The planets finally aligned yesterday -- the rain stopped for several hours and the dog felt energetic enough to go for a walk -- so we went to Hampstead Heath. We hadn't been on our West Heath route in a couple of months and I was missing it.
Here's the kind of day we had:
Not exactly bad weather, but definitely wintry-looking. The temperatures are warmer than usual, but supposedly that will change after New Year's Day.
We passed the pond on Sandy Heath, and rather than get in with the other romping dogs, Olga stayed on shore and kept an eye on...
...the ducks, occupying a little marshy island of reeds in the middle of the pond. That single Mandarin duck stood out like a jewel among all the mallards.
We walked all the way to Hampstead Heath Extension and returned via Golders Hill Park, where the Kong Pond is once again full of water. (You may remember it had been drained, I assume for maintenance work.)
I found a few pottery chips to add to my stash.
Overall it was a fun walk but it carried a tinge of sadness, too. Olga dragged, particularly toward the end, and I have to think harder about her needs. Are her walks more for her or for me? I know I've said this before, but I think doing that full loop -- West Heath, Sandy Heath and Extension -- is just too much for a canine lady of her advanced age. She could barely walk last night, she was so sore.
In the future, we'll stay closer to home, maybe sticking to the West Heath and Golders Hill Park -- if we go to the Heath at all. Olga is now 11 or 12, and I can't pretend she isn't aging. It's not fair to her.
Last night Dave and I watched a fascinating documentary on Netflix about Joan Didion, who died last week. Called "Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold," it came out in 2017 and was directed by her nephew Griffin Dunne, and it offered an affectionate, respectful overview of her life and work. I've long been an admirer of Didion's and already count "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" among my favorite books; I got on Amazon and bought "The White Album," a later book of essays, immediately after seeing the movie. I still need to read "Blue Nights," as well, but that we have in our school library.
58 comments:
A good walk, but now too far for Olga. It is sad when dogs get older, but being with one all the time you notice less.
I love the upward video of the waving tree branches.
That's not a real duck in the reeds is it?
It's hard when dogs become old and it happens so quickly. That's a good photo of Olga with a dog in flight and about to plunge into the water.
I've been noticing it for a while but I always think, "Just ONE more long walk!" I guess I need to stop thinking that.
That IS a real duck! It's a type known as a Mandarin duck.
That silver-gray sky. I love it, for a change, but after several days of that here, it got old. Blue skies again today. So sorry about Olga’s struggles (and yours). It’s not easy. She’s done so well in recent years. You gave her a second youth.
Perhaps in the springtime when days are warmer, Olga will feel more enthused about walking. It's rather sad that she has reached this stage but you and Dave have given her a good life.
Poor Olga...
I saw that documentary advertised and made a mental note that I wanted to see it. It's hard to watch a dog age. I'm not sure if you have any place like this, but in the summer, I took my old boy to the reservoir. He loved to swim. It was such good exercise for him, and it seemed to trouble his joints a lot less than a long walk. He'd run to the dock and launch off. I miss him still.
I also thought the Mandarin duck wasn't real. Amazing.
I think Olga's been ready to cut back, and it's good to recognize it. Sad because dogs' lives are such a short arc compared to ours. I've learned a lot about acceptance from my animals.
First off that Mandarin duck looks like an actual jewel.
Secondly, your video with the wind through the trees and panning down to Olga, who may or may not be seeing "something," looked like the opening of a horror film, eerie and scary.
The Mandarin duck is too beautiful. Do you suppose he has a mate? I hope so because the world obviously needs more of them.
Oh, Olga. I hope that she does not spend much time worrying about her advancing age. Do you suppose dogs wonder why they can't do what they used to do? I hope not. I hope they just meet each day as it is.
Your trees video DOES remind me too of a
...horror movie. The branches are doing a witches' dance against a slate sky.
Maybe you could bring her in a carrier so that you can still do the long walks and she can get the sights without wearing herself out. She could get out to explore and then get back in for the long parts of the walk. Just a thought...
My friends Jenny and Tony often cycle to the Heath and it always looks just wonderful. I'm sorry Olga is slowing down. You're wise to do shorter walks for her but I know how hard that is to see. She looks like a sweetheart.
Poor Olga. We'd give our aging boxer arthritis aspirin every day. I would take her to the park at the end of the street every day. We took her on a longer walk driving to a different area and it was too much for her, she finally just couldn't go any farther and Marc had to go get the car to get her home.
Think you are right about Olga. Time to give her shorter walks. Maybe that is what she has been trying to tell you in her own way by refusing to go out on some recent walks. Not easy...for either of you. She's such a sweet girl.
Along with her other writings, I periodically pull Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking off my shelves to reread. Blue Nights was all too poignant, as well.
Fantastic Video And So Dig The Sound Through The Baron Trees - Olga Girl Cracks Me Up With All The Ear Movement During Her Cameo There - Keep Snapping Off Photos And Enjoy Those Quick Walk Abouts - Be Well Brother Reed
Cheers
That Mandarin Duck is such a beauty. I would love to see one.
I hope you and Olga find new paths to explore while she ages comfortably in her sweet furry body.
I also enjoyed Slouching toward Bethlehem. I will have to read another of Didion's books.
If you can bear a little unsolicited suggestion - try giving Olga a single baby aspirin each night. If she can tolerate it, it will really help her with joint pain. No more than 1 per day because dogs metabolize aspirin much more slowly than humans do.
Your weather looked surprisingly a lot like ours yesterday. It has been gray and chilly ever since Christmas. Though, not as windy as your video shows. We are supposed to have some sun out today but the temps will stay in the 50's. That mandarin duck is a beauty.
I can relate to Olga's aging muscles. I've been going at a slower pace myself.
It's sad to see those we love get older and lose some of their energy. The fact that she still likes to walk is great though. I don't want to talk about our weather. Atrocious comes to mind.
I also watched the Joan Didion documentary and found it very interesting.
I really enjoyed this post with its Heath pictures, but it also makes me sad. Sweet Olga.
We've had days lately very much like that in your video, but I bet ours have been much warmer! (mid-70s)
Debby, is that the same dog who goosed you with the deer head? I will NEVER forget that story!!
Dogs should live longer. The Mandarin duck is just stunning. There was an article awhile ago in NYT about one in a pond in Central Park.
Lovely Olga, doing her best!
I just started to reread Joan Didion's novel Democracy. It just got everything in it.
ARGH. No. That was the dog before my Buck. Although Buck dragged home his share of interesting things to share. Koojer was HIS name, and no matter how many times we took that deer head from him, he'd hunt it back up. Take it from the garbage. Find it in the woods. One of the low-lights of country living for sure.
The wind in the trees is quite mesmerizing. I remember watching the trees in the wind when I was a kid. I'd stand there staring up, watching until I was dizzy.
Hi Steve, Dave and sweet Olga. So sorry to hear about Olga mobility is decreasing. My little ones have arthritis very bad. Try to see if you can find her some pain pills at the pet store. I bought some and didn't have to give it to them daily. When I notice they are walking better I stop the meds. You might have to let her make her decisions about walking. She will. You all have given Olga a wonderful life and now she must relax for the rest of her life. Maybe she will want to go for a short stroll some of the time but not a very long one. Tell her I know I have never met her, but I love her and you keep us up to date with her. It seem like we all really know her. By the way our temperature have been in the low 80's and it will be that way again on Thursday. So far we are having another summer for now.
I remember when you GOT Olga and just can't think of her as an old lady, yet. I'm sorry to hear of her mobility issues! So much of my view of London and parks and greens around the city has been shaped by you and by Olga -- honestly!
It's hard to know when I should encourage her to do more (in order to get exercise) and when I should just let her do what she wants (lie on the couch).
The rain has definitely been part of her recent reluctance.
Time catches up with us all!
Olga has never been a swimmer, though she loves wading, especially if the weather is hot. There are ponds on the Heath where dogs can swim but she's never gone for it.
They are so colorful they seem unlikely! They're related to wood ducks, apparently.
We've been letting her cut back in many ways -- we used to always go for a walk in the morning, for example, and now she just goes out in the garden. This is definitely going to require acceptance on my part!
Blair Witch Project! LOL
I'm not sure if there are a pair of Mandarin ducks or just the one.
I also often wonder if Olga thinks, "Gee, I used to LOVE this walk, but I'm just not into it now!" That's probably giving her a little too much intellectual credit. :)
Unfortunately she's just too heavy for a carrier -- unless I put it in a shopping cart! (Or I could get a baby stroller. Wouldn't THAT make me the talk of the neighborhood?!) She weighs about 45 pounds.
It will simply be an adjustment for the both of us, I guess.
We gave Olga anti-inflammatories for a while but they bothered her stomach so she's off them again. Now she just gets an occasional paracetamol.
I remember walking our previous dogs, Ernie and Ruby, one time on a hot day and Ernie laid down in the shade and would NOT get up again. That's when you know a dog is really DONE!
I think her increased barking has also been a way of trying to tell me, "Hey -- I need to go home!"
I loved "The Year of Magical Thinking." I can definitely see going back to it from time to time.
She was listening for squirrels -- and she did chase some, though she isn't nearly fast enough anymore to even seriously scare them.
They are amazing looking ducks! No doubt we will find plenty of shorter walks to take. (And photograph!)
The only one I've heard anything negative about is "Miami," which I have never read. I read her novels many years ago but I don't remember them.
Our vet recommended paracetamol (acetaminophen). We give her a half tab when she's feeling achy -- so only occasionally. I'll ask about the baby aspirin option, though.
That's about the temperature we have here, weirdly!
She's funny -- if I say "walk" she gets all excited and runs around, but then sometimes we go out the door and she refuses to go any further. It's like she's used up all her energy on the pre-walk celebration!
It made me want to read some of John Gregory Dunne's books, too. I tried to buy his "Vegas" book but apparently it's out of print and the copies I saw on Amazon were insanely expensive.
I guess this is just what happens, right? Time marches on.
Yes, I remember that article! The duck made quite a scene, as I recall. (Well, the people watching the duck did.)
I read that book way back in the '80s and I don't remember much about it. I should probably re-read her novels.
That was what first inspired me to the make the video -- the sound of the wind through the bare branches.
We take the same approach to Olga's aches and pains -- we just give her a little half-tab of medicine whenever she's hurting. It must be strange to be a dog and feel your body changing, and yet not understand that change.
So much of MY view of city parks has come through having Olga! It's hard to believe we've had her almost nine years. I remember thinking, "We'll have this dog a long time." And now it seems so short.
I suggest getting a wagon for Olga to ride in on the days when she cannot do the walking. Lots of folks do this. My little guy had a stroller. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.
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