Sunday, August 23, 2020

Rupert Brooke and Coneflowers



A fairly quiet day yesterday. I got caught up on some blogs and other reading, as well as mowing the lawn and doing some laundry. It's ridiculous that after only two days of work I felt so worn out, but I was glad to have a day to rest.

In the afternoon, Dave and I walked Olga to the cemetery, where we found this World War I soldier's grave covered with dry, brown flowers. That's a sonnet by the ridiculously handsome Rupert Brooke on the headstone, which you can read in its entirety here. (It's sonnet number three.)

We heard the turaco, so it's still around, but we didn't see it.


The coneflowers in the cemetery are already past their peak. Our garden also seems to be on the wane -- the dahlias' blooms have diminished, the cardoon flowers and thistles are all brown, the crocosmia has come and gone. We are moving into fall.


Olga looks positively fat in this picture, but I think it's just the way she's lying on the ground, cooling her belly in the puddle. She hasn't gained weight, at least not a significant amount. (I'm anticipating reader comments, here!)

18 comments:

Yorkshire Pudding said...

I have visited Rupert Brooke's grave on the island of Skyros in Greece. If I had dug it up and prised open his rotting coffin I doubt that Rupert would have looked handsome any more. As for commenting on a lady's bulk - that's no-go territory!

Jennifer said...

Olga has a big grin on her face, which is the only thing I noticed!

Frances said...

Well...she does look a bit " portly", but don't tell her I said so !
Alexi is on a diet. He was feeling very heavy when I lift him into the car, so I finally got round to weighing him....(bathroom scales, me first then holding him) and he was a kilo over what he should be. ( 10KG) Normally I would check his weight regularly when passing the vet's small surgery just near here, but they have been closed since March, or he wouldn't have got this bad!
Enjoy your Sunday...glorious sunshine here at the moment.

Moving with Mitchell said...

I love Olga, but her penchant for landing in every mud puddle would make OCD-me a bit crazy.

Anonymous said...

While I don't know who Rupert Brooke was, he has great hair.
A quiet day, only doing washing, mowing the lawn and walking Fat Olga. Rather more than I did.

Mary said...

Olga looks supremely content. Out for a walk with her besties. Kong. Puddle. Life is good.

VRP said...

You never make comments on a ladies weight 😅🤣...shame on you 🤣

Ms. Moon said...

Olga doesn't look fat to me. She looks like a nice, healthy bulldog. Or Staffie. Or whatever she is.
How did the summer go by so fast?

Anonymous said...

Olga looks happy and delighted to be out for a walk with her humans.
It's starting to feel a bit like fall here too. We're expecting thunder and lightning later today, so we're hoping there won't be any sparks for new fires here.
I don't know who Rupert Brooke was, but his name made me think of Rupert Murdoch, which is always a bummer. LOL!

ellen abbott said...

sounds like a normal Saturday after working all week. the last few mornings here have been a little cooler but I don't think I'll go so far as to say summer is winding down. Still not even the end of August.

Sharon said...

That sonnet is perfect for a cemetery visit. It's so hard for me to frame the fact that many places are experiencing touches of fall while we still struggle with 100+ temps. It won't feel like fall here until November. I think Olga looks quite content. What could be better, she's out for a walk with both of her people.

Catalyst said...

Olga appears to have a belly full of squirrels! That's okay, though, I've had a bellyful of them myself!

Fresca said...

I think that turaco may be your Patronus, Steve. :)
(Hopefully you'll never be on a another dating site and won't ever need to answer that question.)

Fresca said...

P.S.I quit my library job when I was forty to work as a proofreader.
Within months realized that what I'd considered fairly sedentary work--I staffed the circulation desk--actually had provided quite a work out---especially of the upper body.

So, yeah, after months off, we who handle books might be surprisingly tired!
(I was glad to hear you were---I was too.)

Edna B said...

Rupert Brooke and the sonnet were quite interesting. That's an adorable photo of Olga. She looks ever so happy. Fall is creeping in here too. I just don't want the cold temps to get here any time soon. You have a super day, hugs, Edna B.

Michael said...

Olga looks extremely content and happy! A good dog's life. I have noticed that my summer garden is looking a bit "off" as of late. I harbinger that fall is on the way.

Colette said...

All the photos are great, but that first one really knocks me out.

John Going Gently said...

I’m having that sort of day today.the cottage is clean and I’ve napped in the arm chair