The Turaco, and a Horror

Yesterday morning was pretty quiet -- I cleaned the house, changed the bedsheets, watered all the plants. There was plenty to do, but none of it very exciting.

Just after lunch, I took Olga out for a walk. The weather wasn't bad and I intended to take her to the Heath, where we haven't been in ages, but she was having none of it. The minute I turned in that direction she dug in and wouldn't move until I turned back toward the cemetery. I guess the Heath really is too far for her these days, and even she knows it.

So, yeah, the cemetery. We found some massive floral plantings in one area -- I don't know if they're meant to show an image but I think they must be the colors of a flag. The benches and gravestones in that area are covered with Arabic script. Maybe the national colors of Lebanon? Iran? It's anyone's guess.

One of the cemetery's trees has come down on top of some graves, which is a shame. (You can see that same tree standing in the background in this photo from a couple of years ago.) It looks like it broke right at the base.

I found this beautiful blue feather -- a tiny thing -- lying on the path. I think it's from a European jay. I hope it's not from a juvenile, but in any case, it's pretty and I kept it.

And then, while walking in the very back of the cemetery, I heard...

...the turaco! I hadn't seen it since I made a video of it in April and I only heard it once since then, months ago. In fact I wondered if it had expired, so I was glad to hear it was still out there. Where has it been all this time?

I traced the call to a nearby tree and wound up getting more video. The bird was a bit high up so I'm not going to win any documentary prizes, but it was still exciting. You can hear the rugby players on the adjacent sports field in the background.

Finally, I finished off the day by making a martini (OK, two martinis) and watching "The Amityville Horror." I'd read a recent New York Times story that mentioned it, and in fact I've even visited the real Amityville house myself, with my friend Arthur back in May 1998. Here's what I wrote in my journal at the time:

"We drove to Amityville to see the 'Amityville Horror' house! A totally bizarre thing to do, I know, but Arthur has a fascination with that particular moment in '70s schlock culture...we drove past that stupid house like three times. I mean, I read the book, and I thought it was scary, but ENOUGH already. It looks much less frightening than one would imagine. To think what those people invented to get out of a bad real estate deal -- wasn't there an easier way?? Anyway, it was cool to see it -- kind of interesting."

Funny that I blamed the outing on Arthur. I'm sure I wanted to see it just as much as he did. I remember those famous quarter-round windows in the house's upper story -- they gave the house its distinctive look but they've since been removed, apparently.

Anyway, although I'd read the book, I'd never seen the movie -- at least not that I can remember -- so I rectified that last night. It is indeed schlock culture -- very derivative of "The Exorcist" and with a couple of scenes and effects that brought to mind "The Shining," which actually came slightly later but did them much better. I laughed out loud when the wife, played by Margot Kidder, questioned the wisdom of spending $80,000 on the house, even before all the supernatural stuff began. Can you imagine buying even a cursed waterfront house on Long Island for that kind of money now?