00am when Ray came in to see me. It was his time! As soon as I got up, he started walking towards the back door but, just as he reached it, there was a huge flash of lightning and the sky just lit up. As I was about to open the door, there was a very impressive and very loud roll of thunder which went on… and on… and on… so I waited. A few moments later, I opened the door and Ray walked out onto our back porch and stopped. I knew he had to go (as no doubt did he) so with a”Go pee buddy! Go pee!” and a gentle prod on his rear, he went off into the garden and performed as necessary.
Back inside his expected breakfast routine was completed, and he returned to guarding Carol’s door!
Living a part of his early life as a stray would, I assume, have forced him to adapt to extreme weather conditions a little. I would imagine that he would have looked for a shelter of some sort and just waited it out. Living with us obviously takes away that necessity but, I guess like us, there is always that sense that this is a force with daunting potential.
It is now almost 8:30am…….. and it is still very dark outside. I bet our rain barrels are both full, and the garden is probably thinking it’s in heaven! Ray is probably thinking “When is Colin going to make some toast and have his second cup of coffee?” That is the routine after all!
Good boy, Ray…I’m with him…where IS that second cup of coffee and toast? 😉
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🙂
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They keep promising rain around here, but they break their promise every time!! I will go out in a lightning storm if Mom lets me. She is more afraid of the thunder and lightning than I am, so we usually wait it out. Like Ray – I do not like disturbances in my routine!
Love and licks,
Cupcake
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Yay Cupcake … routines are the best aren’t they! Woof! Ray.
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Any excess to the rain barrels should be forwarded back to the Rocky Mountains. Hint, hint. 😉
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No chance! We have a Great Lakes system here which we (and some of you) depend on! 🙂
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Never hurts to ask though, right?
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Nope … always good to ask! 🙂
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Our rain is pouring down by the bucketful since yesterday. Poor Genis has to dress up in a jacket every time he has to “go”. Luckily, so far, we haven’t experienced thunderclaps, but my goodness, the water is running down the downpipes onto the driveway and across the lawn in a steady stream.
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Hi Hester. Well if your ground is anything like ours, it will be soaking it all up like a huge sponge! Our plants are already looking “livelier”! 🙂
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We live high on a hilltop with a deep gully at the back, a river next to us and the ocean in front. The soil is saturated and all the water is running downhill.
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High hill top with a view of the ocean…. and a river …. and a gully! You’ve got it all Hester! 🙂
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Yes, got the whole house under water as well! The roof started leaking. It is quite astoundingly beautiful countryside, long beaches and the water is warm enough to swim even in winter. BUT, then we have storms that roll in over the sea – I’m going to bed (hopefully my bed linen is still dry).
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Aha … house under water might be less desirable!:(
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When it is storming, my cats take a look outside then give me this look like “are you crazy.”
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Ah yes…. the quizzical look! Ray does it so well as he raises his eyebrows independently of each other and gives a “poor human” look! 🙂
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I am always fascinated by routine matters so this is perfect.😀
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Ray, being my first dog, has been a real education in routines…. and he is so literal. If I only have one piece of toast instead of my usual two, he comes and stares at me. If I change location when I do something, he gives me his best perplexed look! His world does appear to revolve around rigid routines. 🙂
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I LOVE THIS. He;s so observant 🙂
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Hi Suad: Where food is involved he doesn’t miss any opportunity…. literally!
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LOOL AWWW what a cutie!
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He is a role model for positive thinking. He will stop and stare through restaurant windows in the hope that, by some miracle, the people at the window tables will somehow pass food through the glass. He has certainly lightened the mood at some restaurants!
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Awww I really want to meet Ray now!
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🙂
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Aw, it’s great you are so sensitive to Ray’s needs. Even the most stoic of dogs will react in extreme weather conditions. My first dog, Lady, was absolutely bomb proof, but one evening my young daughter was standing outside on the stoep when from nowhere came a tremendous clap of thunder. My daughter screamed in surprise, and Lady barked – not because she was scared, but she barked at the thunder to protect her “puppy”, my daughter! 🙂
Thank goodness I’ve only had one dog sensitive to thunder and lightning.
And I hope Carol is recovering well?
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Ray certainly has his moments of “concern” despite his size, and Carol is still slowly progressing thank you. 🙂
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Good to hear. 🙂 Sorry I am behind on blogging since my absence, but have been aware that Carol was in hospital.
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No need to apologize. “Life” does get in the way of things now and then. You’ve been a Follower for quite some time now and it’s always nice to hear from you, regardless of any absences. Hope all is well.
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Thank you Colin 🙂 It’s been a rough month, but hopefully things are heading back to normality. 🙂 Keep well, to all of you 🙂
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Our Sheltie hates storms, she has to be right by your side. Glad that Ray can have shelter now from the storms!
A second cup of coffee? I just can’t get away from the “mug” references this morning can I? Just hope it was able to hold your coffee! 🙂
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I have a lovely Denby mug for my coffee which does a wonderful job thank you! 🙂
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Hi Ray. I understand about the toast. Whenever Dad has his hot dog at breakfast (he can’t eat sausage) I get my “schnauzer portion,” which is a bite off both ends. Of course, this isn’t every day like your toast, but I always hope.
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Hi Lexi. We do a pretty good job of training our humans don’t we! Woof! Ray.
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Rain, glorious rain! Wish we would get some to knock back the heat. I know cats are good at finding shelter in storms and probably dogs too. It’s nice that at this point in his life he doesn’t have to worry about that. His biggest worry is that you will forget to eat your toast.
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That really is his concern although it is not so much that I have my toast, but more that I remember to give him a small corner of it! Just got to love the way his mind works! 🙂
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Not much different than people really. If there’s a routine where they get something free, they are first in line.
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Sadly, despite all the options that most of us people have, as compared to the options that a dog has…. you are right!
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