Sunday, March 4, 2018

Olga's Winter Wonderland


Olga and I went on our West Heath walk yesterday. The streets were slushy, the gutters full of wintry residue the color and consistency of a Coca-Cola Slurpee, but the Heath itself was pristine and white and snowier than I ever remember seeing it before.


It made for a great walk, because although the snow was rapidly melting the ground was still pretty firm, meaning it wasn't boggy.


I only fell on my behind once, while gingerly stepping down a steep incline. Oh well.

Olga, on the other hand, was as sure-footed as ever, chasing the Kong or running after other dogs or sledding children or whatever else struck her fancy. (We didn't see any squirrels. They're still curled up somewhere warm and out of sight.)


The pond where Olga wades was completely iced over, even around the new young shoots of iris that grow up every spring. They'll be fine, I'm sure.


And beneath the snow, the gorse was still persistently blooming.


Speaking of blooming, I harvested some of our poor battered daffodils and brought them into the kitchen, where they look as good as new on the windowsill -- even one that I inadvertently stepped on and squashed flat! I've pulled others from beneath the snow and tied them upright in the garden, and they still look fine. Let it never be said that a daffodil is a delicate flower.

This morning the garden is almost clear of snow and the patio is back to normal.  Amazing how quickly it all vanished!

14 comments:

  1. More snow in Sheffield this morning - as the carol goes - "snow was falling snow on snow". Olga appears to have enjoyed taking you on her walk. Sorry you fell on your ass - such events can be injurious to the well-being of fifty something librarians. Take care.

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  2. Glad you'll live to walk and save flowers another day. The gaffs are very pretty.

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  3. I've always said the same about pansies- those delicate-looking suckers are STRONG and can survive the cold. Unfortunately, chickens love to eat them.
    Olga looks good in the snow. Does she wuffle it with her snout? She's such a happy critter.
    If I lived in GB I would use the word "bum" every chance I got. Such as, "I fell on my bum!"
    I think I'll start using it more anyway. I'll threaten my grandchildren with spankings on their bum. And they will laugh even harder than they do now whenever I threaten to punish them in any way because they know I'm a huge sucker and spoil them to pieces.

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  4. Olga doesn't seem to mind the snow and cold feet. that dirty snow sludge is why I am not enamored of snow. or one of the reasons why. my one daffodil is still looking pretty.

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  5. So glad the snow is melting away and the flowers lived to beautify another day! Nice to Olga having fun too.

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  6. I love all those pictures of Olga romping in the snow! It looks like she is enjoying herself. And, those daffodils look fantastic. It's hard to believe those are same ones that look so beaten over in the snow.

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  7. The only bright ones in this story are the squirrels! :^D

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  8. Beautiful daffodils on your window sill. I love the snow most from inside.

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  9. Seriously, how cute is Olga? I mean, really. How cute is she??

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  10. After seeing your videos with Olga, and seeing her drop her Kong every time she stopped, I realize how often your photos show her with her Kong at her feet, and it makes me smile. She's a lovely girl. Thanks for all the pictures of her.

    I can imagine how happy you will all be to get back to normal after that walloping storm.

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  11. The cats used to love tip toeing in the snow but they are all 10 years old now and decided that it wasn't a good idea to go out.
    Briony
    x

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  12. We have daffys in a jar too! We only had a handful to begin with and they were looking pretty pitiful after our high winds the other day.

    Love the Olga in the snow pics!

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