Pink was the color of the day yesterday.
You may remember from my previous trips to Florida that I'm always trying to get some good pictures of a roseate spoonbill. Spoonbills aren't uncommon but they're not an everyday bird, either. It seems they're never around when I want to photograph them. But yesterday morning, while walking near my stepmother's house, what should I see feeding in a nearby pond but a spoonbill -- and my big camera is, of course, in London!
I took a video on my phone but the bird, unfortunately, was on the opposite side of the pond from me and came out looking like a fuzzy pink bird-shaped blob. I'll spare you that.
Maybe the color was foreshadowing the rest of the day, though, because when I got on the road to drive to Jacksonville I was thrilled to discover that it's phlox season. The roadsides are awash in swathes of pink, like a landscape by an impressionist painter (if the impressionists painted Interstate highways). I stopped somewhere just south of Ocala to enjoy a particularly colorful field.
That's my homage to phlox. As you can see, they look especially brilliant through my fancy tinted sunglasses! (Which I found on Hampstead Heath some years ago.)
I had a good drive, accompanied by satellite radio's '60s channel, which introduced me to a song called "Mr. Dieingly Sad" by the Critters. I don't ever recall hearing this tune before but I've become a fan. On the downside, Richard Harris's warbled version of "Macarthur Park" was inflicted upon my eardrums once again.
I checked in to the Ramada, where I'm staying for a couple of nights. Is it my imagination or is this place looking a little more downmarket than the last time I was here? The clerk asked me if I preferred upstairs or down, a pool view or parking lot view. I said I didn't care, and as a result I'm overlooking the I-295 off-ramp. Perhaps I should have cared.
It doesn't matter, though, because I'm not going to be in this room much. It's just a place to sleep, and the bed is great. I got my first good night's sleep since my flight -- at least until someone called me from an unknown number at 4:53 a.m. and woke me up. Argh! I wonder if it was the washing machine repairman back in London? Dave's dealing with that situation today.
My brother and I went to see my mom last night. She and her pals were watching a movie ("Begin Again," with Kiera Knightly and Mark Ruffalo) but I don't think anyone was paying particularly close attention. (They have enough trouble following what's happening in real life, much less the plot of a movie.) We made her laugh but we didn't stay long. We'll go back today when she's less distracted.
61 comments:
The music fits your video so perfectly. Nice work Steve!
P.S. I love Richard Harris's version of "MacArthur Park".
How beautiful the phlox is. Your mother must have been happy to see you.
What a view of phlox. It looks like an enormous garden. I'm guessing your mom lives in a retirement community? I hope she's aware of your visit and enjoying your company.
I’ve never heard of the Critters until now. I haven’t stayed in a Ramada in ages mostly because the do look rundown on the outside. Most of the other chains seemed to have undergone refreshes in the last decade. I personally would stay in anything without wildlife in the room sharing the bed with me but my wife has more discriminating requirements.
I remember The Critters and fell down a rabbit hole googling them. Did you realize that they announced their break up in 2013?!!! I've heard the song before. It was interesting to read that the band had to delay releases due to college and military service. Such a different world, wasn't it?
Please don't leave the cake out in the rain. I don't think that I could take it.
Richard Harris's warbled version of "Macarthur Park" would be enough to make me crash the car so I wouldn't have to listen any longer.
After a similar experience at a hotel I ALWAYS care and pick a room that doesn't face a wall or a dumpster.
As Always, Pull The Plug Of Any Clock Radios And Telephones - Unwanted Alarms Or 2AM oops Phones Calls Ruined Any Good Night Hotel Sleep - Love All The Colors As We Are Still Dormant Here In Colorado - To My Surprise, We Saw Almost An Inch Of Snow Between 5am & 7am Yesterday - A True Winter Wonderful - Obviously The Ground Was Too Warm For It To Stick Around - But Still, Snow Flakes Falling Brings A Smile To My Heart - Enjoy MoM Time Brother Man
Cheers
I'm so glad you got a good night's sleep and were able to enjoy nice time with your mom. Making her laugh counts for a LOT.
Love the phlox. Such a beautiful flower!
I love this post! The phlox! How I love them and their cheerful painting of the roadsides with their pinks! And the song you accompanied them with! Is that Ray Charles? I also very much like the song by the Critters and I don't think I'd ever heard it. It's beautiful.
Like you, I could live without ever hearing that version of Macarther Park again. Or any version, to be honest.
I know that somewhere deep in her mother heart, your mom is probably so very happy to see you.
The phlox is beautiful! Thanks for recording that for us!
I remember that song! I like it, altho, I don't think I remembered it being called Mr Dieingly Sad. I am often singing the wrong lyrics to a lot of songs!
Glad your Mom is well taken care of. Give her hug from me! :)
Nice road trip!
Those phlox are amazing!
The phlox along the road are beautiful. It's like a pink carpet.
The quick brown phlox jumps over the lazy dog.
Those fields of phlox are so beautiful. Love seeing the spring colors there.
Enjoy your visit with your mom today!
I do like the phlox. I have a small clump that Mary Moon sent me but it won't bloom for a while yet. Down here the fields are red and blue with indian paintbrush and bluebonnets and the median on the highway from here to El Campo is pink with evening primrose. And MacArthur Park? I hate that song! Always have and don't understand how anyone could possibly like it.
You know I love phlox! I always wanted some in my own yard (there were some gorgeous stands of them in our neighborhood in Ohio), so I was thrilled when Mike brought a little sprig home from his dad's house. It has taken over the spot where we put it - lovely!
Beautiful flowers! Unlike many people, I enjoy staying in hotels and sleep well, probably due to their black out shades/curtains.
Sounds like your Mom is doing well. The phlox are beautiful, they would not grow in Seattle, not enough sun.
You might think it's just as bad, but I prefer Donna Summer's disco version of MacArthur Park. I remember seeing a Roseate Spoonbill in south Louisiana. They're pretty birds. And speaking of pretty, I love all the Phlox! I like seeing highway medians filled with flowers.
What a nice visit! We stayed in a Ramada in New York back in 1987, and it was awful. Just filthy. Ever since then, we always stay at a Hilton.
Lovely seeing flowers do their own thing!
Welcome back! Everything is a little more downmarket since covid began, so it seems to me.
The phlox are gorgeous. They remind me of our lupins here, which grow in a similar way along highways and in fields.
I know the song Mr. Dieingly Sad although I didn't know the title. And it has a happy ending :)
P. S. "Perhaps I should have cared" made me laugh :)
I loved the video, and the music with it was perfect. Phlox is very common here in Virginia. I didn't think it grew that far south. I have learned something!!
The phlox is gorgeous and, contrary to what you think, it looks better without your Ray-Bans.
It does one good to get away for awhile and leave the old grind.
I remember you posting that before! I suppose it has a lot to do with your memories associated with that song, don't you think? Whereas for me, the Donna Summer version is much better.
She was giddy!
Yes, she lives in assisted living in a memory care unit. She knows us but we're never sure how much she understands. She can't really communicate anymore beyond laughter.
So far, no wildlife, thank goodness! But yeah, that's my theory too -- as long as it's clean I don't care too much.
How is it possible I've never heard of this band before now?! Re. the cake, you'll never have that recipe again!
I honestly cannot explain how that Harris song became such a big hit.
The phone call came on my cell phone. I'll put it on silent tonight!
We have phlox in our garden in London but not like this!
I like the Donna Summer version of "Macarthur Park." It's not the song I object to but Harris's singing.
I sing the wrong lyrics too! I think some people are more attuned to words and others to music. I'm definitely on the music side.
It is! I love a road trip!
They really were a wonderful surprise.
It's amazing how dense they grow!
Or was it a lazy dianthus?
The colors blow me away!
I wonder if the phlox need a certain soil or something? We have them in England but I think they're a different variety -- at least a different hybrid.
Excellent! I'm glad your phlox has taken root!
I like hotels too. They're a special treat now and then.
They definitely seem to enjoy the sun and warmth, but we have them in England, so who knows?!
I love Donna Summer's version! One of my favorites of her songs!
Isn't it amazing how one bad experience can taint our whole image of a company or brand?
It is so nice to see them run wild.
It's true! A lot of the businesses here are struggling to find employees and consequently some things are not working as they normally should.
I think I learned a lesson!
From the comments I'm seeing that phlox are quite adaptable! I wonder if it's all the same variety?
I think they look good both ways! I am impressed at how the sunglasses make them so vivid.
It's true -- I've enjoyed breaking my normal routine. Hard to believe in a week I'll be back at work on the other side of the ocean!
Somehow my original comment disappeared and only the P.S. remained! I just said how the phlox (gorgeous) reminds me of the lupins we have here - they grow along the highways and in the fields. And I remember the song but not the title Mr. Dieingly Sad very well. And it has a happy ending! Even better :)
How wonderful to make your mother laugh. I love the music. Thought maybe you were playing the piano while you drove. When I was a kid, I thought phlox was a disease. “Ah, poor Agnes, she’s got the phlox.”
Wild phlox!! in my hot country phlox is carefully nurtured in pots or small garden beds.
Ha! "A phlox on both your houses!"
Well, Florida is hardly cool, but it IS humid and maybe the dampness helps the phlox survive.
How weird - I've made two comments on this post other than the "P.S." one above - they both showed up after I hit Publish but now neither one is visible. The latest Blogger commenting issue, I guess :)
Post a Comment