Landscape of Words

a journey through landscapes real and imagined

Category: Landscape (Page 2 of 4)

Surprising Audience

July 23, 2020 / / 1 Comment

We love to see what will come to the yard to listen to the cello. Usually it’s robins and a family of cardinals (2 babies!), and sometimes we get some house finches (always house sparrows). Today we had some new special guests! Chickadees, a blue-gray gnatcatcher, and a ruby-throated hummingbird!

This week is Wren’s second cello camp of the summer. She was planning on staying with friends in Omaha while I taught in Yellowstone. That didn’t work out, but we’ve had a lot of fun this week together! The Omaha camp didn’t fully cancel, but they allowed Wren to attend only the online portion of the camp (the kids living in Omaha are rehearsing for chamber in person). Wren is taking lessons and technique. She’s also enjoyed zoom lunches with her friends, and some evening seminars on conducting and composers. This camp has a composition competition, and Wren was very excited to submit some of her compositions to this! We recorded for this today, so we don’t have a new recording to share tonight…but after we find out the results of the competition next week, we will post some things here!

Here is an older video for you! This is a recital from the fall of 2017. Wren was playing Chanson Triste.

Buzzing Around

July 21, 2020 / / 1 Comment

I love this time of year when I can take photos of all of the different kinds of pollinators! So much variation! Here’s what’s blooming and buzzing around our garden.

Carpenter Bee on Phlox
Honeybee on Hyssop
Joe-pye-weed
Painted Lady on Echinacea
Leafcutter Bee (I think) on Echinacea

We always have music “blooming” around here too. Wren recorded a hymn from my childhood for you tonight. I remember when I was little, my friend Sally and I always tried to get Mr. Landrum (the music director) to pick Share His Love on Sunday night hymn sings! Enjoy!

Twinkle, Twinkle…

July 19, 2020 / / 1 Comment

We’ve been out watching the comet again! I’ve also been working on my night photography skills, and I’m excited to share! First, some music to set the mood!

Comet Neowise was discovered in March of this year, and will not be back for 6,800 years! We enjoyed seeing the comet so much last weekend, that we decided to try again this weekend! We went out on Friday night and it was so amazing! This time, we could actually see the comet without my camera lens! The stars were really out, and we could even see some of the milky way! We had some friends who met us out in our favorite soybean field, and they brought a spotting scope (don’t worry, we all wore masks!). With the scope, we could even see 4 moons of Jupiter! I don’t have a photo, but trust me…it was beautiful! Here are some of my favorite shots!

The sunset did not disappoint!
First glimpse! The clouds covered the comet briefly, but we had wonderful views after a slow start.
Finally free of the clouds
I used my wide-angle lens, but hopefully you can see the details…so many stars! The comet is under the Big Dipper.
a glimpse of the Milky Way

Little Hike on the Prairie

July 15, 2020 / / 1 Comment

I really enjoy my walks through the prairie. I especially enjoy seeing how it has changed since the previous walk. At some point, I’ll post a series of photos showing how it’s changed, but for this post I’ll just show you my favorite things from my past hike! First, here is a little tune that Wren wrote for you!

Wild Carrot is everywhere!
Leadplant! I love the bright orange stamens!!
Purple Prairie Clover
Rattlesnake Master
Tiger Lily (not native, but naturalized and very pretty!)
Bee Balm (Monarda)
Blue Vervain
Yes, it was delicious!!!
Goldfinches on Compass Plant
Eastern Pondhawk (Female)
Eastern Pondhawk (Male)
Autumn Meadowhawk
Halloween Pennant

Comet Watching!

July 13, 2020 / / 1 Comment

In my last post you saw the first installment of our weekend adventure! We were determined to see comet Neowise. This comet was discovered in March by scientists using NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Telescope, and is supposed to be visible in Northern latitudes with the naked eye – or at least binoculars. Last summer, Wren and I fell in love with star-watching and I started trying to learn star (night sky) photography. So we headed out again last night with high hopes! When we started driving West, there were quite a few clouds.

Thankfully, the clouds were gone in time for sunset and the comet’s rise. We watched the fireflies while we waited.

Thank goodness we had some technological help! Rick has the Starwalk app, and we were able to get a reasonable idea where to watch!

Finally, it was dark enough and we were able to see this!

It was the most beautiful thing! We are so glad that we were able to see this amazing event! We were out pretty late, so no recording from Wren today (sorry!), but we will have some new installments of the hymns of comfort this week!

Sunsets and Fireflies

July 11, 2020 / / 1 Comment

We went out to try to see the NEOWISE comet last night. We didn’t see it (yet), but we were treated to an amazing sunset!

Then the fireflies came out!!!

We didn’t get a hymn recorded tonight, but we made this video for our Church’s virtual VBS! It definitely fits the theme of sunsets and fireflies. Thanks again goes to Nonnie for the arrangement and accompaniment!

I’m hoping that we will see the comet some evening soon! Stay Tuned!!!

Summer Nights

July 5, 2020 / / 5 Comments

Last night we were able to camp on our friends’ farm! It was so amazing to be able to visit with others (at a distance, of course), and for Wren to run around with another child. They roamed in the pastures and the forest, met the sheep and chickens…it was so nice for her to feel that freedom. She said that her “heart was so happy.” That makes my heart very happy! We put our tent out in the pasture where we would have a good view of the fireflies, the fireworks, and the moon (and supposed eclipse).

Rick was very happy that he was allowed to fly his new drone! He got a pretty nice video, and I’ve taken a screen shot to show you this beautiful place!

We set up camp as the sun was setting, and I got my cameras ready for the light show!

The fireworks were an unexpected surprise. When our friends told us that everyone would be shooting them off, we thought they would be the “at home version”…we didn’t realize we were in for this big of a display! The town cancelled the fireworks…so others decided that the show must go on!

The fireflies (lightning bugs) were even more spectacular than the fireworks! I haven’t seen this many in a very long time!

We were expecting a lunar eclipse, and I suppose it happened (at least that’s what google says!), but we didn’t see a change in the moon. It was really pretty, though!

It was a beautiful night! Hopefully we will go back again soon! We didn’t record a hymn last night, but Wren has been recording some more of her compositions. This is the first movement from her Quartet in F for cello!

Walking

June 28, 2020 / / 4 Comments

I look forward to my long rambling walks on the weekends! Today I went out to my favorite spot to see what was happening. There has been a big turnover in blooming plants over the past two weeks! The prairie has shifted from a sea of blue to pink as most of the spiderwort is gone and replaced with phlox. The dragonflies are still really busy, and I added a new species to my list today! The coneflowers were blooming! I love them, and I’m so happy to see them again! The ones in my yard are a little behind what I found on the prairie.

Phlox with Fiery Skipper
Hairy Woodpecker
Queen Anne’s Lace
Coneflower with fritillary
I think this is a Variegated Fritillary
Halloween Pennant
Gray Catbird
Fritillary

Wren played Just a Closer Walk with Thee for the hymn of comfort tonight. I thought it was appropriate since my walks are good times to pray.

Just a Closer Walk with Thee

Tonight we decided to go on a sunset walk. We were hoping the Saharan dust plume would make for some beautiful colors. We also were treated to some other surprises.

Red Tailed Hawks
Meadow Vole (or possibly a Prairie Vole) – I would have to hold it in my hand to tell the difference and I didn’t have my handling glove!
Yellow Wooly Bear – Virginia Tiger Moth
Eastern Meadowlark
Sunset!

Sunset Walk

June 24, 2020 / / 2 Comments

We still love these! A few weeks ago we went on a sunset walk and Rick found a cell phone out in the soybean field. Yesterday when we were out at the same place, we saw someone on a tractor, so I stopped and asked if anyone working the farm had lost an iphone 5? He laughed and said, “it’s been missing for 2 years!!” He told us that the person who lost it has been having kind of a tough time, and would be very encouraged that we not only found it, but that we returned it! So last night, we took another sunset walk and left the phone on the tractor. We found a thank you note and the promise for a private hay-ride when the pandemic is over! Tonight, we’ll take you along on that walk. The soundtrack that goes with the photos was written by Wren.

Sunset Walk

Hawks and Dragons and Bees…

June 17, 2020 / / 2 Comments

Sorry for the little break in posting. I was tired… and I just didn’t have the energy to post. Wren recorded Feeling the Pulse (2014) by Juwon Ogungbe (b1961). He was born in London and that is where he started learning music. When he was 9 he moved to Nigeria and became interested in much more diverse musical styles. He lives in London now and writes music for orchestras as well as pop music! The tune Wren recorded makes me feel like I feel when I’m out on a hike – so I thought I would put it together with some photos I took while hiking over the weekend.

Things are changing fast out in my favorite places. Migration is done, so I’m not seeing so many birds, but it is really nice to see the same ones every time I visit a place. There are 2 hawks that always start calling (they sound like screams) every time I walk out into a particular field. Last weekend, one of them kept calling for quite a while after I passed. When I finally turned around to head back to the car, they were at it again! I’m not sure if they are “yelling” at me, or for another reason, but these hawks are the most vocal I’ve ever experienced. I also love that they have been acting this way since April! I was able to get a good picture of the “screaming” bird!

Red Tailed Hawk

Now that we are moving into summer, so many more plants are flowering and the pollinators are out in full force! I really love macro photography, and I am planning on working on this skill over the summer. Right now my favorite walk is through a field just covered in red clover and Ohio spiderwort. The gray dogwood is also blooming, and quite a few asters are blooming. I saw Rudbekia (brown-eyed Susan) and some fleabane as well as some beautiful members of the rose family including wild strawberry!

Ohio Spiderwort
Red Clover
Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)

I also saw so many bees and dragonflies! It was so much fun to try to “catch” them with my camera. I saw a few Yellow-legged Meadowhawks, lots and lots of twelve-spotted skimmers.

Yellow-legged Meadowhawks

Twelve-spotted skimmer
Virginia Ctenucha (that’s it’s common name!). It’s a type of wasp moth (not as scary as it sounds!)

Historical information and arrangements from Music by Black Composers (MBC) Violin Volume 1. Published by Ludwig Masters Publications 2018. Rachel Barton Pine Foundation.

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