spring and sonatas on kelly pond...

Yup. Lucy has a monkey on her back.
But we knew that, didn't we?

The weather here is still schizoid. But Mother Nature seems to have second sight - she has declared 'open season': Spring. Of course, this doesn't preclude the possibility of being buried by a snowstorm in the near future...

For the past week, I've been watching Mr. & Mrs. Duck swim lazy laps around the island. Today, Mr. stood on the island - a sentinel while Mrs. is quietly laying eggs? Apparently not. Flapping wings...both rising into the air...then gracefully landing and swimming a bit. Now back on the island. Through the bare yet still protective branches on the south end, I see them (she looks plump!)...checking out the breeding area...that special spot that Lucy loves to 'charge' when she goes out there. We'll have to clip her wings.

Speaking of clipping, Bixby is a prisoner in his own house. Serves him right, eh? Lucy-the-wonder-border-collie is highly 'sound activated' these days (translation: her brain is on tilt) and any sound sets her off like a nervous canine C3PO. Bixby certainly can't scratch the furniture (yay!) or Lucy is right on him (though he has learned to assume the position, look furtively around, then proceed if she's not is sight). He's also learned - the hard way - that Lucy can hear from any remote corner of the universe. Bixby took a swipe at my robe sash the other day. I swear Lucy heard the paw 'whistle' through the air from a house-mile away. They truly deserve each other. Worthy opponents. Really. They 'dance' well, actually, and seem to respect each other. Equal smarts there.

So, back to the pond. The excitement yesterday: a pair of beached turtles on the island!! Beautiful. I thought twice about going out into the cold to snap a picture. Settled for taking it in the safety of the deck rather than doing the right thing and being twenty feet closer at the pond edge. Oh well.

Today - after bending over and letting the weight of my upper body stretch out the major kinks from practicing too much, too late last night (foolish Bixby again took a swipe at a swinging sash and - again - regretting it)...more accompanying, teaching, practicing. The Sulek Sonata: Vox Gabrieli* is consuming, to say the least. Will be playing it a week from Friday at Grace's third and final student recital. Starting to meet with trombonista on an every-other-day basis. Exciting. Terrifying. Unpossessable. I love it for that. But...my muscles (and brain) protest. I swear, the ratio of piano notes to soloist's is 10,000:1. Did I mention terrifying? This, and other pieces, are my spring. (Hmmm...'spring' in a definitely 'winter' body...Not good.)

*The beginning of this piece has a hang gliding effect in the piano - very hard for me to match up with the soloist. But beautiful! At 3:50 - another exquisite marrying of two motifs - soloist, overarching triplets; accompanist, quadruplet X 4). And, lastly: the end as the initial theme is recapped with bravada (7:14). I feel sorry for the page turner.