Monday, July 28, 2014

Peacock


Dave and I went to Greenwich yesterday to visit our friends Sally and Mike. They had a little brunch in their garden with summery gazpacho and Mike's special Maltese pasta and pastries, the names of which I've already forgotten. Two other couples were there -- Liz and Andy, and Anna and Lawrence. Anna teaches in the same department as Dave, and by complete coincidence she and Lawrence bought a house just a few doors away from Sally, who I've known for years through blogging. Worlds collide!

We toured Sally's garden and she gave us a rundown on some of the plants and weeds, so we have a better idea of what we're dealing with in our own garden and what we might plant in certain areas.

Then we walked to a nearby animal park to see some baby deer, and we found this amazing peacock.


A peacock really is an incredible bird -- ridiculous in its extravagance, an overdressed dandy. This one kept trying to court nearby chickens and pigeons. Or perhaps it was warning them away from its territory. Who knows what was going on in that tiny peacock mind?

Dave and I made our way back home yesterday evening, tired and sated both gastronomically and socially. Every time I go to Greenwich I marvel at how far away it is! We were still so full from lunch we just ate some nibblies as we watched TV, and then went to bed early.

4 comments:

  1. Really- is anything prettier than a peacock?

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  2. Wow. That is a fancy dinosaur.

    Have safe travels tomorrow, Steve.

    So glad you found a coffee place with high standards. It looks like a Peregrine coffee. Very cool.

    and yes yes - gardening is always a good idea. It's therapeutic.

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  3. Contact with the soil, breathing the micro-organisms in the soil is essential for good health, mental and physical, and centering, I think. And there is some research that supports that.

    When I was young tho old enough to know better but not old enough to restrain myself, I was with my family visiting friends of my parents somewhere in Monterrey Mexico, I think. They had a large property and on this property was a fenced area with peacocks inside and they had built nests at or near the fence and the unattended nests had eggs in them. I had it in my mind that I was going to steal one of the eggs so I got a stick and tried to draw one to me and through the chain link fence. I only managed to break it. When the peacocks realized what I was doing they raised up a really loud alarm cry. I tried to get another one from a different nest and broke it too. I felt kinda bad about the eggs but I was really afraid of getting caught so I ran off.

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  4. When Stella and I were there we took the boat down the Thames to Greenwich, so enjoyable we did not think it was very far away from Pimlico at all. Everything is so close there. The P-cock is very fancy!

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