Friday, June 28, 2024

Surfing in Our Backyard Wilderness


Olga just saw a fox trot past the back door, and now she's on red alert, peering out the glass. She's just waiting for me to let her out, but I'm trying to give the fox a chance to escape first. I don't doubt a fox would win in a showdown with ancient Olga but I'd rather not see it happen.

Yesterday was a lot of lazing around home. We had Dave's co-worker Lisa over for lunch, along with her new baby. It's been a long time since Olga has seen a small infant, so that was an interesting encounter to watch -- mostly just a sniff and then disinterest on Olga's part. "That thing has no treats!"

Dave made cold vichysoisse, chicken jardiniere (basically chicken with roasted vegetables, I think), and lemon posset for dessert. We served the dessert in our martini glasses, which have been sadly neglected of late, since I've basically sworn off martinis in deference to my periodically dodgy stomach.


Here was Olga during lunch, sunning herself right in the middle of the grass pathway that runs from the front portion of our lawn, through the teasels to the back. The teasels are quite jungly now and as you can see in the top photo, they're getting ready to bloom.

I polished off another issue of The New Yorker, this one containing a profile of a legendary surfer by William Finnegan, one of my favorite writers for the magazine. He wrote a book about his own surfing life a couple of years ago that I absolutely loved, even though I've never surfed myself and know very little about it. In this most recent article, I once again marveled at his ability to write using all the surfing lingo, in a way that left me, a non-surfing reader, feeling like I understood it:
Jock used to own Sunset. He surfed it twice this size with matchless style -- taking off behind the peak, back-dooring the tallest part of a huge wave, side-slipping in the barrel. Could he surf it now, in these conditions, on an 8'0"? I'm not sure. He obviously wasn't inspired to try. The beatings are fairly heavy, I can attest. I'm pleased to have survived.
I also worked on my latest Patricia Cornwell novel, "Unnatural Death," which I'm liking. It's a good summer read.


Speaking of foxes, here's the latest compilation of interesting footage from our Garden Cam. You'll see some flirtatious birds chasing each other, a few neighborhood cats (one with a blingy collar), an industriously digging squirrel, and a fox marking its territory on a flower pot. I put that pot overtop the spot where I buried the baby starling that Olga mortally wounded, to keep her and anyone else from digging it up. (Remind me never to use that flower pot indoors!)

19 comments:

  1. "That thing has no treats!"... If Olga was a wolf or a lion, she'd be thinking: "That thing IS a treat!" Did you get to cuddle the baby Steve?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Olga is really living a mindfulness lifestyle. True to the moment. That chicken vegie soup sounds like what I need in winter here

    ReplyDelete
  3. I doubt a fox would ever stick around to fight someone the size of Olga, assuming she could catch the fox which she couldn’t. I think you don’t have to worry about a cage match. The worst case might be Olga injuring herself attempting to give chase to a fleeing fox.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think the fox would run scared at spotting Olga, even napping!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I doubt a fox would wait for Olga to catch up in order to fight!
    What posh lunches Dave makes. Quite a treat.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It is so weird thinking about foxes in London! Yesterday on my walk with Shirley, (Covid short walks) I saw at least 7 deer!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your garden is a lovely hive of activity. The fox are larger and healthier than the few I see on my property. Sweet Olga is on alert and watching over her garden. Dave's luncheon sounds terrific.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think you should entitle this one, "The Leaving and Reading of Pee-Mail."
    I'm glad you got to see a baby but you know how I am about babies.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love seeing the videos of all the activity in your garden. It's a jungle out there. Dave's meal sounds simply divine.

    ReplyDelete
  10. you should have titled this 'the lazy days of summer'.

    ReplyDelete
  11. My reading has come to a complete halt. I'll have to work on getting back to some reading.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's so nice to have a few relaxing days at home. I remember that you leave for your next trip soon.
    Your Dave makes such fancy meals! I will have to Google "vichysoisse" and "posset" to find out what they taste like... Ah, potato soup and lemon pudding - just using fancy names, Steve!?!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I always enjoy your Garden Cam compilations! Several of my girlies (not to mention the boys) would have marked right over where the fox marked. We've had our fair share of dominant bitches! (said tongue in cheek)


    ReplyDelete
  14. I agree about babies! :) I can't wait to watch the fox. I love them. (better than my raccoon!)

    ReplyDelete
  15. It sounds like Dave makes an amazing lunch! If he decides to quit his job in teaching, he'd be a great chef! Olga looks so content here. What a fine life she has. And I've never seen a fox in person so thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  16. You have a very busy garden.

    ReplyDelete
  17. YP: Well, "cuddle" is a strong word, but I held her on my lap. She looks like the Michelin Man.

    Roentare: Yes, Olga is all about the moment! I envy her Zen sometimes.

    Ed: Yes, self-injury is probably a far more likely scenario!

    Bob: Probably true! They are super-cautious by nature.

    Boud: For guests, yes. We don't eat that posh (poshly?) normally!

    Michael: How does Shirley react to deer? Olga doesn't know what to make of big animals.

    Susan: Foxes in London live short lives, but I think they're relatively well fed because (sad to say) of all the urban garbage.

    Ms Moon: Ha! YES, it is pee mail!

    Sharon: It's always fascinating to see what gets caught on camera.

    Ellen: I feel like a lot of my posts at this time of year could have that title.

    Red: I enjoy having a book going at all times, though I don't pick it up every day. (Especially not during the school year.)

    Ellen D: Ha! Yeah, we're using that European lingo. I'd never even heard of posset until we moved here.

    Kelly: I expected Olga to mark it but she declined at that moment. Maybe she knew she was on camera. :)

    Margaret: Foxes really ARE the raccoons of London. Less nimble and manipulative than a raccoon, but they fill the same ecological niche.

    Jeanie: Dave actually trained as a chef in New York. But then he decided restaurant work is not really for him. It's a brutal industry.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I always enjoy your wildlife video. I expected Olga, after sniffing the fox, to add her pee to the pot.

    ReplyDelete
  19. When Shirley sees a deer, or a herd of them, her head perks up and she just stares at them. I don't think she knows what to do either.

    ReplyDelete