birds — Page 31

Rain, Rain, Go Away – Please

June 18, 2019 at 9:38 am by Claudia

Just add lots of rain to this picture and that’s our current situation. It’s raining very hard and as I sit here, I can see catalpa blossom after catalpa blossom float to the ground. The rain will be their undoing.

And the rain will force the finale of these:

I know all good things must come to the end, but darn it, the catalpa just bloomed! Ask me how sick of the rain I am. Go ahead. Although maybe you shouldn’t as you’re bound to hear some curse words. We have rain today through Friday. Rain, thunderstorms, blah, blah, blah. I am so, so, SO sick of it.

As I was drinking my first cup of coffee this morning, I checked my email and there was a notice from my security company that came around midnight saying my site was down. I looked at the clock and figured that since it was 7 am, it was probably back up by now. Nope. So I called my hosting company and they verified that there was a big problem with the server and my blog was one of those affected. Drat. In that kind of situation, there’s nothing I can do but wait it out. So I made our second cup of coffee, sat on the sofa with Don and chatted. I’m glad to say it’s back up now – obviously – or I wouldn’t be writing this!

I’m trying to change my reaction to these technical mishaps that are beyond my control. They tend to push my “worry” button, but in the end, all I can do is talk to my host, or in the case of other problems, talk to my security company. That’s why I have them.

Anyway, all is well, for the time being.

Edited to add: If you tried to visit the blog during that time and found a message saying it couldn’t be contacted or something like that – the exact wording depends on the browser – it doesn’t mean you were blocked. It just means the server was down and my blog was also down. If the server is down, my blog can’t be located on the web. I say this because I got an email from a reader thinking she had been blocked. If you had been blocked – which I rarely do and only if I’ve been harassed or threatened repeatedly – the message on your browser would be a different one, specific to no longer having access.

I saw Lonesome Dove perched on an electrical wire this morning. I’ve only seen him at the birdbath one time this spring and I miss him. I opened the window in the den and, sure enough, I could hear his haunting call.

What to do with all this rain this week? I tend to get stir crazy. Yes, of course, I’ll read. Maybe I’ll finally clear out and sort through the items in my dresser drawers – one of my least favorite things to do. I have to buy a birthday present for a certain someone whose birthday is next Monday. (Hint: he’s in the next room playing his guitar at the moment.)

I’m on my 11th or 12th day without sugar. I have a major sweet tooth and, even though I wasn’t eating all that much sugar, I was having some every day, and one day I just said, “Enough.”

I’ve done this before and it was time to do it again. I’m not having any major withdrawal symptoms, but I do feel more energetic and that’s good. Hopefully, I’ll lose a bit of weight in the bargain.

Okay. I’m off to figure out what I’m doing today.

Happy Tuesday.

Flowers & Predators

June 6, 2019 at 10:37 am by Claudia

The clematis is blooming like crazy.

The wild roses, dreaded brambles at any other time of the year, are in bloom all over the property; clouds of white everywhere.

They’re so delicate! And they have a lovely scent. My favorites are the tiny, tiny pink buds. Right now I love them. In a few weeks, we’ll be enemies again.

And the peonies. What can I say?

I walk down to their position near the road more than a few times a day to inhale that heavenly scent. I don’t know of a more luscious flower than a peony. (Purely my opinion, of course!)

The days are getting warmer around here. We seem to have turned a corner.

Two quick animal/avian stories:

Last night, I was looking out the window of the kitchen door and saw one of our young bunnies munching on some grass. He was fairly close to both the house and the big garden bed. Suddenly, his head moved to the right and he took off and ran through the secret garden. I yanked open the door and saw some bigger animal run under my car. When I walked outside, the animal took off toward the shed. It was one of my neighbor’s cats – the bane of my existence. He paused at the shed, and I shook my fist at him and told him to “Get out of here!”

That bunny knew the cat was a threat. I remember thinking – before I knew what animal was lurking under my car – that it would be hard to believe it was a groundhog because I’ve seen both creatures co-exist peacefully in the yard. Groundhogs have no interest in bunnies.

But a large cat? A definite threat.

Then, this morning, we were sitting out on the porch for our second cup of coffee and I saw two large hawks flying high, followed by a smaller bird. The hawks veered to the left, one of them disappearing, the other landing in a tree. Immediately, a constant warning call sounded, with non-stop urgent chirps. I told Don that that was a distress call he was hearing. Soon the distress call was taken up by another bird as well. You could hear calls coming from both sides of the road. On and on it went until, after about five minutes, the hawk erupted from the tree, followed closely by a red-winged blackbird who chased him away.

The chirping stopped. All was peaceful.

Don was amazed.

It was better than anything on television.

Happy Thursday.

Sunday, Sweet Sunday & Goodbye to Anastasia

March 31, 2019 at 10:45 am by Claudia

“Sunday, sweet Sunday, with nothing to do…” That’s a lyric from Flower Drum Song, and it fits this particular Sunday. Nothing to do, except putter around, which is my favorite thing to do. It’s a rainy, drizzly day, so nothing is going to be accomplished outdoors. But I can play around with the stone on my dollhouse, and read, and listen to music.

I saw this guy outside the kitchen window yesterday and scrambled for my camera:

According to my bird books, he’s a Yellow Bellied Sapsucker.

Gorgeous. He didn’t do a lot of pecking, but he did do some preening.

Thank you, little guy, for stopping for a spell on this maple right outside the house.

The fern had to go outside yesterday. I had been noticing large ants on the kitchen table and finally figured out that they were attracted to the Boston fern after doing some quick internet research that said there’s something in the plant that can attract ants. So. Out it went. I will have to bring in inside at night for the next three nights because it’s going down below freezing, but it will go back outside during the day.

The yellow footed compote and the vase of tulips have now moved to the kitchen table.

__________________________________________

Just want to say a word about Anastasia, which is closing today. I have been involved with this show since its beginnings at Hartford Stage three years ago. I fell in love with the glorious music by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and the direction and staging of Darko Tresnjak. Peggy Hickey’s choreography was the icing on the cake, as well as the costumes by Linda Cho, set design of Alexander Dodge, and projections of Aaron Rhyne. Getting to work with Bonnie Panson, one of the best Production Stage Managers I have ever had the privilege to know, has been nothing but wonderful.

Most important to me was, and is, the cast of superb actors, singers, and dancers that have made this show come to life. Everyone has been a joy to work with. Everyone.

But Christy Altomare, as Anastasia, has my heart. Besides being unbelievably talented, an actress/singer who has direct access to her heart and emotions, whose voice soars during Journey to the Past and brings down the house every performance, she is one of the kindest, most gracious people I have come to know. I adore her. I can’t imagine not hearing her sing that song on the stage of the Broadhurst ever again. Christy is humble. She has time for everyone and patiently stands outside the stage door every night signing programs and posing for pictures. She is the real deal. Working with her and getting to know her (we’ve had many long talks) has been one of the great joys of my life.

I know this is a tough day for everyone involved with the show. Saying goodbye to this magical production will be hard, especially for Christy and John Bolton, the two leads who have been in the show since the beginning, as well as at least 5 or 6 ensemble members who have also been a part of the cast since Hartford.

We always refer to the three words that Christy sings in Journey to the Past:

Home. Love. Family.

That’s how I feel about the cast of Anastasia. You’ve had a great two-year run. Bless you always.

Happy Sunday.

Rain, Rain, Go Away – Please

Flowers & Predators

Sunday, Sweet Sunday & Goodbye to Anastasia

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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