More Bailey on the Heath

Our canna lily is beginning to bloom, a bright orange splash near our garden steps. It's interesting how so many of the midsummer flowers tend to fall into the orange and red range of the color spectrum, while flowers earlier in the season tend to be purple and pastel. At least that seems the case in our garden.

Another Jersey tiger moth flew into the house yesterday. I got out my very sophisticated Insect Liberation Kit (a glass and a postcard), captured it and took it outside.

Bailey and I had further adventures on Hampstead Heath yesterday. You may remember from previous posts that the Heath is broken up into several sections, separated by fairly busy roads. On Monday I took her to the West Heath, Sandy Heath and Hampstead Heath Extension, all of which are northwest of the main Heath.

Yesterday, I decided to take her to the main Heath. I've been a little hesitant to do that because of her aversion to other dogs, and the main Heath is definitely the busiest region of Hampstead Heath. But part of what I'm trying to do is test her boundaries and get a sense of what she can comfortably do, and I figured a midday walk in the middle of the week might be a less busy time.

It worked out fine. She is perfectly happy on her long lead and I easily steered clear of other dogs. She's perfectly fine around people so that wasn't a worry.

We did come across a young man walking a tiny white teacup-sized something-or-other who was very focused on his phone. His dog was off its lead, and while he stood staring at his screen and tapping out texts, the dog began advancing toward Bailey. I pulled her back but just as I did so, I slipped on some gravel and fell backwards, so there was a chaotic moment when I wasn't in complete control and imagined her pulling away from me and going for that little ball of fluff. To her credit, she didn't. I stood quickly and said to the guy, "Could you call your dog back, please?"

He looked up and said, "Oh." And called the dog and walked away.

No harm, no foul -- but jeez, buddy, you might want to pay closer attention when your dog is the canine equivalent of a macaroon, and easily carried away by a passing hawk.

I took Bailey up to the scenic overlook on Parliament Hill, which was quite busy with other people and dogs, and again, she was fine. I think she's better behaved than I give her credit for being.

She even got another swim, this time in a much cleaner-looking pond! This video also shows her atop Parliament Hill.

Last night I had to stay up late for a conference call with my siblings about my stepmother's estate. We really are making headway toward settling everything but it's a long, slow process. I'm bleary-eyed this morning because I didn't get to sleep until about 1 a.m. -- and then the dog had me up again four hours later.

I killed time before the call by watching two '70s movies -- "Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell" with Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards (the kids from "Escape to Witch Mountain") and "This House Possessed," with Parker Stevenson. I have the former on my childhood movie list, which means I must have seen it at some point, though I have no memory of it at all. (It's terrible.) I'd never seen the latter, which my brother told me about and which features a pretty incredible mid-century house. Hey, if your house is going to be possessed, at least it can also be scenic!