Family of Another Nature

A small family of Canada geese out for a swim. (Virginia Beach)

"Everywhere water is a thing of beauty, gleaming in the dewdrops; singing in the summer rain; shining in the ice-gems till the leaves all seem to turn to living jewels; spreading a golden veil over the setting sun; or a white gauze around the midnight moon." ~ John Ballantine Gough, A Glass of Water

We have a huge population of Canada geese, many of whom refuse to migrate south in the winter or north in the spring. It is often funny to see them in their migration "V" flying northwest in the fall. I often want to yell up at them, "Hey, guys, that is the WRONG WAY!"; but then they glide gracefully in a downward spiraling arch and land in the large pond behind the neighbor's house. Oh... just moving from one pond to another, I see.

I do believe that these (probably considered "native" by now) geese are the first to have families in the spring. Ours have developed a great community plan; the young goslings are shipped off to boarding school, at least for the daytime hours. Approximately ten to sixteen little fluff balls are shepherded by three or four adults and the day is full of lessons to be learned. They are taught to swim... in a long line with one adult at the head and one bringing up the rear and at least one to the side, to catch any strays. More importantly, they are taught to cross the road. I do believe that the first step is... start slowly but resolutely, the cars will stop; though the second must be...don't try this at night. More than once this spring, I had to come to a complete stop as the goose grade school practiced their crossing (as we all know, practice makes perfect). One adult stood on the destination golf course grass gathering the goslings around that had already navigated the street. One waited on the median to make sure everyone was in a line and on the march and a third was the traffic guard, standing right in the middle of the road. The babies hopped (fell) off the curb into the road and started their trek across. One was mesmerized by a rock in the road and stopped to investigate, causing a pile up behind. Adult guard quacked... baby ignored... adult walked over, bent his neck down and honked and nudged the little one along, flapping his wings as he chased the baby to the other side. This seemed to bring all the others back into order and the rest knew better than to cross this crossing guard again. The biggest obstacle is the curb on the far side as, yet unable to fly, they must jump their height to get back up to the grass. Many took several attempts before success. I have always wonder if these "teachers" send their pupils back to their parents at the end of the day.

This family was seen swimming in one of the inlets along the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia Beach. It was late May and most of the other resident goslings had almost grown to the size of their parents. Perhaps, this family actually migrated from the south or maybe the later goslings don't get to go to kindergarten and are home schooled instead. I wonder.

(end of post)
Carmi's Theme ~ "family"
World Bird Wednesday

Watery Wednesday

House of Blues.....And Hands

Blue hand building... Grand Canary Island

“Architecture is a social act and the material theater of human activity.” ~ Spiro Kostof (Architectural historian, 1936 - 1991)

More pictures of the strange -- "unusual" architecture found on the Grand Canary Island. These were photographed by my brother when he performed in an opera there a couple of years ago. The stunning shades of blue covering the stucco walls are eye-catching on their own; but then you begin to see three dimensional sculptured shapes on the sides -- hands!

(You may click the pictures to get a larger view)

These remind me of words or phrases delivered in sign language, however, my knowledge is limited to the ABC's. Molding surrounds some of the hands like picture frames. Honestly, at first, the sight of hand "gargoyles" protruding from the walls of a building creeped me out a bit; but with time, the beautiful positions with their touch of grace and poise gave a more fluid and soft look to the structure. You could say the hands "speak" to me. Perhaps that was what the architect and designer was going for.

(end of post)
Carmi's Theme: "got the blues".
Blue Monday

Have a Seat ~ Please Be Seated ~ Take A Seat...You Pick

Little garden angel... taking a seat on a tree stump...repurposing. (Jackson's garden, Portsmouth)

"Surely ruminating and lolling, squandering slivers of time as you ponder on this or that plant; perching about the place on seats chosen for their essential and individual quality, are other whole aspects of being a gardener. Why shouldn't we? We sit in other people's gardens, why not in our own." ~ Mirabel Osler, The Garden Bench

Tree stumps make better seats than ladders. There is a story behind that statement, filled with angst and pain and humiliation... a story with a moral as well. I won't bore you with the details except to warn all you klutzy people out there (I include myself in this description and I know my daughter would include me as well.)...if you want to look over into your neighbor's yard because you hear a noise there and there is a six foot wooden fence in your way and a pine tree stump available to stand on.. think twice or thrice. Not minding your own business may end up with a badly sprained ankle as you twist your foot trying to quickly step down....remember we are all klutzes here... and you WILL end up on the ground, crawling on all fours in excruciating pain, back to the patio door and into the house where you will then pull yourself up next to the counter, hop on one foot and pray that your teenage daughter has not emptied the ice maker. You will end up in the orthopedic surgeon's office where you will sit for no less than three hours before they x-ray your ankle and another two hours before they get you fitted with the most ugly and cumbersome black boot to stabilize the ankle. This boot will not fit under your pants; this boot over your pants forces the leg to ride up and bunch unattractively at your knee, so that you look as if you were trying to wear some sort of balloon on that leg. And walking in it.... did I not tell them it was being a klutz that got me into this in the first place? Do they really think a genuine klutz can walk in this... much less drive a car with one on? Oh, I forgot to tell you that it was the right foot, the driving pedal foot, no less. The swelling will go down in two weeks, the bruise that came up will take three and all because I wanted to look over into the neighbor's back yard. And you want to know something really disappointing? There was nothing there. Nope. Nothing to go with that weird screeching sound... nada... no one...no child... no animal... completely empty. The moral is of course... next time, simply use the gate...or better yet, take a seat on that stump and let it go.

Brooklyn Botanical Garden, 2006... a most unusual seat to take... under the spreading...
well, I don't know what kind of tree it was... huge and old and visited by many, many people who left their marks.

The huge "C" shaped trunk made a lovely place for Nyssa to lounge.

Every time I see these pictures it reminds me of the Longfellow poem that starts out... "Under the spreading chestnut tree, the village smithy stands...."; though I don't think this was a chestnut tree. While the branches were large and draping all the way to the ground and the trunk hidden like a secret garden resting place... it wasn't a weeping willow either. That was one thing about the garden in Brooklyn, the specimens and trees were not always marked will with their names. I thought the view in black and white was remarkable as it brings out all the graffiti and markings people have left through the years. The tree wears its scars proudly and has managed to survive and thrive in spite of humans.

Carmi's theme this week is "take a seat" so I combined it with the "trees" from last week... taking a seat in and on a tree.

(end of post)
Carmi's theme ~ "take a seat"

When Is A Tree Not A Tree?

When it is nature's arcade with free air conditioning!

"Making the simple complex is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity." ~ Charles Mingus

During horrific storms a year ago, several of the old stately pines at the Norfolk Botanical Garden were damaged, a couple broken off... the staff was devastated as these had been here since the garden was first formed. Loblolly pines are the favorite nesting sites of the Bald Eagle mating pair that inhabits the garden. What to do? Recycle... refurbish... reuse... make something magical out of misery. And so they did. You remember the Enchanted Forest series of playhouses that were on display last summer? To go with them, the garden decided to fill the now empty space where the trees were lost, with an outdoor arcade of sort.. the old fashioned kind where grandpas and kids could sit and play checkers as grandpa told stories of his childhood. The large trunks were carved into the table with checkerboard. Other trunks were fashioned into chairs and still others were cut and sanded into the checkers. So the lost trees were not really lost at all.. in fact, their new lives only added to the "enchantment" of the Enchanted Forest.

Does this funny fellow remind anyone else of an Ent?

"Us sing and dance, make faces and give flower bouquets, trying to be loved. You ever notice that trees do everything to git attention we do, except walk?" ~ Alice Walker, The Color Purple, 1982

Lovely people who have been long time friends of my parents live on a section of the bay with boat dock and large rocks at the shore. It is an older section of the area with large shade trees and gorgeous yards. The woman is an avid gardener and has wonderful little treasures hidden all over the place. Nyssa's favorite place was the hammock... shade and the cool breezes off the water. These looked like a variety of holly tree.. some can get quite large. I don't know if they were damaged and she simply couldn't bear to cut them down or if they had been trained and pruned specifically for this purpose, but this fellow can't help but catch your eye. Whimsical, humorous... who could help chuckling as he sticks his tongue out at passersby. But wait... trees with tongues??? Or lips or eyes for that matter.....hmm....

"Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing "Embraceable You" in spats." ~ Woody Allen

I remember now... an Ent... the ancient talking trees in Tolkien's trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. However, I really don't remember them ever looking this happy or mischievous, do you?

(end of post)
Carmi's Theme ~ Trees

Trees of the Season

Spring, daffodils bloom but the trees must wait....

"I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do. They go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far!" ~ John Muir

There is an order to the season... Spring really doesn't "spring" all at once. Each tree, each flower has its time of glory before its Creator. Crocus at the end of winter, then daffodil and weeping willow, the pink helicopter seeds of standard maple and the pale green new leaves of the birch... one after the other. Some with seeds arriving in tow with leaves, some with seeds that have to wait for fall. The last to leaf... usually the oak and crepe myrtle; the oak first pushing off brown dry dead leaves hoarded over winter to let the new green growth out and the crepe myrtle sprouting new growth below dead limb tips that should have been pruned in February. Each having a moment of splendor before shades of green deepen and blend with others in the the woods and forests and swamps.

Ornamental pear, flowers before leaves.. first in line for Spring.

"The wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ornamental pear and plum have their finest moment with millions and billions of tiny white flowers that draw the season's first bees and shower the ground around their base with Spring snow.

Showy and loud, stately and proud, the rows of pear line boulevards and medians bring thoughts of white carriages and horses and fair tale princesses in pale blue sparkling dresses, rather than the reality of people in cars on their way to places unknown. Emerson was right.. how can we see the trees and not wonder more?

(end of post)
Carmi's Theme ~ trees
Mellow Yellow Monday

Reflections in Time

Window reflections from Bruton Parish Church. Williamsburg, VA.

"Most people are mirrors, reflecting the moods and emotions of the times; few are windows, bringing light to bear on the dark corners where troubles fester. The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows." ~ Sydney J. Harris (American Journalist, 1917-1986)

Old window panes, colonial windows, built in 1715, now 296 years old. Windows that have seen the birth of a nation, wars between brothers, celebrations of independence, innumerable weddings and funerals and now, visitor from all the world itself. The windows let the light inside the historic structure and still reflect the life around it... winter trees with gnarled branches and the sky between. Sometimes as you walk the quiet streets you can hear the sounds of ancient hymns from the huge pipe organ within... other times there are the voices of a choir singing praises to God. What secrets have these walls seen and held? If only the bricks could talk to us... what history we could experience then.

Carmi's theme has been "windows" this week. I love the old wavy glass in the historic homes.. rare and irreplaceable these days. And the round windows... Williamsburg has quite a few of these in the old capitol building, the Wren building on the campus of William and Mary and in this old, stately church.

(end of post)
Carmi's Theme ~ Windows

Springtime In Switzerland

A Spring stroll in the park... Geneva, Switzerland

"It was such a spring day as breathes into a man an ineffable yearning, a painful sweetness, a longing that makes him stand motionless, looking at the leaves or grass, and fling out his arms to embrace he knows not what." ~ John Galsworthy, The Forsyte Saga

Springtime in Switzerland, another place I have never been except through the eyes of my brother and his little camera. This shot shows what I love the most about spring... the pale green tiny leaves on the huge trees with dark branching trunks and lacy intertwining limbs. Around here we don't see it so much. There are many maples and these seem to produce their seeds before the leaves come out... they are usually red or orange or even a slight golden color and in some places near our house, the maples all alined almost give the look of fall with their "Spring" colors. The pear and plum trees show up with millions of small white flowers before the leaves and by the time these petals have been blown by the wind into a fine Spring snow on the ground around their feet and covered cars that drive by, the leaves emerge at almost full size. The oaks have yet to push off last years brown dead leaves. No, here we don't have a boulevard to walk under an arch of tiny fresh green leaves.

I remember one tree near the lab where I worked in Mississippi. While I don't know what type of tree it was, it always fascinated me. It was old with a thick dark trunk... almost black, the trunk and limbs. Deep, dark green ivy had spread from the disc around the base, upward, covering the trunk in green year around. In the winter, short as it is there, the black empty limbs gave an architectural look to the corner lot... always with that green ivy showing. But it was most magnificent in Spring, when the light lime green leaves began to emerge. The lime green made the black limbs and branches pop and it blended so finely with the dark green ivy. It was a wonderful collage of greens and black for almost a month, until the leaves were too large and the skeleton of limbs could no longer be seen.. and by then the color of the leaves and the ivy were almost indistinguishable. As summer approached, it was just another tree with its individualistic character now hidden from view until Fall once again came.

Carmi has chosen the theme "land, sea or air" for this week.... whether travel by each or the beauty of each. I chose this for land... spring land... a land I have never walked, but may do so some day. And I thought this was most scenic as well for Scenic Sunday.
(end of post)
Carmi's Theme ~ Land, Sea or Air
Scenic Sunday

March Madness: In Like A Lion, Out Like A Lion

March Madness... in so many ways.

"March is a tomboy with tousled hair, a mischievous smile, mud on her shoes and a laugh in her voice." ~ Hal Borland

Well, March came in like a lion and... looks like it's going out like a lion as well, a Nor'easter setting up and cold, cold, rain coming down. While a few days this month were warmer than usual, most were colder. I laughed at Nyssa just a week ago when we had 76 degree days and she was having snow and 32 degree temperatures. Now the roles are reversed.. Reno has 70 degree days and we had sleet and temperatures consistently in the 40's for almost a week now. That is "madness".

Secondly, one of the black swallowtail butterflies who had been hibernating and transforming in my little aquarium in the sunroom decided it was time to emerge. I believe they do so on basis of the amount of light as in the length of the days, rather than the temperatures. This group of six chrysalides settled down back in early October and have overwintered in warmth and comfort and moderate humidity. They aren't suppose to emerge until mid-April but this one was an early bird... er.. butterfly. He was desperate to leave but we have nothing blooming except pansies and I doubt they have much nectar. Still, I let him go. There is fennel that is already growing well and even though the temperature seems much too cold for them... it could still lay its eggs on the fennel and hopefully find a bit of food somewhere. It was "madness" to emerge that early.

Then there is this picture... I really wasn't going to post this as it is not a great idea to take pictures while driving down the road. But, it was so interesting. I took it this month, on one of our many rainy days and it looks so cold and dreary out and that long stream of car lights. This is Dominion Blvd... the main highway south to North Carolina and Elizabeth City area. It is always congested and lined with traffic after 2PM and when the drawbridge has been open. I never come south on this road after 2PM... though the other drawbridge is no better. But not only was it probably madness to take this photo... my point and shoot does have the screen on the back so it isn't as risky a behavior as having to put your eye to a viewfinder... but, look at the window covered with streaming water droplets.... WHERE ARE MY WINDSHIELD WIPERS? I was startled that there was so much water in the picture! If it was raining this hard, I should have had the wipers on high and I don't remember it being this MUCH rain... and I don't usually escape the black stroke of the wiper blade cutting across the corner of the picture. Please, don't panic... I DID have the wipers on.... didn't I!!!????

(end of post)

PS: Going to take Mom for another attempt at her iron infusion outpatient procedure. I am hoping it will not be entangled as last week's version was but I think it has a 50/50 chance of actually happening, as we still do not have the blood pressure under the best control. My car is draining my battery for some mysterious reason and the battery is sitting there dead as a doornail and we were needing the second car tomorrow... and one of the gas fireplace burners is not working right so I cut off all gas to it... and this portends of another "Alexander" terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.... I certainly hope not. Did I take a wrong turn and step into the Twilight Zone?

Carmi's Theme ~ March Madness

That Moment Before Touchdown

... and the audience watching with a critical eye. Gulls of Mt. Trashmore.
(Click pictures to enlarge)

"No bird ever flew nonstop from New York to Tokyo, or raced 15 miles high at triple the speed of sound. But birds do something else. They do not conquer the air; they romance it." ~ Peter Garrison

Carmi's theme this week is transition... and today he has two lovely photos of seagulls in flight.. preparing to land... in transition. It jogged a memory of this photo of our Mt. Trashmore seagulls.. though I really don't know if the same seagulls stay at Mt. Trashmore all the time or if groups simply come and go as the food sources do. This fellow was coming in for a landing on a rough hewn fence and he had two spectators in the background, watching his every move. The closest, in particular, seems to be giving him a very critical eye... a teacher or parent perhaps... grading a young fledgling on his landing prowess? Personally, I think landing on a rough wooden fence rail in any way shape or form and doing it without getting a splinter in one of those webbed feet is successful.. do you suppose they ever do get splinters?

Awkward in flight, but smooth in transition. Norfolk Botanical Gardens.

Our Canada geese and mallards have been rotating between the neighborhood ponds more this past week. Late in the day, just about dusk, you can see them make their approach.. a large curved path while loosing altitude and a really strange screaming sound just before touchdown. This is the first time I've heard that sound but I guess some of them are a bit bumbling and have to warn the others to clear out of the way. The smaller mallards are not so graceful in the sky, flapping their wings almost hysterically, as if they would at any instant simply fall to earth if they didn't... no gliding or finding the air currents... the mallards simply fly to get from one body of water to the next... if it isn't close enough to just walk. But... their landings and takeoffs are more smooth and controlled than those lovely geese. I wonder if they know how magical their gift of flight is.

(end of post)
Carmi's Theme ~ Transitions
World Bird Wednesday

The Mimic

"Why does this mimic mock me so?" said the tiny goldfinch to no one in particular.

"The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply that they have perfect faith, for faith is necessary to have wings." ~ James M. Barrie

"Why does this mimic mock me so?" said the tiny goldfinch to no one in particular. No one in particular replied, "He does not mock, he envies your wings; for see... he has none. This other bird, this twin, has your shape but no substance. He is simply black all over, no feather, no wings, no piercing eyes or bright colored down to attract others. He is flat, a cut out shape, a silhouette with no heart; stuck here, attached, grounded, bolted to this pole. This "bird" is no bird, just a decoration, but not even that... an emblem, a pale and weak copy of the real thing... of you, little goldfinch. You are the real art, the real decorative piece on this feeder... you have wings and feathers and a voice to sing. You don't have to compete with this fake fellow... just be yourself... sing, fluff up your tail, fly....live."

(end of post)
Carmi's Theme ~ "Doubles"
Mellow Yellow Monday

Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun

Chipping sparrows (Spizella passerina).. sharing grains of corn and sunflower seed.

"Two birds disputed about a kernel, when a third swooped down and carried it off." ~ Proverb (Congo)

Winter is hard for the small birds, competing with the crows and starlings for feed at the feeders. This year has been much easier though, the blackbirds were sparse and easily chased away. Even in the snow, the air is filled with the chirping songs of the goldfinch, house finch, warblers, bluebirds, wrens, cardinals and the sparrows. These two are small chipping sparrows at work on some grain they found. We filled the feeders just before the snow started and then added a few handfuls on the top of the snow as it accumulated. These little ones did not seem to be fighting or sparing over the food, but sharing it. Each took a few grains and both were satisfied. Perhaps they have learned the lesson of the above proverb... and both are content.

(end of post)
Carmi's Theme ~ "Doubles"
Nature's Notes

Letters In Sunshine ~ Letters In Shadow

Letters in sunshine... letters in shadow.
Max and Erma's Restaurant, Virginia Beach

“My alphabet starts with this letter called yuzz.
It's the letter I use to spell yuzz-a-ma-tuzz.
You'll be sort of surprised what there is to be found
once you go beyond 'Z' and start poking around!”
~ Dr. Seuss (1904-1991)

Painted letters on a window... bright sunshine in winter with an angle low in the sky.... wooden window blind slats..... add them together and you get letter shadows. Now, I know you hope I know what they say... you want me to read them backwards..... but I can't. The restaurant is Max & Erma's... we went there once; not because the food was bad, but it is across town near the new Virginia Beach town center and a mall and frankly, we just don't get over that way very often any more. These days we try to group our outings together to get the most done for the gas we have to use. So, doctor's appointments near the beach become trips for necessities... gas at the cheepest station in town, stocking up on canned goods and paper goods from Costco and the very rare trip to a restaurant in this part of town....or rather, to use the Christmas gift card Mom got from Nyssa at Cheesecake Factory. By the way, Nyssa... she picked up one, a red velvet cheesecake.... red velvet cake layers between layers of cheesecake with a cheesecake icing and shreds of white chocolate on top. Just thinking about it puts on five pounds. We are rationing it for her.... it was already cut into slices and these have been individually wrapped and frozen. She gets ¼ slice every couple of weeks... so her HgbA1c doesn't go through the roof. It really IS an unbelievable treat and I don't even love cheesecake.

Oh, look... off subject again. Anyway, I have no idea what these letters say... I know they don't say "Max & Erma's", but haven't been able to decipher the words.. just the letters. The top row seems to be "i,d,e" and the bottom.. well, all I can make out is "ailable"... it could be "available" but why would that be on a window? I will try to remember to look and see, the next time we are over that direction.. the next time we have to make a run to the doctor down by the beach, to Costco and to Cheesecake Factory.

“Most people think that shadows follow, precede or surround beings or objects. The truth is that they also surround words, ideas, desires, deeds, impulses and memories.” ~ Elie Wiesel (Romanian born American Writer. Nobel Prize for Peace in 1986. b.1928)

(end of post)
Carmi's Theme ~ Letters
Shadow Shot Sunday

Haunted

There is more than one way to be "haunted"......

"Sing once again with me our strange duet ...
My power over you grows stronger yet ...
And though you turn from me, to glance behind,
The Phantom of the Opera is there inside your mind ..."
~ Batt, Michael; Hart, C; Stilgoe, R; Lloyd-Webber, Andrew (lyrics)

In 1989 a casting call went out to singers, including classically trained opera singers particularly in Chicago. Andrew Lloyd Webber was casting for the second traveling company of The Phantom of the Opera... the show was to originate and play in Chicago for its first nine months. My brother, Stephen, was doing an apprenticeship at the Lyric Opera in Chicago after completing his Master's at New England Conservatory. He auditioned, was signed and that is how his "haunting" began.

Of course, we thought this was great and over the eight years he traveled with this company, we were able to see the production in many different venues.. The Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, The Fox Theatre in Atlanta, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC and The Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia to name a few. Eight shows a week, 52 weeks a year, for eight years.... you do the math. What happens when you sing and act the same thing over and over and over? Stephen said that some nights he could do the entire show and not really remember the details at all.

What do they do to break up the repetitiveness? Well, for one thing, birthdays. When Stephen turned 30... I planned a surprise. I can't remember if they were in Denver or Chicago, but I got in touch with another cast member and sent a box to them. Inside was a small black coffin shaped box filled with black and white shredded paper and all sorts of "Over the Hill" gifts, coffee mugs and such. In addition, they delivered thirty white carnations that had been tip dyed in black with greenery in a large arrangement and a special ballon... the Grim Reaper holding a cup cake.. it read "I'm just here for the cake." Others had put together some finger foods and a cake and they set all the things up on a large table backstage. I sent a package of stickers as well, that read... "Look Who's Turning 30". The cast passed them out amongst themselves and attached them in various strategic places on their costumes.

The woman who played Carlotta was quite buxom and the neckline of the costume for the Masquerade scene was very, very low... but she had a decorative scarf of some sort as well. So, she attached the sticker, strategically .. well, on her partially exposed bosom and covered it with the scarf. Carlotta had to dance with Stephen when he played the part of Piangi and apparently he had to do so that evening. As they were in the middle of the scene and whirling round and round across stage.. Carlotta (with her back to the audience) would fling up the scarf and show Stephen the sticker.... what a way to break things up! It was a memorable birthday after all.

I was able to see the show ten times and always found it moving. Nyssa was four when it began and seven when we went to Chicago for her first viewing. She was mesmerized... and afterward, when we went backstage, all the cast stopped to talk to her and she saw all the heavy, heavy costumes and the stage props and wigs and even the Phantom's makeup. We thought it amazing and wonderful and never tired of the performances. But, after years of hearing the music night after night... Stephen DID tire of it. He was "haunted" by the Phantom of the Opera sounds wherever he went. Do you know how many fine restaurants have live background piano music playing during lunch or dinner? More than you know. The songs were in their cycles and it never failed that a strain from some part of Phantom would begin as he ate.... he has several times paid a tip to the piano player NOT to play pieces from Phantom until he left the restaurant.

The final touring companies closed last year in November 2010 in Los Angeles. In all there were three different touring companies and at closing, they had played 205 engagements in 98 cities for an unprecedented combined total of 36 years and 14,605 performances. Of those, my brother performed for eight years.

Oh, as for the picture. I was in our local Walmart parking lot and I saw this car with this bumper sticker and just could not resist. I had to use my handy dandy small point and shoot so as not to cause too big of a scene, so it isn't my best picture, a little spooky really ... but, I thought I would post it for Stephen... who will in some ways, forever be "haunted" by the Phantom of the Opera.

(end of post)
Carmi's Weekly Theme ~ "Letters"
Saturday Photo Hunt ~ "Mostly Black"

Singularly Mysterious After All These Years

I see the moon, the moon sees me.......

"There is something haunting in the light of the moon; it has all the dispassionateness of a disembodied soul, and something of its inconceivable mystery." ~ Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim

Would the moon be as mysterious if we had more than one orbiting around the earth? Spectacular moonrises every night, to be sure, but what would the tides do? Would they both be "silvery" or would one be red or amber? Would the two moons be in different orbits or at different stages at different times of the month? Surely, the physics of the whole thing would be vastly different. And that singular thing about the moon that is most precious.... the fact that I can see its face on one side of the continent and know that my lovely daughter can see the same moon, at the same time on the other side of the continent...well, that would probably be lost or more difficult to be sure of with two moons in the night sky. For me, the reflected light of that singular silvery moon embodies more than enough mystery for a lifetime......I say we keep it, as is...

"I see the moon
The moon sees me
Down through the leaves of the old oak tree
Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the one I love.

Over the mountains
Over the sea
Back where my heart is longing to be
Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the one I love."
~ Unknown

(end of post)
Carmi's Theme ~ Singles

Around the Curve, Beyond the Bend

What do we find around the bend? Williamsburg area.

Final Curve
When you turn the corner
And you run into yourself
Then you know that you have turned
All the corners that are left
~ Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967)

Do we ever really know what is around the next bend? I know I would love to know what is coming up and sometimes it seems like we are going along on a day to day basis with all the cogs in the wheels just falling into place and then... life throws us a curve. When that curve hits, it seems like the cogs just grind to a halt and anxiety increases as we suddenly realize what we should have known all along... life is a huge curve, we can never know what is around that next bend. It's an adventure and it is probably best that we only see just a little way in front of us... we couldn't handle all the curves if delivered at one time. Personally, I would be inclined to stay in bed with the heated electric blanket pulled up over my head if I could see the future. Instead I rely on Jeremiah 29:11 ~ "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (NLT) This is one of the promises to hang on to tightly when that curve is looming large.

So, how do you handle the curves of life?

(end of post)
Carmi's Theme ~ Curve

ABC Wednesday: "B" Is For Black And Blue

Blue Anise Sage, Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'

"Flowers and plants are silent presences. They nourish every sense except the ear." ~ May Sarton

Summer breezes and sun warmed soil produce these lovely blooms. I have never seen such a rich and dark blue in a flower, nor stems and flower bases so dark... really a black color. Most often the "blue" flowers are really more lavender or purple tinged and any flower labeled "black" turn out to be a very dark burgandy. These flowers and the foliage are both fragrant and hummingbirds are said to love them. I'm not sure the hummers found these last summer; it was the fist planting after all. They did like the other salvia species I planted elsewhere and it was fun to watch them hover over the flowers and gently probe for nectar. The winder has been really cold and the ground feels frozen, but only near the edge of the flowerbed, so I am hoping they will return for a repeat engagement this spring and be more dense and lush as well. What a great welcome mat for the bees and hummingbirds!

So my offering for the letter "B" is "black and blue"; not a bruise... but, a beautiful bloom to begin this cycle of ABC Wednesday. Oops! "Cycle" doesn't begin with a "B" and I am late to post... again... but, better to be a blog behind than blank.

(end of post)

Carmi's Theme ~ "Blue"

ABC Wednesday Round 8: "B"

Where Did You Get Your Eyes So Blue?

Swinging the blues.... Mr. Rhett

“Where did you get your eyes so blue? Out of the sky as I came through.” ~ George MacDonald

Dear Mr. Rhett with his blue eyes is the darling of women everywhere. He has had a difficult couple of years here, what with getting out and spending the night under the house during the construction of the sunroom and losing his sister, Scarlett last May. Still he is the most inquisitive cat on the planet and it still gets him into a pickle on occasion. Mr. Rhett is getting old as are we all, but he can still run faster than I can catch him. Hmm. Perhaps that says more about me than him. He has been losing weight for several years, but not so much as in this last year. He had lost two pounds since his last checkup and his fur coat was looking rank and disheveled. I could brush him and get almost as much hair as I do off the Ragdoll cats. But, he ate... he ate like he was starved to death. He would eat his wet food and the leftovers from everyone else in five minutes. So at his checkup this year they drew some blood to check his kidney function, since he is over 15 now and they checked his thyroid function. His T4 level was almost ten times the upper limits of normal, so now he is on a medicine to block the effects of the T4. A liquid, we put it in his food twice a day and he doesn't know the difference, but a difference it has made already. I believe he has gained some weight and his coat is back to being soft and lush. He does not seem as driven to constantly move and search for food.. yet, he still gobbles all he can get as fast as he can. At least he is on the right path.

Here he was swinging in the hammock with Nyssa... his blue eyes complementing the royal blue of the strings. I'm not sure if his expression is one of delight, fear or simply the desire to "be somewhere else".

(end of post)
Carmi's theme ~ "Blue"
Blue Monday