The Polyanthus that I bought five years ago, just as our first big Covid lockdowns were beginning, is back again and blooming. It's a very persistent plant! Every year it dwindles away during summer and I think it's going to die, and then the next spring it bounces back. Not bad for a plant that I bought only to save it from withering away in a closed garden center. It has even lived longer than the Homebase store where I bought it, which has since been closed and torn down.
Olga had an upset stomach last night. We ran out of Dentastix for a brief period last week, and Dave bought some replacement treats that are made of dried chicken wrapped around a stick of rawhide. Olga loves them but I suspect she's having trouble digesting the rawhide. She's under the blankets this morning, not showing much enthusiasm. Guess we won't be giving her those treats anymore. Maybe I should cancel her walk today.
Dave is making plans to go to Michigan for Spring Break, to help his sister sort out their parents' house and its contents. The house will be sold, along with some of the contents, while other stuff will be trucked down to their new assisted-living apartment in Florida. He bought his airline ticket last night and it cost a fortune, I guess because it's Easter week and schools are out. I'm staying home with the pooch.
Speaking of which, my iPhone spontaneously made another fun video from my pictures of Olga. It's a little freaky that the phone does this by itself. Every few months I get a notification of a new "memories" video, and this is the kind of thing that appears, complete with musical accompaniment! They are fun to watch, though.
(Late edit: The video was blocked by YouTube because of a copyright claim on the music. Why my phone would use copyrighted music, and where it came from (because it's not from my iTunes), is a mystery to me. I replaced the music with the first tune of appropriate length -- something called "Fluffing a Duck" by Kevin McLeod -- that I could find in the YouTube Creative Commons music library. As soon as the video is done editing it should be viewable. What a pain!)
It's not a Face Book thing that does this compilation of photos? You would know, so I guess not.
ReplyDeleteVideo not available.
In this case, it wasn't -- but maybe Facebook does it too?
DeleteI can't get the video either. Not surprised that Olga was ill after the rawhide...it is evil stuff if you look it up!!
ReplyDeleteYeah, Dave bought these rawhide snacks and I think we have to throw them out.
DeleteThe video played for me and was enjoyable watching Olga through the years. Polyanthus are tough little plants.
ReplyDeleteI got the video fixed pretty quickly. Whew! Glad it worked for you.
DeleteI love that photo of the polyanthus at the top - with the flowers in focus and the green leaves blurred. Isn't 'fluffing a duck' the name for a particular sexual activity that I am too bashful to explain?
ReplyDeleteEntirely possible!
DeleteThat IS odd about iPhone and the copyrighted music. I love what you chose. A surprisingly fun video. Great shot of the polyanthus. Hope Olga recovers quickly.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good little prompt to look back at some of the photos stored in the phone that we might otherwise forget about.
DeleteI have read where rawhide can upset their stomachs. I try and give Shirley alternatives when I can find them. I also think it quite amazing that iPhone sends me videos every so often. I get them of Shirley, my kids, my mom, etc. I enjoyed the Olga video...odd about the copyright thing.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think we'll be steering clear of rawhide from now on!
DeleteSounds like your phone is taking on a life of its own; could this be the start of the robot wars??
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who Roomba has suddenly started speaking to her in Spanish ...
I worry ... 😁
Ha! Isn't there an old Stephen King story about the machines taking over? And that was before computers!
DeleteMy dog used to gorge himself on fresh rawhide on occasion. Once after such a feeding, we left for a vacation and several hours into the drive, the dog started making heaving sounds. We pulled over to a convenient gas station where he vomited up what appeared to be half a deer hide. Since it was attracting attention, we just got back into the van and drove to the next gas station to fill up before we got back on the road. The dog was much more content though by the time we got where we were going, the gas emissions were getting quite potent.
ReplyDeleteAt least he vomited it up! Dogs just don't know what's good for them and what's not. They must get into trouble all the time in the wild.
DeleteMinnie has been having stomach trouble a lot in the last several months. Her stomach will growl and grumble loudly all day and she is restive, unable to get comfortable. Usually over by the next day. When it first happened the vet told me to stop giving her chicken dog food but just about every commercially available dog food has chicken in it, sometimes as the first ingredient even though it's labeled beef. So I need to find a new dog food I think.
ReplyDeleteSeems like that is the life cycle of polyanthus. Many plants do that, die down after they bloom nd then come back the next year.
Olga goes through that too. It may just be an old dog thing. My stomach is certainly touchier than it used to be! We find that if we prompt Olga to eat a little bit when her stomach is churning -- which sometimes takes some forcible coaxing -- she suddenly gets past the nausea and she's fine.
DeleteBeautiful flowers on that polyanthus. Such rich colours.
ReplyDeleteAren't they great? I was immediately taken with it in Homebase and I'm so glad it has survived so long.
DeleteThe video is sweet but also creepy at the same time. I get worried when my phone or computer does stuff like that. Seems like they are going through my personal stuff too much!
ReplyDeleteI know, it IS a little weird. What's odd is, I don't store my photos in the Cloud. So where is this video being made? Is the phone doing it by itself and downloading the music from the Internet (because the music wasn't in my phone to start with), or is the phone uploading the pictures somewhere for the video to be assembled?
DeleteI just love the word "polyanthus."
ReplyDeleteYep. My iPhone does that too but it's generally of the babies. And they're SO cute! Just like Olga.
Apparently "polyanthus" means "having many flowers," according to Google AI, which is never wrong. :)
DeleteLovely video of Olga. We have random photographs of our many dogs, past and present, which appear on Alexa - bittersweet, to see puppies become geriatric, but what pleasure they bring.
ReplyDeleteYeah, going back to some of the older photos can be bittersweet, for sure!
DeleteThat little flower is charming, glad it survived longer than the hardware store. Poor Olga! Miserable! Dexter had such a fragile stomach - I made his food , rice, flax, chicken a bit a lamb, and a dollop of plain yogurt. He liked to chew ice cubes but that was a mistake! Cracked a tooth! All of the available "chewins" came from a chinese factory so Dexter never got those. Little doggies, we do our best...but...
ReplyDeleteTime always wins, as it does with all of us!
DeleteHere's hoping by the time you read this Olga is feeling much more her usual self. I suppose stomachs get used to certain things and a change can upset the apple cart. Please tell Dave that if he's anywhere near Lansing during his visit to Michigan or needs a break in the action to let us know. We'd love to see him again. You are indeed the plant saver!
ReplyDeleteI will tell Dave about your offer! He'll be in Brownstown near Detroit.
DeleteThat music you added is perfect for that little video. My phone does the same thing and sometimes they do a good job.
ReplyDeletePretty little flowers on the plant you saved.
Yeah, I like the videos, though as Ellen D. pointed out above it's a little strange that technology does this without our asking.
DeleteTotally Righteous Olga Girl Compilation - It Is Exactly Why I Popped Over Today - Yes Please
ReplyDeleteCheers
We'll keep the Olga photos coming for her many fans. :)
DeleteYour Polyanthus plant is lovely. The purple and yellow small flowers are striking. That plant was a great rescue. I wonder if you can propagate a few more? Having a bed of them would make a nice display.
ReplyDeleteThe video of Olga is really good. I like your choice of music too.
I wonder how they propagate? I guess I'd have to harvest some seeds and try that way. I agree they'd look good in a large number.
DeleteRawhide can cause bowel obstructions, because their guts can't digest it. Good that you took her off them. One of our dogs ended up vomiting with the rawhide, unable to pass it. Hope Olga is ok.
ReplyDeleteThe polyanthus/primula is beautiful and a sure sign of spring.
I think that's what happened with Olga -- she got a bit obstructed. She seems much better this morning.
DeleteThat's a beautiful flower! I would love to have it. I'm a fan of two tone blooms. Poor Olga. Tummy upsets are no fun at all for anyone.
ReplyDeleteEspecially for me, when I have to wake up in the middle of the night to clean up dog vomit!
DeleteRawhide treats have never agreed with our dogs, so we quit buying them years ago.
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for those random memory collections the phone puts together for me. Whether kids or animals, I smile and "awww" while I watch. I did the same with Olga's.
Yeah, we've decided the rawhide experiment was a failure, for sure. The videos make me go "awww" too!
DeleteFluffing the Duck DOES sound rather like a porn industry term. Ha!
ReplyDeleteIt really does! I'm sure there's a double-entendre intended there.
DeleteI hope Olga makes a quick recovery. My Android phone makes videos, too, but it hasn't used copyrighted music. It's pretty strange that your phone did that.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Isn't that weird? Where did it come from? The whole thing is so strange.
DeleteWhat striking little blooms - such vibrant colours. And it's always nice to see Olga. Sorry to hear about her tummy troubles, though.
ReplyDeleteShe survived. She's a tough old thing!
Delete