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A Little Potpourri on a Saturday

September 21, 2013 at 9:25 am by Claudia

ducks1

It’s all in the timing, my friends. Sometimes, no matter how I try, I can’t get a photo right. It might be the light, the shadow or it might be me. Then there are those times that I point my camera, in this case my iPhone camera, having no idea what the end result will be. And the end result is lovely. (No retouching here. Just added the watermark.)

I wanted some more photos of the ducks because I love watching them. I was finishing up a long walk in the afternoon and somehow it was the right time. Or, at the very least, an interesting time. The light cast a glow on some of the ducks and turned others into silhouettes. The buildings and the trees were reflected in the water. In the above photo, that building’s reflection looks like a Keith Haring drawing that could be reproduced on some fabric. If you’ve seen photographs of the architect Gaudi’s work, this is right up that particular alley.

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ducks3

The duck in the foreground had the most amazing markings. The blue on his feathers was a rich, iridescent blue.

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I love the way the light has put a little spotlight on the two ducks in the foreground. They’re so beautiful.

ducks5

My iPhone’s camera seems to work the best for me outdoors. It sure has come in handy over the past couple of weeks. I stash it in the back pocket of my jeans and off I go.

Yesterday I walked by the pond and the usual 24 or so ducks that I normally see had increased in numbers.

Questions: Where do the ducks go at night? Where do they go as winter draws near? Do they live here in this pond all the time or do they just spend the day there?

Feel free to leave an answer in the comments.

Well, I’ve officially hit the less than one week left in Hartford mark. I’m winding down. We are in previews and have reached the point where I have to stop giving so many notes to the actors. I call it weaning. In every production, there will be notes that I have given repeatedly, things that jar my professional ear, words that I miss because the actor is facing away from me or because they get too quiet in a particular moment. I give these notes over and over and then I have to come to that place where I simply leave it alone. It is what it is. The actors need to make the performance their own and I need to let them. Darko, the director, feels the same way. As of last night, the weaning has begun. I’ll keep attending previews but I will be very, very selective about my notes. It’s like sending your child off to college. You hope you’ve given that child valuable advice and a solid foundation on which to grow and flourish. And then you send them off, crossing your fingers behind your back.

In other news, the A/C repairman came yesterday and I got all excited because I thought it would finally be fixed. He left an hour later because some machinery that he uses ‘seized.’ Still no air conditioning. I tell you, it will get fixed right before I leave for home. Mark my words.

In other-other news, I mistakenly put almond milk in my coffee instead of half and half. Twice. I love almond milk, but not in my coffee. Time to go make more.

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: birds, Hartford, On The Road, photography, theater 49 Comments

Duck, Duck…

August 16, 2013 at 7:41 am by Claudia

ducks2

Seven ducks preening and drying off in the sun.

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Nine ducks.

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Ten ducks.

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Eleven ducks.

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Nap time.

After a second allergy-ridden day, I left rehearsal a bit early. I felt yucky. After a couple of hours in the apartment, I strolled across the street to the park, camera in hand, and quickly became entranced by the ducks. They glided upon the water and one by one, they stopped, looked at their friends who had decided to spend some time out of the water, swam to the edge of the pond, checked out which opening in the line-up was best and jumped up and out of the water. I took these photos from across the pond because I didn’t want to scare them or upset their routine.

After all ducks have to rest, you know. They can’t swim endlessly. Who am I to intrude on their downtime?

Still feeling stuffy and eye-itchy. Still trying to figure out when I can make a short visit home. Every time the stage manager and I figure out a possible window of opportunity, the director changes his mind about the schedule. Since he’s directing both plays, it is surely his right to do that. But it keeps throwing a spanner in the works of my need to get home….just for a couple of days, really, that’s not asking too much, is it? The best opportunity would have been over last weekend, but we all know what happened then.

park

Yet another of my former students is in town. She’s acting in a play in a small theater that is literally a half block from my apartment. She’s one of my favorites, though I know I’m not supposed to have favorites. When I moved to San Diego to teach in the graduate program there, my boss and I traveled to NYC, Chicago and San Francisco to audition students for the program. The San Francisco auditions were our last stop on the tour and after two long days of interviews, we waited for our last candidate. She didn’t show up. We knew she was flying down from Seattle, so we waited. And waited. Finally, I took the elevator down to the building lobby thinking she might have been confused as to which floor we were on. Then I tried another floor. As the  elevator doors opened, a completely harried redhead stepped into the elevator, a panicked look in her eyes. I’d seen her headshot, so I knew who she was. “Erika?” I said. She made eye contact with me and practically shouted, “Yes!” in relief. I introduced myself and said I’d been looking for her, which prompted a long, breathless explanation of a delayed flight, a long cab ride, of having no way to contact us, though she tried and tried to call our offices (it was a weekend) and absolute fear that she had missed her opportunity to audition for us. I hugged her, told her everything was okay, and instructed her to go off by herself, take some deep breaths and when she felt ready to audition, we’d be there.

Her audition blew us away. She’s incredibly talented. Thank goodness we waited. We knew immediately that she would be in our program. In the 17 years since she graduated, she has worked consistently in the theater, always getting high praise for her acting.

So: the other day, one of the younger actors in Macbeth was telling me that he wanted to see the new play opening at TheaterWorks and he mentioned the title. That night I was on Facebook and saw that Erika had written a status update saying that her current show, with the same title, was having its first preview that night. She didn’t mention where this was taking place, but I thought this was too coincidental not to investigate. Yep. Sure enough, she’s here. We haven’t seen each other yet because we’re awfully busy and on different schedules, but we will.

Hartford seems to be the place to meet up with my former students. Who knew?

Happy Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: birds, life, On The Road 29 Comments

Somewhat Random

July 23, 2013 at 8:49 am by Claudia

T minus 6 and counting.

I’m off to Hartford in less than a week. I can’t linger on that thought for too long or I get sad. The garden is looking pretty gosh-darned abundant, my husband is about to return home and my little girl will once again be confused and sad. So what’s wrong with this picture?

Two months away from the cottage this time.

I’ve got a lot to do between now and Monday. Finish work on the scripts, get my hair cut, find a new pair of shorts that isn’t torn, mow, figure out what to pack (don’t have a project in mind yet,) write up an extensive list of the chores that Don has to take over, and there are many; most of them to do with watering potted plants, filling birdbaths and watering the seedlings. Oh, and a reminder (again) on how to empty the canister on the vacuum which he simply ignored last time I was away. Plus I have to drive up to the Berkshires on Saturday to watch a run-through of Much Ado About Nothing, followed by attending the closing performance of Pygmalion and packing Don up to bring him back home.

The latest visitors to check in at the birdbath:

catbirdfinch

A catbird and a male house finch. Finches sit on the edge of the birdbath and sip the water. Catbirds plunge in and dunk themselves with great exuberance.

finches

Sort of blurry, sorry, but I wanted to show you the elusive yellow-colored finch. I have tried to photograph this little guy so many times I’ve stopped counting. He always flies away before I can haul out my camera. According to my research, he’s another adult male house finch, yellow variant. Some males are yellow rather than red. Unless it’s a pine warbler. Or a goldfinch. Or a yellow-throated vireo.

I clearly have no idea.

This guy is often at the birdbath solo. Seeing him with another bird is a rarity.

liatris

The liatris is just starting to bloom.

dayliliesbeauty

More daylily beauty.

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A bench on the porch. The porch on which it’s been too hot to sit for more than a minute or two. Still humid here. Scout does not do well in humidity so I’ve had to turn on the A/C. But I leave it off for a while in the morning – just because I’m so sick of it. And because I’m dreading the next electric bill.

scoutgatebark

Miss Scout. She’s barking because she does not like it when I disappear, camera in hand, while she’s outside. She’d like me to let her back in the house, thank you very much, and where am I? Taking more pictures of my gardens.

The nerve.

One of you commented on that tarp that lies on the ground, just to the right in the photo, saying it looks like a dead body. It does. But in reality, it’s a pile of hay we use to cover the ground in the dog corral in the muddy, rainy days of spring. The tarp keeps the hay under control so that it doesn’t fly all over the property.

Today: Shorts shopping. T-shirt shopping. Perhaps a summer dress shopping.

I do not like shopping for clothes. No sir. The combination of a body that no longer looks as thin and svelte as it used to, fluorescent lights, and very little patience for the whole thing makes for a potentially frustrating experience. I used to love shopping for clothes. But my life out here in the country calls for T-shirts and jeans. And comfortable shoes. What have I become?

Ah well.

Happy Tuesday.

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Filed Under: birds, flowers, Scout 35 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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