April 9, 2023
Our stormy weather cleared on April 6th.
Since then, we’ve had a week of sun and unseasonably warm weather. This is a weather forecast we have not seen in quite some time! What are all of those yellow discs? At the end of the week, we’re expecting rain and cooler temperatures.
The heat has forced some early spring blooms. There are great sweeps of bluebells carpeting hillsides and lawns and patches of violets in bloom.
As we often do on Sundays, we went to Woodlawn Cemetery to avoid the crowds that come to most parks, especially in the fine weather.
We knew that there was a hollow tree that is used by nesting Great Horned Owls. Even if we could not remember the location, we would have found it quickly by looking for photographers. There is only one owlet this year in the tree cavity. The cavity has already attracted Canada Geese who covet this sheltered location.
We saw our first butterflies of the year. These are examples of species that overwinter as adults. Although they look rather ragged, they might live another month, long enough to breed! I got feedback that the one on the right may have emerged months earlier than usual, perhaps due to the heat.
Our first Northern Flicker of the year. You can hardly see its yellow feathers which give it the subspecies name, Yellow-shafted.
There are homes backing on to the cemetery on the east side. Yards with feeders make finding birds easier. While the junco is after seeds, the starlings were collecting material for their nest.
In the trees, an American Crow and a Red-bellied Woodpecker posed close enough for photos.
There were several American Robins and Canada Geese. The geese made themselves known with their honks and by sometimes squatting close to the road. One chose an interesting perch. It might work as a safer location for a nest than the ground.
The trees were starting to bloom. Here are Red Maple blossoms.
Music Suggestions
Ryuichi Sakamoto died recently. He was a musician and composer who was active in many musical genres from techno pop, to video game tracks, to film scores and more. He wrote the music score for The Last Emperor.
Here is the orchestration of one of his piano compositions.
Speaking of films, we recently watched the new Elvis movie. Frenetic and poignant. Some of the songs have the vocals of Elvis and Austin Butler blended. Other are 100% Elvis.
At the end, the movie cuts in one of Elvis’ last performances of Unchained Melody. Despite his physical distress, his voice was untouched.
The Elvis movie put Susan in mind of the first Elvis film she saw, Jailhouse Rock, at a theatre in Brampton when she was barely at teenager. The girls in the audience screamed through whole movie. Here’s one of the songs she didn’t hear:
Two of Glenn’s favourite clips. As you see in the movie, Elvis demanded and got top musicians and singers to back him up on stage, some for years.
This one is clearly a mix of videos and an actual live performance. The audio recording has brought joy to millions over the years. There are multiple versions of why he started laughing, but it was probably due to someone in the audience removing or losing their toupee.