songbird's crazy world

 It was 62°F when I took my walk yesterday. Garden flags are flying in my front yard. And the sparrows have taken up residence! Drew calls me “the Bird Lady of Levittown”.   It’s been a really rough winter.  We always expect cold weather, we always expect snow, but this winter was colder and much snowier than average.  I am so grateful for any sign of spring. 

 I’m posting this on Sunday, March 8.  Today is Micky Dolenz’s 81st birthday.  He’s currently touring, his show celebrates the 60th anniversary of premiere of The Monkees on TV.  (1966 was a great year for cult classics — Batman, Dark Shaows and Star Trek  also premiered that year.)  Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith — brought together to act in a TV show, they actually formed a real band.  Micky is the sole surviving member of the band.  And yes, Drew and I are true Monkees fans.  Search this blog and you’ll find countless posts about the band. We have tickets to see Micky next month. So let’s celebrate along with Micky. Micky wrote this one When he performs this one, he likes to remind the audience he had the hit long before Shrek How about some fan video? Video I shot in 2022 And from 9 years ago, Micky and Peter Tork From 10 years ago From 2013 with Mike Nesmith This last video, from 14 years ago …visually very poor qual...

 We went out to dinner last night.  A Spanish restaurant.  Happy happy joy joy, a large part of their menu is gluten free. Brought home a ton of leftover paella. When we got home, there were two bunnies on the driveway.  I checked the Ring cameras —there were three! As you can see, most of the snowpack has melted.  We’re anticipating temperatures in the 60’s next week! So I was able to take a walk outside.   I had to toss one of my garden flags. The one with three cats.  It was shredded by the wind during the blizzard.   But I have other flags, so no worries.  I’ve been feeding birds, I get a lot of sparrows and doves.  But I want robins.  Last year I saw a lot of robins in the neighborhood, but none in my yard. I’m going to set up a nesting birdhouse to encourage the robins to stay here. A word about Daylight Saving Time.  I have no problem with Daylight Saving Time.  I have no problem with Standard Time.  I have a p...

  Linger Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to  answer the questions, however, and here is today's questions! Saturday 9: Linger (1993) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) In this song, Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries sings that her lover has her wrapped around his finger. Do you feel that anyone has you wrapped around their finger? One guess 2) This was one of the first songs Delores and Noel Hogan wrote together. They performed it often live and perfected it before going into the studio to record it approximately two years later. Because they had polished the performanc...

 Life with cats is never boring.  Duchess and Shadow spend a lot of time playing “chase me chase me.”  Last week’s Battle of the Stairs is typical.  Duchess usually wins the dominance game. Shadow really likes her toys.  She plays with them every day.  When I buy a new toy, she can’t wait for me to take it out of the bag. Duchess has never really been interested in toys, but the other day I caught her chasing a paper napkin around the living room. Both cats like to sit by the window and watch the birds,  I have a bird feeder right near the window just for 5heir entertainment.   Shadow doing the cute thing Duchess Good grooming is important 

 Rain …and more rain …and the snowpack is melting…welcome to puddles and mud. Yes, I know, I’m preoccupied with the weather. My job is hybrid (for now).  Today was an office day.  Bad traffic on the drive into work.  And then I spilled coffee on my brand new (first time wearing) pants.  At least I remembered to bring my lunch… on Tuesday I packed a lunch but left it home. Sigh. We usually go out for St. Patrick’s Day. Irish food and entertainment  at one of our favorite restaurants.  But this year … the holiday is on a Tuesday night.  Drew has rehearsal.  So it looks like we’ll be making corned beef at home this year. The Yeoman of the Guard  is in production and will be presented in June. Drew is in the chorus.  Will this rain never end?

 My office is four miles from Republic Airport, a general aviation airport that handles small planes, helicopters and corporate jets. I was in the parking lot when I heard it … looked up…and saw this coming in for a landing. #skywatchfriday

 Today is Purim, a minor Jewish holiday based upon the Book of Esther.  I am enjoying gluten free hamantaschen— that’s a triangular cookie, usually shortbread with a fruit filling, traditionally eaten during this celebration..  It’s also one month until Passover, a major holiday  — prep for that holiday begins tomorrow. I watched a couple of Mets games this weekend. It’s interesting to see the changes in personnel.  Though I’ll miss Alonso, Nimmo, Diaz and McNeil. My next door neighbors have put up their St. Patrick’s Day garden flag. Sure signs of spring.  And, oh happy day, we’re actually getting springlike weather this week.  Maybe the snowpack will finally melt. Which means outdoor walks are back.  I’m glad I have the treadmill, but I really prefer walks. There was a lunar eclipse early this morning,   The moon was blood red.  (Not that I could see the moon, it was raining …) If you believe in signs and portents … In other news … rem...

 

 Before I get to today’s theme … Neil Sedaka passed away on Friday.  Drew and I were real fans.  Drew and Sedaka share Sephardic Jewish heritage.  It’s a “six degrees of separation “ situation —  Sedaka’s cousin was another famous singer, Eydie Gorme.  Eydie was also Drew’s mother’s cousin.  Drew isn’t actually related to Sedaka, but he does feel a kinship of sorts.  We had the pleasure of seeing Sedaka in concert in July 2012.    At the time I wrote: Sedaka was amazing.   He sang songs from his first career, 1958-1963.  He sang songs from his second career in the 1970's.  He sang songs he wrote for other singers. He did ballads and rock n roll.  He sang a salsa piece he just wrote.  He did classical music.  And he brought down the house with "My Yiddishe Mama" - in Yiddish. Great concert. So here are a few of his best:    Tzedakah is a foundational Jewish commandment mandating justice and ri...

The ancient kingdom of Persia looms large in Jewish scripture.  The Bible tells us two important tales, First we read about the Babylonian exile, circa 586-538 BCE, when Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon’s  Temple, but then Cyrus the Great of Persia defeated Babylon and allowed the Jews to return to Israel and rebuild the Temple. Next we read the Book of Esther.  Esther was the Jewish girl who married the king of Persia.  Esther and her Uncle Mordechai  defeated the wicked vizier Haman and saved the Jews of Persia from certain death. Tomorrow is the Fast of Esther, the precursor to Tuesday’s holiday, Purim.  On Purim Jews celebrate Esther’s victory and Haman’s defeat. The ancient country of Persia is the modern nation of Iran. Yesterday the US and Israel bombed Iran. Virtually all of the leaders of the evil regime are dead.  Our leaders claim we have freed the people of Iran.   I don’t know if that is true …  I hope they have ...

 A small piece of good news.  My missing garden flag turned up.  As I suspected, it was buried in the snow.  So when the temperature rose to 40°F and the snow began to melt, my flag turned up. What else is buried under all that white stuff?  I guess we’ll find out … eventually. The TV meteorologist is saying we might get more snow next week. Or maybe we’ll get rain …and flooding. Yes, that was me spreading ice melt on the driveway.  One fall on the driveway was one fall too many. There’s a ginger cat living in my neighborhood, I’ve seen him on my Ring cameras, walking through my yard as if he owned the place.  I’ve posted some of the videos.  I thought he belonged to someone, but I was mistaken. One of my neighbors told me that “everyone” feeds the poor thing.  He’s certainly not starving. But it’s cold outside. Here is the most recent video. He was crying at my door.  If I had known …  Sigh. There was a pond near my parents’ house ...

  Farewell, Amanda Welcome to  Saturday: 9 . What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!  Saturday 9: Farewell, Amanda (1949) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here .     1) The record begins with a long instrumental interlude, and when the lyrics kick in at about the 1:00 mark, they bid Amanda "farewell, adios, addio, adieu." Of course you recognize "farewell" as English. Without looking it up, can you identify the other languages? Spanish, Italian and French,   2) Can you say "goodbye" in a language not represented in question #1? Shalom,  L’hitrao...

 So the Olympics are over, and suddenly all our favorite network shows are back. Matlock. Elsbeth. Law & Order. Ghosts. Happy’s Place. And we still have all the shows we’re streaming, Dr. Who.  The Pitt. Star Trek. Not to mention, baseball is back. And considering we are expecting more snow next week.  When will it be spring?

 The battle of the stairs

 Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. Saturday afternoon.  It’s 45°F and sunny.  The snow pack has mostly melted.  As I walk through the neighborhood my phone keeps buzzing — the MLB app updating the Mets/Marlins score.  I can almost convince myself it’s spring. Almost. Another app is also buzzing. Weather bug wants me to know a blizzard is coming, (And when it arrived the next day it packed a real punch.) Enjoy the pseudo-spring skies, we won’t see them again for awhile … #skywatchfriday

 Blizzard ends, we spend two days cleaning up, and then this happened No wonder I feel frustrated … Thinking warm thoughts. I’m starting to buy spring clothes.  Now that I’ll be in the office four days a week, I’ll need more work-appropriate outfits.  We’re business casual, which means comfortable but not too relaxed.  Since I lost the weight I actually like shopping for clothes. So I mentioned my employer offers a “healthy living” program, with incentives such as gift cards and reduced premiums for health insurance.  This month’s focus was heart health, and today I attended a Webinar about heart health. Nothing I didn’t already know, but if I get participation credit for it, why not?   Someone mentioned that we’re all returning to the office. The presenter reminded us that there are exercises you can do at your desk, stretching and such.  I used to do that, and I suppose I can start again. And I really need to do my chair yoga more often, it really ma...

 It took two days to clear snow off the driveway and sidewalk …only for another storm to hit this morning.  Not a huge storm, but on top of the two feet we got during the blizzard … Winter 2024-2025 I was able to walk around the neighborhood almost every weekend.  This year…I am glad I bought the treadmill. I am so sick of snow.  Make it stop.  Please.

 So much snow!  Even with the snowblower we cleaned only half of the driveway yesterday.  And we have a problem — the town plowed our street but left a huge pile of densely-packed snow at the foot of our driveway.   Ugh. One of my garden flags apparently blew away in the storm.  The cute one, with the snowman and the Valentines hearts. Or maybe it’s buried under the snow.  Only time will tell.  At least I can work from home. I was able to take a walk Saturday —the photos will be posted for Skywatch Friday — but I won’t be able to do that again for awhile.   Pity, because I have a great new case for my water bottle, it even has room for my phone. Great for walks at Jones Beach or Eisenhower Park. Yeah, I’m thinking warm thoughts. Baseball is back.  Yes, it’s just spring training, but still … the season begins March 26.  I’m looking forward to it. We’re starting to think about summer vacation, a roadtrip to … not sure where.  We don’t...

 It’s 10 AM, we’ve already gotten about about 20 inches of snow and it’s still snowing.  Overnight we experienced a “bomb cyclone” and “thundersnow”.  Travel bans still in effect, even the snowplows are getting stuck. My ground level Ring cameras are completely buried.   My other cameras … And a few photos from my front window Can’t show the back yard,the windows are covered with snow.

 A free choice week. And I am so sick of winter!  I want to go somewhere warm. Thinking warm thoughts …

 That snowstorm last month was bad, but tonight’s storm is going to be worse.  Much worse.  A blizzard is a severe winter storm officially defined by the  National Weather Service  as having sustained winds or frequent gusts of wind in excess of 35 mph and visibility reduced to 1/4 mile, lasting at least 3 hours,  So it started as light snow in the early afternoon …but the snow got heavy by dinner time.  The meteorologist on the 6 o’clock news said the snow was falling at a rate of 1” to 2” per hour, with Long Island expected to get between 18” to 24” by the time the storm ends. We’re also expecting high winds and coastal flooding.  Yep, an authentic blizzard, The back yard: And the front yard: Not too bad yet, but it’s getting worse.  I’ve got one camera that’s already covered in snow and not really recording. There are travel bans on all the roads and highways, and mass transit — buses and trains — will  suspend service tonight. A...