About five goldfinches swept through the garden yesterday morning, fluttering for a while around the seed heads of last year's verbena blossoms. It's a good thing Dave and I didn't cut them down -- we were talking about it just a few days ago. This is the only decent picture I got. Those little devils move constantly and getting a clear shot (particularly out a window) is a challenge!
Later, Dave and I took Olga to Fortune Green and the cemetery. The daffodils are looking good...
...as are some of the blooming trees in the cemetery.
The primroses are out, too.
Otherwise, it was mostly a day to stay home. I took all the rescued windows into the back garden and washed them with water and dish soap, and at least now they're fit to keep inside.
Last night Dave and I watched "Hello, Dolly!" with Barbra Streisand. I know -- SO GAY. Believe it or not, I had never seen it -- I didn't even really know the plot, though of course I'd heard some of the songs. It's cornball, and Streisand delivers some of her lines like she's Groucho Marx, and Walter Matthau was a very strange casting choice to play her suitor -- but we still enjoyed it. As is often true when we watch an old movie, I got on IMDB and read about it -- did you know one of the dancers who played a secondary character came to a very bad end less than ten years later? That's a bit of tragic Hollywood lore I never knew!
Good heavens! Charles Leslie Hopkins's punishment certainly did not fit the crime. Sometimes it seems that the point of the legal system is to thwart justice.
ReplyDeleteThat little goldfinch is just as cute as can be.
ReplyDeleteTragic end indeed! Yikes! I just saw Hello Dolly two weeks ago on stage. It was part of my Broadway series and starred Betty Buckley. I remember the movie very well.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like London is in full spring time bloom. I love that row of daffodils.
Olga looks a bit furtive there, what has she got in her mouth?
ReplyDeleteBriony
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Yikes. You can stab a person 100 times and only get a 4-year prison sentence??? Was it because the victims was gay? Jesus. That's not right.
ReplyDeleteI love the off-center picture of the goldfinch. What a delightful bird. Almost makes up for the lack of blue jays.
Trees in full flower in London, while 600 miles to the south here on the north shore ion Long Island we await another storm to dump 8 inches of snow on top of the four inches we got two nights ago. The only upside is that the backyard is a great place to store champagne.
It's so lovely seeing the daffodils and green grass! We are still buried under snow and ice with another bout of artic air heading our way (-25 below wind chill). Hurry up spring!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet little bird!
ReplyDeleteI wonder why certain actors and singers become gay icons? Babs is certainly one of them. I love her despite my straightness. I don't remember that much about Hello Dolly but Funny Girl is one of my favorite movies although the presence of Omar Sharif does't hurt my feelings. Remember when Fanny spies Nicky for the first time? "Well hello, Gorgeous!"?
I have never seen Hello Dolly either. I'll have to take a look at it.
ReplyDeletethat's a very different goldfinch than the ones we had here (I think they finally migrated through as I haven't seen them for a few days). the only version of Hello Dolly I've seen was a free community theater version and my friend played Dolly.
ReplyDeleteThere is no such thing a justice, obviously , over and over again. Reminded of the Shirley Jackson play, "The Lottery"...sort of, in that it is all luck of the draw. Not Justice.
ReplyDeleteThe daffodils are so cheerful as is the tree among the long dead. YAY Springtime! that is a lovely little finch on the spent Verbena. Ours are bright yellow.
Great picture of that beautiful goldfinch. And another good picture of Olga.
ReplyDeleteWhy does Olga look so guilty? What a beautiful goldfinch! We hang netted bags of niger seed for them from our birdfeeder and most days we see quite a few. These are the American goldfinch though, and they're wearing their winter attire at the moment which is a dull gold color. Soon though the males will turn a beautiful yellow with black and white markings. From what I read, yours is called the European goldfinch. They're so pretty!
ReplyDeleteOlga looks like she's trying to get out of the picture so you can capture just the daffodils! But I'm glad you caught her.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad, too, that you left your seed heads. Those birds are probably the gladdest of all, though :)
YP: It was definitely an appalling miscarriage of justice.
ReplyDeleteColette: Isn't it? I love those birds.
Sharon: Oh yeah, Betty Buckley! I haven't thought of HER in a while. Glad she's still out there performing and you got to see her in a show!
Briony: Ha! Olga is being uncharacteristically camera-shy. She's just carrying her Kong toy, so it's perfectly fine.
Vivian: Apparently the police screwed up the search for evidence by failing to get a warrant, or something like that. But I'm sure the case was treated casually and disposed of easily because there was a sense that the victim "deserved it." That's my bet.
Patty: Yikes! Well, March is "in like a lion, out like a lamb," right? So hopefully you won't have too long to wait.
Ms Moon: I saw "Funny Girl" years ago but honestly I don't remember much about it. I should watch it again.
Red: Well, as I said, it's corny and old-fashioned. Just be prepared!
Ellen: That must have been fun -- to see the show with someone you know in the lead role!
Linda Sue: It really is a shocking story. I'm amazed I'd never heard about it. Everyone knows what happened to Sal Mineo, but somehow this poor guy has been totally overlooked.
Catalyst: Thanks! The goldfinches are flighty, and if they see movement nearby they take off. Getting a photo of them is always hard, and that verbena plant is right outside our back door.
Sue: Olga often looks that way when I'm taking her picture. She's just not into it sometimes. I have two finch feeders stocked with nyger thistle seed, but I only ever see the finches on garden plants. I should try that bag-hanging method. What kind of fabric do you use to contain the seed?
Jenny-O: It really is pure luck. We had no idea that finches would eat verbena seeds.