Woodpecker Day - Part Deux

Feb 20, 2012 06:41 PM
Just a quick Arbor Action update.

I wrote last week about some of the birds who have been regular visitors to the yard this winter, and it seems no sooner had I posted that entry than I had a new arrival, four new arrivals actually, four little bluebirds like these guys! I haven't seen bluebirds in the yard very
often in the four years I've lived here, but this little group spent a good part of the day hanging out under the arbor with all the other birds and then also perching in the branches of the backyard trees where they seemed to be watching the activity inside the house through the glass doors of the back deck. They were very sweet! I think the heavier snow fall may have brought them to the bird feeder for an easy snack or two. But they weren't the only ones...  Read More...
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A Dragonslayer From Paris, Texas

Feb 15, 2012 07:42 AM Filed in: Now Playing
What a great story! There's an old joke told in the Arts about a young musician who stops a person on the streets of New York City to ask "Can you telll me please, how do I get to Carnegie Hall?" And the person replies, "Practice, practice, practice." That is the story of Jay Hunter Morris.

Morris grew up in Paris, Texas singing gospel and country western music. It wasn't until later in his life that he discovered opera and was intrigued enough to begin exploring that style of singing. He found a voice instructor who was willing to help start him on the path, and now years later after having served as an understudy for the role, Jay Hunter Morris is starring as Siegried in a production of Wagner's Gotterdammerung, the last opera of
Wagner's 4 opera Ring Cycle, at the New York Metropolitan Opera. It's one of the most demanding roles in the opera world, and the tale of how Jay Hunter Morris found his way to the stage of The Met is worth a listen. So if you have 6 minutes or so to spare, sit back and enjoy this wonderful and charming interview with NPR's Scott Simon and the unassuming dragonslayer from Paris, Texas, Jay Hunter Morris.

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It's A Red Headed Woodpecker Day

Feb 13, 2012 10:32 AM Filed in: Day To Day

Good morning!

It's a bright, sunny winter's day here today, and I just had a visit again from the red headed woodpecker. We used to see woodpeckers all over the place when I was growing up here in the MIdwest, and any long walk through the timber was usually accompanied by the distant sounds of woodpeckers hammering away at tress far and wide throughout the woods. I've lived here in southern Indiana now for four years, and only a handful of times have I ever heard their distinctive knocking coming from across the yard far away back in the near by stand of timber. Read More...
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Like An Old Friend

Feb 07, 2012 09:32 AM Filed in: Now Playing

Some things just stick with you, you know?

And sometimes old memories of things long past colour your perceptions of the hear and now so much so that the hear and now has a hard time measuring up. I say 'hear and now' because many years ago this recording of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons left an aural mark on me that never faded. This CD is a re-release of an old 1970's era LP that was a pivotal musical experience for me as a young teen, an actual turning point in my life really, and I am beyond thrilled to now have it again in my hands!   Read More...
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Mmmm....Breakfast!

Dec 07, 2011 10:33 AM Filed in: Day To Day

A few weeks back my friend Ari (Thanks, Ari!) posted a link to a blog called "The Kitchn" on her facebook page, and specifically to a set of recipes for 6 breakfast casserole dishes. Now I love a good breakfast. It's easily my favorite meal of the day, and a real breakfast is the best way I know of to get a Saturday off to a great start. So of course I started reading...and reading....and read some more. It didn't take long for me to decide I needed to try out some of these casseroles... Read More...
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