Another busy day yesterday! This has been a crazy weekend. And did I buy any Christmas presents? Nope. I hope no one is expecting great things from me on the gift front because I'm not sure that's going to happen.
I did make time to take Olga to Hampstead Heath yesterday morning. We had a spectacularly clear day and she had a ball, as usual. We left about 10 a.m., after I did some household errands, and we walked pretty much the entire circumference of the Heath and up Parliament Hill. We had to hustle home when I looked at my phone and realized it was 12:20 and I had to be at Dave's concert, at school, at 2 p.m.!
We also had a brief encounter with Mr. (or Ms.?) Fox, who checked out the back corner of our yard near the shed. Olga watched from inside, fuming silently.
The fox jumped up on the fence dividing our garden from Mrs. Kravitz's. There's a bird feeder there, on the adjacent tree, normally filled with peanuts and covered with squirrels. My guess is that's what attracted the fox. But as you can see the feeder is empty and the squirrels were elsewhere, so the fox jumped down into the neighbor's garden and went about his (or her) business.
Dave's concert went well -- I call it "his" but of course it was actually the entire music department's, and all of their high school students. Concert band, vocal choir, orchestra, smaller ensembles -- they all performed. Everything sounded great and went off without a hitch. The jazz band closed the show with a swinging rendition of "In the Mood," which left the whole audience clapping and smiling and was stuck in my head for hours.
(Top photo: A tree on Hampstead Heath, yesterday morning.)
So glad the concert went well and those photos are wonderful! I've started giving consumables only or gift cards which are in small amounts and require no wrapping. Maybe a family night out?
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young, my parents always took my brothers and me to see Henry Mancini play at the Mann Music Center in Philly....I still love big band music, in any variation, to this day. Your "In the Mood" brought back those memories!
ReplyDeleteWe seldom see our wild foxes here.......we know they are there though!
ReplyDeleteSuch amazing photos, Steve!
ReplyDeleteThat fox is beautiful. I don't know whether they are considered pests or not (we don't have wild ones running around here) but I'd love to see one running around my yard.
ReplyDeleteI was about to say I love the fox photos but, I love the tree and the jet photo too! Your description of the concert has me wanting to get some symphony tickets. I haven't been in at least a year and I always enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI doubt that Olga was fuming when she saw the fox. Instead, I think she was probably thinking, "I wish I could be free like that fox! Instead, here I am imprisoned by these two American spies. Let me run free like the wolves of old!"
ReplyDeletelove that top photo and the ones of the fox are pretty damn good too. glad the concert went off well. I just hauled two large piles of debris from my partial clearing of the wild flower mini meadow from last Wednesday to the truck for transport to the burn pile.
ReplyDeleteThat shot of the tree and jet contrail is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI used to love the concerts put on by the school when our daughter was in band. There is always some serious talent emerging via school productions. In The Mood takes me back to university days and Bette Midler's version :)
That's a beautiful fox, Steve. Good on you for taking the pictures.
ReplyDeleteLucky you, to have a beautiful fox visitor!
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