It poured rain yesterday morning. I stayed in bed with Olga, reading, and didn't move until about 10:45, just listening to the steady drumming on the roof and windows. Olga didn't see any need to get up either. All the rain we've received this summer has made the plants so lush -- I haven't had to water much at all. It's been great.
Just before 11 a.m. I grabbed an umbrella and walked down to the optician's office, where I was scheduled for my eye exam. The good news is apparently I don't need new glasses. The optician said my eyes have only slightly changed over the last five years. So yay for that!
I considered getting new ones anyway -- just for a new "look" -- but why spend the money? I decided to make do with my existing ones.
Then Olga and I went to the cemetery, where we haven't been in weeks and weeks -- since before my trip to Florida. (Well, we had one visit cut short by rain, but that doesn't count.) We saw lots of gatekeeper butterflies (top picture) fluttering around the yellow ragwort.
As I wandered through the cemetery I wondered whether the turaco was still around. I hadn't heard it in a while, so I was doubtful -- but then, toward the end of the walk, as I sat on a bench with Olga lolling in the grass nearby, I looked up and saw it fluttering through the branches. Of course I didn't have my camera ready, and by the time I got it out the bird was gone. Unless it's calling, it's very hard to see because it's mostly green -- and yesterday it was being silent. Oh well. At least we know it's still out there.
Here are some more random cemetery pictures:
My Faye Dunaway film festival has continued. During the last several nights I've watched "Bonnie and Clyde," "Mommie Dearest," "The Thomas Crown Affair" (from 1967), and, last night, "Voyage of the Damned." I'd never seen the latter two, and they were both good. Many years ago I posted about the camp value of "Mommie Dearest," and it really is a deeply flawed movie. Dunaway chews the scenery, but honestly, I think its failures are the fault of the director, Frank Perry. Couldn't he see how over-the-top she was? Couldn't he rein her in?
I think you should stay in bed again this morning.....we have got very heavy rain at the moment ( 8.30) and looking at the radar rain app it is about to hit you too!
ReplyDeleteYeah, we got it, and we had rain on and off all day. More rain this morning (the following day).
DeleteI would love a very heavy rain. Or even a light steady rain. And those butterflies. You can keep Faye Dunaway.
ReplyDeleteShe was in a lot of good movies, though, even if she is a disagreeable person!
DeleteTrue. True.
DeleteWhat was Olga reading in bed? Perhaps "The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin" by Beatrix Potter or "Revenge of The Staffie" by Olga Reed. Does she require reading glasses?
ReplyDeleteShe was reading over my shoulder, AGAIN. It's so annoying.
Deletelol!
Delete"Over My Shoulder" by Patricia Dixon? "A must-read for all crime fiction fans".
DeleteYou seem to have many more butterflies than we have here, a few cabbage moths and Emperors.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I bought different glasses I would look younger? Nah, I don't think so.
I think I've seen all of those movies but I can't remember one, aside from a couple of scenes from Mommie Dearest.
We have maybe ten butterfly species that we see quite frequently. I haven't seen some of them this year, probably because I haven't been walking on the Heath as much.
DeleteI can't help but wonder where that little Christ the King figure came from.
ReplyDeleteThey had just mowed and I assume it was uncovered by the mowing. There are lots of objects in that cemetery, not all of them on graves. I think things just get strewn around.
DeleteHurray for your eyes not changing much in five years! You must be a slow ager, Steve.
ReplyDeleteAnd how nice to know that your Turaco is still about.
I'm surprised, honestly. My perception is that they have changed, though not much. But if I can get by longer without investing in new glasses, I'm fine with that!
DeleteTo be fair, Crawford was an over-he-top personality but the movie failed to show any humanity in her. Dunaway was just ranting and raging.
ReplyDeleteEXACTLY! That was the flaw. It turned Crawford into a cartoon.
DeleteSatisfying to have a good read!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! I love having a book I'm excited about reading.
DeleteI've seen a few of her films but not Mommy Dearest. and I'm surprised after all these years that you still find things at the cemetery. things you just now discovered or is it just new stuff that shows up?
ReplyDeleteso much rain here, the grass and weeds are out of control and it's too wet and too hot to do anything about it.
Re. the stuff at the cemetery, sometimes they're new objects, sometimes they're old ones that get moved around. It's hard to say! That cat normally isn't on that grave. I think the landscapers found it in the grass when they were mowing and just put it there.
DeleteI know the feeling when it comes to photographing birds. They usually don't pose for you.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they have their own agenda!
DeleteIt's great that your vision hasn't changed much in five years. Yay! And really good news that the Turaco is still there too.
ReplyDeleteThe only movie with Faye Dunaway that I remember seeing is Bonnie and Clyde. I just googled her name and was surprised to see that she is 80 years old. Wow!
Yeah, she's just a few years younger than my mother! She's from Florida, actually -- a little town in the panhandle called Bascom.
DeleteI love the Hollyhocks. When I was a little girl, I would sit for hours and make beautiful dresses for my dolls with the Hollyhocks. You have a super day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteI love them too. I wish I had better luck at growing them!
DeleteI am very pleased that the Turaco is still with us. Your area does have a lot of butterflies. We have very few, probably because there is nothing for them to eat here.
ReplyDeleteYou'll see more in Washington, I bet!
DeleteLots of great photos today!! The cemetery looks so green and almost overgrown. A rainy morning sounds perfect for staying in bed.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely overgrown. It doesn't take long. Back in February and March they cleared large swaths of that area where Olga is walking in the picture, but you'd never know it now!
DeleteLovely photos as always. I loved the later version of The Thomas Crown Affair, never saw the Faye Dunway version. I should look it up.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen the Pierce Brosnan version! Maybe I should try it!
DeleteI enjoyed the Bonnie and Clyde film when first saw it, but have mixed emotions about it now. My daughter and her family live in Bienville Parish, LA where the duo was killed. Netflix did a movie there a few years ago with Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson that was fairly accurate.
ReplyDeleteWhat's Olga looking at so closely?
Yeah, I don't know how accurate "Bonnie and Clyde" was, but it's entertaining and it was certainly ground-breaking at the time. Olga is probably looking at a squirrel. Or what she thinks might be a squirrel.
DeleteRain sounds good to me here in the parched PacNW.We got a little bit, but not enough and our temperatures are headed up near 100 again this week. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteUgh! I wish I could send you some! I enjoy the rain, but we have had a lot of it.
DeleteI loved "The Thomas Crown Affair"; the original with Faye and Steve McQueen. McQueen was so cool. I haven't sought out the remake with Pierce Brosnan.
ReplyDeleteIt’s very good
DeleteI've never seen the Brosnan version either. I didn't even realize it was a remake when it came out. I did enjoy the McQueen version a lot!
DeleteGatekeepers are surprising little butterflies - too often overlooked, and brighter than we might expect from photos or illustrations. There used ti many where I lived before but no so in west wales. But at this time of year we have Small Coppers coming agin in a second brood - they are lovely on the cost path. Here in France this week I'm reminded how many more there are in the mountains.
ReplyDeleteI always get Gatekeepers confused with Meadow Browns, especially at a distance -- but yes, Gatekeepers are more colorful. I hope you're enjoying France! (And maybe getting more sun than we are here!)
DeleteThe gatekeepers and the ragwort are so colour-coordinated; they make a wonderful shot. I love to listen to the rain come down. It's so soothing. Assuming one is not in a flood zone.
ReplyDeleteNature is amazing, how the insects match the plants! You can see that with the peacock butterflies and the buddleia, too.
DeleteDig The Randomness And Great Shot Of The Girl Dog There
ReplyDeleteCheers