The Life and Times of Olive the Pug: Taking Time to Smell the Sunflowers.

Thursday was a picture perfect summer day here in central Massachusetts, so Greg and I asked Olive the pug if she would like to go for a little ride.  She said yes, of course, and off we went down to Griswold, Connecticut to Buttonwood Farm to walk amongst the sunflowers.

Since 2004, the good folks at  Buttonwood Farm have been planting sunflowers in their pastures and for about a week at the end of July, people come to view and buy the sunflowers, take hayrides and rides on their cow train.  The donations they receive from the visitors go to the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Connecticut.  Then, after the week is over, they open the fields to their cows.  Lucky cows!  I have to wonder if that's why the ice cream there is so very good.

  It’s a wonderful idea that has obviously become very popular because when we got there, we were surprised to see that they had a full house of people of all ages.  But that sure didn’t deter Olive from having a great time.  The kids all wanted to pet her and tell her how cute she is.  She couldn’t wag her tail fast enough.

We walked among the sunflowers enjoying the cheery color.

Olive, of course, had to stop and smell at least every other flower and she did stop to get petted a couple more times, too. Sometimes she even multi-tasked.  She’s pretty talented that way.

At the end of the path, we could go up on a slight incline to see the array of sunflowers from a slightly different perspective.

While on the hill, I spied these two little beauties who were all decked out in their finest sunflower regalia.

The wait for ice cream was a little too long at Buttonwood for a tired pug and a couple of tired people, so we continued on our journey back home stopping at the wonderful Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm, in Moosup, Connecticut, where I got to taste cucumber ice cream for the first time, which I recommend very highly – a refreshing, sweet taste.  And Olive got to meet a couple of little goats.  They seemed to like each other quite a lot and were disappointed that there was a fence separating them from one another.

Olive ended her day by obliging the photog and posing as a purkey.  

How can a pug have a better day than that, I ask you?  It’s just not possible.  If you were to ask Olive about it, she would tell you that in life, it's very important to take a little time out of your busy schedules now and then to stop and smell the sunflowers.

Bear Alert and other things…

1)  We got a phone call early this morning from a neighbor.  I didn’t get to it fast enough and his message went to voice mail.  Of course, my first thoughts are always of some impending disaster or another when we get early (or late) phone calls.  But fortunately, Vic just wanted to tell us that he spied two bear cubs making their way toward our house.  I’m glad he called.  But by the time I got my glasses on and my thoughts together and went downstairs to find my camera, they had skedaddled.  Actually, I think that they came into our yard and made a turn at the stone wall and went to the beach.   They have been spotted swimming out to Blueberry Island on occasion.  So once again I lost my opportunity to snap at them.  When Olive and I went out to get the paper a little later though, I was on alert and had the Nikon with me.  No bears, which I guess is a good thing really.  A pug wouldn’t be much protection for me and I'm not sure what I could do for the pug if we had a close encounter.

2)  I did manage to get a pretty decent shot of a male Cardinal who was hanging around the yard.  We have a nice Cardinal couple who have been hanging out in our crabapple tree.  They are hard to catch though because the minute I go out with my camera, they find they need to go to some other yard or way, way up in a tree.  I got this one through the window.  So there, Mr. Red!  You just try and hide.

3)  Olive, the pug, had her 8 year wellness visit at the vet today and I am happy to say she got a clean bill of health.  She even lost a couple of ounces.  While we were sitting in the waiting room, a woman came in with a Cornish Rex cat.  What a gorgeous creature that is!  And the polar opposite of a pug.  And when we were finished, there was a nice looking tabby waiting to go in.  Cat day at the vets, I guess, except for Olive.  Made me miss my old feline friends.  Olive will spend the rest of the day sleeping and trying to forget the injustice of a trip to the vets.  I’m just glad she’s doing well.

4)  For the last couple of years, Greg and I have made our way down to Griswold, Connecticut to Buttonwood Farm to view the sunflowers.  This year we missed it by a day.  Boo!  When I realized that, I had to bring some sunflowers home from the grocery.  It’s not the same as seeing them en masse in the fields, but it will have to do for this year.

5)  August already!  Are you kidding me???

A sign of the dog days to come??

I'm hooking up today with Tanya's Willy-Nilly Friday 5 

on Around Roanoke, VA...A Daily Photo Blog

The Things You See Along the Way…

Today, Greg and I braved the weather and made our way down to Griswold, Connecticut, to Buttonwood Farms to see the sunflowers.  We had to go today because tomorrow we are leaving for Ohio to visit relatives and when we get back, the sunflowers are going to be cattle food.

 

On the way down to Connecticut, we went through North Grosvenordale and saw this very beautiful, old mill tower that was built in 1872.

A little further down the road, I saw the bumper sticker of the day:  “Driver may be singing.  Exercise caution.”  Good advice, especially if I am driving and singing!

Once we got to Buttonwood Farms, it started raining really hard so we had to sit for a while and wait.  Then once it let up, we decided that going on the hayride was a smart thing to do just in case it started to rain again and here’s what we saw along the way:

And aren't these kids adorable?

Life being short, we had dessert first.  Mine was Sunflower Ice Cream, which contained caramel swirls, sunflower seeds, honey and some kind of crunchy almond confection.  Yum!

Then we met this distinguished fellow:

On the way home, I noticed this sign at one of our regular restaurants.  They have it right!  It's what's necessary in a summer like this. 

I may see you along the way while we are in Ohio.  If not, take it easy!

Fences for Friday…

Here are a couple fences I found on our ride down to see the sunflowers in Connecticut.  I know, I know.   I need to get out more and get some new material…

Linking to Friday's Fences.

Barn in Griswold, CT…

I’m posting a photo of a barn I took in Griswold, Connecticut, when Greg and I went down to check out the sunflowers.  The barn is beautiful and all but the sunflowers were spectacular so I am going to post another pic of the sunflowers.  After all, who doesn’t love sunflowers?

Here's the same picture in color.  This is the one I'm using on my Facebook page right now.  I like this particular picture better in black and white though.

Linking to Bluff Area Daily’s Barn Charm.

The End of Sunflower Season in Griswold, CT…

Yesterday, Greg and I drove down to Griswold, Connecticut even though it wasn’t the best of days.  We wanted to see the sunflower fields at Buttonwood Farm before the owners of the farm let the cows loose in the fields at 5:00 p.m. today.

 

Since 2004, ten acres of the farm has been planted with sunflowers.  At first, the Buttonwood Farm owners did it just for the beauty of the display, but now they ask for a $5.00 donation from the sunflower admirers and 100% of the donations go to the Make a Wish Foundation.

I love sunflowers and find them to be extremely photogenic in all their phases.  I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.  And if you ever find yourself in Griswold, Connecticut, between July 21 and July 29 (or in our case July 31), it’s worth a trip to Buttonwood Farms, not just for the sunflowers, but also for some of the best homemade ice cream I’ve ever tasted.