July 19th, my mother's first birthday since she passed away in March. She would have been 91 years old today. I used to have a bad habit of thinking of my mom's birthday a day or two before and then having the events of July 19th cloud over it and I'd forget to call on her birthday. Sorry mom, it never meant that I forgot about you and I will spend the rest of my life loving you.
Yesterday's hummingbird post was inspired by mother's birthday. Mom loved hummingbirds. There is this figurine from the Nature Company amongst a broad collection of animal figurines she bought over the years. There is also a coffee table-style book on hummingbirds now, appropriately enough, on the coffee table. Mom actively supported a number of wildlife organizations. She frequently stated that she liked animals better than people. She disliked Sarah Palin more for her perception of how Palin dealt with the wolf population in Alaska than for Palin's politics. Mom loved wolves.
She was also very fond of giraffes. This morning I lit a candle in front of her mother and baby giraffe figurine on top of the stereo.
Music plays in this house pretty much throughout the day now since my resurrecting the old tube receiver and getting working peripherals back in place. My record collection has usurped mom's which was mostly pop orchestrations of music from the 30's and 40's up to Broadway productions into the 50s. Then there is Sibelius and his Finlandia, Opus 26. This, I believe was here more because of my mother's sense of Finnish nationalism than for her immediate taste in music, although there are a few other classics around. I suppose Finlandia is in order for the evening. I happen to like quite a bit of Sibelius, particularly his 5th and 2nd symphonies. 4 and 5 are on my current "playlist." 4 was written when Sibelius was struggling with alcohol and depression. I can relate to that. I'm going to pull out mom's vinyl for the evening. The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, conductor. I listened to this album growing up more than anybody else here ever knew. REALLY LOUD TOO.
The walks, etc.
#1, a short walk, 4.16 km in some rather miserable heat, 95º F. I went to pick up something for my cat, Lucy, a prescription for me and most importantly 2 pieces of chocolate cake for the mom's birthday. Mom loved chocolate, she was especially fond of Hershey's milk chocolate. I would buy the 36 count 3.5 oz bars and distributed from a neutral zone to keep consumption under control. One of the things that happens when people get old is they start to lose their sense of taste. Last to go is the taste for sweet.
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| Mom, are you blowing on that candle? |
#2, 5.56 km of my campus walk, still about 90º when I stepped out at 5:50. I really just wanted to get a nice picture that mom would appreciate if she were here. I didn't. However, I did get some really wonderful shots of a dragonfly. Mom, you'd appreciate this on some level wouldn't you?
Blue Dasher, full frame shot with Canon 70-300mm @ 300mm with a Canon 500D closeup attachment.
Happy birthday mom! Time for some cake and Finlandia in the living room. You, out there reading this, you're welcome to join in, virtually speaking.
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