« July 2012 | Main | September 2012 »
Two in one week. Fortunately, both had happy outcomes. The worst of it wasn't spider webs on the wings or even the head - it was webs tangling up their little feet. Can't shake it off, can't land; these little guys were in trouble.
So the trick is to get those webs off the toes without snapping one off, or traumatizing the bird into a heart attack. Fortunately, these patients are very compliant and I had them fixed up in pretty short order. Fly safe, hummies.
Through most of the summer, we got screeched awake every morning by nature's alarm clock, the Red-crowned Amazon, Amazona viridigenalis also known as the Red-crowned Parrot, Green-cheeked Amazon, or Mexican Red-headed Parrot. Apparently they're endangered in their native northeastern Mexico, but they're pretty plentiful up here in the San Gabriel Valley.
I ain't complaining - much, but these guys get up early and they love to talk. This particular one was getting ready to chow down in a tree near my "office," so I snapped a pic. There are a few different parrot species flyin' around LA County, but these are the ones I see the most. If you're waking up to screechin' in the early hours, might be it ain't your downstairs neighbors. Unless they look like this:
Now it should come as no surprise to anybody that I'm a big fan of hummingbirds. Most evenings, we sit out on the porch watchin' them do their hummy thing, but today things were a little off.
I've been building some props for an upcoming photo shoot and the studio I'm workin' at has some big old doors and skylights and from time to time an errant bird flies in and gets confused. This poor little guy couldn't find his way back out and to make matters worse, he hit a patch of cobwebs that stuck to his tail, feet and finally, wings. Fortunately, when he fell I was there to catch him.
He required a little bit of cleanup to get untangled, but as soon as I took him outside and opened my hand, he flew right off. I can tell you, I'm sure glad this story had a happy ending. It's gonna be hot today - probably over 100 degrees - and it sure woulda been sad if this little bird had cooked in a skylight. As it is, he'll be off sipping nectar, buzzing around and maddogging other hummingbirds. Good times.
Well, restoration on my piano is almost complete - my sister-in-law and her partner helped us haul it into the house and it needs the (not original) legs put back on, a little felt and some knobs and good to go.
So I thought it might be interesting to see what the bluebook of pianos has to say about it. Basically, if you e-mail them with your make and model number, they'll tell you the year it was made. We were thinking 1895 seemed a little early for the mission-inspired look of this piano. but the ads of the period show styles that are very similar. They never saw a photo or anything, and appraisals are a separate issue, but for getting an age it's a great resource. Over there at the right, I'm puttin' in keys. Make sure you number them before taking them out. Just sayin'.
I see from the ads that the pianos ran around $300-$600, so talk about holding the value. I'm still at a little over $300 all up. Tuning will probably bring it up to around $450. 117 years old and hasn't depreciated significantly. Given the history of the company, the piano was definitely manufactured before Krell became Krell-French and moved from Cincinnati to Newcastle, Indiana. The ads really flog their Auto-Grand model which, as far as I can tell, means it's got some gimicky music roller thing in the middle. Probably added another $50 to the price and worked for two weeks. Krell people, am I wrong? Is your Auto-Grand still rolling? I've got a more standard music rack on mine and no complaints.
It is kind of funny to look at these old ads promoting Krell Pianos as being "your partner for life," but there's some truth there. Guaranteed this piano survived it's original owner, and most likely it's going to survive me too.
Here's what Albert Furst from the bluebook had to say:
Krell Piano Company
54" Cabinet Grand Upright
Serial Number 1822
Manufactured 1895
The Krell Piano Company was established by Albert Krell and his sons Alexander and Albert, Jr., in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1889. Alexander Krell died in 1895, and Albert Sr. died in 1900, leaving Albert Krell Jr. to runoperations. Albert went into partnership with Jesse French to create the Krell-French Piano Company of Springfield, Ohio, but their factory was destroyed by fire soon after. Pianos continued to be made under the name 'Krell' and 'Krell-French'. In 1905 Albert left Krell-French to start the Auto-Grand Piano Company in Indiana. The Krell name continued to be produced until about 1950. Krell pianos are of very good quality, indicating that Krell produced a higher grade piano than average.
Click here> http://www.bluebookofpianos.com/ratings.htm
This information is free and is provided "as is" without express or implied warranties. It is only as accurate as the information you have provided. Every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this E Mail, we assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.
Robert T. Furst - Author
Bluebook of Pianos
Recent Comments