Nobody's got fleas. Don't worry.
But Butter's been the itchiest dog lately. So itchy in fact that she's been itching herself bloody. This happens about twice a year, when she's changing coats. We hate it. She hates it. It's a bad time.
So we gave her an oatmeal bath because that's what helps the people when they're itchy and we read online that it'll help.
And then we found out that about 80-90% of dogs are allergic to oatmeal baths, which explained why the oatmeal bath didn't help.
So we gave her some Benadryl. It helped some, but not that much.
So we decided to throw Butter in the ocean. We do this on occasion, when her skin is really bad and it's helped before. Something about the salt water dries out her skin and anyway it's a good excuse to get some beach time in ourselves. Luckily, we're in Florida and they have beaches here. So, on Sunday we drove down to St. George Island and threw our dog in the ocean.
It didn't help. Poor pooch is still itchy. So we're taking her off her grain free very expensive dog food for a little while and are feeding her white rice with apple cider vinegar and fried eggs and salmon skin on top. Add a dollop of coconut oil and voila!
We think it'll help, but it might just be a matter of waiting until the season changes and the weather cools.
But Butter's itchiness has got us to thinking about our own itchy fingers, itchy brains, itchy vocal chords. We've got a lot of music we're eager to play, a lot of ideas we're eager to explore, and a lot of waiting around until the season changes and we have the time and space to do so. We're still in touring season now, which is a season we love and one that we spend a lot of time in; partly because if you're not touring when you're a touring musicians, you're just a broke musician, partly because we love visiting our friends in faraway places, and partly because Butter had to go to the ocean.
We're starting to crave a new season, though. One where we sit down and write a few more songs. One where we start to craft a new record. One where we have the time and the headspace to make some new music videos. One where we can explore some other projects and interests. And so we're starting to carve out some time this winter where we're taking a break from the road and from playing shows. Not much time. Just a little.
There is a time for everything. A time for writing songs, a time for practicing them, a time for recording them, and a time for touring them. Turn, turn, turn. And sometimes you can be in one season and long for another. Like our itchy dog. The trick is to figure out how to enjoy each moment as it happens, even the moment of longing for the future, and to stop itching yourself bloody to get to the next place.
