Author: Joey Jones

Happily owned and trained by the rescue dog I adore. Enjoying and grateful for a peaceful life at long last. In England. She/her.

Baden Powell, bit of a dodgy legacy ….however

Joey Jones13 Comments

This man has a lot to answer for…but he did utilise the phrase ‘ Be Prepared’….. Someone else, I cannot pinpoint whom, chose ‘ Be ready’ a variant of the idea, somehow sounds, to me more modern. But there are times in your life you do need to be prepared. A shock factor on top of anything else only adds to the weight of grief.

I’m talking to you today about my old dog Patches. My sole/soul companion. I’m his 4th mom and he has sometimes repaid me with agression. A time I ended up in hospital being stitched back together, when his frustration had nowhere to go..but towards the hand that feeds him.

Sure I threatened him with all manner of alternative living arrangements, but both he and I knew it was just talk. It was never going to happen.

But he’s more frail now. Eleven years old is not always considered a ‘ good age’. But it’s the only data I have about him. He could be older, for sure. He’s feisty when he wants to be. He can climb the stairs ( albeit slowly) and get onto the bed ( with the help of a step-up) He knows what he wants and when he wants it. But I love that about him. His spirit. Eons ago I cared for kids, rose through the ranks and became really good at it. I have/had the same sentiment, I relished my charges being ‘ spirited’. Harder work, but the product ended up a treat!

So here we are. I’ve arranged to take Patches down to Cornwall for what may be his last beach holiday. A very dear and lovely friend has given up many days of a rent free Airbnb break, to accommodate us.I thank you Trish, soo much. Your Shepherds Hut ‘ The Sheppy’, is fabulous! ( Dear readers, should you want somewhere easy going to stay during a trip to Cornwall, get in touch and I’ll give you the details)

I’ve researched mobile vets for euthanasia at home and will use a close by pet cremation services for his final send off.

I had no help or support when I lost my Tony( which happened really fast) and the pain was unbelievable. I used prescribed drugs to get through the loss of Joe and Mia. This time I will have simply preparation when the time comes to lose my companion. So, being prepared..being ready, I can only hope will support my fragile mental state when I lose my ‘ best boy’….

You’ve got to laugh!

Joey Jones6 Comments

How do you want to retire?

There are many components to retirement living. Ideally all your ducks will be in a row and life will go swimmingly. ….I’ve written down some thoughts which I feel may contribute to a happy time ….They will not be in any particular order….I leave that for you to decide on and add to yourselves.

Maybe most of us would concede that good physical and mental health would lay a solid foundation for retirement?

Plus…

A home

Sense of safety

Financially secure/no debt/paying bills no problem

Sense of purpose/structure/routine

Reliable car/transport/access to/mobility

Stable internet access/devices

Outside assistance/ if needed/wanted

Company/social interaction if needed/wanted

Contentment

A companion if wanted…4 legs 3, 2 or 1 legged

Sense of humour

Retirement isn’t The End but the Start of something else. Not just a new chapter but a whole new clean slate… A sparkly brand new book to begin?

😂

Reflections of my life

Joey Jones3 Comments

What’s the oldest thing you own that you still use daily?

How this beautiful mirror stayed intact all these years, through so many moves, I will never know. But it is without doubt the oldest thing I own and use every day.

It was given to me by a very special friend ( thank you TW) crafted by a friend of hers.

I love it and cherish it.

Tony, his first bark

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Describe one of your favorite moments.

When he came to live with me Tony was a bag of bones. Battered and bruised, his bare pink skin without fur showed the extent of a life on the street. The years had taken their toll. He was exhausted and losing the will to live.

A large bandage around his neck protected him against further damage. The maggots had made a gaping hole.

It took a while but his misty eyes began to clear. His fur started to grow back. Those bones now had flesh on them. What a star!

And then it happened, someone walked too close to his gate and he barked. Just the once. A beautiful moment.

Poppy, the AI generated Dormouse

Joey Jones6 Comments

Firstly, I need to make this clear, if you use AI to enhance your content here…. it’s your business, not mine. I’m not here to judge. Ok? Good!

I’m of the generation which is really quite alarmed at the pace of today. Having said that I do keep one ear to the ground and am interested in what’s going on in the world around me.

Technology-wise I can only dream of having the ability to navigate the computer sciences and be able to manage every tool which is out there, waiting for me to utilise. How amazing would that be. And yet the kids are growing up now with that knowledge. How fabulous. But they don’t see the fabulousness about it it, do they? Why should they? It’s a given.

Soo, back to AI. It’s been on the periphery of my mind for a while now. At one point I thought I could give it a wide berth, as it wouldn’t kick in until I was pushing up the daisies. But bam! Here it is, happening.

I’m really not a happy bunny with our present Labour government. I voted for them and then in an instant they stabbed us in the back – but that’s a story for another time. However Sir Keir,, has spoken a lot about AI this week, so I began thinking I can no longer ignore this…..this….what is it? Artificial Intelligence and all that goes with it.

The youngsters amongst you will no doubt mock. Laughing and wanting to inform me it’s been around for ever and to get real. ( Oh, the irony!)

The pic is a wood mouse…..

So, for the first time last night I dipped my toes into the surf and asked AI to generate a short story for me about a dormouse. What it came up with was extraordinary. It gave life to a beautiful creature named Poppy and told me a story of one of her adventures. It was lovely………..Now what?

Ahmedabad 💜

Joey Jones5 Comments

What notable things happened today?

It is about to turn 6 am here in England. There is an unusual calmness ( of late) outside. The air is warm. The dog snores gently and my first  coffee of the day has been drunk. So far so good, as ‘ notable’ has many layers. One can only hope for the best, that the day will go smoothly, Perhaps ‘nothing notable’ is the safest bet, for today.

My heart feels heavy as the tragedy of the London bound Air India flight fills my mind. The shock, the sadness and grief in that part of the world will be palpable.

Life will go on, but the world has stopped spinning for the families, friends, the loved ones of the perished souls.

The one sole survivor, the young man who walked away, my thoughts turn to him. Despite having just a few visible cuts and scratches, his emotions will surely be running deep….

All Nature has a Feeling… John Clare’s passion and mine

Joey Jones2 Comments

What are you passionate about?

All nature has a feeling: woods, fields, brooks

Are life eternal: and in silence they

Speak happiness beyond the reach of books;

There’s nothing mortal in them all; their decay

Is the green life of change;to pass away

And come again in blooms revivified.

It’s birthday was heaven, eternal it its stay,

And with the sun and moon shall still abide

Beneath their day and night and heaven wide.

John Clare ( 1793-1864)

The Earth awakes

Joey Jones9 Comments

What is your favorite season of year? Why?

I love Spring, but I also like those days in January when things begin to kick off. No human needed for the New Year to get up and running.

How my heart lifts at the sighting of the first snowdrop. I can barely contain my excitement.

A sprinkling of crocus here, a spread of aconites there…and then there are ……Yikes! What are they called? Their name escapes me… Catkin, yes, catkins. Phew!

Then cut to Spring itself. The natural world is energised with new life. The sun has some warmth in it. The evenings are becoming lighter. The birds are louder and more vocal as they seek a mate. The grass begins growing and the trees, as ever late to the game, radiate what’s to come. The bursts of colour on display are a joy to behold.

It’s the energy I find exciting. So much to observe and appreciate.

WordPress asked us about luxury for the Daily Prompt

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Across the world luxury is going to mean something different to everyone. A private jet? Or maybe clean drinking water?

But the word FREEDOM begged to be written for my response.

Today I chose to copy a poem by W H Davies, a Welsh poet and wanderer. His book The Autobiography of a Super-tramp is interesting.

At this moment I am sitting on the sofa with the dog asleep at my side. The sky is overcast and it’s blowing a gale. The french windows are securely open wide. The fresh air rushes in and out taking light billowing curtains with it. A blackbird and a few pigeons are finishing up their breakfast and the squirrel is digging up some potted chives to hide his stash- word is squirrels forget where they put 50% of their swag. Who’d have thought it?

I’ll brew fresh coffee now and exercise some remaining grey matter before anything else on my list of ‘ things to do, if I want to’. This my friend is luxury!

Edit; the wind blew away most of the clouds, the dog awoke and went outside to catch some sun…

It has been a long time coming, this kind of peace.

I’ve enjoyed reading what others in my newly-found WordPress family have had to say is their idea of luxury.

Dear Reader, what is yours?

The luxury of freedom, as told by W H Davies

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What’s the one luxury you can’t live without?

No Master by William Henry Davies~1872-1940

Indeed this is the sweet life! my hand

Is under no proud man’s command;

There is no voice to break my rest

Before a bird has left its nest;

There is no man to change my mood,

When I go nutting in the wood;

No man to pluck my sleeve and say-

I want thy labour for this day;

No man to keep me out of sight,

When the dear Sun is shining bright.

None but my friends shall have command

Upon my time, my heart and hand;

I’ll rise from sleep to help a friend,

But let no orders strangers send,

Or hear the curses fast and thick,

Which in his purse-proud throat would stick

Like burrs. If I cannot be free

To do such work as pleases me,

Near woodland pools and under trees,

You’ll get no work at all, for I

Would rather live this life and die

A beggar or a thief, than be

A working slave with no days free.