Thank you Vince Gill & friends...

It's 1985 and I am heading to band practice. I'm trying to figure out what new songs I want to learn and questioning everything. Do I want to keep playing music, do I want to start singing more or just be a drummer and continue to sing back up for the rest of my life. At that point I really hadn't started writing music or figured out how to work my tenor voice into a set list that was filled with Merle Haggard and George Jones.

I turned the radio on to try and clear my mind. The first song I heard was "Oklahoma Borderline" by Vince Gill. It was like a light shined down from heaven. When I got to practice, I asked the guys if they had heard this new song and if they knew the artist. Somebody said it was a new guy named Vince Gill.

Well, from that day on I started following this new artist and with each album I fell more into his music. Over the years I have sang many of his songs and have been lucky enough to see him in concert a couple times. Last night was one of those lucky nights. Not only did I get to see my hero, but I got to watch him and his friends play in the historic Ryman Auditorium.

It was a magical night filled with old classic songs and new material. He featured some of his fellow songwriters and some new, young local guitar talent. He showcased his back-up singers (past and present), musicians, co writers, friends and his lovely daughter Jenny. His wife Amy Grant helped him close the show.

I found myself tearing up from the first song as I listened to the music that has meant so much to me over the years. Plus the way he gave the spotlight away to so many "unknown" artists was truly inspiring. I am not sure if it was the historic theatre or the spirits of all those who have sang on that wonderful stage, but I will always remember my very first concert at the Ryman. I hope there will be many more. It was truly one of the best concerts I have ever seen.

Thank you Vince and Friends,

Phil

Vince Gill & friends at the Ryman!!!

Happy Monday!
Today is a happy Monday for me. I got an early birthday present from Kristi(my soon-to-be Mrs.) She bought us tickets to see Vince Gill at the historic Ryman auditorium in downtown Nashville. Not only is Vince one of my heros, but the Ryman is my favorite building in all of Nashville. It has such a wonderful history.
I am so very excited and hopefully will get to meet him. He will be joined by his daughter, Jenny Gill(whom I met last year), Rodney Crowell(also one of my favorite songwriters) and a few others. I plan on posting a review of the show...biased I am sure.

Peace, joy and love to all,

Phil

Empty nest syndrome...

Well, this is going to be my final "From death comes life" post. You see all the little baby robins have left the nest. This is the last picture I took of mama robin feeding her babies.

I found the eggs in the nest on our porch back in late March.

By early April they hatched.

We watched everyday as mama robin and daddy robin both fed them.

We watched them grow.

I watched the first one fly away.

I went out this morning and saw all three healthy baby robins in the trees in front of our house.

I watched mama and daddy robin feed them in the trees and keep them safe by running off all other birds. I saw them fly from tree to tree and was amazed at it all.

This is where they were born and where they lived for a while. It looks so empty.

I will miss them and will miss posting pictures, watching them be fed and checking on them. This has been a truly amazing experience. I appreciate all of you commenting and following their growth.

Now, if I could just my youngins out of my nest...maybe I could write a freakin song!!

Peace and love to all,

Phil

Robin drama...leaving the nest.

I was taking my nightly Robin baby picture and just after I snapped this one, it flew away!! Mama and Daddy Robin came flying over to me squawking, flapping and trying to dive bomb me. They immediately started running off all the birds in the trees and watching over the baby that flew out of the nest. Boy were they were pissed off at me!

The little robin hopped across the yard and sat at the bottom of this tree where he stayed for a while. They continued to feed it and make sure no other birds (or humans) got too close. It couldn't fly high enough to get up in the tree, but I think it's going to be okay.

So now there are two left in the nest. I am going to go outside this morning and see where the other one is. I noticed Mama robin flew around the side of the house with worms in her mouth, so I think that is where the baby is.

I'll keep you posted. I am sure that it was ready to leave the nest, but probably wouldn't have done it until today. I bet Mama and Daddy Robin are still cussing me.

Peace,

Phil

More robin baby pictures...

All their feathers are in.

I saw them flapping their little wings.

They are almost ready to leave the nest.


I have been taking so many pictures because I know by the end of the week...they will fly away. I will post more tomorrow.

I want a better camera for my birthday. (June 2nd by the way)

Peace,

Phil

Robin babies keep eating and growing...

All they do is eat! I could take a million pictures.

One of them tried to get out of the nest this morning, but I missed getting a picture of it. I am sure in the next few days they will be getting out and setting on the edge of the nest.

Mama robin doesn't like it when I get close to the nest for a picture. She sits in the tree above me and squawks att me until I'm gone.

Come back tonight for more pictures.

Peace,

Phil

From death comes life...continued...and continued...

I hope you all aren;t getting bored with the baby robins. I just find it amazing how fast they grow. All you have to do is scroll down through the last week's post and see the growth. It's amazing!

Now those little feather buds from a couple days ago are real feathers now. The biggest one tried to climb out of the nest today. I didn't get to the camera fast enough.

Check back tomorrow for more fun with baby robins.

Leave me some love, I need to know somebody is appreciating this as much as me.

Peace,

Phil

You have to watch the video of the baby robins!!!

In addition to my nightly baby robin picture, I took a video of Mama & Daddy Robin feeding the babies. It's not the best quality, but it is very coool anyway.



And here they are after their meal. Don't worry little birds, another meal is coming in about ten minutes. You can see that their eyes are open now. A couple more days and they will be climbing out of the nest. Check back tomorrow.

Peace,

Phil

From death comes life...a recap

So for those of you that haven't been reading my blog everyday, I want to recap what has happened over the past few weeks. Read my first post if you would like to start from the beginning. Here is what the nest looked like back in March.


This is what the nest looked like this evening. They are growing so fast. I got home late this evening and it was starting to get dark, so the pictures are not the best. Check back again tomorrow night for more pictures.

Peace,

Phil

They got little feathers!!!

All they do is eat and sleep!

I cannot believe how many worms these things eat!

Well, we came home tonight and took our nightly picture. They are starting to grow feathers and their eyes are starting to open up. I have to say that they are kind of...shall I say...ugly? But just like the story of "The Ugly Duckling", in a week or two they will be the prettiest little things you ever saw.

Now, you might ask, "Phil, what does any of this have to do with songwriting? I mean this is a songwriter blog." Well, I cannot tell you how inspired I am by all this. I find nature inspiring. It amazes me how these birds know what to do and when to do it. It is nothing short of incredible to witness this process. I am quite sure down the road some of this inspiration will wind up in a song.

Check back tomorrow for my nightly Robin babies picture update.

Peace,

Phil

Robin babies are growing fast...

I waited for what seemed like an hour to get this picture.

I think I might have saved their lives this morning by scaring away a crow that was hanging out in the front of the house. If he think he's gonna kill my birds...he's got another thing coming.

I'll kill a crow!!

Happy Easter,

Phil

New life, Spring and happiness...

From death comes life...continued

I have enjoyed these baby robins and will enjoy them until they fly away. I hope you enjoy watching them with me. I also added some quotes about Spring.

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. ~Anne Bradstreet

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring. ~Bern Williams

Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

Every spring is the only spring - a perpetual astonishment. ~Ellis Peters

The year's at the spring
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hillside's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His heaven -
All's right with the world!
~Robert Browning



Until next time...peace,

Phil

From death comes life...continued

Well mother Robin, the one that layed eggs in a plant that I killed (see previous post), did a fabulous job and is now nursing her new babies. They are a couple of days old now. It is so cool to watch her feed them.

How cool is it that life is born from a plant that I accidentally killed. If you read my earlier post, I tell the whole story. But, if I hadn't killed the plant, we would have never had a front-row seat in this display of nature. You see, everything happens for a reason, even death.

Love and peace to all,

Phil

Happiness is a warm puppy...

Good morning all! I hope your Tuesday is going well. I am still hung over from my Son's 21st birthday party that lasted all weekend. Not really hung over from drinking, just running all over Nashville and getting no sleep. But I think we made it a special weekend for him. All totalled, about 15 people made the trip from all parts of the Midwest. It was fabulous!

I hope that happiness rains down on you today. We have so much to be thankful for. Please take a moment and enjoy all the things that make you smile.

Peace and love,

Phil

People will come, Ray.

Okay, so most people that know me know that I am a huge baseball fan. One of my earliest memories of life was sitting in my Grandma's kitchen listening to Jack Buck calling a Cardinal game.

I was raised on the St. Louis Cardinals and always commemorate opening day of baseball season by watching the movie, "Field of dreams".

Here is a clip from the movie where James Earl Ray talks about baseball. It is my favorite movie clip of all time and so very true.

I love everything about the game. Play Ball!!!!

Peace and joy on this glorious day,

Phil

My boy is 21!!

A toast to my amazing son!

How can it be that I have a 21 year-old son?

That's just crazy!!

I'm not old enough to have a 21-year-old son!!

Anyway, he's a great kid with a great future and I am blessed to have such a wonderful son. He makes me proud everyday, so I hope to make it a very special weekend for him.

Happy birthday Mitchell Leon Edward Bennett!!