Birds, Flowers, Food, Movies, summer

Birds and Blooms and Rain. Plus, a Review of the Newest Indiana Jones Movie

75 Comments

In Maine, June was a very rainy month, and it seems that July is following suit. I know, of course, that too little rain is a terrible problem, but it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Although my perennials are thriving, my annuals are a bust this year. The tomatoes are tall and spindly with few blossoms; the cucumber plant looks stunted; and the nasturtium seeds rotted in the ground. According to Maine Public, this was one of the rainiest Junes on record, and if the weather gods don’t relent, this also will be one of the rainiest summers on record.

On Saturday, the weather gods must have been looking elsewhere because there was no rain for the entire day. Before they could change their minds, Clif, Dee, and I hurried out to the patio, where Clif made his legendary grilled bread. As we Mainers would put it, that bread was some good. We had small bowls of marinara sauce for dipping.

We also had drinks to salute this day without rain. The owl wine glass belongs to Dee, and we toasted Jackie Knight, a lover of owls.  (Jackie is the wife of blogging friend Derrick Knight.) Jackie, we love owls, too.

July is the time for fledglings, and with my wee camera I was actually able to catch this pair of woodpeckers. The one at the bottom is the fledgling, who with a squawking and fluttering of wings, followed and pestered its parent for food. I do love those fledglings, on the edge of independence but still young enough to want to be fed.

In the front yard, there are bursts of yellow and red to add variety to all the green.

Here is a closer look.

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Watching

Too Many Nazis

Movie: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

On July 4, Clif, Dee, and I went to Regal Cinema in Augusta to see Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.  Because of Covid, it had been three  years since we actually went to a cinema to see a movie. With all that’s available on streaming, I thought I was just fine not going to the movies. After all, we have a really nice television with a good sound system.

Turns out, I was wrong. As soon as I settled into one of those big recliners, and the room went dark, I was completely absorbed, enthralled, even. Once a cinephile, always a cinephile. Of course, it didn’t hurt that I was watching Harrison Ford, one of the biggest and most charismatic stars of my generation.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny followed the usual contours of the previous Indiana Jones movies: There were lots of bad guys—Nazis, again; a magical artifact that would cause big trouble if it fell into the wrong hands; a thrilling opening sequence where a digitally de-aged Indy ran across the roof of a long, long train; and chase scenes galore.  As you can see from the poster, Indy had his trademark whip and hat.

These repetitions could have made the movie feel stale, but they didn’t. Instead, it was a thrill to see Indy on the hunt again, this time for Archimedes’ Dial, which supposedly opens fissures in time. On that train, in 1944, Indy escaped with half of the dial, outwitting the Nazi astrophysicist Jürgen Voller (played by the excellent Mads Mikkelsen).

Is there another half of the dial somewhere? Is the Nazi astrophysicist obsessed with it? Does Indy, spurred on by his goddaughter Helena (a luminous Phoebe Waller-Bridge) go after the other half? Yes, yes, and yes.

But Dial of Destiny, with its themes of sorrow, regret, and the trials of old age, rises above the average adventure movie. After the thrilling chase scene on the train, the movie shifts to 1969, when Indy is no longer young. We see him at a low point in his life—sad, sleeping in his boxer shorts in a chair, drinking first thing in the morning. His old cocky days are long gone, and it gave me a pang to see him like this. While things perk up when his goddaughter Helena arrives on the scene, that sadness threads itself through the movie, elevating it.

Readers, I loved this movie and would gladly see it again. If you are an Indiana Jones fan,  get thee to a cinema, where you can see it in all its glory on the big screen.

 

 

 

 

75 thoughts on “Birds and Blooms and Rain. Plus, a Review of the Newest Indiana Jones Movie”

  2. Such a fun movie! Lots of memories of the past movies and who went with us. 🙂

  3. Glad you had a wee respite from the rain! The bread sounds delicious, as does the movie.

  5. That bread does look delicious.
    It is so nice to track your garden/yard through the year.
    I love your description of the film.

  6. Hope your garden isn’t too waterlogged, it looks pretty happy for all the rain.
    Thanks for the review… nothing like a good Indy adventure. Kudos to Ford, who has been acting for 50 years or more, a true star. 🙂

  7. Your artistic eye reveals the deep beauty in your garden, Laurie. Thank you. I also loved the woodpeckers, the lily & orb, and the astilbe & feline.

    Finally, you capture the joy of returning to the movie theatre. I ventured back last year and, as you know, I can’t stay away!

    I enjoyed your evocative description of the new Indiana Jones movie. I too loved all the references to the prior movies, especially the whip-during-the-auction scene, with its turnabout humor. I enjoyed reliving it all with you!

  9. Good food, nice company, lovely plants and flowers, and Harrison Ford? Lady, you are living right! 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I loved him in 1923 with Helen Mirren, and I watched one episode of Shrinking with Ford on Apple TV. Interesting for sure. I hope you are seeing more sun than we are because we’re gray, wet, and humid day after day.

  10. I am sorry about the rain. Weather sharing should be enabled so we all get enough and none get too much. Perhaps Mark Zuckerberg could bend his enormous mind to that instead of spreading rubbish round the world.
    The bread looked very tasty and the woodpecker picture was good.

  11. The grilled bread looks scrumptious, and your flowers are very pretty, but I’m sorry your annuals were drowned by too much rain. Those weather gods simply keep throwing us curve balls!

  12. Your garden is looking very lush, and colourful. I’m glad the weather gods gave you some time to enjoy being outside, with Clif’s delicious looking grilled bread!
    …and I’m with Judy…Harrison Ford, say no more!

  16. All that, and it’s the grilled bread that got me. Yummy! I hope you get a break from the rain…too much of a good thing. Personally, I’ve drowned a butterfly bush in a pot that doesn’t drain well, so I’m familiar with that over-watered look.

  19. After a very hot, dry June we’ve had a big downpour or two which the garden needed but enough’s enough and I would like the still, sunny days back again now.
    I remember when we had a baby woodpecker being ‘trained up’ by a parent So cute and well done for capturing them with your camera.

  20. Despite the sogginess that’s affected some of your garden, these flowers are quite wonderful. It’s fun to see them in places that were snow-covered in the past! The woodpecker photo was great fun, too. And just out of curiosity, what kind of bread does Clif grill? Does he make the bread? Or is it the grilling that makes it such a delectable treat, bringing out the flavor?

    1. Many thanks. As for the grilled bread…we buy a pizza dough at our local grocery store, and the dough is made by a Maine company. Yes, the grilling makes it such a delectable treat, something family and friends look forward to.

  21. Beautiful pictures of your garden! Doesn’t it just brighten up your day during all this rainy weather?

  22. I, too, love that Owl glass! And those woodpeckers are a great treat! I can see where you’d be tired of all that rain, but we in Central Illinois are more tired of these drought conditions. After all, we’ve got crops trying to grow so we can feed the world. Thanks for the Indy movie review — it’s on my list to see (though I’m not looking forward to watching Indy decline into old age).

  23. Hostas have some of the best, sturdiest clumps of flowers around at the moment as yours demonstrates. How sweet to see the woodpecker siblings. Sorry about your rain. We are getting quite a lot here at the moment, but it was much needed after some unusually hot weeks. You should be happy I was thousands of miles away when the bread was grilled. I feel greedy just looking at it.

  24. Your garden looks good despite the rain. I’m not a film Buff but I am so glad you got to the cinema and enjoyed it.

  25. It must have been rough over there if just one day without rain is a cause for celebration. But at least you have woodpeckers to raise your spirits.

    Thank you for your Indy review. It sounds worth a look, and I’m intrigued by the thought of him being portrayed as vulnerable. Comes to us all I guess, even a tough guy like Indy. All things must pass, eh?

    1. It has been very rough in northern New England. Parts of Vermont and Massachusetts are enduring terrible floods, some of the worst ever.

      Yes, even a tough guy like Indy has sorrows and regrets. I found it poignant.

  27. Your plants look lovely, even if the veg is suffering. I could only find little “sweet 100” tomatoes in a six pack last May, so I bought them. Good thing–they are looking okay while the other tomatoes are struggling. Sigh….I know just what you mean about a few hours without rain. “Quick! Let’s go do something!” 😉
    Julie

    1. Many thanks! Yes, quick let’s do something between rain showers. At least we don’t have to cope with floods. Hope you don’t live in a flood zone.

  28. Great photos. Love the woodpeckers. Good to hear that the Indiana Jones movie is good. I’m looking forward to seeing it (but only when it comes on TV). 🙂

  29. I would love to rave about your lovely flowers, but all I can think about is the grilled bread!!😁 Love the owl glass and I have been enjoying some of my favorite cider in my glass just like it this summer. Wonderful to hear you loved the movie and the return to the theater. We haven’t returned to the movie theater yet, but Indiana Jones and the new Mission Impossible movie might finally get me there. We’ve had more rain than usual the last few weeks and we actually have a flood watch tonight. Love watching the young birds and glad you guys had a wonderful day on the patio.🙂

    1. Fun that you have an owl glass, too. Clif’s grilled bread is oh so good. Hope you get to see Indy at the theater. Also hope there is no flooding in your area. Holy cats, it’s been bad in some places.

  30. Sorry to hear you had so much rain Laurie and your garden still looks lovely with the flowers and lush greens 🌺 So sweet to see the fledglings almost grown up now and so glad you got to enjoy a day on the patio with Clif’s yummy looking bread! 💜

  31. Thank you for the review, Laurie. I’ve been thinking about seeing the movie since I enjoyed the previous films. Your flowers and fledglings seem to be thriving in spite of all the rain. We’ve had a good deal of the wet stuff here, too, and from the looks of the clouds outside of my window just now, we’ll be getting more soon.

    1. We all really liked the movie. Yes, flowers and fledglings seem to be thriving. Also, we haven’t had the flooding that Vermont and parts of Massachusetts have had. Thank goodness!

  32. I want Clif’s bread recipe, Laurie, and while you’re at it, send a little rain this way. What topsy-turvy weather this year. I have a feeling we will see more chaos ahead. And thanks for the movie review! We’ll watch it at home, but it still sounds like one to see. Have a great weekend, my friend. 🙂

    1. Actually, we just buy pizza dough made by a Maine company. But I bet any good pizza dough would work. As I’ve mentioned before, we are on a low-carb diet, but we have a cheat day one day a week where we can eat whatever we went. Usually on a Saturday, and that’s when we have the yummy grilled bread. Even with a once a week cheat day, Clif’s numbers remain good and he doesn’t need to be on medication.

      1. Sounds just like us, Lauries. We don’t have an official cheat day – they mostly happen while on vacation – but as long as the routine is low-carb, my hubby’s numbers stay med-free too. It’s rather amazing, isn’t it?

  33. What a way to celebrate on “a day without rain”! I really do love how you roll! Clif’s bread looks sooooo delish! I can almost taste the carmelised toastiness perfectly matched by the tart umami of the marinara sauce!

    So glad to hear that you enjoyed your cinema-experience. I haven’t been in years either and am generally loathe to return, on account that I can’t watch anything without subtitles. But after reading about your experience, and knowing that Indy is likely to be quite spectacular on big screen, I might be persuaded.

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