Olga had a very quiet morning yesterday, sleeping for hours on the couch as the rain pattered down. I figured we wouldn't take a walk at all, given the weather and her upset stomach. I got some reading done, working my way through two New Yorkers, and I also did housework -- watered the orchids and all the other plants, vacuumed, washed dishes, washed clothes. The normal Saturday stuff.
But Olga seemed to feel better as the day wore on, and in the afternoon she surprised me by enthusiastically jumping up for a walk. She ate and drank and we went to the cemetery, where the cow parsley is blooming in clouds of white among the headstones. (Video above -- be prepared for barking!) She even ran after her tennis ball several times, so she can't be too sick, although she also nibbled grass as you'll see.
Things are definitely not quite back to normal, so we're still keeping an eye on her. (I'll spare you the details.)
We saw the turaco, which added a bit of excitement to the walk. I heard it calling from a large tree and walked over to find two women, one of whom was throwing sticks at it (!). Fortunately the bird was way too high up to be bothered, and while I told the women what I know about it (which isn't much), it continued nibbling berries or buds or something from the tree. I didn't have my big camera so I couldn't take a picture.
Speaking of pictures, I meant to post this one yesterday but I forgot. When I went to the French restaurant with my co-workers on Friday night, I found this photo hanging in the loo. Not a very auspicious location, but I got to wondering about all these people. Except for the man and woman front and center, they look like they could be young teachers or even students, perhaps new graduates of this lycée. In which case they were probably about 18 in 1949, which would make them 90 now. I wonder if any of them are still with us.
It made me consider the brevity of life, and the unpredictable fate of all our photographs and documentation. What would they have thought if they knew their photo would wind up hanging in a restaurant men's room in London in 2021?
I'm guessing the woman, at least, might have declined to participate.
I moved our asiatic lily outside yesterday. It still has a terrible aphid (or something) problem -- little tiny bugs are swarming all over it. Honestly, it's like a horror movie. I was concerned about putting it outdoors because I used bug spray on it several weeks ago, and I don't want to expose any of our outdoor insects to that. But I've showered it with water a few times since then and besides, the spray didn't seem to do a lick of good. So anyway, it's living outside for the rest of the season. Maybe I'll even plant it in the ground. Despite the tiny bugs, the plant itself seems fine and the flowers have been beautiful, but they've now faded.
I hope Olga's grass eating doesn't add to her problems. Good to hear her bossing you around again. The title, Cow Parsley, seemed to me to be a euphemism for something (I have no idea what). The photo makes me curious, too, and I took an instant dislike to the senior member and his arrogant pose.
ReplyDeleteI think eating grass is a symptom, not a cause. What could "cow parsley" be a euphemism for...hmmmm...the mind reels!
DeleteI see only ONE woman in that pile of testosterone - I guess some one has to do the dishes, right?
ReplyDeleteSweet Olga, in the white fluffy flowers, like a Disney story. The cow parsley must have loved the rain. It is exuberant.
Yep, she's the only one, and I bet she was a secretary or house mother or something.
DeleteLinda Sue, tea, cups of tea made by the lady.
ReplyDeleteAt times I wonder about our thousands of digital photos. Who will want them? Who will care? Who will go through them for some treasures to save? Who will judge that?
I've heard quite a bit about bugs in England of late and I didn't realised they were such a problem.
Well, I guess the beauty of digital photos is that they can vanish as easily as they were created -- there are no resources to be lost (aside from the energy required to delete them)!
DeleteI was reading about aphids. Did you know that aphids are born pregnant?
ReplyDeleteThat explains A LOT!
DeleteThat man in the center front could be the very definition of patriarchy, it seems to me.
ReplyDeleteGlad Olga is feeling better. She's probably eating the cow parsley as a sort of tonic/treatment. Dogs do that.
He is definitely the dude in charge, as conveyed by that pose! Yeah, Olga often eats grass, especially when her stomach is upset. I think she likes it.
DeleteMy thoughts at looking at the photo was to wonder if any of those young men had served in WWII. What a different perspective on life they would have had compared to today's graduates.
ReplyDeleteHope Olga is feeling better.
Although it's not long after the war, I think they'd have been too young to serve (if they are in fact high school graduates). If they were 18 in 1949, they'd have been 14 when the war ended.
Deleteperhaps it's the graduating class of a boys prep school and maybe the owner of the restaurant attended or his/her father attended. but why put it in the men's bathroom? glad Olga is feeling better. Minnie will be very glad when it finally stops raining and dries out some. the mosquitoes attack her the minute she goes out.
ReplyDeleteand the cow parsley is very pretty, kin to our queen anne's lace. same family. Queen anne's lace is the wild carrot from which the cultivar carrots come from or so I just read.
DeleteI think it is the graduating class. No idea why the photo went in the bathroom, though! We get wild carrots here too, as well as hogweed, and they all have that same type of flower.
DeleteI hope Olga recovers her mojo. That man in the bottom middle of the photo is scary!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely an intimidating presence in the school, I'm sure!
Delete1949 may have meant that these were war vets who were being trained for something.
ReplyDeleteIt's possible, although that would make them older than I suspect they are.
DeleteThat's an especially interesting picture when you read it in conjunction with this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyc%C3%A9e_Saint-Louis
ReplyDeleteRed makes an interesting point about the timeline too.
I wish I were a dog sometimes - they live so much in the moment, not worrying about the future or the past, or dwelling on how crappy they felt yesterday and wondering if it has ominous meaning! Of course, I guess all animals other than humans do the same. So I could be a cat instead. I hope Olga continues to improve.
Good detective work on the lycée! Dogs are the ultimate in "Zen." They never seem to worry.
DeleteJenny your comment made me laugh. Oh to be a cat. No leash for me.
DeleteSteve, "they [dogs] never seem to worry"? Why then do most dogs look sad, or at least mournful?
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That cow parsley looks like a little heavenly cloud floating over the grave sites. Throwing sticks at the turaco makes not like that lady at all. The thing that strikes me most about that photo is only one woman. Well, and that rather haughty looking man in the center.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what possessed that woman to throw sticks at the turaco. I think they were trying to get it to move so they could get a clearer view.
DeleteOh the worry we suffer for our animals. Hoping Olga is doing well and barking, yes, I hear, and chasing balls!
ReplyDeleteShe seems much better this morning!
DeleteHello Steve from a friend of Miss Edna who has seen your comments on her blog and wanted to stop by for a blog visit. That cemetery looks like an interesting place to explore and it looks like Olga enjoyed the grass. It seems that animals know what can help upsets and hope it worked for her. The photo was in an unusual place and I wondered if asking the restaurant would provide any more info if you were still curious. It does look like a graduating class of some sort because it would have been a large staff if all were teachers!
ReplyDeleteHello Beatrice! Thanks for stopping by! Yes, I think that photo probably does depict a graduating class. Olga and I walk in the cemetery all the time -- it's one of our favorite places!
DeleteNow I have lost 20 minutes studying the picture of the people in that picture! You often find something that makes me want to investigate!
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of a fascinating image, isn't it? Lots to wonder and think about.
DeleteWould it be possible to animate that photograph so that the subjects turn into a choir? I suggest that they sing "Woody Woodpecker" which was a big hit in 1948.
ReplyDeleteIt probably IS possible, but I'm not sure I'm that motivated! I can't believe "Woody Woodpecker" was EVER a big hit.
DeleteFantastic Video!!! And That Adorable Bark - I Can Say That Because Its Only A Few Quick Barks On My End - Congrats On The Anniversary - Be Well Brother
ReplyDeleteCheers
P.S. 50 A Day Keeps The So & So Away