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.