Inspiration

Finding Inspiration in Rabbits, Birds, Glasses, and Guitar Lessons

Shelley

I heard an excellent tip if you’re a musician or a writer yesterday. I want to tell you about it, but first, a recap of the little happenings going on around our empty nest.

First, the snow is mostly gone. YAY! It came and went several times again this week, along with cooler temps.

Today it is a heatwave (almost 40F) and sunny, so I hope to get a bit more time outside before the rain returns. Mr. and I took a 4-mile walk before I sat down here to catch up with you.

So what’s new?

The rabbits have been mating. We watched them dancing around the yard together. Man, they have a lot of energy coming out of the long winter snuggles they had to have used to stay warm under the snow. I’m sure we’ll see little ones in the not-so-distant future. Somehow this one is finding blades of grass to eat.

The Robin flocks have thinned out some, but they’re still here eating the crab apples that remain on the tree and on the ground.

And, what about the House Finches?

Mr. and Mrs. House Finch are flitting around the yard, resting on the fence in between raindrops, and Mrs. is setting up their house. In the tree next to our house.

She’s doing all the work while he serenades her and or supervises her? He sits on the fence more than she does.

He does a little one-legged dance in between his chirping sounds while she’s busy picking up twigs and weeds to build their nest.

They both look a little chilly when they puff up their feathers. It’s easy to tell them apart though.

This week we had a Robin wanting to join us for dinner inside the house. It didn’t end well for him when the window stopped him in flight. The loud thud scared the heck out of me. In a startled jump, my hand flew up and hit the bottom of the table. I ended up with a few scrapes and a broken blood vessel on the top of my hand. It was tender for days. That was fun. I had extra empathy for Robin who Mr. had to move to a grave spot.

No photos…sorry. So far the Finches have not had any desire to fly into the windows. And as the week went on, I felt better too. My hand is mostly healed.

I felt better when we picked up our new glasses too! I want to show you them, but I’m still working on adjusting to them, and in all the excitement of feeling like a teenager with my first pair of glasses, I got a nose-sized pimple on my cheek. WTH? Thus no selfies.

YET.

I’m thinking one pair of frames will have to go back and be exchanged. I should’ve trusted my instincts, I need glasses with the little nose pieces. And the sunglasses I picked out don’t have them. I tried driving with them and quickly realized it wasn’t a safe thing to not be able to see road signs clearly. Such a bummer because those are the sunnies I was so looking forward to wearing.

Oh well…more on glasses later. Before I fly off to the week ahead, I want to introduce you to the guitar teacher Mr. has been following just for fun.

This leads us to the quote of inspiration for the week! If you want to see someone who is extremely passionate about their work as a teacher, musician, and just all-around music enthusiast, check out Michael Palmisano on YouTube.

Mr. shared this video with me while we were looking for something positive to watch. I think I remember this song by Supertramp, do you? Watching Michael react to it was so entertaining. He really loves what he does.

Then I pulled up one more video, this one about Jeff Healey. It’s long but so worth the message near the end.

We’ve always loved Jeff – Angel Eyes is our wedding song. Michael’s take on him and his blindness not being a limitation but a gift is inspiring to say the least. About 21 minutes in Michael watches Jeff play the song’s end and then he talks to the viewers about being okay with your disabilities. It’s worth a watch.

There are those of us who take our entire lives searching for that unicorn that is, “Can you tell it is me in 3 notes?”

Michael Palmisano – Guitar Teacher

Post inspiration – Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “tip.” Use it as a noun or a verb. Have fun!

PS – Did you play any fun pranks for April 1? Are you a glasses wearer who has to be careful with the type of frames you get? Do you have a favorite musician or band that inspires you?

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

45 thoughts on “Finding Inspiration in Rabbits, Birds, Glasses, and Guitar Lessons”

  1. I don’t recall ever hearing that Super Tramp song, and 79 was my last year of hi skewl! I love the finches, so small and cute! I’ve forgotten what Michigan (Wisconsin) grass looks like in early spring, so flattened. It’s amazing how the grass recovers so well. I wish that you posted more often, Shelley, your style and subjects are so good! Happy Sunday!

    1. That’s the same year that Mr. graduated – he said the same thing, he couldn’t remember that song.
      Yes, the finches are so darn cute. And our grass is blah, blah, blah right now. I’m actually looking forward to the April showers to clean it up a bit.
      Aw, shucks, thanks John. I appreciate the words of encouragement. I enjoy your posts too – I don’t get around to seeing them as often as I would like. I’m lucky that I’m getting around to writing one post in a week for the time being. 😉
      Happy Sunday to you too!
      Happy Sunday to you –

  2. Hi – thanks for introducing us to Michael Palmisano.
    I watched the first vid and part of the second a and plan to pass this on to my hubs and son – they both play and often use YouTube for tips and ideas – so I am curious to see if they have heard of him!
    And from what I have seen – he has a smooth way of connecting and it made me realize again why platforms like YouTube are a gift in this day and age! So folks can share their gifts and build a following
    –
    So sad about the robin and your slapping of the hand on the table!
    This happened to me once in tre art room (2009) as a bird tried to dive into a fake plant I had on the ledge – I don’t know if he died but I was startled and scared – it sure comes out of nowhere and I feel
    Bad because I heard this happens often!

    1. Hi Yvette! You’re welcome for the introduction to Michael. After watching him, I just knew I’d have to share. His passion for what he does and music is inspiring. And he looks like he’s having fun. Two things much needed in life, now, more than ever. Like you said, it’s a nice way to share gifts and build a following.
      Yeah, the poor Robin. Soon it will be the Mourning Doves that fly into the windows. It seems to have gotten worse for us since the new windows were installed. Over a million birds a year fly into objects/windows. It is so sad. Good thing they reproduce often.
      Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your book with me. 😉😊

      1. Hi Shelley – you might not want to add a window film to such new windows – but they make some great window film options out there and we did our back two downstairs windows. Let’s light in for us and is barely visible – but from the outside has a faint silver look and birds don’t think it is an opening. We got the idea from distant neighbors who had full sun blasting their living room and said the minimal window film was amazing.
        Just an idea but again / you might not want to mess with how it looks now.
        Oh and the book pdf…. I was sending it to someone else and when I saw your email come up I added you to the bc. Partly to share 🙏☀️But also to give you ideas for any books you might write – like the “dubious minimalist” topics would/could make a nice book!
        Anyhow – hope you have a great day

        1. Hi Yvette – I’ve thought about adding something to the window, but we paid extra (foolishly) for a self-washing treatment on the windows. I wonder if we put a picture of an owl in them if they’d stay clear? But that might scare all the birds? Thanks for the idea – it helps me think about options.
          Thanks for sharing the book – I hope to get to read it soon. Hmm…that’s an idea to run with someday. 😉
          Thank you for sharing your thoughts!!! I hope you have a great day too.

          1. Well I have another idea to share-
            Totally just remembered…
            I got this too
            Online and it worked! You hang old CD’s and the glisten and light distracts them –
            So I am not sure if you can hang those in an area that would help/ but I guess they do not like flickers and moving items

          2. I might be able to pull that off…I think I have a bunch of old ones in a stash of ‘things I should sort someday’. Thanks for sharing!

          3. Shelley – we hung out old CDs with clear fishing line and it worked!
            It kept the birds away from the areas we didn’t want them

          6. One more tip!
            We used those little
            Pinwheels to keep birds off the path of our mailbox –
            For some reason – out of nowhere – our mailbox kept getting loaded with bird droppings.
            I put three pinwheels around the mailbox and it worked –
            They changed their path and I guess it is true movement and shimmer from the swirl (the pinwheels had some metallic in them)

          7. That’s a great idea. We don’t seem to have that problem, though. I think our mailbox is too out in the open for the birds to take a liking to it. The deck and our patio furniture, though…Hmmmm… 😉

  3. Good to se signs of spring reaching your place. Baby bunnies are so cute. I’m guessing we’ll be seeing some soon. Sorry about your hand. That sounds like it must hurt. No April fools around here. I hope you have a great week, Shelley.

    1. Yes, we’re slowly catching up on signs of spring like you’ve had in your state. I look forward to seeing buds on the trees and flowers sprouting from the ground. Yes, there will be bunnies…lots of bunnies.
      The hand is much better now, thank you. I put ice on it and coconut oil and it healed quickly.
      Thanks for sharing your thoughts – I hope you have a great week too, Dan!

  4. Every once in a while we have birds hitting our windows. Usually they are stunned for a bit but, eventually, fly away. I have had a few that have died and it’s heartbreaking.

    I hope to get cataract surgery soon so maybe I’ll be able to ditch my glasses, but currently the hardest part of buying frames is the size. Most are too big for my face.

    1. Hi Janis, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I prefer the stunned but survival birds too. Those that don’t make break my heart too.

      My inlaws had cataract surgery and were able to ditch the glasses. That amazes me. So far I don’t have any cataracts, so guess I just need glasses. I’ve thought about Lasik, but just can’t do it for some reason. My MIL still wears some glasses for reading/puzzles though.
      The bigger frames are the trend right now. I’m with you on thinking they’re a bit too big. They remind me of my first pair back in the early 80s. 👓😎

  5. Well I got to see the glass frames in your picture. I am used to having the nose pieces too, otherwise I think they get hot in the Summer and feel like they are sliding down your nose. Do you drive that much you think it will both you? The poor Robin – I would hate to see that as I am sure you were unless your head was bent down nursing your hand – yikes! Hope it is better now. Thankfully on the top of your hand, not the bottom where you have to type, or use your fingers for something. The rabbits sure came out of the Wintertime alive and kickin’!

  6. I see that you decided not to R rate your bunny site. Finches are adorable. I know and have many Supertramp LP’s and CD’s. How he tries to work out what they are playing is wonderful. I was tempted to try to follow on but have been doing other things here as well so no room for a guitar. Thanks for the showing me him. 🙂 🙂

    1. LOL – yep, keeping things clean here 🐇🐰 The Finches seem to beg to be photographed.
      You’re the first person I thought of when I saw Michael’s video. You’re welcome – someday when you’re looking for something to do, I hope you get a chance to check his videos out again. 😁🎸

  7. Those finch photos are adorable. You’ve captured them so well – even their personalities (or so it seems!). Those crazy rabbits…acting like rabbits! No April fools jokes here as far as I know. LOL.
    I did not follow Supertramp (not sure why they passed me by!). The video is fascinating though. What a talent. I will pass the videos on to my guitar teacher husband, who may have heard of Jeff Healey. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Hi Andrea, thank you for sharing your thoughts. Being stuck (by choice) in the house due to weather, I’ve found myself noticing the birds more than anything when I look out the window. The House Finches seem to enjoy posing for me. The rabbits just multiply. 😉
      I didn’t follow Supertramp either, but I do remember some of their songs. Michael is fascinating, I hope your hubby enjoys watching his thoughts about Jeff Healey. I don’t know if you ever watched Road House? Jeff was in that movie. Sadly he passed away, way too young at age of 41 :-(. Hmm…that means when he sang Angel Eyes back when Mr. and I got married, he was 23. Double WOW! That makes the message that Michael shared that more inspiring – Jeff made the best of his efforts shine. 🥰😊

      1. You’re welcome!
        I don’t think I saw Road House. Oh my, 41 is way too young! But look what he accomplished in that period of time. Impressive.

        1. It’s a fun movie to watch, both Patrick Swayze and Jeff have passed away from forms of cancer, so sad. I agree, it’s impressive what Jeff accomplished in his lifetime!!

    1. Those are excellent choices – Duke puts me in a sentimental mood 😉 soothing to listen to. Randy is new to me, thanks for sharing his name. Did you see Joni at the Grammys? And YES Steve’s Guitar Town great song – I wonder if Michael has done a video about him?? Thanks for the musical fun this morning. I hope you’re off to a fun trail to discover.

  9. Nice bunny, lovely birds. I have difficulties finding glasses frames, too. I need new glasses but have put it off because I’m not up to the challenge of dealing with ugly shapes and weird colors– and the whole experience. It is always fraught with peril. Good luck

    1. Thank you, Ally. We’ve been staring out the windows often. Hopefully the weather will turn warmer and we’ll be outside to discover other things of interest to photograph.
      We’re working on our second adjustment session. I’m getting awfully close to being able to wear the sunglasses, so I might be able to keep them after all. This may seem to be a weird by-product of the last two years, but, I can tell you that the 3 hour adventure at the eye clinic was on the top of the list of happiest dates Mr. and I have taken in our 32 years being together. The staff at the clinic were so helpful and patient and it was so fun. This week we finally got to see all of their smiling faces. No more masks. It’s nice to feel normal again. I hope your adventure to find new spectacles leads you to a great time and a fun blog post to write about on your updated Spring/Summer schedule.
      Thanks for stopping by, I always enjoy your comments!

  10. Jeff Healey was a remarkable guitar player, wasn’t he? And I’m not just saying that because he’s my birthday twin….

    1. Hi John. Yes, he was!!! Aw, that’s neat that you shared a birthday with him. Have you done a post about him? Share the link, I’d love to read/listen to it.

        1. Thanks for sharing, nice job for your early efforts, you’ve been blogging a LONG time, that’s a big success. Great video choices to feature Jeff’s talents. I enjoyed him in Road House too. Happy Belated birthday to you too. I hope you had a great one!

  11. Good for Mr. with his guitar lessons! A benefit of the pandemic is that so many more music lessons can be found online. I love my fave vocal coach, Freya Casey, who has so many videos online–and for free!

    1. Yes, that is a benefit of the pandemic. Mr. enjoys watching Michael. I’m guessing back in the day when Mr. played lead guitar in a band he would’ve loved lessons like his. That’s great you have a fave vocal coach. I’m sure your lovely voice is only enhanced by watching those videos. Sing on, dear blogging buddy!

  12. Oh, the crazy birds! I’m sad about Mr. Robin and thankful that I don’t usually get birds trying to fly into either patio window. I think they know better. The mourning doves are back, as are the robins and sparrows. They are giving Gibbs plenty of entertainment when he’s awake and can taunt him from outside.

    Shelley, I hope you are able to enjoy the sun that we’re supposed to get this weekend. It is truly needed!

    1. Yes, the birds have been crazy. Seems like since Winter returned to our parts of the state, they’ve gone missing. We had rain one morning and there were worms everywhere. The frost is finally gone in time for snow to arrive again. UGH. Glad to hear Gibbs has plenty of entertainment.
      I was able to enjoy the short spurt of sun, it was windy though, so chilly. I agree, we need the sun and warmth!!! I’ll keep the faith that it’ll arrive one of these days.
      Happy Easter to you and Gibbs, I hope you have a nice weekend. Thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts.

Comments are closed.