a journey through landscapes real and imagined
One of the best parts of our weekend were all of the different light shows! The sunsets were spectacular!
We had lots of fun around the campfire!
Every night we went out to watch the stars! I loved this (admittedly as much as birding!) – especially the opportunity to work on my night sky photography!
Wren recorded For the Beauty of the Earth while we were camping – we couldn’t think of a more appropriate hymn for our weekend!
It’s a really busy season for teachers, and this season is unlike any I’ve ever experienced. Recently, we haven’t been able to post as often as we would like. We try for every-other-day, but it’s been hard to get it done. We hope that some of you who visit us on the blog will forgive us for our recent This past weekend, we took a wonderful break. We love to camp, and we did have a wonderful night on a friend’s farm…but we have missed the longer camping trips that we normally have each summer. Being limited to travel within Illinois actually forced me to learn more about natural areas close to home! We found an amazing place. We were able to enjoy birding, hiking, star-gazing and music-making! I’ll blog about it all week. Here are a few highlights…but more (including music) coming tomorrow.
I found this shirt for Wren… I thought it was perfect for our summer!
These are difficult times, but we are extraordinarily blessed. We have what we need. We have beautiful places to walk and explore, we have our health and each other. So difficult, yes, but we are happy! Of course, messy, chocolaty milkshakes also help us through difficult times!
Wren and Nonnie put this special hymn of comfort together for you! Enjoy!
Every cellist looks forward to the day that they learn the Prelude to the first Bach Cello Suite. The time has come for my cellist to play this. It is a life’s work. There is always something to learn with Bach. Always a way to improve. This is the prelude as of today! We hope you find some peace as you listen!
Isn’t it nice to know that we are in God’s hands? What a mess we’ve made of this world, but He still holds us in his hands! The sermon last night was based on this, and I really was blessed to hear it. I’ve been thinking about it all day. I’m going to try to remember from now on. Wren played the hymn for me tonight!
Here are some beautiful things that are also in His hands…
What a weird time. So many things have been cancelled or moved online. We’ve had a summer of not much to look forward to. Most summers we would have been looking forward to a cello camp, and then we would look forward to possibly having Wren be selected to play on the honors recital, and then we would eagerly anticipate a trip… but this summer… Well, it’s been different. There have been many things we’ve missed, but also new opportunities. She was able to attend a camp she would normally have to miss due to my teaching schedule. It was great, and she was even selected to play in the master class! That was essentially the same thing as being picked for an honors recital. We’ve been able to watch stars and comets and see new species visit our yard… so we are trying to celebrate these!
Last week Wren participated in the online version of a camp she was hoping to attend with friends while I was teaching. It was very fun, but not as much fun as staying with friends and being in person. We visited on zoom for lunch with our friends, and she made new friends in her lessons and classes. Perhaps her favorite part of the week was entering the composition competition! Tomorrow we will find out the results. Most of the kids attending the camp actually had a hybrid week…with lessons and technique on zoom and chamber rehearsals at the conservatory. Tomorrow they will stream the chamber concert and announce the winners of the composition competition. This is the longest wait of the summer. No matter what the outcome, I’m really proud! Here is what she wrote for the solo entry.
A month of comet chasing and star watching has us all in need of some lullabies, so Wren performed Schubert’s Berceuse for you tonight.
Our last night to look for Neowise was Friday night. On our way to our stargazing spot, we saw some beautiful shorebirds. I’m pretty sure that there were both lesser yellowlegs and greater yellowlegs! Of course, there were also some killdeer (they are a very common plover!)
The sunset was amazing as usual and the moon was beautiful as well!
We had some trouble finding the comet. We definitely saw it, but it was pretty dim for some reason (it was a clear night, but according to Rick’s app, the transparency wasn’t good… I’m not sure I really understand what that means, but it sounds like a good reason for our struggle). We did enjoy some amazing meteors and we could see a little bit of the Milky Way. The moon was setting before we even left, so the sky was almost as dark as it could be for where we are in the world. Some friends (masked, don’t worry) joined us and we had a wonderful time! Here are some photos.
If you’re tired of my comet photos, good news! The comet is heading back out into space and won’t be around again for about 6800 years. I’m glad we had some adventures this summer thanks to this traveling chunk of ice and rock!
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.
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.
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!
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!
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