A Friday Wander

My usual wander on the way to the grocery store, on the Dykeman Walking Trail and through the Dykeman Springs Wetlands Park. This week I found some Calico Aster, some Barberry, and a Great Blue Heron perched in an old dead tree. You can also see the Picasa web album here.

© 2012 by A. Roy Hilbinger

A Sunday Constitutional

On my way to the grocery store I walked through the Dykeman Springs Wetlands Park to look for signs of Autumn now that it's officially Autumn. I noted lots of Fall Asters (the photo is of Bushy Asters) and other Fall flowers, including the included shot of Yellow Ironweed. I got a shot of the red bridge over the creek because even though you've seen it before I just can't resist that reflection!

And when I got home I found the feeder station out my kitchen window flocked with baby Goldfinches feeding away, plus a Chipmunk foraging among the leftovers kicked over the side into the grass below. I'm guessing he's storing up for the Winter; look at those stuffed cheeks!

As always, you can view these as a web album here: A Sunday Constitutional.

© 2012 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Finally...

I finally managed to attract Goldfinches to the finch feeder. Yippeee!

© 2012 by A. Roy Hilbinger

The Addams Family in Central PA?

I found this beauty, a brick Queen Anne Victorian, on North Prince St. near Shippensburg University behind a screen of overhanging trees and tall weeds and grass. I wonder if Morticia and Gomez are dancing through the house? If I ring the doorbell, will Lurch answer?

 

 Photo © 2012 by A. Roy Hilbinger

A Sappy Old Man Looks Back at His Childhood

Yeah, that's my family around 1958 - (from left) brother Don, Mom, sister Sue in Mom's lap, Dad, and I'm the Calvin (of Calvin & Hobbes) look-alike in my Dad's lap. The reason for this nostalgia is that Hotels.com has been using Jimmy Durante singing "Make Someone Happy" in their latest TV commercial. That just happens to be one of the tunes that made an impression on me when I was a little kid, and it got me to thinking about other songs that had that effect as well, at least before my discovery of rock, The Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. So to lead off on this nostalgic musical journey, here's the old Schnozzola:

Another song that made a big impression on me as a child was Nat King Cole singing "Smile". I seem to remember him singing that at the end of his weekly TV show. I've always loved Nat's voice and his way of styling a song, and I think his version of this tune is what set the standard for me.

Finally, like most of the kids of my generation, Disney animated movies were a staple, and they were always musical. The one bit of music that always stuck in my head was Jiminy Cricket singing "When You Wish Upon a Star" in Pinocchio. I don't know why, but there it is.

There were other musical moments in my childhood - for instance Judy Garland singing "Over the Rainbow" in The Wizard of Oz and the music as the heroes approach Emerald City in the same movie - but these three set the standard for everything I heard afterward. Lush orchestrations and lush choral passages are pretty corny by today's standards, but when I hear these I'm five years old again, and life is no longer complicated and stressful. Yup, I'm a sappy old man alright!

Bridges

Some of the bridges along the Dykeman Walking Trail and in the Dykeman Springs Wetlands Park. They range from old steel girders to culvert causeways to wooden. You can also view them as a web album here.

© 2012 by A. Roy Hilbinger