Last night Dave and I went to a friend's house in Pinner, northwest of us, for a barbecue. It was a bit drizzly so in the end we all wound up eating in the kitchen, but still, it was a fun evening. Our friend Mark, a guy from work, set up a "listening room" in his house (he has a big rented house) with some very high-quality speakers and a centrally placed chair, in which we all experienced a couple of pieces of our favorite music. We all looked like that guy in the old Maxell ads. My selections: "In a Funny Way" by Mercury Rev; "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys; "A Day in the Life" by the Beatles; "Blue" by Joni Mitchell.
In Pinner, walking to Mark's, we passed the graffiti bees above, happy and sad.
Earlier in the day, while walking Olga, I came across this very unusual plant in someone's front garden. It has utterly stumped my plant-identifier app, which first tried to tell me it was heliotrope (definitely not) and then a firecracker bush (closer but still not right). It's the first plant I've come across that the app just doesn't recognize and I still have no idea what it is. Anybody know?
Olga was funny on her walk. Because it was rainy we just wandered through the neighborhood, but she got quite obstinate about wanting to turn certain corners and go down certain streets. I suppose she was following her nose, but sometimes I don't think she knows where the hell she is -- and yet she's so CERTAIN. I ran into three more co-workers on the walk. Apparently everyone was out and about this weekend, despite the drizzle.
I mentioned earlier that we've taken to giving Olga a can of dog food every night (as opposed to canned food as an occasional treat). Dave bought a brand with a flavor called "Wild Boar with Superfoods," which just makes me laugh. Is the dog going to fly after eating that? (I read the ingredients -- the "superfoods" include sweet potato, blueberries and manuka honey.)
Olga was funny on her walk. Because it was rainy we just wandered through the neighborhood, but she got quite obstinate about wanting to turn certain corners and go down certain streets. I suppose she was following her nose, but sometimes I don't think she knows where the hell she is -- and yet she's so CERTAIN. I ran into three more co-workers on the walk. Apparently everyone was out and about this weekend, despite the drizzle.
I mentioned earlier that we've taken to giving Olga a can of dog food every night (as opposed to canned food as an occasional treat). Dave bought a brand with a flavor called "Wild Boar with Superfoods," which just makes me laugh. Is the dog going to fly after eating that? (I read the ingredients -- the "superfoods" include sweet potato, blueberries and manuka honey.)
39 comments:
With regards to the mystery plant: That's where I differ from you and most people I know. If I were that interested I'd just ring the doorbell/knock at the door and ask the owner of the plant what it is. Cue eyeroll (yours - not the plant owner's; people love an interest in them and their efforts). Instead you lot turn to "apps". Handcart to hell.
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It's interesting to me that Olga's obstinate behavior occurred during the rain. I once tended to a blind dog while her owner was away. She would open her patio door and the dog would snuffle out, do his business, and then snuffle back to the house. Except that I lost the dog one day. He didn't come back. I almost had a heart attack. When I told Elsie about it later, she said that she'd forgotten to tell me that when it was raining, she couldn't find her way back. I wonder if the rain was confusing Olga's sense of smell? That she really didn't know where the hell she was.
I pointed my useless plant identifier app at your picture and it said its usual " dicots", which is no help at all! Did you get the thunder storm last night? torrential rain for a while and quite a lot of noise!
I wish I could help with the plant identification. No clue. I love the playful bees. When you described each of you sitting in that chair, I was immediately reminded of those Maxell ads.
Google Image Search tells me the mystery plant is holly - so there we are - mystery solved.
Pleased to hear you had a good time out. We can only dream.
I've never seen the plant you featured but maybe smart arse YP has the answer. My Plant Snap has not failed me but often it takes a second and better snap to get it right. I know enough to know when it tells me nonsense.
Manuka honey is best when smeared on skin before consumption.
I'm loving the bees.
As for the plant, um, I call it Pretty ... which I know doesn't help.
Now I'm going to try and think which songs I might listen to.
the plant is a bat faced cuphea
Olga is the boss of you, isn't she?
Maybe Olga was searching for familiar scents but could not find them in the rain. How odd.
I do believe that Linda0210 has figured out your plant.
I love your choices of songs.
The only one of you songs I haven't heard is In a Funny Way.
That's quite a pretty plant, but I don't know what it is. You have a super day, hugs, Edna B.
It's nice that you and Dave got out and had dinner with friends. Love that you listened to music in the "listening room." Now I'm wondering what song I would've wanted to hear. Maybe something by Crosby Stills and Nash, from the early days.
bat face, cuphea. I've grown it several times.
Ellen knows stuff, so there you go. Identification problem solved. Covid, Delta, just taking the piss out of everything - masks mandated up here and the usual no crowd thing. Business have not fully opened and now are not fully shutting, Limbo.
Olga, the nose knows! Probably right about the rain being confusing.
We have bees, so I love the graffiti.
The "listening room" sounds wonderful. I believe music is one of the greatest things in life and, for me, is a source of comfort and stress relief. I have my preferred genres, but there's really very little I won't listen to.
That sounds like your friend has quite a "listening" set up. I have no idea what that plant might be. It is most unusual.
I would love your friend's listening room. What a cool idea!
Too Funny - Olga Girl Scores The Good Stuff - Walk On
Cheers
I'm not rolling my eyes, necessarily -- but no, I wouldn't do that!
That's a good possibility! As far as I know Olga's eyesight is fine, but it makes sense that things smelled different (or didn't smell much at all).
Dicots! LOL! That's pretty general. We got light rain but no thunder, at least not that I heard.
We people of a certain age know that image well! :)
Thanks for that! :)
Honey and skin -- that's very "9 1/2 Weeks"!
When you only have time for a few songs it's hard to choose!
THANK YOU! Mystery solved!
Oh, absolutely. I usually let her tell me where she wants to go on our walks. I figure it's really an outing for her, so why not let her make the decisions? But I had to dominate this time around because we had to get home quickly to get to the barbecue.
I've never heard of that plant, have you? A completely new one to me.
It's a good song! It sounds very '60s though it was recorded in 2000 or so.
Linda and Ellen figured it out!
Oooooh, that would have been a GREAT choice! Something like "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" or "Find the Cost of Freedom."
THANK YOU! I'm so glad someone recognized it. I swear I have never seen it before.
We're wearing masks for our first few weeks of school but otherwise we're jumping in with both feet. Fingers crossed!
I'm with you, I can listen to almost everything -- though obviously I have my favorites. I'm not great with rap or hip-hop, I'm not great with opera, and I'm not a huge fan of bluegrass or modern country. Or gospel. (Geez, I guess I'm more particular than I thought!)
Isn't it weird! Linda and Ellen figured it out.
It was really great!
Superfoods for superdog!
Olga knows her mind. What do you usually feed her? Now that I have a grand pup I'm curious about these things.
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