Ah Sunflower, weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the sun;
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the traveller’s journey is done;Where the Youth pined away with desire,
And the pale virgin shrouded in snow,
Arise from their graves, and aspire
Where my Sunflower wishes to go!
– William Blake
Set to music back in the sixties by The Fugs, on their eponymously titled The Fugs First Album.
Steady rain came through from the wee hours on into morning, finally letting up right after dawn. Here are some shots of birds coming for their morning feed on our upper deck, looking a little more bedraggled than usual. It was fascinating to see them this way close up.
Note the first photo, which is a fledgling Redbelly Woodpecker. He hatched this spring, and his parents have been bringing him to the deck with them.
The young fledgling woodpeckers do not yet have the colors of the adults.
Male Redbelly Woodpecker, soaked, and showing signs of molting on the head.
Redbelly hanging on the feeder. You get a really get view of the red on the belly, made even more prominent by being soaking wet.
Female Cardinal.
Male Cardinal flapping wings while feeding.
Mockingbird.
Catching the Mockingbird flapping to stabilize hanging onto the feeder.
Nuthatch fussing. It could see me through the class of the door.
Titmouse, photo catching its winks in motion as it hangs onto the feeder.
You have to feel sorry for JR Hildebrand. The rookie driver had the win at Indy 500 2011 all sewed up. But instead of just coasting to a finish, he tries to move around a car that he does not have to pass, loses control, and takes his car into the wall. He coasts from there to finish second after Dan Wheldon, who finished first in 2005, and second the past three races. Apparently officials reviewed video, and determined that Wheldon passed Hildebrand’s car before the caution light went on, thus meaning he was free to go on and win the race since and was not required to hold position.
Here is the picture I got of Wheldon during the final hour of practice on Carb Day Friday before the race, taken just before 11:00 am practice hour started.
Here is video of the finish on YouTube.
