April showers

 

 

Girl at the Window
Antonia Rzhevskaya

 The Soul of April

Over the wintry threshold
Who comes with joy to-day,
So frail, yet so enduring,
To triumph o'er dismay?

Ah, quick her tears are springing,
And quickly they are dried,
For sorrow walks before her,
But gladness walks beside.

Bliss Carman

 

At the Symphony (again)

 

Nobuyuki Tsujii

 

Do you remember the 1996 movie "Shine?" It told the story of the Australian child prodigy David Helfgott, who is driven to madness by the "unplayable" Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3. 

While the work was never truly unplayable, it is certainly in the top 10 of hardest piano pieces, requiring great virtuosity and stamina. 

Now, please imagine a classical pianist, a child prodigy who has been blind since birth, hammering this monster out in front of a full house and Seattle Symphony Orchestra. That was our treat yesterday afternoon. 

(The Rach 3 was followed by Brahms Symphony #4, another masterpiece, although poor Brahms felt a bit sleepy by comparison.)

From Wiki:

Tsujii learns new musical works strictly by ear. A team of pianists records scores along with specific codes and instructions written by composers, which Tsujii listens to and practices until he learns and perfects each piece. It takes about a month to complete a concerto. 

Inspiring stuff for these troubling times. 

Spring has sprung

 

I was out early this morning for a walk at the Washington Park Arboretum with my old friend Nancy. The park is beautiful in any season, but really spectacular now with the flowering cherry and magnolia trees. 

Nancy is in excellent shape. This is good, because it challenges me somewhat and I haven't had much exercise this week. My back seems none the worse for our 2 mile hike, so hopefully that was just what I needed.

It is Friday and the sun is out.  A bad combination. I drove home surrounded by seemingly insane drivers. I'm getting used to my pretty new car, and naturally feeling protective. My palms were sweating by the time I got back to West Seattle. We have freeway on-ramps here that deposit you in the fast lane. Think about that. (Talk about insane.)

Well, there is something about these first warm days that makes people go crazy on the roads. I don't know if that happens in other parts of the country. Maybe it's because we've been deprived of sunshine for so many months.

In other news. South of the border, the fun goes on. The families have just returned from an overnight camping and kayaking excursion on Espiritu Santo Island. 

Have a good weekend. 

Miniature world

 

You could get lost gazing into these shining miniature forests on the old apple tree. Once again, kudos to the amazing point and shoot iPhone camera.

Lichen is neither plant nor animal, in fact they’re organisms unlike any other on Earth, being a combination of algae and fungus. Lichen rely on the atmosphere for all their nutrients and are a food source and habitat for countless insects and animals. They don't harm the surfaces they grow on.

Lichens are sensitive to air pollution and only thrive in clean environments. All the old wood in our yard is covered with it, so I guess that's a healthy sign. It takes decades to grow.

Our lovely wild yard is certainly teeming with insects. Many people consider lichen unsightly, in the same category as dirt and mold. Of course there are chemicals to get rid of it. We shouldn't be in a hurry to destroy things we don't even understand.

A fine mess

 

There are dozens of tulips in there ready to bloom, struggling up between invasive bluebell clumps that take over the beds in the spring. I can't dig them out without decapitating the lilies and other nice things just showing their heads. Anyway.

We watched the Martha Stewart Netflix special a while ago, and one of the things that tireless (tiresome?) woman said was, "If you don't like your garden, RIP IT OUT and plant a new one!"

Easy for her, with an army of gardeners to boss around. It will be a while until I'm in there on hands and knees again. But at least a pretty mess at the moment.

Now here's a happy sight. The plum tree has a few flower buds, and if the pollinators do their work we might have fruit. Hopefully not an obscene amount like two years ago, but enough to make a new batch of plum chutney would be nice.

 

Spring is trying hard to break though, and the sun is strong when it does appear. I have a little private place next to the deck to watch the birds when the chair dries out between April showers. 

We have the first warm weekend coming up, when people go completely bonkers in Seattle.
 

Hilaria

 

 

"It is easier to fool people
than it is to convince them
that they have been fooled."
Mark Twain

 

Long before April Fools’ Day, there was the ancient Roman festival of Hilaria. It was a day of rejoicing and cheerfulness after the gloom of winter.  The first day of a better season, when no one was allowed to show signs of grief or sorrow. 

If you get fooled today, I hope it's a kindly, gentle trick. 

 

Meanwhile, a few nice pictures sent from south of the border. The families are currently in Cabo Pulmo, a tiny town 60 rough road miles north of Los Cabos. It is known for the national park and best reef snorkeling on the Baja Peninsula. 

The Sea of Cortez looks a bit choppy...