More Sightlines

Here's the forsythia I mentioned at the end of yesterday's post. I looked at this bush just a few days ago and it was covered with fat buds, and I thought, "Well, that's going to pop pretty soon." And then WHAM! Perhaps it even made that sound, and I was not outside to hear it.

Another lazy day yesterday. I spent the morning archiving all my media. I swear, that is a herculean task. I do it every month or so -- go through all my photos and delete everything I don't want, and then back up all the rest, both original and edited versions. And then videos! Do I save all the source video, or just the finished product? And then I backed up my blog, which I hadn't done in about a year.

So now when the nuclear missiles fall, I'll be left with backup files that no one can read because the Internet will be dead. Admittedly, it is not a perfect system.

I walked Olga early in the morning, when the golden sun on the face of this building made a breathtaking color. I tied Olga to that pole so I could take her picture. I don't think she appreciated it. She was too busy scheming to get her nose back into a garbage bag across the street.

In the afternoon we took another leisurely walk along the high street and through the housing estate on an adjacent road. That was a pretty ambitious walk for the old girl but she managed just fine and then slept all evening like she'd been on safari.

I've been meaning for a while to take a photo from the top of our street, showing the skyline visible beyond our neighborhood. We live on a hill, and Hampstead in general is quite high, so in places where houses don't block our view we can see out over the city. These buildings are in the area around Edgeware Road and Paddington Basin, I believe. The one with the red girders on the roof is here, on Edgeware Road, and although I don't recognize the others I think they're beyond it around the basin.

Here's another view, from a slightly different position, showing the much taller West End Gate building near Paddington (here).

Several years ago I did a post about the sightlines from our dining room window, which showed similar vistas. But that area around Paddington has grown so much I'm not sure all the buildings in the photos above even existed then. Also, Mrs. Kravitz planted a magnolia tree in her front garden which now blocks our dining room views, so no more idly staring over the cityscape in the middle of the night for me.

Speaking of neighbors, Mr. Russia was out working on his terrace all day yesterday, clunking around and running some kind of Shop-Vac or blower. God only knows what he was doing. They have a space that's probably 15 feet square and yet it takes them weeks of weekend work to maintain it.

Olga tried to sunbathe but she couldn't get comfortable. It was just too chilly. She kept going out, seduced by the bright sun, and then coming in again. Soon enough, Olga!