Here be dragons

Lot’s of hard work is paying off. The yard is looking really good this year.

We have the feeders out and the bird activity is really quite impressive.

We have the usual flock of sparrows that raid periodically along with the morning doves that wait on the ground for whatever might fall their way. I’m still waiting to get a picture of our mated pair of cardinals that have been around every year since I can remember. Cynthia named them Ricky and Lucy. The baby cardinal last year was named Jethro for his clumsiness.
The baby this year has only been spotted once and is, as yet, unnamed.

Of particular delight to Cynthia is the fact that we finally came up with a feeder that is squirrel proof. Not that the neighborhood squirrels aren’t trying. In fact, that is what amuses Cynthia the most. She laughs and laughs as the squirrels climb everything they can find in the backyard looking for a way to access the tasty feed that hangs so close, yet so far out of reach.

I had my first spotting of Lizardo this season. He was on the garage and really putting on a show. I think there’s another male lizard in vicinity and Lizardo was staking his claim to the garage and surrounding flower beds.

Late Saturday afternoon Cynthia and I were just sitting on the swing watching all the activity when a butterfly landed on her knee. It would fly away and land on the nearby bricks and then fly back and land on her knee again. It repeated this a dozen or so times.

Right now it’s still pleasant but you can tell it’s going to be a hot summer. We’re enjoying it while we can.

Small Stars @ Rudyard’s

Saturday night I broke routine and followed my musical nose to the upstairs of Rudyard’s to catch The Small Stars.

Imagine, if you will, seven caricatures from some cheesy out of the way casino/lounge act in Reno, Nevada and you will begin to understand what The Small Stars are all about.

It’s pure “shtick” and they do it well. In fact, they do it VERY well. You see, they’re not just a bunch of hacks with a comedic idea, they are each skilled musicians and what they accomplish as an ensemble is nothing short of flabbergasting.

Featured in the band is Austin guitar legend Landis Armstrong (aka Richard Steele) from such noteworthy musical projects as McLemore Avenue and The El Orbits.

Cynthia jokingly suggests I have a big ole’ man crush on Landis. I suspect she’s right. He’s a nice guy and an amazing musician and whenever he performs in town I try to make it a point to go see him.

Oh Landis, if only someone could tame him…

The front man for The Small Stars goes by the stage name of Guy Fantasy. His real name is Miles Zuniga and is most famous for the song “The Way” he wrote and performed with the one hit wonder band Fastball in the 90’s. He’s incredibly funny and reminds me is subtle ways of a musical Bill Hicks.

On of the more entertaining characters is Vic Odin, the “manager” of the band who has some GREAT songs he sings and cracks me up when he’s running around the performance venue with his bullhorn.

All in all, a very enjoyable evening.

The Small Stars

The Small Stars

Vic Odin

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Art Festival

Today was a GREAT day for the Bayou City Art Festival. The last several times we have visited this festival we have obtained some nice pieces for our collection. We didn’t end up buying anything this year but there was a lot of wonderful art present. We did get a few cards to follow up with some artists at a later date.

Cynthia’s coat of many toads made her a walking art piece and she was commented upon and complimented frequently as we walked about the festival.

Art Festival

Reelin’ in the years

The Flying Fish Sailors had a very humble, yet ambitious beginning. This is a photo from one of our first live performances (circa 1988) at what was then known as The Wellington Stone on W. Alabama in the Montrose area of Houston.

Left to right: Jay Lee, Greg Henkel and Joseph Linbeck.

Wellington Stone circa 1988
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It’s hard to imagine that we are coming up on 20 years of performing together.

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