Opera & Art & Horticulture

As in years past, I spent a weekend in Des Moines to attend the Des Moines Metro Opera, see art exhibitions, and visit the city's lovely arboretum.

 

DMMO has installed banks of prairie plantings, and in July it's in high bloom. So gorgeous and fragrant! I was lucky to see the final performances of these new productions: Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges and Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle. Spectacular!

 

The John Pappajohn Sculpture Park. Notice the bird's nest in the abdomen of Louise Bourgeois' Spider.

 

 The Des Moines Art Center. Below is a little collage featuring 3 moments from a digital movie by Yorame Mevorach, who coincidentally designed the set from DMMO's Bluebeard's Castle.

 

A hot day at the Des Moines Botanical Gardens.

Joyous July

 2023 Birthdays, Matt and Kimber. This is part of my little family picture nook.

 

 

 Cedar Falls, Iowa public art.

 

I've gone green.

 

Iowa Irish Fest 2023 has posted a commercial featuring me, Ace, and Bev (shot in 2021).

 

 

The 2023 fruit harvest from Adams Street. I modified a recipe from a Buffalo, NY publication to make a custard pie with tart cherries from the backyard.

Final Thoughts: June 2023

 

This year's cherry harvest. Tart and delicious!

 

"What the Fun" exhibition opening at the Waterloo Center for the Arts. Director Kent Shankle is retiring. Kent (left), Curator Chawne Paige and his lovely family (upper right), and a selfie with Kent.

 

"What the Fun." C. Allyn Slack (left) and an installation view (right).

 

Some beard shots from February to June 2023. The many shades of blue courtesy of Ace and his deft touch.

 

2023 Trip to Buffalo

June 2023 Trip to Buffalo. Matt and Kimber welcomed me back into their home, their city, and their culinary expertise. I had such a wonderful time!

Outside the MusicalFare Theatre at Daemen University in Buffalo. "Sondheim on Sondheim" was Matt's Father's Day gift to me. An excellent production.

Wings of Iowa

My Waterloo Days image courtesy of "Live the Valley" mural project and a new Cecropia Moth found by Ace in the NW corner of the yard. A wing'ed June 2023. Happy Pride!

Putting My Back Into It

Here are some images of new retaining walls I constructed over the last several weeks. Oh, my back!

 

 

The Campanile Restoration

Watching the last of the big bells being hoisted into the Campanile at UNI. Such a beautiful day in Cedar Falls!