Sunday, February 23, 2020

The Wind in the Trees


Another day, another dog walk -- yesterday to the West Heath. The wind was whipping through the trees, which sighed and swayed. We saw quite a few downed limbs and even a few fallen trees, probably from storms Ciara and Dennis over the past few weekends.

It was a mostly uneventful walk, except that I found someone's Slovak national identity card near a footpath. I'm not sure what to do with it; I sent an e-mail to the embassy, asking if I should mail it to them. Perhaps they could return it if the guy who lost it applies for a new one. (Admittedly this would require an extraordinary degree of coordination beyond most bureaucracies, but it's worth a try.)

There's someone who could be the card owner on Facebook, but he appears to be in Slovakia now, so maybe he's already replaced his lost card. I was going to contact him but if I remember right, a Facebook message from someone who's not a friend gets sent into some weird Facebook neverland where it's not easy to find. Maybe I'll try anyway.


Here's the obligatory Olga-in-the-woods photo. We did not see many squirrels. I think they huddle somewhere when there's a lot of wind.

Dave repotted his hydrangea yesterday and we did a few more gardening odds and ends. I potted the amaryllis bulbs and treated them again for red-blotch fungus. Hopefully they'll have a better year, with fresh soil and fungus treatment; if not, I'm throwing them out. I have one more plant to move -- the maltese cross, which is being overtaken by a nearby bay tree. It was much smaller last year than the year before, and I'm sure that's because it's being shaded out.

More blustery, rainy weather is in today's forecast. I read yesterday that some parts of England have already had 141 percent of their average February rainfall. I don't think we're that wet here, but we're pretty damp.

17 comments:

Alphie Soup said...

Your garden is like a chessboard, which move next?
Alphie

Yorkshire Pudding said...

You could pose as a Slovakian but you will need to learn Slovak folk dances and how to sing the Slovakian national anthem:-
Nad Tatrou1 sa blýska
Hromy divo bijú
Zastavme ich, bratia
Veď sa ony stratia
Slováci ožijú

which means

There is lightning over the Tatras
Thunders loudly sound
Let us stop them, brothers
After all they will disappear
The Slovaks will revive

Moving with Mitchell said...

Have been hearing from friends about the awful storms in your part of the world. Glad you haven’t been hit too hard. We could use some more good radio nos here. Thanks for finding my Slovak ID card. But no worries, I’ve got another dozen from other countries that I can use. Besides, I was never happy with that photo.

crafty cat corner said...

In the past I have read a lot of Robert Goddard books and in one of them I remember him talking about the 'susurrous' sound of the trees. This post reminded me of that work, such a lovely word isn't it?
Briony
x

e said...

We've had more rain here than I remember in winters past. I love your tree photos and that area makes me wish I could take a walk.

Ms. Moon said...

Nice tree shots!
I probably would tossed the ID card away. You are a terrifically caring person, Steve.

Anonymous said...

I love that photo of the sky and trees. Quite beautiful. I just saw a headline in the local newspaper here that said this February may be the third driest on record since 1887. That does not bode well for the coming summer fire season of California.
It will be interesting if you do hear from the embassy.

Sharon said...

I love the photo looking up through the trees. I can almost hear the wind blowing.

Red said...

If you're out a fair amount of time you have a good chance of finding something valuable. I would think that info was stolen and then ditched. They got what they needed out of it. It's gong to be interesting to hear the end of this story.

ellen abbott said...

that's a great shot of the bare trees with that moody sky behind them or rather above them. I have stuff to move around and stuff to pant in the garden but all my time is being taken up by remodeling tasks and supervision.

Edna B said...

What a beautiful photo of the wind in the trees. I think that's really nice of you to to try to find the ID card's owner. The positive side of all this rain is no water shortage later when the temps go up. You have a great day, hugs, Edna B.

Catalyst said...

We had rain most of the day yesterday. It's moved on now but I noticed snow on the surrounding mountain tops early this morning.

jenny_o said...

That trees photo is amazing. When the leaves are off the branches you can really see how the trees grow up to - but not into - their neighbours. I've taken pictures of the same thing but mine aren't as good - too many telephone and power lines in the way!

Thank you for the obligatory Olga photo! lol

The Bug said...

I’ve sent a FB message to someone who wasn’t my friend before & they did find it eventually. It’s worth a shot!

Elizabeth said...

That Olga gets more human-like every day. I think your photos show her essence.

Steve Reed said...

Alphie: It's true! There's always something that needs relocating.

YP: I don't think I'd be a very convincing Slovak. I don't even know what the Tatras are!

Mitchell: Ha! I can see why -- it doesn't really look like you. :)

Briony: YES! I wish I'd thought of that word while writing this post!

E: It's interesting how our weather here often seems to parallel what's going on in the South. Maybe something about the Jet Stream linking our two worlds.

Ms Moon: Or am I just a busybody? LOL

Robin: Oh no! I wish I could send you some moisture. That DOES sound worrisome.

Sharon: I took a video, too, but it didn't really capture the sound.

Red: I thought of that, too. But it's weird that it was just the ID card. If it was stolen I'd expect to find a whole (empty) wallet.

Ellen: Well, I guess there's still time! It is only February, but if your February is like ours, it seems more like March.

Edna: Well, that's true. I guess it does replenish our reservoirs!

Catalyst: Like Edna said, that will be good for your water supply later in the year, I suppose.

Jenny-O: Yeah, the shapes of the trees were interesting. They do claim their own spaces, don't they?

Bug: I've tried it with this guy, so we'll see!

Elizabeth: She really does seem like a person sometimes.

My life so far said...

I love that photo of the tree tops!