Dwight Yoakam

We had tickets to see Dwight Yoakam last night at The Woods at Fontanel, an outdoor venue.  He's one of those performers that we have wanted to see, but hadn't yet had the chance.  We decided to get seats instead of 'lawn' - which turned out to be a good choice given the rainy day we had.  We were about 10 rows back from stage - here is our view of the stage from the seats - not zoomed in, this is it

We sat through a couple hours of a chilly (yes, I do think 65 degrees - in Tennessee -- in July is chilly!) misty rain, two less-than-stellar opening acts (more about them in another post) and lots of people watching.  And then the stage was set......

and out came Dwight Yoakam

We were treated to some great, classic Dwight Yoakam music and moves.
Like this

and this

and this

Clearly, that's how he's able to fit into these jeans......

It was a great show.  He played a wide variety of music - from his first album to his latest, and everything in between.  

He told us at the beginning that he would play until 'curfew', which they do have there as it's in a fairly residential neighborhood.  And he did.  He didn't even pause between some of the songs - he has a crew member whose job is to bring out his guitar when he needs to change, and they do a quick swap and the music keeps playing.

He is a singer / songwriter / entertainer.  Obviously loves what he does, and he does it well.  He came back on stage for a encore - which was Suspicious Minds - and made his exit, stage right, with music, a smile and a wave.

If you've had enough Dwight, feel free to skip the next video.  If you want to stick around and here A Thousand Miles From Nowhere, enjoy.  I did!!

The Robins Have Almost Outgrown the Nest!

An update on our babies.  Since, Wednesday, they have grown -- a lot!!

I don't think think it will be too long until they are fighting for space and pushing each other out of the nest.

Robins in Their Nest

Right outside of our kitchen, on the top of the drainpipe elbow, is a nest.  Every year the robins use it and we get to see the babies before they fly off.

I took these still pictures on Sunday.  There are three babies in the nest and they're still really small.  Their eyes were closed and their necks were very weak - it was obviously challenging for them to keep their heads held up!  You can easily see two of them, the third one is in the back on the left.

They were obviously hungry and when they heard me they hoped it was Mama bringing some food.  Sorry babies!!

I did manage to get some video of Mama feeding them on Tuesday night.  In the first section, you can see the babies really well.  Mama came with some food, but then got spooked by something and flew off before feeding them.  The second part of the movie shows her feeding them.  Their mouths open wide, wide, wide to get some food!  The babies will eat worms, insects and berries.  She was feeding worms this time.

Apparently it's not uncommon for them to build a nest in a sheltered area.  They don't generally use bird houses, but do like some shelter.  They've been there for years, and come back every year, so they must like that it's protected from both the weather and the predators.  

I just saw her fly up into the nest tonight, so I know they're still there.