Saturday, January 2, 2021

Walking in Space


This was the scene yesterday afternoon when I took Olga to Fortune Green. You know it's January when Camden Council's tree recycling pen is overflowing! (Olga is thinking, "Why is he making me stand here?")

As you can see, it was a misty, damp day, which didn't stop that woman on the benches from sitting there determinedly. As I always say, if you wait for good weather to do anything in England, you'll be waiting a long time. People here know how to live with the climate!

At least it wasn't freezing. We moved the tree fern back out onto the patio, and I can now once again easily access my side of the bed. No more Jungle Room. The forecast doesn't call for freezing temperatures for the next several nights.


The dog and I had a good walk through the cemetery. She has become so fixated on squirrels, and so vocal in her frustration when they're up in the treetops, that she embarrasses me. She stands beneath the trees and essentially goes on a rant, barking dozens of times in quick succession, and ignores all my calls and commands. When there are people around I imagine them thinking, "Why can't he get that dog to behave?" (Although usually they're laughing at her zeal.) It's funny, considering she barely barked at all when we first got her. She's gradually grown much more expressive. (She never barks in the house, though, thank God.)

I also heard an owl when we were out on our neighborhood walk yesterday morning. A tawny owl, I believe. So that was cool.

Last night, we watched George Clooney's movie "The Midnight Sky" on Netflix. I liked it a lot, even though it included a spacewalking scene -- if there's one thing that gives me the willies in movies it's spacewalking. I get so anxious I almost have to leave the room. Submarine movies do that to me, too. I have a deep-seated (and perfectly natural, it seems to me) phobia about being any place where I can't breathe naturally. For the same reason, I could never scuba dive. I'm sure it's a fantastic experience and I admire all my friends who do it, but I'll stick to snorkeling.

This morning I woke up at 4:45 a.m. I rolled over because it was WAAAAY too early to get up, and the next thing I knew it was almost 7! I never sleep that late. But it felt great!

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why do I think high achievers never sleep late?
A tawny owl awake during the day. Just warning off Olga.
Women become wet at the mention of George Clooney. I've never seen the appeal.
Here is your nightmare for tonight. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.....beep, beep, beep... Sleep well in your crowded bunk.
My English Sister in law told me when I was checking out the weather for a boat cruise on the River Tyne in Newcastle, we don't do that as we would never do anything. As it was, the weather was fine.

Moving with Mitchell said...

It looks like Andrew Lees needs a new bench. I once read that cats grow more vocal as they age. I don't know if it's true and I don't know if it also applies to dogs but, if it IS true, we'll soon be in yowling hell with our cat Moose. He never shuts up.

Debby said...

Andrew Lees' bench made me melancholy.

The Padre said...

Classic Olga Girl Stare - She Is Just So Cute - Barking Or Not, Adorable - Nice Weathered Shot Of The Drew Bench - Ahhhhh Sleeping In, How Nice

Cheers

Peter said...

I agree about space walks, I just picture coming unattached to the main ship and floating off forever. Panic!

Mary said...

As we say to our dog when he becomes too vocal...Stop being a dog! Like Olga, Sammy rarely barked the first year we had him and still doesn't do it much when in the house...unless someone unwisely steps onto our property.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

I can read the facial expressions of a dog like a horse whisperer. Olga is not thinking, "Why is he making me stand here?". She is thinking, "Today's the day that I will rip the guts out of one of those goddam squirrels! Step a bit closer Cyril Squirrel. Make my day!"

Marty said...

Poor Andrew and his bench - at least someone twirled faux flowers around it.
I'm with you on the space walking; I'm so old that I remember Sea Hunt on tv with Lloyd Bridges (Jeff and Beau's dad) - I watched it faithfully, but the underwater scenes never failed to freak me out.

Linda Sue said...

No love left for Andrew Lee, likely everyone has died, as we do. Rainy days here are different than London's , but you would feel right at home.
Good job to lock up those ex-christmas trees, who knows what shenanigans they could get up to.

Ms. Moon said...

You liked "Midnight Sky"? We were not that impressed.
Giant waves in movies or ever pictures trigger anxiety in me. I've always wondered if in a former lifetime I died in a huge storm at sea. The idea of a tsunami is one of my biggest nightmares.
Poor Olga. I wonder if one day a squirrel will just fall out of a tree on her. That would be the greatest day of her life.

ellen abbott said...

Minnie barks inside, outside, if one of us exclaims she will jump up and bark, hears a car door slam, sees one of the neighborhood cats out the window she barks. I discovered that praising her for doing a good job instead of just trying to get her to stop works far better. I have not seen Midnight Sky or Wonder Woman or any of the TV shows everyone talks about. who has time? I barely get 30 minutes a day to read.

Red said...

Now the old bench that has rotted away must have a good story. I see the plaque is still on it.

Anonymous said...

Olga really does a lovely job of posing for you.
Roger watched "Midnight Sky" and liked it very much. I may have to take a look.
I googled "tawny owl" to see what it looks like. Reminds me of a barn owl. How cool that you heard one.

Sharon said...

Olga has found her voice and she intends to use it! Good for her!

Ellen D. said...

I thought Midnight Sky was just "meh" - so predictable and some lame dialogue: "Wish us luck." "Good luck." But I am not a big George Clooney fan so...
I have to go back in time to read all of your old posts... I am curious how you ended up in England.
Thanks for posting!

Margaret said...

I'd like to see that film too. Submarine movies bother me since I'm borderline claustrophobic. I get up at 8 which is a perfect time for my body clock.

Allison said...

Living in Seattle was like that. We were always hearing that "there is no bad weather, only bad kit." I don't think that's actually true when it's raining sideways. There were a lot of wet rides. The Christmas tree impound looks formidable.

Sabine said...

Olga always cheers me up always, damp rainy day or not.
I loved scuba diving in the Indian Ocean but the scary bit for me was that you cannot hear a thing and communication with fellow divers is complicated. I was 30 years younger and life was just an adventure then.

The Bug said...

I'm the same way about underwater & space movies - I can't breathe! Ugh!

I love how optimistic Olga is in her pursuit of squirrels :)

Steve Reed said...

Yeah, I've never really understood George Clooney's appeal either, but I do like him as a person. I think his heart -- and politics -- are in the right place.

Steve Reed said...

Interesting! I guess maybe that IS true of dogs. My cat Howard (who died in the mid-aughts) got VERY vocal as she got older. Yes, Howard was a she!

Steve Reed said...

It is a bit sad-looking. Let's assume it got lots of use and is many years old!

Steve Reed said...

It was nice -- just unexpected!

Steve Reed said...

Exactly. It's terrifying to watch.

Steve Reed said...

Ha! That's exactly it -- I can't very well expect her not to be herself, can I?

Steve Reed said...

Probably true. At any given moment, Olga is likely to be thinking about squirrels.

Steve Reed said...

I never saw "Sea Hunt" but I've certainly heard about it. I used to watch "Flipper" and the diving there didn't bother me -- but it was all shallow-water stuff.

Steve Reed said...

Christmas tree jail!

Steve Reed said...

Yeah, I did like it! I guess any uncontrollable force of nature seems potentially scary. I laughed at the idea of the squirrel falling on Olga -- she seems to THINK that will happen if she barks enough!

Steve Reed said...

Well, she's being a good guard dog! Unfortunately Olga is somewhat useless on that front. TV watching is part of our nightly routine -- we always devote a couple of hours to it.

Steve Reed said...

Yeah, I wonder how long it's been there?

Steve Reed said...

They're one of our more common owls. Every now and then I hear one in our back garden.

Steve Reed said...

It took her a while, but she's definitely found it!

Steve Reed said...

I didn't find it predictable at all. The bit about the little girl came as a complete surprise. (But maybe just to me!) We moved here in July 2011 so Dave could take a job at the school where we currently work. If you look back to the spring of 2011 there are some posts about the move.

Steve Reed said...

For me it's not the claustrophobia so much as the idea that if anything happens, you are STUCK. You can't go anywhere. (Which I suppose is claustrophobia, actually.)

Steve Reed said...

Yeah, raining sideways is bad weather by any definition!

Steve Reed said...

I do think things like diving are more easily undertaken when we're younger and we feel more invincible!

Steve Reed said...

Ever hopeful, against all odds and evidence!