The Ciel Show

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Sunday, May 1, 2016

Two more littles have joined the household

Yesterday was an adoption event at a place called Perches that specializes in birds and their equipment. Among the load brought back from the storage in Washington was a largish cage that my daughter used to house a cockatiel. Today, it houses two sweet and mostly yellow parakeets. The male is middle-aged for a budgie, ~7 years. He is yellow-headed, green-fronted, dark-blue-tailed with distinct black barring across wings and shoulders. He is busy and chirpy and friendly toward people, all good... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, April 29, 2016

And here it is, snowing again...

Yes, again... the next couple of days will be winter trying to hide spring, then it will be warm again for a while. Sunday, May 1st we invited everyone to a Renaming and Dedication Party for the Compass Rose Traveling Theater, with picnic/potluck and Open Stage for anyone who wants to get up and perform or announce or whatever... And then May Day, renowned for sweet and balmy weather, is going to be snowed under. In fact, looking ahead, May 15th is the only day in May that is not rain, snow, or... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

SHADOWBOX

It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1977, this play by Michael Cristofer, and it is being produced this weekend and next at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. We went to see it on opening night, last Friday. I usually have a lot to say and write about a show that impresses me as deeply as this one, but this time I had to work out a few of my own feelings and reactions before I could really talk about the play itself. It is about dying. Not about death, but about seeing it coming, anticipating... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, April 22, 2016

It's gonna be all right...

The sun warms the day and is remembered by the night when plants sleep in the cool without fear of freezing and I sleep windows open without fear of sneezing... Yes, I think it's spring, despite the snow we had twice in the past couple of weeks, 8 inches here at the light end of the storm, that all melted by the next day. I see tight green flower buds on the lilacs, and this year I expect to be here to watch them open and bounce in the breezes. It would be the first year in a couple I will be... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Today, it's grackles!

About 2 dozen or more in the tree behind the house, and several more on the neighbor's feeding station and on the roof above it. They are pretty birds, with bright blue/green irridescence on the neck, and the rest, black. They also gather in the evergreens, in the tall blue spruces in the back yard, and some pines across the road. You can't see them, though they are quite chattery--then suddenly, a dozen or more erupts from the tree all at once! The robins are back, sharing their tree with the... Sign in to see full entry.

Robins

Here are a few pictures of the robins in the tree mentioned in the previous post... https://www.flickr.com/gp/therovingeye/jC5Kwf Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Snow-melt and birds

Morning... 8 inches of snow Afternoon... the lawn, the streets, tops of fences... Snow is all gone. I don't think I have ever seen more than one or two robins at a time, before the 15 or so that were hanging out in the neighborhood today--mostly all in one tree, or in the air. I wonder if they were finding the spring trees and the winter snow a matter of confusion. The flickers, first the male, then joined by a mate, have also been around, starting on the egg-fertilizing part of their spring... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, April 16, 2016

...and more snow...

It's now about 5-6 inches deep, and still falling... The wind is tossing the tree limbs gently, freeing the new leaves from the white stuff, making a strange sight, all this white with the green between the gusts and flurries. I am very pleased to see one of the fox squirrels up in the tree a yard away. It has been months since we had any squirrels about the place. I've put out a few peanuts, should this one come visiting. I've spent the day so far posting photos on Fine Art America. There is a... Sign in to see full entry.

And today: snow.

It is coming down heavily now, big fat warm flakes that will accumulate maybe as much as 12 inches before the day is done, so they say. It looks dramatic on my leafing-out lilac bushes and tinted green on the trees that have been bursting with spring this week. Luckily, it won't be a hard freeze, just right around freezing, so it probably won't ruin spring. Forecast will have it gone in a few days. So... I am kinda enjoying it. I will turn on the faux-fireplace and make a nice hot cuppa, and... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, April 15, 2016

News in the night...

I woke up around 2am with a niggling thought that was not going to go away any time soon, so I got up and had a bite to quell the hungers of the night, read a while until drowsiness overcame me... put down the book, turned out the light and nestled down... 3:30 by then... and the phone rang. It was my daughter in England. Yes, she had forgotten to work out the time difference, and she also had news to share. Some of it I am not yet authorized to pass along, but this bit is fun. There is a quiz... Sign in to see full entry.

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