Road Trip - Wyoming

Last weekend I headed to Wyoming to visit my aunt and uncle on their ranch. I had been invited because Tony DeSare was doing a concert in their town on Friday night.

If you don't know who Tony DeSare is, it's time you met. He is an amazing pianist and singer who puts on an entertaining show. He's really good at crooning the old standards, but he also covers some newer songs and original works as well. Here are a couple of videos.

This one just makes me happy.

And this is just nice. 

And this one makes me go WOW!

There are a lot more videos of him on YouTube. Check him out. Buy his cds and go to his concerts. He deserves to be a lot more famous than he is. 

Saturday we drove to Devils Tower. I had never been there before, so it was an experience for me. The day was beautiful, and I took A LOT of pictures. Here are some of the better ones. 

We stopped so I could take a picture when we were getting close. 

Some Native Americans consider Devils Tower and the area around it to be sacred. They hang strips of cloth and feathers in the trees to form a type of prayer bundle.

I knew Devils Tower was big, but I didn't realize how big until I was standing at the base of it. 

I thought this bright green moss stuff was neat. It almost looked like fluorescent paint had been spilled on the rocks. 

There is a trail around the base of the tower and the views from it are impressive. 

See the rabbit?

Hello. 

There were several people climbing the tower while we were there. You can see a man in a red jacket a little to the right of the middle of this picture.

There he is again. 

There are two guys at the top in this photo waiting for their friend in the red jacket to finish climbing. 

Two interesting facts I learned are that the top of Devils Tower is about the size of a football field, and it is dome shaped. 

After we finished the first trail, we walked along another one called the Red Beds trail that makes a wider circle around the tower. It was lovely, but steep at times. 

The dirt really was red around there. 

I almost stepped on this little snake. I took his picture instead. He was only about the size of a pencil. 

This squirrel wanted his picture taken, too. 

I like this rock formation. I think the right hand side looks like a face. 

Do you see it? 

I so glad I got to experience Devils Tower. Many thanks again to my aunt and uncle for taking me to see it.

A song of June...

One of my favorite piano pieces, June (Barcarolle), Opus 37b by Tchaikovsky. 

Lilacs

If you've been in my neighborhood lately, you may have noticed that the lilacs are absolutely gorgeous this year. I've been going out of my way to stick my nose in every bunch of flowers on every lilac bush I come across, breathing in as much of that heavenly smell as I possibly can.

The flowers made me think of this song by Rachmaninoff. It was originally a vocal piece based on a poem by Ekaterina Beketova that he then transcribed for solo piano. It is lovely. Happy listening.

In case  you are interested, here is the poem, translated from the original Russian.

Lilacs

In the morning, at daybreak,
over the dewy grass,
I will go to breathe the crisp dawn;
and in the fragrant shade,
where the lilac crowds,
I will go to seek my happiness.

In life, only one happiness
it was fated for me to discover,
and that happiness lives in the lilacs;
in the green boughs,
in the fragrant bunches,
my poor happiness blossoms.

~ Ekaterina Beketova

Mendelssohn Op. 30 No. 1

I came across this Mendelssohn piece this morning while I was playing the piano. I don't remember ever playing or hearing it before, but it is beautiful. In my book it is subtitled Contemplation, and I think that name fits it perfectly. Happy listening.

Oriental

Lately, I've had a little extra time on my hands. I'm trying to use it wisely, so this week I made a goal to learn a piano piece. I haven't seriously worked on a piece for probably ten or so years, so I'm starting simple. I picked Granados' Spanish Dance Op 37, No 2 (Oriental) which I have always enjoyed. The melody is beautiful and haunting. Here is a video of a woman playing the piece. I only chose this video for the audio, as I find something in the way she moves and holds her hand to be distracting to watch.



On a side note, the piece has also been arranged for one or two guitars and it is quite beautiful that way, too.



And this arrangement with piano and cello may be my favorite of them all.



So, if you need me, I will be practicing and memorizing. In a little while, maybe I'll even play for you!