More Sheep

Remember when I went to see the sheep sculptures in Southall, a couple of months ago, and only found out afterwards that there were MORE sheep in a different green space nearby? Well, yesterday I set out to find that other group of sculpted sheep.

So it was back to Hanwell station, on what I'm sure was the warmest day of the year thus far (82º F in the afternoon -- or 28º C -- according to my iPhone). I walked to the canal and rather than walking along it, as I did last time, I crossed one of the locks and followed some paths into a large park-like area.

The grass was so high that the sheep weren't immediately visible, and I had to get out my phone and look at a satellite image of the area to figure out where they were. But ultimately I did find them.

It's a sheep family -- two adults and a lamb. You can see from the state of the grass how dry and warm it's been over the past week or two.

They're in better condition than the first ones I found, though the lamb's ears seem to be a bit gnawed.

And with that little adventure under my belt, I decided to pop into a local pub -- The Fox, pictured here -- for a hummus sandwich and a beer. I sat out in the beer garden reading a Patricia Cornwell mystery novel, until I realized I was hearing "I Want You Back" by the Jackson Five for the second time over the pub's sound system. That was my cue that I'd been there long enough.

It was warm but the weather was so nice and sunny that I decided to walk along Uxbridge Road to Ealing Broadway, a couple of miles away. Then I had some trouble with tube trains not running and it took me a while to get home via tube and bus, but no big deal -- fortified by a coffee from Starbucks in Notting Hill, I was back by late afternoon. I think I walked a little more than three miles, all told.

When Dave took his band students to Germany on music tour this spring, they gave him this champagne-shaped bottle of non-alcoholic "tropical partydrink" in gratitude. I'm sure it was sort of a joke. The students are his minions, in a way. Anyway, we've had this thing kicking around the house for a couple of months, so I decided to open it and see how it tasted -- basically, like carbonated apple juice. (Allegedly there was also pineapple and mango, hence the "tropical.") Not too terrible. We drank it all.

Oh, and I know you're curious about Olga's vet appointment yesterday morning. Basically, the vet said it was up to us whether to continue the dog-walker. She concurred that it might be too much activity for Olga at her age, but also agreed that the exercise would help her keep weight off, which helps her joints. So there's give and take. I think we'll keep up the walker at least for the next few weeks, while we're away, and then we'll monitor the situation. The vet also checked Olga over and trimmed her nails, and as far as we can see, she's in good health.