The waiting game has begun now that the Defender is back, albeit still disabled, and loaded with my gear to go back to DC. I called the auto transport company today to find out whether they have made any progress in getting a trailer to take the Defender to Washington, and they told me it is still in process and that it could take 5 business days to find a trailer. To increase the chances of getting a trailer quickly, since many trailers have a 7-foot (84 inches) height restriction, I told them that the Defender with the roof rack is 84 inches or below at 3 corners but 84 1/2 inches at the rear right. (I am tempted to take some air out of the rear tires.) Although the roof rack is removable, i would prefer not to abandon it, but no longer at the cost of keeping us or the Defender here longer.
In the meantime, all I can do is wait. Unfortunately, I sometimes feel as if the Stockholm Syndrome is beginning to set in, where I feel sympathetic towards my captors,i.e., my situation. Salina is a lovely town, but this is not my home. I can't go out on the street for reasons I have already discussed. Now that all but a few chores related to exiting are done, except for walks with Donner and errands to the grocery store, all my time here is now spent in the motel room, reading, writing, thinking, planning, revising plans, and revising those plans still further, But when we do venture outside, I have to be careful because of those little thorn-armored bush seeds that get in Donner's paws and on the soles of my shoes which i then track inside, the unleashed dogs roaming free on the street, and the often busy four-lane highway I must cross to get to the nearby grass area for Donner and the grocery store.
In view of all this, i have decided that I must exit Salina with or before the Defender once i am sure the transport company is coming to take it. If i have heard nothing from the auto transport company by tomorrow, i will make airline reservations for Saturday, and if the Defender is still not moved by then, I will retain Andy to manage the move for me with specific instructions on what-ifs for the roof rack.
Last week I reported witnessing the fascinating phenomena of hundreds of thousands - maybe millions - of birds gathering in the sky around the town, rapidly changinto into all different kinds of shapes. Was a beautiful sight. Because they changed direction so rapidly, I wondered whether some of them ever collided. I got my answer today, yes. Sadly, when I was coming back from a walk with Donner, I found the bodies of two beautiful birds just a few feet apart. Clearly, they had collided in the air. It's sad to think that such a beautiful display of nature can end in death of these awesone creatures.I picked up the bodies of the birds from the street and placed them under the tree in a grassy area, silently thanking them for their role in the moments of joy i got from watching them.
I just stepped outside and discovered that in the hour so that I have been inside, the snow started and has accumulated already more than 2 inches. It is snowing quite heavily. Fortunately, I think the weather report has changed and snow is only expected tonight and tomorrow and not the whole this week. However the temperature is not expected to go above freezing for the foreseeable future. Again, a good reason to leave soon as possible.
I thought that Donner's gastro bout had ended a couple of days ago, but I noticed today that it is starting up again. There's something he and I are doing wrong causing this recurrence. I wish I had remembered this when I visited the vet last night to get his health certificate because I would've asked him for a prescription of metronidazole, which the vet in Washington refused to prescribe over the phone since they had not seen Donner in a while.. I will contact that local vet tomorrow to arrange an appointment for Donner to see him because I must do something since it might be a week before Donner gets home. i am feeding him one quarter of what he would normally eat each day.
I also discovered today that Donner's case of what I'm going to call armpit bedsores from lying down so much each day has flared up. Fortunately I have the medicated wipes and medication from Fairbanks to deal with this for the time being. But this is another reason why I am anxious to bring this long, unwelcome adventure to an abrupt end. The longer we stay in one place, the higher the chance that something will happen to one or both of us. It already is.
Ed and Donner, from on the road
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