peony, litter, sling

Four ways of looking at a peony.

The horse chestnut candles are extinguished. The pink and white petals of the individual flowers, blown down by the wind, litter the grass beneath the trees, where I am walking, like sweet wrappings.

In Calverley Ground, a man with a sort of sling - a handle with a cup at the end, which holds a ball. Different, I suppose, from the leather device which David used to dispatch Goliath, but the principle is the same. He puts the ball in place and the dog - a golden Labrador - hurtles off in anticipation. The ball soars a great distance, as he swings the handle, and falls ahead of the dog, who catches it on the bounce.