Shrooms!

We are back in the rain. The sun has sailed away hopefully to return another day. Actually it is perfect weather for our afternoon plans. We are going to the last Whatcom Symphony Orchestra concert. They are joining the Whatcom Chorale to perform Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

The Ninth is a favorite of mine and an amazing piece. It is also a real bear to sing! I've sung it a number of times and the tessatura is awful. (That means the range of pitches sung by a given part and where in that range most of the singing takes place.) For all parts the range is very high and stays there most of the piece. As a first soprano my voice was usually pretty darn tired at the end of the concert, especially if we did two performances or rehearsed before the concert. Lots and lots of high notes that go on and on and on. Phew! But wonderful to listen to. (And to sing, especially when your voice is young and fresh and well trained.)

Anyhow, rain and Beethoven go together very well. This morning I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood in the light rain. At the end of the walk I was walking on our "street" which happens to be a right of way covered in blackberry bushes. I was looking for fungi to photograph. I almost missed these which is pretty hard to do as they are pretty large and there are lots of them. I did find them and held my camera on the ground so I could get this underside view.

I put some of the rest of the photos I took this morning on Chaikins of Bellingham.