I passed this beautiful amaryllis sitting out on someone's garden wall as I walked home from work a few days ago. I didn't get the impression it was being discarded -- I think someone put it out for the world to enjoy, which is pretty generous (and trusting). The window behind it is also filled with tropical houseplants.
Speaking of tropical, we had a little trauma here last night. I let Olga into the back garden and as she rounded the corner by the steps I heard a flapping of wings on the ground. Olga lunged and before I knew it had pounced on a young parakeet! The bird screamed bloody murder, but unlike last year's baby starling, she didn't get it in her mouth and I pulled her back immediately. The bird flapped and bounded away, and it looked fine but didn't take flight. I'm not sure it could fly. It seemed almost mature but its tail was still stubby and it was still a bit small. It disappeared into some shrubbery, where hopefully it recovered enough to get off the ground.
Baby bird season is always hazardous. Now I'm afraid to let Olga into the garden unattended for fear she'll catch it again, but given all the foxes and cats around here it's probably already met its fate, unless it eventually managed to fly.
Parakeets are tough and there are no green feathers on the lawn, so that's a good sign.
How's this for a look? Dave and I were watching a Netflix documentary about a famous kidnapping in Spain in 1993, featuring footage from a TV news show at the time. That footage included a quick shot of this woman, and there was no explanation of who she is -- the host, perhaps? She's holding a printout so it looks like she's there in some official capacity. We got such a kick out of her momentary formidable presence, with the Patricia Nixon hairdo and that pipe! Not something you see on TV every day. (Or maybe in Spain you do.)
And speaking of kidnapping, here's the latest on Mrs. Kravitz. I've knocked on their door a couple of times in an effort to speak to Mr. Kravitz and no one answers. I've emailed her and texted her, to no avail. I did find a moldering Amazon delivery tucked into the shrubbery beside the door, so I brought that home to protect it from the weather. It had apparently been there for weeks.
I'm sure they're just away. I don't think anything is so amiss that it merits calling the police. I may go into their back garden just to close up their shed, so the foxes don't move in! I'll take the risk that I pop up on their security cameras. Surely they would understand.
Now I am seriously worried about Mr and Mrs Kravitz!!!
ReplyDeleteI've created a global incident!
DeleteI'd call police to close the shed, though. If they trigger security it's not the big deal it would be for you. I'd put the Amazon parcel inside, too.
ReplyDeleteOlga isn't too old to hunt, then!
I hate to bother the police for something so paltry. I went ahead and did it myself. I can't see the Kravitzes objecting.
DeleteThe difference between a small town and a big city. Here the police would be right over. They don't consider neighborly care to be paltry.
DeleteYou know that Mrs Kravitz thinks of you as a surrogate son - so yeah, get in that garden and close the shed door and while you are at it - why not dig up any plants that take your fancy?
ReplyDeleteHa! That gives a whole new meaning to "rescuing" plants.
DeleteYour days seem stitched together with the quiet poetry of small encounters and the anxious undercurrent of suburban mysteries
ReplyDeleteI hope it seems like poetry, and not just a hot mess!
DeleteThe story of the Kravitzes does begin to get a bit concerning. The woman with the pipe is intriguing. I wonder who she was/is. And, no, not a common look in Spain. It looks like a skit from SNL. Olga still has it in here. Amazing that an old dog can be quicker than a wild parakeet.
ReplyDeleteSee jonboi's comment below! I should have thought to Google image search her. She probably would have turned up that way.
DeleteThat amaryllis is so flamboyant perhaps it has a life of its own and wants to be outside to show off.
ReplyDeleteIt is very flamboyant, isn't it? That's the perfect word.
DeleteThat flower is spectacular. My dog Fergus caught and killed a baby rabbit last night. We have a nest in the yard; I've been so good about watching the dogs around it. I turned my back for a second, and he snatched one. So upsetting.
ReplyDeleteIt only takes a moment! It's heartbreaking, especially when a pet is the culprit. But then again, we have plenty of rabbits.
DeleteWell played, Olga, not that I wish the parakeet any harm but it's good to see that her reactions are still good. I hope you're right about Mr and Mrs Kravitz - it is rather worrying.
ReplyDeleteI was amazed! I had no idea she still had it in her! (Olga, I mean.)
DeleteI guess if I was missing, I would want Spanish pipe smoking woman on my case. She looks serious.
ReplyDeleteI have never felt easy with picking up things along a curb here, even with an expansive lawn between me and the house. I certainly would have issues with doing the same in a dense city environment like the London metro. I would feel like a thief unless there was a sign on it telling me I could take it.
If it's on the sidewalk I have no qualms, because why else would it be there? A garden wall is a little more ambiguous. Depends on the item. A plant like this clearly isn't meant to be taken (I don't think).
DeleteThe pipe-smoking lady is famous Spanish crime reporter Margarita Landi (1918-2004). If you google her name you'll see lots of images of her with her signature pipe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margarita_Landi
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for solving that mystery! I actually spent time Googling "famous women who smoked pipes" and that kind of thing but I never came up with a name, so I appreciate it.
Deletethat is a gorgeous amaryllis. I can't remember if my red one bloomed this year or not. I don't think it did. I don't think it bloomed last year either. I try to keep Cat in when I know there are fledglings in the yard.
ReplyDeleteWe had amaryllis for years and I liked them, but they got a fungus and eventually had to be thrown out.
DeleteThe most worrisome part of the Mrs. Kravitz saga to me is hearing that she's not responding to emails or texts. So weird. Is anyone tending to their garden or is the place just completely abandoned?
ReplyDeleteOh, Olga! You're still protecting your humans! Those baby birds can be fierce.
I love thinking about the fact that the amaryllis, put out by the people in that house to share with the neighborhood, has now also shared it with a woman in North Florida who admires it very much.
I agree -- the emails/texts silence is weird. But maybe she's on a phone plan where she doesn't have data wherever she is? The place looks completely abandoned, except there's a houseplant inside the back window that's still green. So someone has watered.
DeleteWhen I was a kid we had a Cocker Spaniel who had been trained as a gun dog so had a "soft mouth". As baby birds came out of the nest Rod would retrieve them unharmed, without a feather out of place. We would bring him in and put the baby bird is a small basket on the porch for the parents to find them.
ReplyDeleteAwww! I bet it terrified the bird, which was probably astonished to be alive in a basket at the end of that process!
DeleteI think I'd call the police, with doors open and packages left outside, just to do a welfare check.
ReplyDeleteThe woman and the pipe with Pat Nixon hair; oh my.
I checked with the neighbor on the other side and got an explanation that makes me more comfortable!
DeleteWe found bunny fur and coyote prints on our driveway this morning. We live in a suburban neighborhood so it's a bit weird to have so much nature happening around us all of a sudden! ;)
ReplyDeleteHope Mr. and Mrs. Kravitz are enjoying a tropical vacation somewhere...
Coyotes are apparently very effective predators. Fortunately we don't have those here!
DeleteThe red flowering amaryllis is large and beautiful. Very striking in the white pot.
ReplyDeleteThe disappearing Mrs. K. is concerning. Nobody knows what has happened and with the exception of you, nobody is checking on the property. Today, most people ask someone to check the property for them while they are out-of-town.
Olga has a huntress streak. I'm glad the bird survived. Hopefully it is hiding in the hedge and recovering.
Apparently they do have someone looking in on the place, but you'd never know it from the appearance, and the fact that there are moldering Amazon deliveries outside the door!
DeleteWell I hope the Kravitz's are okay. Does anyone else on the block know them?
ReplyDeleteBaby birds are a hazard when they're learning to fly. They always end up on the ground. I'm glad Olga let it go, but as you said, with the foxes and the cats, it just may be a matter of time.
Yes, I spoke to the neighbor on the other side (whose house is attached to the Kravitzes') and got a better explanation. It's heartbreaking to see a young bird stranded on the ground but I've heard we should leave them there -- that the parents are often nearby and teaching them to be independent.
DeleteThe Kravitzs would make the outline for a good novel.
ReplyDeleteHa! I've kind of written a novel, in daily installments!
DeleteOkay, that woman with the pipe is quite a sight to see.
ReplyDeleteI would be worried about Mrs. Kravitz too. It seems odd to order something from Amazon when you know you will be gone. You might try a neighbor on the other side to see if they know anything.
I know, that seemed weird to me too. Why have things delivered when you're not going to be home?
DeleteI reckon a well check before you go into their garden - I do not trust cameras and "evidence" of well intentioned soul being blamed for whatever shenanigans there may have been. RED RUM comes to mind...
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't even know if they have cameras. That's more my worst-case-scenario thinking! I see what you mean but I really don't think anything that nefarious has happened.
DeleteSince there is no response to texts, I'd call the cops about the shed and have the cops try to contact them.
ReplyDeleteIf she's overseas it's entirely possible her phone plan doesn't allow texting from another country. It seems premature to get police involved.
DeleteI can't remember if you've said that you checked the obituaries for Mrs. K. I think I probably wouldn't call the police unless you truly see (or smell - ew!) something suspicious. As an employer, we've sent police on wellness checks before (and yes the employee was deceased & the police found him), but I'm not sure that's your role. Although I am VERY CURIOUS!
ReplyDeleteI agree -- I think it's too early to get police involved when I have no real evidence that anything is amiss. An open door and an unmowed lawn does not a murder make!
DeleteI would think that people who are going away would let a trusted neighbor know. I text several of mine if I'm going to be gone for a few days. (especially if I'm expecting any deliveries) The plot thickens!
ReplyDeleteI subsequently spoke to the neighbors on the other side and they knew more than I did. So I think there was some notification.
DeletePerhaps they had a family emergency and she had to leave the country suddenly, and he followed later. They might not have international texting set up and not checking their email. Am I grasping at straws?
ReplyDeleteFred and Grady have learned the types of places does like to hide their babies. I had not one, but two unwelcome things in my front yard this morning.
Not grasping at straws! In fact I think that's exactly what's going on.
DeleteYikes re. Fred and Grady! Dogs will be dogs, I suppose.
Having not received any replies to door knock/emails/texts, I think I'd call the local police for a wellness check and to close the Kravitz shed door.
ReplyDeleteLove the amaryllis!
I closed the shed myself. Hopefully I won't regret that! I think the amaryllis is a double or triple.
DeleteOh my -- I remember those hairdos. My mother more or less sported one, as did my aunts. It was a bad look! Glad you checked on the Kravitzes and brought their package home. Yes, I'd be worried, too. I think Boud's idea about having the police close the shed might be the way to go -- although if it shows you CLOSING it rather than entering it, you'd be home free.
ReplyDeleteI think many, many women had hair like that in the '70s. But Margarita had it in the '90s!
DeleteI would probably let the police do a wellness check. Quite honestly Gene Hackman's sad story springs to mind.
ReplyDeleteIf they were extremely old I would agree.
DeleteI guess I never thought to wonder about their ages...I assumed they were old fuddy duddies.
DeleteThe Kravitz saga is deepening. I would think that even if they were away, they'd be checking emails and answering texts. I hope that everything is okay with them.
ReplyDeleteThe e-mail thing is strange, but as Kelly said above, I suspect maybe she's in a place where she has no access to her e-mail or texts.
DeleteHelmet hair, ha. I remember those days.
ReplyDeleteMy kindergarten teachers had hair like that!
DeleteYour Kravitz situation is the kind of thing that would keep me up at night. Do I insert myself into the story? Do I involve the authorities? Do I continue to simply worry and then regret not acting? I don't like getting involved but I also don't like the potential regret of not getting involved!
ReplyDeleteI think I did a reasonable degree of checking but without involving the authorities, which seems a step too far at this stage.
DeleteI immediately thought the woman looked a bit like Bette Midler.
ReplyDeleteAt work I learnt that if in doubt, pass a decision up the chain for someone else to decide and clear yourself of responsibility, and I think this is what you should do about the Kravitz'. You would kick yourself if you didn't and something was wrong.