A quiet but busy morning yesterday. I washed our tablecloths, put away some laundry, watered all the houseplants, cleaned and organized some stuff and finished a book -- Brian Selznick's "Run Away With Me," a romantic same-sex teen love story set in Italy. Calling it a "teen love story" makes it sound like a Judy Blume book, but there were also elements of art and history and questions about the nature of time and being, along with Selznick's fabulous pencil sketches. I really enjoyed it.
After lunch I persuaded Dave to go to Sweet Corner with me for coffee. We sat out on the sidewalk just as we did in Paris, watching the parade of humanity, but it was less of a parade at Fortune Green than it was at Notre Dame.
Afterwards Dave went home and I took a walk through the cemetery, where a lot of late-summer insects were still active in the butterfly area:
That first butterfly is a small copper, I believe, but for some reason the color is paler than what I usually see on coppers. Further along you'll see a large hoverfly on thistle -- that's Myathropa florea, the "Batman" hoverfly, with a black mark on its thorax that looks like the Bat Signal. The weird music is an Apple jingle called "Jacaranda" that I chose mainly because it was the right length -- allow it to transport you to exotic lands!
I walked the narrow path (top) from the cemetery to the adjacent sports fields, where some guys were playing cricket, and then through a nearby neighborhood.
There was a rubbish skip in front of one house, filled with debris and topped off by this memorial stone for (one assumes) a pet named Bobo. Who knows what the story is here? Maybe the house sold, or Bobo's owner has passed away or moved and there's no longer a need for a marker. Bobo was 15 when he/she died in 1987, which means he/she was born in 1972, which is kind of mind-boggling to think about. That creature was alive before Richard Nixon resigned, before Patty Hearst became "Tania," before Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were world leaders, before hostages in Iran. Bobo was already a senior citizen when the Challenger exploded!
Last night we watched a documentary called "Active Measures," from 2018, about the depth of Trump's involvement with the Russians and Putin's efforts to influence western elections. It was made during Trump's first term, but it's still timely given more recent events in Ukraine and Trump's insistence that stories of his campaign's collaboration with Russia are a "hoax." Even if there was no direct collaboration, it seems apparent that Russia meddled on his behalf. It's a really good movie and worth watching.
Want a happy dog story? Check out the tale of Trooper, the dog who was rescued in Tampa after being tied to a fence during Hurricane Milton.
Lovely video...and the first thistledown seen through past knapweed! A good crop of thistles there..funny how something so hard and spiky makes something so soft as thistledown to spread its seeds
ReplyDeleteYes, the thistles have kind of taken over the butterfly zone in the cemetery -- but the insects love them so that's fine!
DeleteNice little video and I liked the music too. Bobo sounds like a dog name.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to guess, I'd say dog -- I picture a little furry one. But who knows?
DeleteIt's kind of sad about the long departed Bobo, and now its owner probably too now.
ReplyDeleteIt's a nice feel good story about Trooper.
It IS sad, but all things must pass, I suppose.
DeleteEqual parts quiet accomplishment, thoughtful reflection, and curiosity about the world
ReplyDeleteI am very curious -- that's a nice way to put it. (Nosey is the alternative.)
DeleteThe video is wonderful and filled with life. The story of Trooper is heart-wrenching and heart-warming. The path from the cemetery looks very inviting.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Trooper story starts out bad, but I'm so glad it came to a good end.
DeleteStories about animals like Trooper make me so angry. How can people be so cruel?
ReplyDeleteI don't know. It's a mystery to me. Even if the guy was panicked and having to evacuate, why would he TIE THE DOG TO A FENCE IN A DITCH?!
DeleteThat's a nice insect video, thank you. Also thank you for the advance warning about the music, so I could mute it!
ReplyDeleteHa! Yes, a reasonable approach to Apple jingles. I only use music when the ambient noise of the video is unpleasant -- in this case, a lot of wind.
DeleteI love the photo of the hedged pathway. And the last of Bobo.
ReplyDeleteThat pathway is really something -- and running through a cemetery gives it an extra eerie feeling!
DeleteThat's perfect music for the video. Is that the Hampstead church with the graveyard that has the pearly king and Peter Llewelyn graves and the statue of the woman where someone always puts flowers? (I just painted that statue for my England journal). I loved that spot. You found it on a perfect day, no matter where it is. We have a plaque like that at the cottage out near the garage for a friend's dog. I don't know if she is buried there or he just put the stone (he asked). Someone will have no idea what it is someday and it may well end up like Bobo.
ReplyDeleteNo, this is Hampstead Cemetery, which is much larger than the church cemetery. It's in Fortune Green north of West Hampstead.
DeleteI remember quite well that incident with Trooper when he was abandoned during Milton. It got a lot of attention. A feel-good story, I guess, in the end. And obviously he had been grossly neglected before he was left tied to that fence.
ReplyDeleteI bet that Bobo had a completely different life. I would love to have known that story.
Yes, Trooper has a much better life now. That part about all the stuff found in his stomach was incredible. The poor dog was hungry.
DeleteI love that green tunnel walkway. What's on either side? You saw more butterflies on your walk than I've seen all year here.
ReplyDeleteWe've had a good year for butterflies, I think because we had such a warm, dry spring. The path runs through the cemetery, so there's graveyard on both sides behind the fence and hedges.
DeleteI love that tunnel too. I am glad Trooper was saved. It sounds like he had been neglected long before he was abandoned.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think Trooper had a rough life from the very beginning. I'm glad he's living comfortably now.
DeleteAll that greenery in the first shot is very welcoming. I also enjoyed the music in your little video. It gave the video a feeling of being in a jungle.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked the music! It doesn't really fit with an English meadow but as I said, it was the right length. :)
DeleteThe green walled walkway is beautiful. I wonder if it stays green throughout the year. The story of Trooper is horrifying with a great rescue ending. FL has done good writing laws to protect animals from mindless people. You would think anyone would know better. Unfortunately, that is not the case and laws are required.
ReplyDeleteYes, animal welfare is something that happily people on both sides of the aisle seem to respond to. It's one of the few public policy areas where Democrats and Republicans can still work together!
DeleteGosh, that hedge tunnel is cool and your photo of it is terrific!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeletePutting events together in time, such as Bobo and what was happening then, always makes me think, too. Of course, one can go back much much further, hundreds of years. But to think you could actually have met Bobo makes for a very powerful feeling.
ReplyDeleteYeah, and the idea that I could have met Bobo as a six-year-old child! That blows my mind.
DeleteLike an animal, I wish I were happily unaware of the political events going on. Sigh. I enjoy being transported by your videos, so thank you!
ReplyDeleteAnimals do have a bit of an advantage that way -- being unconcerned with human drama. Unfortunately a lot of our drama affects them!
DeleteI wouldn't be able to watch that poor dog in a hurricane, it would make me cry! but I did watch your video, it's delightful - sometimes the simplest things bring joy :)
ReplyDeleteSeeing the dog tied up in the ditch is horrifying, but the way the cop approached and rescued it is wonderful and it's heart-warming to see how he ended up. And yes, I am all about simple joys!
DeleteThe path through the hedge is attractive but kind of spooky as if it's a tunnel with no way of escape.
ReplyDeleteIt IS spooky, especially as it runs through a cemetery! The perfect setting for a Halloween story.
DeleteI find it rather sad that Bobo's marker/headstone was tossed into a skip. Sad that there's no-one left to remember him and care about him, his little body lying in the ground, forgotten.
ReplyDeleteJean.
I find it sad too! Then again, I suppose we're all forgotten, eventually. Even a headstone is impermanent. Some of the ones in Hampstead Cemetery are completely illegible.
DeleteI love that path from the cemetery to the sports fields. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shady respite on a hot day!
DeleteWhat a mixture of emotions I feel after reading your post today! The majority of our dogs were rescued from abandonment. One of the worst cases was the cardboard box of 12 puppies left across the country road from our driveway one Christmas Eve. There should be a special kind of hell for people who do things like that.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I can't imagine why anyone would just dump animals like that. Some people should never be pet owners. (Just as some people should never be parents.)
DeleteAttenborough voice: And here we have jungle Steve entering the London outback risking life and limb to bring us rare insects on thistles...
ReplyDeleteHa! I don't know about "rare," but interesting, at least to me!
DeleteI love that narrow way! And the story about Trooper. I also eat eggs on the weekends!
ReplyDeleteHa! Yeah, that Trooper story warmed my heart.
DeleteYou are doing well , though the "empty" seeing your jaunts without funny little Olga , is certainly felt. Glad that you are motivated to have adventures , get out and about and to go on a trip north in possibly horrid weather! That's the spirit!
ReplyDeleteLife goes on!
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