Sunday, May 30, 2021

A Different Path


I managed to get some stuff done in the garden yesterday morning. I dug up a crescent of grass in front of the flower bed by the steps and planted most of my remaining seeds there -- the wildflower mix, the rest of the sunflowers, and the cornflowers. Basically I took away the grass, piled on some compost and jammed in the seeds. I'm sure that's not quite an ideal planting method but hopefully it will work, and I almost don't care if it doesn't. I just couldn't stand looking at those seed packets anymore. The pressure! "Don't forget to plant me! Do it soon before it's too late!"

I'm also soaking the rest of the jimsonweed seeds and I'll get them planted today, along with the nasturtium seeds I saved from last year. And I planted some zinnia seeds in a pot, but not the whole packet -- they're supposedly good until 2025 so I'll store the rest.

Every year I say I'm done with seeds, and every year I plant more. This is partly the fault of Gardener's World magazine, which we get in the library and which sends out seed packets every spring. I gave away many of them this year, but I always feel compelled to grow some myself.

Anyway, after planting seeds and trimming back some ivy that's climbing up the house and was blanketing our dining room window, I took the dog to the Heath.

We took a different route this time, up a shady walking path called Oak Hill Way (above). Olga always wants to walk this path, and I have no idea why. I guess it seems like fertile territory for squirrels.


We passed this apartment building, which is set in the middle of the woods on beautiful, sloping lawns. I really like it, even though architecturally it's pretty mundane. I'm sure the apartments cost ridiculous amounts of money.


We passed some purple rhododendrons on a shady traffic island...


...before finally getting to the Heath itself.

I should have prefaced all this by saying it was a BEAUTIFUL day. Like, painfully beautiful.




The sun shone down through the leaves of the beeches, highlighting their reddish tint.


Olga indulged in some leaf-rolling...


...as well as a quick swim.

We took our time on this walk, because Olga moves more slowly these days, but she definitely enjoyed herself. By the way, but we took her to the vet for a physical a few days ago, after her recent bout of stomach illness. She got a clean bill of health -- her blood tests all looked good and the vet could find no evidence of any internal problems. We've taken her off the Metacam, in case that's what's upset her stomach, and we're treating her arthritis with paracetamol (acetaminophen) instead.

Toward the end of our walk, we sat in a field on the West Heath and rested. I saw a teenage boy and a man with a cat on a leash. I suppose they thought they'd give the cat some outdoor time in a new setting, but of course the cat wanted no part of it. It basically just sat frozen, as cats do when they're in an unfamiliar environment.


As we walked, I set my iTunes on "shuffle" and listened to whatever old pop favorites came up, like this one -- and with the warm sun coming dappled through the trees, it all felt like a transcendent experience. I honestly felt moved.

Anyway, we came home and had a quiet evening and the dog is still in bed, which is a sure sign that she had a great time.

39 comments:

Moving with Mitchell said...

Good news about beautiful Olga. Brilliant photos (what else is new...) And it looks like winter has already been left [on the ground]...

Mary said...

So good to have had such a glorious day after all the wet, cold weather you've been enduring. Love Olga's photos in all her different poses. Happy girl.

Colette said...

Beautiful post. Olga is such a sweet dog, and I loved seeing the purple flowers. They make quite a show.

Pixie said...

I love that song. I never knew who the singer was so I looked her up. She died four years ago.

Olga's such a good girl, just stays where you want her to for photos. It sounds like a very good day.

Ms. Moon said...

A heartbreakingly beautiful day! I know that feeling. They are rare and they are to be acknowledged and enjoyed and it certainly appears that you and Olga did those things.
You have definitely uncovered your gardening gene. Funny how some things just show up later in life and become so important and so much a part of you.

ellen abbott said...

I'd want to walk down that path too. It's lovely. what are those gorgeous purple flowers, are they petunias? and I am so envious of the Heath. of course, if it was down here it would be full of poison ivy.

Red said...

Olga likes the new trail you walked because there are likely all kinds of good smells there.

Ellen D. said...

Olga did such a nice job of striking different poses for her photo shoot today! Made me think of the song "Vogue"!
Wishing you more lovely days!

Anonymous said...

Such a lovely day for a walk there. Looks like you and Olga had a fine time out there in the sunshine.

Catalyst said...

Beautiful photos. I've just finished reading "At Home" by Bill Bryson and the descriptions of London in days gone by and how the parks and greensward came into being match your pictures so well. Olga is a wonderful model to show it all off.

Linda Sue said...

Olga , such a pretty girl. I empathize with her pain, I will tell you that she is a brave girl! The last portrait of her with the blue flowers is stunning. Her puppy sit, so endearing. There is nothing as lovely as a perfect day in London.

Bob said...

Seed packets are so pushy, no? Always demanding to be planted.
I love Olga's tree-lined path and, well, I love all the pictures of Olga on her trek!

jenny_o said...

Ah, lots of Olga photos - thank you :) Those purple blooms are exquisite.

Cheryl West said...

I am having a catch-up day(finally) reading blogs.
It's absolutely wonderful that you are having a lovely,sunny, mild long weekend after all your wet weather.
Here in CT it's been so dry but mostly warm and good gardening weather. Now, on Memorial Day weekend, it is nothing but rain and coolness. I think we've had almost 4" so far. Catch-up all at once.
Your garden looks so lush. Sorry about the aphids. I've never seen such a bad year for them on our roses. I tried NEEM oil with little effect so may try the Dawn soapy water after our weather settles.
Thank you also for the information about the I Phone battery usage due to the Exposure tracking. We are doing pretty well here so I have turned that off.
As always your blog and photos are very welcome reading.

Sharon said...

Your day sounds a lot like the oh so perfect day I had last weekend. All of these photos are beautiful. I LOVE that apartment building and I bet you are right, very expensive place to live. Olga looks like she's admiring it too. That last photo of Olga sitting next to all those pretty flowers is one for a picture frame.

Kelly said...

So good to hear Olga got a clean bill of health! She looks so well behaved on your adventures. Are you always able to have her off-lead? Glad to know those were just leaves she was rolling in. One of mine had a nice roll in some roadkill that got dragged up to the yard earlier this morning. (armadillo, in case you were wondering!) Yuck!

Yorkshire Pudding said...

It was a good day and your heart was light. Shame that your faithful hound failed yet again to clamp a squirrel in her jaws. Perhaps it is time to invest in a squirrel trap so that you can catch live squirrels to sate her appetite.

Jennifer said...

I love photos of pretty Olga!

I just noticed the first flower bud on our nasturtiums. You can never plant too many seeds!

Steve Reed said...

Yes, I remember reading that she died. She couldn't have been very old.

Steve Reed said...

I've always had a gardening gene -- until now I've invested that energy in houseplants! But I've definitely learned a lot living here.

Steve Reed said...

They're campanulas, a common sight here in the spring.

Steve Reed said...

Undoubtedly true!

Steve Reed said...

She is very good at posing. When I tell her to "stay," she invariably does.

Steve Reed said...

It was amazing!

Steve Reed said...

I don't think I've read "At Home," though I've read most of Bryson's other books. I should look for that one!

Steve Reed said...

She definitely gets achy, but she will not allow me to cut our walks short. I tried to take a shorter route yesterday and she kept steering us along our normal path! (I did manage to sneakily cut a few corners.)

Steve Reed said...

The fact that I perceive them that way says more about me than the seed packets, I suppose.

Steve Reed said...

They are nice! We take pictures at that spot almost every year.

Steve Reed said...

I've found that soapy water does work, but the most foolproof method is just squashing them! Admittedly it's harder on roses, given the thorns, and not a very pleasant task.

Steve Reed said...

Olga was scanning the lawn for squirrels, I'm sure!

Steve Reed said...

I keep her on a lead when we're on streets with cars, except in instances like these when I let her off only long enough to take a picture. She's very good at obeying the "stay" command. (And these were not busy streets.) On the Heath and in parks she can run off-lead.

Steve Reed said...

As she gets older the chance that she will ever again clamp a squirrel gets more and more remote. Which is fine with me. (She only successfully caught one once, and it didn't end well for the squirrel.)

Steve Reed said...

It's true -- it never hurts to just get them all out there, does it?!

Steve Reed said...

Interestingly, that phrase has been the subject of Internet speculation!

https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/leave-the-winter-on-the-ground.3302143/

Steve Reed said...

She moves more slowly these days, but she still loves our walks!

Steve Reed said...

They are beautiful, aren't they? We used to have some but they didn't last -- I think we planted them in the wrong place.

Moving with Mitchell said...

Yep. I've never quite understood that line but always liked the sound of it. Until Per Gessle of Roxette says what he meant, I won't take any other interpretations ... except my own.

Fresca said...

Hi, Steve--
If you're interested in Isherwood, I'd recommend the 2007 doc Chris & Don: A Love Story . . . "that chronicles the lifelong relationship between author Christopher Isherwood and his much younger lover, artist Don Bachardy present-day interviews, archival footage shot by the couple from the 1950s, excerpts from Isherwood's diaries, and playful animations to recount their romance."

37paddington said...

Lovely Olga portraits. She is a natural, that one.