The Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra – Under the Magnifying Glass

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — **Me with my precious little Tinymouse friend on my head!**

The past week has proved to be quite interesting! Tinymouse, one of our little resident Tufted Titmice, which surprisingly landed on my head one evening last week, has done so numerous times again, mainly when I’m sitting on the backporch eating breakfast or supper, and even while I have been walking around in the backyard, and working on my flowers! She obviously wants to add a bit of my curls to her nest, and works diligently at times trying to gather a beak full, while at other times, she simply sits on my shoulder. Needless to say, I definitely have a new hairstylist! Such delight she brings me each time we have this amazing encounter! One evening this past week, at one point during a meal, while Tinymouse was sitting atop my head, Peedeepeeps, my Carolina Wren friend, had sauntered up to my dinner plate to check out my pasta noodles, and looked up at me as if to say . . . “Is this all you have to offer me?” I felt like I was Snow White, and as if I were living in a fairytale at that moment!

photo of a Tufted Titmouse — **At times she sits on my shoulder**

Almost daily I have been able to scrounge up enough mealworms to give Peedeepeeps, to feed his precious babies. One evening, I sat on the steps leading from the back deck, while Peedeepeeps came and got two at a time from my hand and flew nearby to where his babies were and would feed them. Each time I could hear the tweets of delight as he stuffed the little hungry beaks with the worms! Then he would quickly fly back and sit by me as he patiently, and sometimes not so patiently, waited for me to sift through the cornmeal and find more worms. This went on for quite sometime, until the worm population had greatly decreased! Other evenings he even brought them up onto the back porch, and we would carry out this same activity, with me finding worms and giving them to him, then with him flying directly over to feed the hungry little ones. What a great experience and treat for me to help be able to feed these little ones!

azalea photo — **One of our lovely Azaleas in full bloom**

There has been a force of destruction slowly making its way around Townsend the past two months, and unfortunately it came up into our neighborhood this past week. I call it “The East Tennessee Chainsaw Massacre!” . . . compliments of our local power companies! Many of our neighbors spent hours pleading and arguing their cases to try and save their beloved trees, or at least part of them! We were able to save at least one small lower limb on our beautiful Ornamental Cherry Tree, although every limb from that point up was taken off to the trunk on the one side. However, I’m afraid our poor neighbors across the street fared the worst out of the neighborhood, as I believe the man in the bucket, with the saw, had a fit of rage there and sawed everything in sight way back from the power line, including a three-foot tall native Dogwood Tree, which the power company had given them two years prior to plant there! The uncanny thing is that that very morning, Wes hung my new garden flag which features Winnie-the-pooh and Tigger on it and reads “Trees are my friends!” Now I’m searching for another flag which reads “Most of my friends are now gone or maimed!” I do believe the saddest loss, was a neighbor’s three-foot native Mountain Laurel, at which we all enjoyed admiring its dainty blooms each spring, which they cut to the ground! Oh well . . . something’s are just out of our hands I suppose.

boom truck — **With them being able to go that high, no tree or limb is safe!**

Bleeding Heart blossom photo — **A gorgeous Bleeding Heart blossom**

tuip flowers — **Two very pretty Tulips!**

This past Friday evening, Wes and I enjoyed attending a concert by the Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra at the beautiful Theater in the Park, along the Maryville Greenbelt. It was a lovely and chilly evening as we sat under blankets while enjoying the beautiful and soothing melodious tunes pouring from the amphitheater. The evening concert started off with the lovely sounds of Giachini Rossini’s “La Gazza Ladra Overture”. Baby Starlings were in a nest, which was located in the top of the amphitheater, and each time a parent would return with a tasty morsel with which to fill their open beaks, they would sing out in excited tweets, which the sound system then picked up and played loudly along with the music! The best part was that they almost seemed to time it as if adding their own musical touch to the performance! A couple of songs later, one of my favorites, the upbeat tempo of Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer” was played. The fun and delightful tune of Leory Anderson’s “Syncopated Clock’ and “Home Stretch” were then enjoyed and brought the crowd to life! In the second part, a melody form “Les Miserables” as well as selection from “Titanic” filled the night air, and seemed to slowly melt there before completely drifting away. At this point, the Chimney Swifts came out and filled the late evening sky above as they swirled around and around, performing a most graceful aeronautical ballet, while catching insects and filling the air with their own beautiful tunes! It was a most beautiful evening and another great memory!

Currently On Our Easels: I am working on a mother and calf cow for Trailside Galleries Invitational Miniature Show and Wes is painting a swan.

We were delighted this morning to receive the news that we each had a painting juried into the 53rd Annual Art & the Animal Exhibition of the Society of Animal Artists! My “Birds And Art” and Wes’ “Going, Going … Gone!” will join the rest of the world-class wildlife art to premiere at the Bennington Center for the Arts in Bennington, VT. We’re very much looking forward to being back in Vermont in the fall to enjoy the stunning fall colors!