Dahlia

Some days just don't go as expected.

My plan was to walk Ozzie, go to the store and replenish the empty larder, paint a little and possibly photograph the result. None of that happened.

Ozzie stopped dead in his tracks three doors from the house and wouldn't put any weight on his rear leg. Usually he does this because he has something like a rock or an acorn stuck between his toes. Negative. With thoughts of bee sting, snake bite, epileptic seizure, and dislocated joints (all of which have happened at one time or another to our dogs) going through my mind, I got him home, checked for bites and stings--negative-- and decided wait and see what happened. He seemed nervous and as agitated as is possible for Ozzie, which is not very, but it could have been just the fact that I was staring at him.

By the time I decided a trip to the emergency vet probably wasn't warranted we walked down to the neighbors' house where John was helping Paul build veggie boxes in his yard., They had just stopped work because they ran out of screws, and it was lunch time. Ann produced a lovely spread of two salads, bread, cheese and wine and we sat on their deck enjoying the lovely weather and the pleasant company.

By the time we got home I had only this picture of a dahlia which Ann, a landscaper, had purchased for her garden, and which was sitting on the deck next to my chair. (I do think the geometric structure of it is amazing. )

We came home to watch the Belmont Stakes, in which a come from nowhere horse called California Chrome was in the running for the triple crown. (the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont--all run within a month.) He didn't win, and his owner was justifiably bitter and less justifiably outspoken about how his horse had been unfairly beaten by a horse that hadn't been entered in the other two races.

So we still have no food, and no desire for any after our pleasant lunch, Ozzie hasn't had his walk, and I have no paintings, but it has been a very pleasant day.

Perhaps tomorrow….