High water!

Saturday
The forecast for today had been for more of the same grey, dismal weather we have been experiencing for about two weeks now, and that is how the day started, but late morning we were pleasantly surprised to see a peak of sunshine and a patch of blue sky, and even more excited to see it develop into a sunny afternoon, though with quite a blustery cold wind. Late morning we went to the bathroom showroom to make a final choice of color for the acrylic walls, the shower doors, accessories and hardware for our ensuite bathroom. We had lunch at a crepe place, then went walking on the Little Miami trail. This shot was taken from the car park - you can see from the sign and the tree how high the water is, and the current was incredibly fast - you certainly wouldn't have wanted to accidentally fall in! Our walk took us under the impressive Jeremiah Morrow bridge, which carries the I-71, a major North-south artery, across the Little Miami valley. They are in the process of replacing the bridge, a huge undertaking, so it was interesting to see the progress made since I last blipped it back in July. I thoroughly enjoyed the walk, just relishing the sunshine and blue skies. We saw several deer, but unfortunately they were far too skittish to photograph. In the evening we went to the Cincinnati Symphony concert at Music Hall. It was a virtually sold-out performance, featuring the internationally acclaimed Chinese pianist Lang Lang, playing the first Liszt Piano Concerto. He was just incredible - made it look so easy! Heralded as the "hottest artist on the classical music planet" by the New York Times, 29 year-old Lang Lang has played sold out recitals and concerts in every major city in the world and is the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic and all the top American orchestras. He has also done much to encourage children and young musicians to take an interest in classical music, especially through the international foundation he launched in New York in 2008.

One year ago: A touch of color on a grey day