Eyes wide open

Yesterday was every bit as hectic as expected, but there were highlights. There are ALWAYS highlights. ;-)

The drive from school in one city to Brian's violin lesson in another town was particularly fruitful. At one point I noticed a big bird on the wing, large enough for one conclusion. As we drove under it, we confirmed the white head and tail of a bald eagle. Then I glanced to my left and saw a second one perched in the top of a large deciduous tree near a house.

One of my best friends remarked while we were trail-riding together this summer that I'm much better at "looking up" than she is. That surprised me; doesn't everyone look up . . . and down, and all around? I guess my eyes are always wide open; I just wish I had a built in camera to be able to capture things I see, like those eagles!

The clouds were spectacular all day, but I had not had time or opportunity to take any photos. Seeing that we were making good time and coming upon a wide spot in the road, I pulled over to take a photo of the afternoon cloudscape. Back on the road but still looking – always looking – I noticed some unusual clouds close to the horizon. "Look at those clouds, Brian; they look like shark fins!" Then I shoved my iPhone at him and told him to try and get a photo through the windshield. He did, and I posted both our photos on Instagram:

This morning Julie Zickefoose, a blogger I greatly admire as an artist, writer, Science Chimp, and mother, commented on my IG post: "Those are Kelvin Helmolz wave clouds!! Very rare!!" They're what? Was Julie pulling my leg?? So of course I turned to Google and sure enough, Julie was right! (If you don't follow Julie's blog, you are missing out on sooo much good stuff.)

Speaking of Brian's violin lesson, I shot this video of him and his teacher cranking out "Plains of Boyle." It's not perfect, but notable because Brian chose on his own to add a lot of embellishments:


I tried not to fall over when Brian said he wanted to find music for a Rachmaninoff violin duet he'd heard so he and his teacher could learn it together. Playing violin with two young ladies in high school ensemble seems to have kindled a little musical fire in my son, for which I am THRILLED. Shhh; don't tell HIM. We must be secretly happy for these things so as not to discourage the tiny seedling of maturity. ;-)

That's it for now from . . .