#NewBedfordStreetArt
Love this clever use of the space. Note the wire from the mic to the speaker.
#streetart #urbanart
I’ve had a miserable cold for more than ten days now. I rallied enough to do my scheduled school visit on Wednesday, but Thursday found me back on the sofa. Needless to say, I’ve spent far too much time indoors, so I was glad to get out for an easy hike today to check our local #vernalpools to see if there was any amphibian action. The photo shows what I found at the primary spot for wood frogs, so, clearly, they aren’t out yet. I did hear one lone peeper off in the distance, probably searching for water. Other than that, there were no amphibian sounds.
It’s pretty breezy out today, so what I did hear is beech leaves shimmering in the wind. Unlike most deciduous trees, beech trees hold on to their leaves through the winter and drop them in the spring when new leaves are ready to emerge. I love the sound of beech leaves shaking in the wind. Not as much as the sound of peepers and wood frogs, mind you, but they complete our springtime woodland orchestra. (Be sure to turn up your sound for the video). One spring, I was lucky enough to be in the woods when all of the beech trees around me let their leaves go during one giant gust of wind. The air was suddenly filled with leaf confetti as the leaves swirled and twirled to the ground. It was magical.
#nature #playoutside
I had a wonderful school visit at North Falmouth Elementary School yesterday followed by literacy night sponsored by the @nfepto. I loved having so many kids bring their families to meet me during the evening event. I was impressed by how much they remembered from my daytime presentations and could tell their families. All of the props loaned to me by @w.brucestrickrott from @woodshole_ocean expanded the learning. Many kids showed their parents how the piece of titanium sinks in water but the syntactic foam floats. (I had a tub of water for that purpose). Wonderful evening of #literacy and #STEM. I didn’t take one photo all day, but look at this lovely card given to me by a student last night. The 2nd photo is at the very end of the night. Why are those kids slowly crowding their Principal? He’s pulling raffle tickets for books and gift certificates to @eight_cousins_books. Yes! Those kids were super excited to get books! #fortheloveofreading
Good morning sunshine. Almost feels like spring. Even heard some birds singing when I stepped out to take this photo.
One good thing about being laid up for several days w a miserable cold? Plenty of time to read. So far, I’ve finished Born a Crime by @trevornoah and A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 by @clairehartfield ClaireHartfield
Want to learn to play guitar, ukulele, or bass? My son, @dantecusolito has a few slots available. All lessons happen @southcoastlessons @hatchstreetstudios in New Bedford, MA. Email southcoastlessons@gmail.com to book.
My daughter made this snow person on Sunday. Pretty cute, huh? I love her attention to detail.
I’m not a dog lover (please don’t hate me) but I adored this book. That @barbaraoconnor is one heck of a writer.
One thing I really loved about living in Ireland was the pub culture. No matter which pub we went to, the crowd was multi-generational. And if there was a Trad session going on, we’d see kids playing right alongside men and women in their eighties.
Jeff Angeley has built the same culture here along the south coast of Massachusetts featuring traditional music from the US. Yesterday’s session was a wonderful mix of young and old. The youngest audience member was a baby. The youngest musician looked to be about 12 and I’m not going to speculate on the upper ages, but let’s say there were plenty of senior citizens playing tunes. My teen played, too.
All of this happens at The Brick in Fairhaven on the last Saturday of every month from 4:30-6:30. (It moves to the courtyard outside The Brick in New Bedford in warm summer months). All musicians are welcome. Part of the joy of a session is learning new tunes from fellow players. Even if you don’t play, you should join us for drinks and great pizza.
And if you want to learn to play, you could always take lesson from @southcoastlessons @rhubarb_andjelly is the best. #traditionalmusic #tradsession
Nothing beats farm fresh eggs. And if you get them from my parents’ chickens, you never know what color or size you’re going to get. #fresh
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