Recently in Wildlife Category

I started watching The Last Waltz last night. I've never been a great fan of The Band. I like some of their songs but that's about it. I have seen this film before and I didn't think much of it but I kinda got hooked on watching it again last night while waiting for something better to come on. Seeing it again after all these years and on a better TV with a better stereo has made a world of difference. Could be also that I'm a little older and more mature than I was the first time I saw it and it could also be the sound quality has been dramatically improved. The second part is certain. The film I'm watching now is fantastic in both sound and picture quality.

The film is not just about their music and that may have also contributed to why I didn't think much of it the first time. I didn't care about the interviews then. Just get on with the music. I appreciate what Martin Scorsese was doing now. The film is more about the guys being a band and being on tour for 16 years. I can't wait to finish watching it this afternoon. Just fantastic. Didn't even mind the 70s leisure suits. I still only like a handful of their songs but I have a new appreciation for The Band this morning and much greater appreciation for the film. Enjoy the little taste below and see The Last Waltz when you can, particularly if you have a good TV and stereo.

I usually don't care for tight-fitting clothes. Unfortunately, a lot of my clothes fit tightly these days (Be nice). Anyway, I do wear tight clothes while doing yardwork. Too many spinning objects and too many sharp blades can grab. After 2½ hours in the heat here, though, you pretty much have to cut them off of me. I offer a few today in the order I took them from around the CrabAppleLane backyard, where I spent 2½ hours ... yesterday and today.

The garden is resting

The fairway - Water trap on the left - Par 2

The view

The branch had turned and followed the sun until it was brushing against the bluebird house

CrabAppleLane Hummingbird - August 1, 2010

Enough with the NFL training camp injuries already ... and stay the hell away from here. There are still ...

39 days until football season ...

5 song iTune shuffle from the CrabAppleLane Five Star playlist:

1. Already Gone - The Eagles - On The Border
2. Kryptonite - 3 Doors Down - The Better Life
3. Madame Geneva's - Mark Knopfler - Kill To Get Crimson
4. Mississippi Queen - Mountain - Hard N' Heavy: 70's Greatest Rock Hits, Vol. 1
5. '39 - Queen - A Night At The Opera

Quote of the Day

In the winter of '65
We were hungry
Just barely alive
By May the tenth, Richmond had fell
It's a time I remember, oh so well

The Band, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "One of the reasons that I hadn't ever seen The Last Waltz, was because I wasn't a fan of The Band."

Just like me except with a better reason. They weren't before my time. -Rob

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Finally saw a hummingbird here yesterday. It's a treat every year to spot their return. So far, I've only seen the one. He was a male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird. He was treated to fresh CrabAppleLane nectar in addition to lovely Bradford Pear and Eastern Redbud blooms.

CrabAppleLane First Hummingbird Sightings

• March 14, 2001
• March 17, 2002
• March 10, 2003
• March 20, 2004
• March 12, 2005
• March 12, 2006
• March 11, 2007
• March 9, 2008
• March 26, 2009
• March 24, 2010

In unrelated silliness:

• Day 6 of CrabAppleLane PC recovery ...
• CrabAppleLane iTunes library recover & rebuild stands at 907 songs, 2.8 days, 7.88GB ...
• 168 days until football season ...

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Speedway At Nazareth - Live From The Ryman - Mark Knopfler
2. Turning Wheel - South Of I-10 - Sonny Landreth
3. Monteleone - Get Lucky - Mark Knopfler
4. Saint Augustine In Hell - Ten Summoner's Tales - Sting
5. Little Horn - Antichrist Superstar - Marilyn Manson

About today's QOTD: Pot meet kettle. There was no groundswell of fan support for changing overtime rules. The movement was created and driven by a few loudmouth, whining sportswriters, who should also "shut up and deal". I'm pretty well done with this now. Readers rejoice.

Quote of the Day

Re Sean Payton: he needs to shut up and deal. The sport exists for the fans, not the coaches' convenience.

Peter King, Sports Illustrated -Twitter

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "I now think that the trills were from New Jersey Chorus Frogs."

As I was leaving for work yesterday, I heard a sound I hadn't heard in a while. I am almost positive it is my wintering friend, Buffy. Didn't have time to wait for him/her to approach the freshly-filled feeders for confirmation but I heard what I thought was the rapid tap-tap-tap sound he/she makes just before coming to feed and glimpsed what looked like a hummingbird flying overhead but it was just a quick dart and could have been something else. The tap-tap-tap seemed to be a shorter burst than I remember, too. Hope to confirm this afternoon. I haven't seen a ruby-throated hummingbird in almost a month but my sister still has some hanging around a bit south of here so it could be one passing through. Buffy is welcome at CrabAppleLane any time but it probably means filling feeders all winter. A small sacrifice for that joy. Passer-throughs are welcome, too. No sign of any hummingbirds this morning yet.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Eat For Two 4:23 10,000 Maniacs MTV Unplugged
2. Fred's World 31 Angelo Badalamenti Lost Highway Soundtrack
3. Overton Square 3:12 Henry Gross One More Tomorrow The Best Of Henry Gross
4. Washed Away 5:21 Tom Cochrane Mad Mad World
5. Little Ducks 23 Hans Zimmer Crimson Tide Soundtrack

So sad. CrabAppleLane's condolences to the Brees family.

Quote of the Day

I don't want Woodworth to feel that I am leveraging the death of one of our soldiers to get him to fight.

2nd Lt. Ryan Corken, Fort Hood

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Now, with the Wolverines in trouble and LSU not in the national championship hunt, the timing makes more sense. It's very comparable to the Roy Williams Kansas-North Carolina thing a few years ago with a twist. He turned down the job the first time because Carolina was still in good shape and he had a potential national championship team at Kansas. Two years later, he had taken KU as far as he could and the Tar Heels were reeling. Now there's nobody at Michigan as powerful as Dean Smith, but it's not inconceivable that a call from Bo Schembechler's widow could get Miles' attention pretty quickly."

Patsy called out just now. "You know you have hummingbirds at the feeder this morning already? One of them is peeking in the door.". It's still dark outside but they're starting to gear up for their southern migration and are swarming the feeders. This is the only time of year where more than one will be at said feeders. They still squabble a little but they're much more tolerant of each other now. The BOTD has a bit more on that.

After a few clicks this morning, I think Jets fans are a more confident bunch than the Eagles fans were a couple of weeks ago. I like that. They should be. Their team is playing very well.

Today's QOTD is from Frank Deford of Sports Illustrated but the the real heart of it is the quote from Detroit Tigers Announcer Ernie Harwell. I can't imagine how there was a dry eye in the house.

Quote of the Day

For his valedictory, when he retired in 2002, Harwell thanked his listeners for "taking me to the cottage up north, to the beach, to the picnic, your workplace and your backyard."

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "It is the time of year for hummingbirds, especially the ruby-throated species, to head south, and if you have a feeder you are likely to see clusters of them as they fuel up for the long trip."

I offer two images of two visitors to the CrabAppleLane backyard this afternoon. Couldn't get them in the same frame. The top one was taken from my kitchen through my back door's windows. The bottom one was taken from my back deck. I believe them to be gray foxes and they are probably a mating pair. These are also probably the largest foxes I've ever seen. Quite a treat.

CrabAppleLane Backyard Visitors - December 13, 2008

CrabAppleLane Backyard Visitors - December 13, 2008

Speaking of wildlife, our buff-bellied hummingbird is still here chattering away most of the day in spite of the pretty heavy snowfall we had Thursday. Patsy has named her Buffy, the nectar slayer. I like Buffy OK but I kinda groan at the other part.

Quote of the Day

I don't want to be photographed in my old age. I feel the same way with old movie stars. It makes me sad. We want to remember them when they were young.

Bettie Page

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "It seems like every time we go to Georgia for a forecast, there is pending doom just around the corner. This time in Albany, however... nope, wait. Yep. Pending doom."