Yesterday was another quiet day at home. I finished a book, I walked the dog around the corner, I did some minor stuff in the garden. Ho-hum.
Doesn't Olga look regal next to those red crocosmia and pink hydrangeas? She was on high alert, keeping an eye on some squirrels rustling around in a nearby bush.
Our fox & cubs (or hawkweed) has finally bloomed. For some reason this year we only have a few in flower, at least so far, and the plants are very small. I think the dry spring held them back.
This is one of our roses, a bright orange single. It's always an eye-catcher, and this year it's one of the last to still have blossoms. All the other rose bushes are in a kind of resting phase, gearing up for (hopefully) another flush of flowers.
I really need to motivate myself to get out and do something. It's easy to sit around the house, doing housework and reading, but it's also stultifying. I almost took a walk yesterday, but with rain off and on, it wasn't a great day for an excursion.
At one point, while reading on the couch, I looked over at Dave, and he was blankly staring at his phone, which was sitting on the armrest of his chair. I said, "What are you doing?"
"Watching my phone update," he said, and laughed. "Things are getting dire!"
"Watching my phone update." When I relayed this story to my husband, John, we both laughed. This is the story of our lives too!
ReplyDeleteI watched a programme on Netflix the other day called 'Minimalism' it was very interesting. One of the facts that came out of that programme was that the average person looks at his phone 150 times a day, you'll have to count Daves glances, lol
ReplyDeleteBriony
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Hi Steve. Last night I watched Gardeners World on BBC and thought of you. There was an interesting five minute piece about Kate Bradbury's wildlife garden with lots bugs and plants to encourage them. I never knew borage could replenish its nectar in minutes! If you didn't see it check it out. Better than watching phones update..... All the best.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Lockdown of 2020 must have been especially trying for Dave with his Crohn's disease causing him to shelter more assiduously than you have needed to do. But just think, if he had been back in The States he could have happily joined in with the festivities at Mount Rushmore yesterday evening. No masks. No social distancing. No COVID?...Err. I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteHah! Dave is not alone. I watched my phone, my iPad, AND my computer update at different times in the past month. The computer was the least exciting... and the phone went way too fast. At least Dave has your incredible gardens to enjoy. And we have your photos. Our black & white cats are the perfect complement to most photos, as well.
ReplyDeleteStultifying! Exactly.
ReplyDeleteYesterday was one of those days with rain outside and little to do onside.
Whoops : “inside”
ReplyDeleteI found myself pacing in my apartment the other day. Much like you, I'm not used to being at home so much. An adventure these days is going to Trader Joes instead of my regular grocery store.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that photo of Olga. That's another frame-worthy photo.
I'm having some difficulty in the sameness too. And hell, I live for sameness! I wonder how many people are going to move after this is over (if indeed it's ever over?) simply because the cannot bear the same four walls anymore.
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are lovely. At least there's that.
You've built a beautiful garden to relax in. Even Olga looks like she really enjoys your beautiful garden. My life is sameness everyday too. I guess most of us are in this same boat. But the good news is that we all woke up again this morning to enjoy another day. How's about a new hobby? Maybe rock painting? You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteLove Olga's photo. At least she has squirrels to keep her entertained. Not quite as exciting for Dave and you, eh?
ReplyDeleteWe keep waiting for this to be over. We can't get on with things as we think thing will go back to normal very soon.
ReplyDeleteOlga is a regal lady.
ReplyDeleteLooks colorful and lovely there. Olga seems to be enjoying her time despite the pandemic. We should all strive to be like Olga!
ReplyDeleteOlga does look good with her ears standing up. And your flower photos are (as usual) phenomenal. I had to laugh at your descriptions of your and Dave's low energy because I was just telling a friend in California that I didn't have much energy these days as the confinement and torpor of the pandemic was taking its toll on me. And, I said, there's aging too.
ReplyDeletetop photo is like an ad for something marvelous- whatever it might advertise I would most certainly buy. Perfect Olga portrait, there are just so many, you could make calendars for the next twenty years featuring OLGA.
ReplyDeleteOlga's cousin in Portland got a new kitten. Not sure if it is a good idea- for the kitten.
Haha! Dave: "Things are getting dire." Lol. I know just how he feels!
ReplyDeleteOlga among the summer really does look regal! I love the flower photos. How beautiful.
Your garden is really stunning. So is Olga.
ReplyDeleteI think that's one of the very few photos you've showed us of Olga where she didn't have her goofy smile on. Squirrels are serious business!
ReplyDeleteYou may not be doing much, but you still write a great post with Olga and the garden pictures.
David: Modern life for all of us, I guess!
ReplyDeleteBriony: I think I've watched that show, if it's the one I'm remembering! I was very into minimalism for a long time, believe it or not. I lived in a studio apartment in New York and it was quite spare. I own more now than I think I ever have!
Fran: YES! I saw that piece and I so admire her garden. We took out our borage plant, sadly, because it volunteered in a pot occupied by another plant that needed its home back. But we still have comfrey and many other wilderness-friendly plants at the back of the garden.
YP: Trump is bound and determined to make sure EVERYONE gets Covid. Then he won't have to think about it anymore!
Mitchell: I haven't updated anything in ages. I suppose I should. I don't think I'll watch, though. :)
Marty: Fortunately the weather here cleared up a bit, so I was able to get out and run some errands.
Sharon: I would be pacing too if I didn't have the garden. That's been a life-saver for us. Keep walking around your neighborhood -- that must help!
Ms Moon: I also wonder how many people will divorce!
Edna: Olga LOVES the garden. She's outside all the time. Even if we're sitting in the living room she sometimes lies on the grass outside -- though she usually keeps an eye on us through the window.
Mary: Yeah, squirrels don't do it for me. Give me a good book any day!
Red: It's a weird state of limbo, isn't it?
37P: She is! When she's not being goofy, anyway.
Robin: There's something to be said for being oblivious!
Catalyst: It's hard to tell, isn't it, how much inactivity is attributable to aging and how much to the inertia of sheer boredom?
Linda Sue: She really IS a photogenic dog. I would nix the kitten idea for sure! Olga thinks kittens are hors d'oeuvres.
Jennifer: As one of my former co-workers in Florida used to say, "You gotta laugh to keep from cryin'!"
Allison: Thanks! Not quite like cacti, is it?
Jenny-O: When she's in hunting mode, she is intent! (And unsmiling.)
your crocosmia is really nice. if mine would bloom like that I'd keep them instead of pulling them out every year though it seems impossible to get rid of them completely. they bloom sparsely and want to lay on the ground. and yeah. inertia has set in here.
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