The Times They Are A-Changin’.  Bob Dylan.  1963

Come gather ’round people wherever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times, they are a-changin’

1963.  Heady times.  I was 10 years old.  Dylan was young then.  He is much older now, as am I, and oh… how the waters around us have grown.  And we… are surrounded by water now, eh?

Ludlow.  It’s been a combination winter haven, a comfortable marina but… also, it is an anchor. I’ll explain that later. We arrived here from Canada in 2020.  Covid was the driver.  We had Canadian based marina approvals to remain in Canada, but we chose to return to the US.  What if either of us contracted Covid at an anchorage far from treatment.  Oh sure… our emergency medical coverage would cover basic emergency care… but respiratory support, ventilators, ICU care… that would eat right through our budget, and perhaps our lives.  We needed to get back to the US to cover the “what ifs”.   We called marinas in the US.  The only one who had staff in the office, picked up the phone, and answered our call: Port Ludlow Marina.  They offered us a winter slip and welcomed us back to the US.

It is now late fall 2025.  Oh we’ve certainly not been in the US at Port Ludlow all that time.  But… we did recently accept their offer of providing us a a year around slip.  Instead of traipsing off to Canada and elsewhere… for 7 or 8 months every year.  That changed our itineraries:  2 months out, 2 weeks back. Work in the boatyard. Rinse.  Repeat. Bad weather on the way: Retreat to Ludlow.

About the anchor.  Well… good anchors are very noble and respectable devices designed to hold the boat in place when there is no dock to tie up to.  Having a paid for, steady slip available does provide us a certain amount of comfort.  Any Port in a storm they say, but it has been, our Port.  A protected port, and symbolically, that protective element has a tendency to anchor us in place.  Oh yes, the winter Southeasterlies do hit us pretty hard in Ludlow.  Last week we had days of 20 plus knot steady winds with gusts into the upper twenties.  It was noisy.  Great Northern was dancing a consistent tattoo.  And then… it stopped as it does.   The sun came out and all was forgiven. Our “dock anchor” worked. We then had beautiful November weather for a day or two followed by more wind and rain. But wanderlust is a compelling sirens call. Any good weather adds a fragrant spice to that pot.

For us, change is something we’ve become accustomed to.  That is a baseline concept for our cruising family, and there are many small and large singularities that kickstart the change process. The most recent were both small and large. This time It all started innocently enough.  We were at Delta Marine in Sidney.  It was past time to have our winter heating systems upgraded.  Delta is the place to have such manipulations done correctly.  They have excellent technical support staff that harmonizes nicely with Canadian customer service at its finest.

As the lads were doing their work on the boat, I was traipsing about the boat yard, a favorite pastime.  I came to the conclusion that I needed a few small screws and some Dynema line, and other marine based bits and bots for the boat.  Nothing much, but there was indeed a marine candy store at hand.  I gingerly opened the door.  One shouldn’t just rush in and appear to be too wanton in such a place.  I was met with a cacophonous, high pitched barking.  Immediately, two of the cutest damn dogs were twirling and yipping at my feet.  It was hard to tell if I was being accosted or being asked to pick them up.  I went with the pick me up which I refrained from until given the OK by the proprietor.  A smiling yes later, I picked up one of the assailing pups and received several lick kisses on my nose for the effort.  Damn.

Ten minutes later I was back at the boat, and foolishly told Les about the pups at the marine store.  Well… she had to see them.  We sauntered back to the store… and that’s when the transmogrification of our lives slipped into a higher gear: A higher gear than merely cruising place to place in Great Northern.

We’ve been spending most of our time in Canada and a costly vacant slip in Ludlow is an expense that we don’t need year around.  We’ve been toying with giving it up. Removing it from our debit list. Using it only in the winter worked for us quite nicely before. Taking that step also removes the metaphorical “dock anchor” that sometimes keeps us from moving more freely about and actually cruising instead of just living on a cruising boat designed to:  cruise.

Let’s get to the real small and large reasons for considering a change. First… the small:

We’ve wanted to add an adult female dog to our little troup and have not been able to connect with the right one. But… either of these fluff balls are potential candidates. Yes, it is true. They are not adults. I’m leaning towards Eowyn… but Arwen is on par as a pair of two of the cutest pups we’ve seen in a long while.  We have visited them at the breeders, but they were too young to be jostled or even touched for that matter.  We were scheduled to go back to the breeders on 11/13/25… to see them for the full treatment, no holds barred play get-ta-know-ya session.

Oh they look innocent enough now in their glamour shots.  Don’t let their cuteness distract you from the truth.  They are bred to be, diamond in the rough change agents.  Version: Extraordinaire, large change agents.  Both are Canadian citizens, and therein lies the rub.  We can take delivery of one of them.  That can occur only in Canada, and then… the pup cannot be brought into the US until she is six months old and have had her very first rabies shot.  There you have it.  If we move forward with this adoption, we will be forced, I say… FORCED TO stay in Canada starting in December and remaining until… we decide to leave, or every 6 months as the crow flies.  Bummer, eh? So you see, small packages can foment change on a large scale.

Most interesting Update, Thursday,11.13.25:  We visited Breeder Keren at the Sidney Spitz homestead to visit our prospective pups.  They were old enough to be fondled and cajoled.  We did just that.  Cacophony ensued.  Every Pom in the clan was most determined to jump up, land in our interloping laps and scrutinize us with noses and tongues.  It was rather intense.  Tony, the head stud was particularly pushy.  He’d growl at the others until one of us picked him up, and when ensconced on his human throne, would lord it over the madding crowd.  What fun.  Then it happened.  Bliss, our prospective pup’s mama dog sauntered over to Les and politely requested a pick-me-up and put me in your lap.  There she stayed.  She was there a long time. A very long time. she was happy. Les was happy. I had Arwen encased within the palm of my hand caging her with my warm fingers, and after a few licks on my nose I suggested that we change.  I took Bliss and Les took over Arwen.  A few minutes later we performed a reverse exchange.  Les with Bliss and me with Arwen who I exchanged for Eowyn who’d been running around chewing on the other pups.  Les had already spent time with her.  Bottom line: after that last exchange, Bliss never left Les’s lap.  Turns out… that this was Bliss’s final brood, and when she is done nursing in a few weeks she is also up for adoption. Well… instead of adopting a pup, we are adopting Bliss.  She is just turning three.  She’s had her shots.  She can be imported into the US, duty free, tariff free.  She is a Nova Scotian beauty:

Which means… we can stay at Ludlow for the winter, cruise over to the Canadian Gulf Islands and Sidney to pick up Bliss after she has stopped nursing her pups, been spayed, and is ready to travel. In April… we can start to cruise in in Canada and beyond with our expanded family.

Change is rather fun, eh? To be continued…