Second week of August - PRIVATE

8/9 AM April Showers Bring May Flowers. What does the Summer Fog Bring?
You can hear how wet it is outside (audio). Dripping and foghorns. That’s not rain. It’s dripping. From the big tree two doors down. The tree you can see from google earth. Good for the flowers. Bad for those peaches. However, they look pretty good so I’ll wait until they fall on the ground and see if they are tasty at all. To be continued…

8/10 AM Avoiding the Wind
This morning looked much like so many other mornings these past few weeks that I almost didn’t bother to take a photo. When I woke up and looked outside, I was just disgusted. But then I reminded myself that each day was not like any other day. Even if it looked like one, felt like one, started like one. Tired and gray. At least I thought I would avoid the wind and make a quiet recording. It may be boring, but at least there’s no wind noise for a change (audio).

8/10 PM
It cleared up again this evening. Like yesterday. Maybe this is the beginning of a new weather pattern. Late summer, perhaps? The moon is up, too.


8/11 AM Chamber Orchestra in the Yard
Out back many birds are singing with the fog horns and humming ubiquitous drones to create a lovely chamber orchestra piece (audio). Gets me thinking about more ways to document these daily observances. Several mornings lately have been so overtly musical that I am inspired to “play along”. Any requests? I would like to write a few little ensembles pieces to accompany, transform or otherwise respond to these already incredibly musical performances.

8/12 AM Why Birds Shouldn't Go To Music School
A new noisy bird soloist. Why only soloists? This one has a song that reminds me of a tired and overused rhythmic motif used way too many times in contemporary music.
___ ___ ___ ___ __ __ _ _ _ _ - Although he is a new voice on this block. The other fellow is gone by now. Is there only room for one bird at a time around here?

8/13 AM Mark Twain's Summer
More wandering around- this time out front for a change. I will be so glad when the fog dries up in a few weeks as the Sacramento Valley cools off. And I won’t be alone. So many tourists come here in the summer expecting sunny southern California and are rewarded with having to shell out extra special prices for not so tastefully designed sweatshirts, hats and long pants. You can easily recognize the tourists not only because of the places they amass to visit but because of the dazzling newness of their outer garments layered over more comfortable and stylish traveling clothes. Here's a concise description that explains why it’s so foggy here in the summer when it so warm everywhere else. Tourists take note. The sunny, warm months in San Francisco are coming. Hallelujah!

8/14 AM Happy Birthday first-thing-in-the-morning To Norman
Happy Birthday, Norman! This is a familiar scene. Norman hates the way he looks in this situation because he thinks he looks like an old infirm person rather than a tired person ringing bells to support his wife’s project. I love you, Norm. At the risk of repeating ourselves, here is the other movie from early on that bears a remarkable resemblance to this one.

8/15 AM Leaving on a Jet Plane, eventually...
It was very good timing this morning- the sun was rising just as I was leaving for the airport. Although it is hard to tell much about the sun by looking at the day. It’s also hard to believe that it will most likely be hot in New York – that it’s hot there even now. So maybe I can complain about that all week.