May 2010
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All photos © 2010 Nancy F Little unless otherwise noted.
Professional entries are in large bold in the text.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
"MayPole Day 2: Role Reversal"
As an entertainer, I tend to work afternoons, evenings, weekends, and 
holidays. Saturday has always been my busiest day of the week work-wise: during the boom times of the 90's it was not unusual for me to have 3-5 gigs every Saturday during warm season.
And how is that relevant? Well, what it meant most years is that we arrived at MayPole Friday afternoon and I got up Saturday morning and went to work, arriving back at the site well after dark. Basically, it means that I usually miss all day Saturday at MayPole most years. But this year, thanks to the Second Great Depression we're currently in, I've got practically no work this month, so for maybe only the third or fourth time since I started attending this wonderful event, I was able to stay on site all day Saturday!
But Nancy didn't.
Those of you following my blog know that Nancy's in grad school studying to be a reference librarian. Her 
classes are on Saturdays. So this year, we arrived at MayPole Friday and Nancy got up Saturday morning and went to work, and I got to stay all day. She did get back well before supper time, but I still just love role reversal!
So what did I do all day? Slept in. Caught up with old friends. Ate breakfast and lunch with said friends. Played a wildly philosophical game of Frisbee Monkey in the Middle (ask me about it sometime). Was playfully harassed for over an hour (with my approval) by the Peanut Man. Practiced my accordion to the approval of quite a few people, much to my surprise. Did some prep work for the festivities tomorrow. Was pleasantly surprised when Nancy returned much earlier than I expected so we got to spend much more time together today than I had thought we would... YAY!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
"MayPole Day 3: Celebration!"
Today is the day we've all been waiting for here in rural Hardwick: the culmination of activities at the MayPole Family Camp-Out Weekend. Most folks get up and go about 
their normal morning routines: breakfast over the cook fires (right), cleaning up, and all that. But around 11:00, that all changes.
A large group of women and girls (this is a fertility rite after all) gather at the far end of the lower field and start putting together the cloth strips for the actual May Pole. Our host, Eric, delivers the 25+ foot long pole he's cut from the woods. And the females tear old linens, clothing, and fabric that they've been saving for a year into long strips, tying them together into even longer strips, attaching them to the top of the pole, twisting them up in 7 bundles of 7, and finally twisting the bundles around the pole.
Our host has prepared a deep narrow hole for the May Pole in the upper field and covered it with a few flat rocks.
Meanwhile, a group of about 7 musicians has been quietly practicing in a remote corner of the field. Guitars, drums, mandolin, fiddle, tambourine playing a country reel, a joyous jig, and other cheerful tunes together.
Several characters prepare and get into their costumes: The Green Man decks himself out in fresh pine branches from head to toe, and carries a large pine staff full of strongly scented needles. The Jester (left) (who's been attending this event even longer than I have) dons his colorful green and yellow costume. The Bandana Man (far left) swathes himself with nearly 
a dozen bright bandanas cascading down in a circlet around his head. Many of the women put on their Spring finery, delicate Spring dresses, and flower crowns. The tie-dyes are definitely out in force! And I enlist the help of eager children to line the wide trail through the center of the fields with 49 (7 x 7) ribbon dancers stuck in the ground every 10' or so along the route.
Finally, around noon, all is ready.
Our host pulls the May Day horn out of the rafters of the pavilion over the pizza oven in the upper field and blows a long loud low blast announcing the beginning of the festivities (right). As he walks down the wide path through the center of the fields, he periodically sounds the horn again calling the attention of everyone. And as he strolls leisurely towards the waiting May Pole at the far end of the lower field, various people join him. But definitely not all. Most stay in the upper field to greet those folks who will be forming the May Day Parade.
The children --- who always seem to be the most eager --- have a special place in this celebration, too (this is a fertility rite after all). The children lead the
parade carrying the May Pole. This year, the older children were in the front and the youngest in the back. Other years it's the other way around. And sometimes they mix it all up. But the adults don't interfere with that... this is the children's jurisdiction.
When the kids are all ready, another blast on the May Day horn announces the beginning of the parade. The children head down the path lead by our host. The children are followed by a cluster of young people, a few festive adults, and finally the musicians taking up the rear filling the air with merry melody. And weaving in and out, back and forth, are a prancing fairy woman and myself waving two long red and yellow ribbon dancers festively in
the air.
As we parade through the lower field, across the narrow creek between them, and up into the upper field, there are whoops and hollers from the paraders, hoots and shouts from the appreciative crowd, and multiple blast of the May Day horn from our host. As they pass along the parade route, all the children and many of the adults pick a ribbon dancers they like from it's spot and wave them joyfully all around. Many from the awaiting crowd also pick one up from the far end of the route as well to welcome the parade as it arrives, adding even more to the celebration.
As the parade enters the upper field (below), our host circles to the right leading the parade around 
counter-clockwise (the way of Nature here in the northern hemispere) in a big circle around the waiting hole. The crowds circle up all the way around; the musicians station themselves in their traditional spot; the characters prance and spring and dance and frolic around inside the circle; and the joyful noise continues!
Several of the taller stronger men position the May Pole in the hole and secure it with wedges and stones while the band continues to fill the air with cheer. And now it's time to organize the May Pole dance. The women untwist the bundles from around the May Pole and then untwist each of the individual bundles. Once these are all loose and stretched out at about 45 degrees from the pole, they start the call for May Pole dancers. Lots of adults and children eagerly move in to hold a strand, but the last 10 - 15 are always the most difficult to distribute --- there's just so many people who like to watch! But finally every single strand is in someone's hand, and all the strands are stretched out forming a huge cone of color that peaks at the top of the pole (below).
Our host says a few words of welcome and instruction, and then the May Pole dance begins!
Some of you may know that formal May Pole dances are intricately choreographed involving wonderful patterns that are created and then undone and then another and another are formed one after the other requiring weeks and weeks of practice. But this is not a formal event at all and the only practice any of us have had is from a year ago. So this is not one of those kinds of May Pole dances. Ours is a very free-flowing informal yet joyful affair. Some folks head to the right, some folks head to the left, weaving under and over each other as the pass in opposite directions, wrapping the entire May Pole in a gaily radiant swath of color. 
As they reach the bottom of the pole, each dancer ties off the end and ducks out to join the circle. And as the final few strands are tied off, the musicians (left) at long last come to a pause in their happy tunes. And then, let me tell you, such whooping and hollering you've never heard before! Everyone joins their voices to close this part of our celebration of the glories of Spring. It often lasts several minutes!
The musicians often strike up another delightfully bouncing song afterwards as the crowds disperse. Many adults gather in small groups to say their goodbyes; some head straight for the cook fires to prepare lunch; others gravitate towards the musicians for a little dance; some head down to the pond for the first clandestine skinny dip of the year (shhhh, the kids don't know about this!); others stroll into the woods for a nature walk; and others immediately go back to their tents to start packing up.
I don't do any of these. I gather the children together for a good half hour of our traditional post-May Pole parachute games (below) leaving the adults to mingle, cook, or pack unfettered. This
year, there were fewer children than there often are. Earlier, I had solicited help of the mostly male young adult crowd in Marcoville to help us with a little muscle power when the proper time came at the end of the games. And they came through in spades! When I asked the kids to go and bring these strapping young men back with them, the kids were a little bewildered obviously not believing it would work. But much to their surprised, all the young men came bounding out of their seats, and with big smiles on their faces joined the children around the parachute for the final game: POPCORN! in which a dump out a bag of small plush toys onto the chute and we all vigorously pop them up into the air. And for the grand finale, with a concerted effort we all together do one big POP! in unison sending everything far, far up into the sky!
And that is the end of the festivities.
Those with far to travel are often already leaving by the time we're done with the games. Most are packed up and heading out within a few hours. By late-afternoon, everyone except a few who are able to stay over one more night are on their way home full of the joy and spirit of May Day!
HAPPY SPRING, EVERYONE!!
Monday, May 3, 2010
"MayPole Day 4: Extra Vacation Time"
Normally, nearly everyone packs up and heads for home right after the celebration ends Sunday afternoon. Everyone, that is, except a lucky few who don't have to go to work or school Monday morning. And this year, Nancy & I were among the lucky few.
It was just terrific to get that extra bit of vacation time. We also got to spend a bit more personal time with some good friends who are among the lucky few every year. (Some of them also arrive a few days early, but we're not quite that lucky yet.)
Yesterday, I asked Eric our host (left) if I could take some of the rocks around his property for my rock garden back home. He said with a twinkle in his eye, "You can take any rocks out of this field you want!" So I spent most of an hour scouting out about a dozen good ones and lugged them out to the edge of the dirt track that runs through the fields so I could pick them up on the way out in the morning.
With so few people left, camp was very, very quiet after dark last night, and by 9:30 everyone had gone to bed but me. I had the whole place to myself. So I stoked up the fire by myself, warmed up some food for a solo meal, listened to the peepers all by my lonesome, went for a long moonlit walk with me myself and I, and actually turned in fairly early... early for me, that is.
And this morning, I was able to sleep in because there wasn't anyone out there talking or clanking camp stuff or yelling across the field to their friends, nor were there myriads of people tromping past our site on the way to the outhouse or anything else at all... it was delightfully quiet.
After I got up pleasantly late, I collected a few more great rocks before starting to break camp.
We drove separate cars to MayPole last Friday because Nancy had to leave the site to go school on Saturday and she doesn't really like driving my little truck for more than short trips. Well, Nancy had been packing up the kitchen and her own stuff for a while before I got up. And since I knew she was anxious to get home, when she was all done I sent her home ahead of me. She was a little reluctant at first, but when she realized that I really meant it, she seemed rather grateful.
So after she left, I packed up the rest of my stuff. Then I struck the tent and took down the screen house by myself --- it's actually pretty easy: pull up the stakes and take the poles out of the pins at the bottom and the whole thing just collapses on the ground! 
By the time I was done, I was the only person left on site. It was nearly as quiet as last night. So I picked up my rocks on my way out and took my time driving my heavy load home.
Another wonderful, wonderful MayPole, folks!
And it was great to see Nancy's gorgeous flowers in front of our house when I got home, too (right).
Friday, May 7, 2010
"Sally's"
The big excitement today was that Nancy came along with me one an errand to Greenfield MA and while we were there we went to Salvation Army. Whee! What FUN!
Looking through everything there, both of us checked out quite a few good possibilities. But we ended up walking out with just one item each: Nancy with a toaster for the family cabin at camp in Maine, and me with a round sectioned basket for my magnetic refrigerator letters.
I have a LOT of magnets and a TON of magnetic refrigerator letters which get arranged and rearranged on our fridge regularly. And not just by me either, but by our other housemates and visitors as well. The unused letters have been all tossed into a big rectangular basket on the counter next to the fridge for the past few years. This often makes it hard to find a particular letter --- we need a bunch more B's, D's, and L's and a lot fewer Q's, V's, and P's. I've been keeping the harder to find letters in various corners of the basket, but that only helps a little. 
What I've really been wanting is a sectioned basket so I could sort the letters. Thas would make it much easier to find a specific letter. So when I found a round sectioned basket at Sally's this afternoon, I snatched it right up. And for only 99¢, too. Wottadeal!
When we got home, I scubbed it out in the sink with a stout brush. And when it was dry, I had a good time sorting the letters.
Unfortunately, the new basket isn't nearly as big as the old one, so first I needed to create a bit more space. I already had all the numbers and signs (+, —, =, etc.) in their own little basket inside the big one, so I just took it out and put it on the counter. Then I took out all the lower case letters (which I don't really like to use anyways) and put them in a small unused crock on the counter. With those two groups out of the way, the remaining letters fit in the new basket pretty well.
It's got five sections: a central square surrounded by four arced sections. I put the hard to find letters (D, I, L) in the middle and sorted the rest into four groups; vowels, B-K, M-T, and the less used letters (Q, V, W, X, Z). As it turned out, the groups are pretty much all the same size. 
Next, I made little labels for each section, mounted them on toothpicks, and posted the little sign in each section so others would know where to find whatever letter they were looking for.
When Nancy saw it she laughed out loud, then she took these pictures. Maybe she did it because she thinks it's funny but she doesn't really use the letter. Well I do, and I'm very pleased that my playtime on the fridge will be just a little bit easier from now on.
Thanks, Sally! (Now if I could only find more A's B's, D's, E's, and L's.)
Saturday, May 8, 2010
"Don, Nancy, Genevieve, FNCA 1963"
DON:
At noon today, my best buddy Don called and said, "What are you doing right NOW?" to which I responded, "Just goofing around." (I didn't tell him what I was really doing because --- my lovely wife thinks this is funny --- I was looking at pictures of free kittens on craigslist.) He said,"I need your truck right NOW!" to which I responded, "I'm leaving in 3 minutes."
So I hopped in my little Toy truck and drove the hour+ north to Bellows Falls VT. Then we went to the BF transfer 
station where we lugged a wicked heavy machine shop workbench into the back of the truck, drove it to his old house in Westmintster West VT (called "West West" by the locals), and lugged it inside. Man, is that thing heavy!
That's what I did this afternoon.
NANCY:
Today is the last day of Nancy's third term in grad school at Simmons College where she's working on a Masters degree in Library Science (she's learning to be a librarian!). So as of 4:15 today, she's half-way to graduation. She's been getting a mighty lot of A's. I'm just so proud of her.
GENEVIEVE:
As soon as Nancy got home from school, we drove to Amherst MA where I met my 5-week old 1st cousin once removed Genevieve Louise Dole. I got to hold her three or four times! She looked me right in the eyes with those deep blue eyes of hers and smiled at me several times! She held my finger in that little tiny hand of hers! She fell asleep in my arms for a little while after dinner! She stood in my lap on those short little legs of hers! I got to watch her feeding, hear her fussing, and feel how amazingly soft her brand-new skin is! She cooed and squirmed and looked all around and waved her little arms around and kicked her legs and responded to sounds and is generally all around gorgeous!
Oh yes, and I also got to see my cousin Andrew, his lovely wife Sarah, his sibs (more cousins) Alicia, Sarah, and Bruce, and his parents my Uncle George & Aunt Lois.
FNCA 1963:
When I got home, Bob Perry had sent around the photo below from camp 47 years ago. That's my mom looking down in the middle in the blue dress. Several of my sibs are there too, as well as several other people I still know and love.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
"Shed Day"
I "won" a free 8' x 12' barn-style 
garden shed on Freecycle yesterday, and today my neighbor Tony and his buddy Rich helped me take it apart and bring it home. I was afraid I was going to have to do it all by myself because my Facebook and email requests for help didn't turn up anyone who was both willing and available primarily because I had scheduled the job at 1:00 on Mother's Day. Oops!
But when I went next door just before supper yesterday and asked Tony if he could help he not only said Yes, but volunteered to ask Rich if he wanted to help too. And these guys were great! They worked hard from beginning to end. It was a real bear to take apart, too. We did it pretty much by brute
force! Looking back now, there's just no way I could have done it by myself without taking days and days and days. But with the three of us, we took it apart, loaded it into a U-Haul, got it home, and unloaded it in about 5 hours.
And I'm mighty glad to report that my housemate Ilai (say "Eli") has volunteered to help me put it back up sometime soon. Yay!
Monday, May 10, 2010
"Guild"
This morning I drove to Amherst MA for the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Hats Off Performers Guild. Like last month, it was a smaller group: only 4 out of 7 of us could make it. But you know what? That's okay with me. Not only does it allow us to be just a little bit more "chummy" but it also gives those who want some group time more time.
And today, some of us definitely needed some group time. We spent time on some business stuff as usual, but we also gave some serious parenting advice to a member with a tough kid, responded at length to another's request about his new love interest and how he's handling it, and helped a third get a bit more of a grip on an on-going self esteem issue (he's awesome, by the way!). 
Before the meeting, though, when it was just Rob Peck and I, I was plunking on the piano a bit just waiting for the rest to arrive when Rob suggested we play a little blues together. He whipped out his harmonica, I laid down a slow groove, and we jammed away until the other guys arrived. What FUN!
Monday, May 17, 2010
"A Great Family Visit! A Great Hike!"
Got a call a few days ago from my terrific son Jason saying that he and his delightful partner Kelly were planning on spending several days with my darling daughter Myrrh at her place in Windsor CT about 45 minutes south of here, and that the three of them, along with my cool nephew Ben (who's living at Myrrh's place while house hunting) and Myrrh's still mostly a puppydog Jake, would like to come up for a visit today.
So all of them --- except Ben who was showing up around dinner time --- arrived a little after lunch. Nancy wasn't back from doing her errands yet, so I gave the crowd the extended outdoor tour of our Great Backyard Reclamation Project... and all the stuff in the front and side yard, too.
Then we hung around inside until Nancy got back, at which point we all piled into two vehicles and drove 2 miles south to the old Moose Lodge in Northampton and went on a great 2-1/2 hour hike through the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area.
We started at the P in the lower right hand corner of the map. Hiked in on the Boggy Meadow Road trail to the dike at the eastern end of the lake where we always pause for a while at the big rock at the far end.
Nancy turned around and headed back because she had a lot of things to do today, and the rest of us continued on, taking the Hillside Trail, and then jogging right to the Fishing Place Trail that skirts the edge of the western end of the lake. We took our second break at the southeastern-most point of that trail where it goes right down to the edge of the water, before continuing along the trail.
From there, we took an unmarked but well-used shortcut through the woods that comes out in the middle of the boardwalk (labeled "DOCK" on the map --- but it's not a dock, it's a boardwalk). The boardwalk (which is wheelchair accessible by the way!) goes quite a long ways through the marshy section at that end of the lake, and ends very close to where the water deepens into the actual lake part. our third resting spot was at the end of the boardwalk where there's a conveniently located park bench. We saw a blue heron across the lake, lots of redwinged blackbirds (they breed there), a beaver lodge, and oodles and boodles of cattails. Jake had a blast in the water while the rest of us enjoyed the sheer beauty of the place.
We headed out as a canoe was approaching to disembark and take their boat out of the water --- there's really not that much room there! We walked all the way back down the boardwalk and took the Lakeside Trail back to the dike and the Boggy Meadow Road Trail back to the parking area.
It was a wonderful hike that we all enjoyed a lot.
When we got back to our place, Jason helped me with a problem I've been having editing the FNCA website. Web wizard that he is, he figured out the problem in about 10 minutes and then tutored me on how to do most of what I need to do. Yay Jason! Thank you so much. And the FNCA thanks you, too.
When Ben arrived, while Jason and I continued to work, the others put together an awesome dinner which we all enjoyed very much: Nancy's wonderful soycatash stew (it's got edamame instead of lima beans so it's not succotash), a huge salad, and watermelon for dessert. YUM.
After supper, while they did the clean up, Jason and I did more website work. And then we all hung out in the living room until it was time for them to go home and Nancy to go to bed.
Once I was by myself, I put in about 5 hours updating and reformatting the FNCA website. I didn't stop until I had edited every single page! There's lots more to do, but most of that is going to have to wait until Jason figures out a way for me to edit the site's links --- most of which don't go anywhere --- with the web editor I have. Knowing him, that will be really soon. And then I'm going to be very busy adding lots of new content to the site. 
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
"Holly and... Not Ivy"
Drove to Chicopee MA this afternoon and spent an hour digging up 3 free holly bushes. Also got two conical shaped dwarf evergreens that I've seen all over the place but haven't been able to identify in any of the sources I've checked so far. (But they're definitely not ivy.) Plus, I got several small shoots of what the lady told me was dark purple lilacs! Nancy and I both really want those!
One of the cool things about holly is that it's a gendered plant: there's males and females. The females are the ones with the berries, but they won't produce them unless there's a male nearby. So I was glad to find that one of the three is a male and that the other two are loaded with little green unripe berries. The birds will be happy.
I wasn't quite sure where to put these new bushes, especially since the nice lady who gave them to me put me in touch with her sister who has two more for me to dig up! Well, Nancy had the terrific idea to move some of the forsythia (again) and put them along the back of the yard as a privacy hedge for the time being. Evidently, I don't mind transplanting bushes.
So that's exactly what I did. I dug out several of the smaller forsythia and consolidated them with the others --- this is their third transplant in as many months --- and put the new evergreens in there, leaving space for the other two I'll be getting really soon.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
"Holly and Parties"
Well, I went to Holyoke MA this morning and got the two holly bushes from the sister of the woman I got the other three from. These two were waaaay wider than the other three. I suspect it's because they were free-standing in the lawn whereas the other 3 were crammed in the borders up against the house and had stuff all around them. These two new ones are also way denser, which is good. I'm hoping that if I keep lopping the tops off the tall ones that they'll grow out more, but I'll have to look that up before I try it. Our new evergreen hedge is really starting to shape up! It's not really very hedge-ish yet, it's more like a tight line of bushes. But as they fill out, it will fill in.
Then, this afternoon and evening, Nancy and I went to not one, but two end of the school year librarian student parties in Northampton. The first was a graduation party, had more people, more kids, more food, more alcohol, more space, and was more lively. The second was more intimate, more subdued, more personal, and in a more beautiful location. Both were a lot of FUN. These new librarians sure know how to party!
And, I scored a sixth holly bush at the first one! Someone asked me what I'd been doing lately, and I told him about my Great Backyard Reclamation Project ending with "and I picked up two more free holly bushes today," to which he responded: "We have one you can have." Awesome! His wife started trying to talk him out of it, but it turns out she's the one who doesn't really like it, so it turned out okay!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
"Rearrange the Furniture & Friends"
Yesterday, I mentioned to Nancy an idea I had for rearranging the furniture in our living room. She must have liked it because she was all rarin' to get to it when I got up this morning. For those of you
familiar with our living room, we basically switched the couch and the comfy chairs. There was, of course, way more involved than that including getting rid of some stuff on the hearth that's been there pretty much forever, switching several tables around from various other locations, and fitting a few things in that weren't there before.
It takes us several hours each time we do this because we have a little tiny living room with a 
lot of stuff packed into it. Rearranging it is a live action Tetris game: the right piece has to go in exactly the right place or it just doesn't work. It also often requires several tries before we get an arrangement we both like. But you know what? I really love the way Nancy & I work together on projects like this.
Soon after we finished, our good friends Don & Barbara came over for the afternoon and evening. Due to apathy on the part of 3/4 of us (sorry Don), we didn't go for a hike like we usually do. We just sat around the house and talked the whole time --- except for the part before supper when they both fell asleep in the comfy chairs. I guess our new living room arrangement really works!
BTW: Today is the 181st birthday of the accordion.
Monday, May 24, 2010
"Holly and Sunflowers"
Nancy & I went to Greenfield MA this morning where I dug up holly bush 
#6 (which I mentioned in my May 22 entry above). Did some food shopping at The Barn discount store while we 
were there --- two bags of groceries for less than $20! --- before coming home and putting the bush in the ground. We now have a nice line of holly most of the way across the back of the yard. It's really nice.
The one I got today was obviously trimmed regularly, which was good to know because I want to trim the others so that they'll fill out more and now I know that it works. Yay!
And tonight after supper, I went over to my friend Stan the Fix-It Man's place and pulled up a mighty lot of sunflower shoots ranging from 3"-10" tall, brought them home, and planted about half of them along the bottom of my new retaining wall. I was still at it at 9:00 but the mosquitos were having me for dinner so I had to go in. I'll put the rest in tomorrow night.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
"Mile Tree & Myrrh"
This morning, I got up early and drove to Mile Tree Elementary School (below) in .jpg)
Wilbraham MA for a 9:30 show for about 120 kindergarteners and a handful of pre-school kids.
This was my fourth performance at this terrific school, but the first in quite a while. In fact, as I was heading for the gym after I checked in at the office, a lady and her child came in the main entrance. Her brain was obviously doing somersaults when she caught sight of me. She addressed me by name (it might have been the name tag but I'm not sure if she had seen it yet) and then admitted that she remembered me from a show I did there "oh, it must have been 20 years ago!" That would be the first show I ever did there in 1990 when I performed outdoors for their school picnic!
Today, however, was Field Day. It was in the 90's all day long, so I was really glad that I was 
performing in the gym! It was still pretty hot, but it was out of the sun, and they've got huge ceiling fans running in there, too, so it was actually pretty comfortable.
After the show, I buzzed home for lunch and to take care of a few things before driving back down for a 1:00 performance for about 80 1st graders and another handful of preschoolers. This second crowd was quite a bit more wound up than the first one, but that just means I was careful not to do any "rowdy them up" stuff!
After the show, I drove to my darling daughter Myrrh's house not too far south of there in Windsor CT for a little visit on her 28th birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DARLING DAUGHTER!
She and I and Jake the dog hung out on her little 2nd floor porch overlooking their big back yard, drank lots of water, ate pistachios, and gabbed for over an hour until it was time for me to go home. It was great to see my girl, get caught up on her life, and just talk talk talk talk talk together.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
"A Couple of Nice Things"
1) For three years in a row, I stiltwalked in the Poultney VT 4th of July parade from 2005-2007. Rayeann Hayes, who was in charge of planning the event back then, was "sorting through" some stuff this spring and was kind enough to send me a newspaper she found with this picture of me on the first page of the state-wide news section. Thanks Rayeann!
2) My old "Popcorn Bag" that my darling daughter made for me over a decade ago to hold all the little plush toys that I use with my parachute finally bit the dust this winter. And this spring, my lovely wife bought some yellow ripstop nylon to make me a new one after her school term ended. Well, it's ended. And today, she made me this really nice brand new Popcorn Bag. You can tell how big it is from the size of the comfy chair behind it. (And it really is a rectangle, not the hourglass shape it looks like here.) Thanks Nancy!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
"A Milestone"
It was a real pleasure to entertain a small group of Springfield College staff this afternoon in the auditorium of the newly-renovated Fuller Arts Center in honor of Springfield College's 125th anniversary in 
Springfield MA.
I'm glad to report that this was a return engagement. Last time was 5 years ago: same location; same time of year; very different. Last time it was about 200 people --- this time it was about 30. Last time it was a surprise for everyone as part of the college's staff picnic --- this time it was an elective. Last time everyone showed up right on time because they basically kicked them out of the lunch room when it was time to go to the next event --- this time everyone was at least 20 minutes late because they held a big drawing for raffle prizes after lunch. Last time everyone filled the auditorium, sitting in clusters with the staff they worked with --- this time everyone was in a mixed group and I made them all sit in the first 5 or 6 rows front and center. Last time it was my staff development training: "A New Approach to Team-Building" ---- this time it was meant to be the same thing, but because very few people knew each other let alone worked together, I had to improvise quite a bit. And finally, last time on my way there, the first block of Hickory St wasn't a one-way street going the wrong way!
But one thing was sure the same: both times the group had a mighty lot of FUN together and left with big smiles on their faces!
Friday, May 28, 2010
"Mirror, $166.75, Dotty"
MIRROR
I logged onto Freecycle today, and the very top item in the free stuff section was "FREE LARGE FRAMELESS MIRROR". Back in March after Ilai and I finished building my new interior wall upstairs, Nancy said she thought the room would look better inside if there were a large mirrow on one wall, so a put in a request for the mirror. And as it turned out, I was the first one to ask for it. So I immediately grabbed some padding and drove over to Amherst, only to discover that this mirror isn't really large... it's HUGE!! It's fully 3-1/2 feet tall and 5 feet long!! We're going to put it on the end wall of the "new" room upstairs.
$166.75
Somewhere between the economy and my traditional short season, I've been feeling the extreme pinch of poverty recently. (Faithful readers may have noticed the dearth of gigs this month.) So when circumstances suddenly and unexpectedly brought a bunch of extra income into my wallet this week end and delayed one big ticket expenditure, I celebrated: I took $200 out of the bank with the full intention of spending all of it on things I'd been waiting for for a while. I had $33.25 left when I got home.
DOTTY
For most of two decades, you'd find me at the Florence Congregational Church of the second Thursday of the month playing Michigan Rummy of pennies with the same bunch of old ladies month after month. The church hosted it as a fundraiser... a couple dozen people paid $3 each once a month. The church called it "Card Party"; I called it "Old Lady Card Party". One of the nicest old ladies was Dotty. She's in her late 80's and is one of the sweetest people I know, but with a very acerbic sense of humor!
(Those of you who know me best know that I LOVE Old Ladies. So even though Michigan Rummy is a really dumb card game that requires absolutely no thought whatsoever, I loved going to Old Lady Card Party.)
So today when I was spending money at the hardware store, I bumped into Dotty in the parking lot. She said she's still playing cards twice a week, and expressed awe and admiration for this one old lady in the group who 97 years old and still doing stuff like playing cards twice a week! This from a woman who's 89! Anyways, it was great to see her and catch up with her life.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
"Abacus, Ft Dummer"
ABACUS
My friends Don & Barbara invited me to come hang out with them today. They're tent camping at Ft Dummer State Park in Brattleboro VT for the weekend. It's only 40 minutes north of our house. But just a few houses before I got to the park gates, there was a big tag tale (that's a "yard sale" for .jpg)
some of you who aren't from around these parts.) "Aha," thinks I, "Another chance to get rid of more of that $33.25!" I spent $7. $5 of it was on a giant standing wood framed abacus that's 4' tall and 2' wide! It's what's know as a "simple abacus" with 10 rows of 10 beads. I think it's awesome!
FT DUMMER STATE PARK
So after checking in at the Ranger Station --- where I got this ticket --- I found Don & Barbara at about 2:30 at their camp site finishing up a late lunch in their screen tent. When they were done, we put all put on our hiking shoes and went and walked the Sunrise Trail Loop on the east side of the park. It's got a great vista looking over the Connecticut River from the top of a cliff! After a brief stop their campsite, we proceeded to try and walk the Sunset Trail. We didn't exactly figure it out, but we did manage to find ye old rock quarry, where I got several terrific pieces of slate!
When we got back, Barbara got dinner started, I spent some time cutting up wood, and Don took a nap. After a late dinner, Don brushed his teeth and ostensibly went into the tent to change his clothes, 10 minutes later he was snoring away! So Barb and I hung out feeding the fire until it was time for me to go.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
"Ground Cherries & Sod"
It's another Work on the Yard Putting in Stuff I Got for Free day here. First I zipped into Florence and traded a boodle of morning glory shootlets for a little cluster of ground cherry sproutlets. These things were so small that there were probably 75 of them in a cluster smaller around than my pinky! So I very, very carefully separated them and planted them in a little row in the far corner of our backyard that we've already reserved for food production.
For those of you who don't know what ground cherries are, here a link and above there's a photo. I just love 'em! They're sweet and delicious and FUN to eat and rather unusual, too.
And then I drove to the northwest corner of Easthampton and got a truckful of sod! It was FUN to work with the guy digging it up and loading it, too. Some of it was conveniently cut into approximately 1'x1' squares. The parts that weren't, we just rolled them up and lugged them into the truck.
After I got home, it took me longer to unload it and "plant" it than it did to pick it up, primarily because there was so much dirt mixed in with the sod that it was difficult to dig the sod out of all the dirt; plus, the big rolls were so heavy that I just plain couldn't move them. But let me tell you this: I would much rather have an Instant Lawn than to plant grass seed and wait weeks and weeks and weeks for the stuff to get big enough.
Monday, May 31, 2010
"A Really FUN Memorial Day Gig!"
An hour west of our home, nestled in the center of the Berkshires is a professional baseball team in the Can-Am League --- an independent professional baseball league that currently includes six teams in the Northeast from New Jersey to Quebec. And today, it was a total BLAST to stiltwalk for the opening game of the season of the Pittsfield Colonials at 
Wahconah Park in Pittsfield MA.
What a FUN gig!
(Since most baseball fans are unfamiliar with this league, it's on about the same level as Minor League Baseball's class AA leagues.)
When Michelle Barzousky of Planning to Perfection contacted me last week( on a recommendation from Bowie the Clown, whom I've worked along side of at quite a few events in the Berkshires), I was just thrilled that I was available for her event on such short notice.
The gates opened at 1:00, and there was quite a line up of entertainment, concessions, etc to occupy the crowds before the game started at 3:00. I was there on stilts greeting everyone as they entered the park --- two of the first are in the above photo. During my two-hour stint, I did lots of Really High Fives with kids and teens and quite a few adults, pulled various items out of my Bag of Tricks to entertain the fans as they entered, got my picture taken lots of times (a special thanks to Bill Keane for sending me the above photo!), pointed people to the free magnets and team posters being offered, answered questions or directed questioners to someone who might know the answer, and added to the general festiveness of the season opener.
Besides me, there was a facepainter adorning a mighty lot of cheeks with baseballs and such; a barbershop quartet singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and other appropriate songs; and Captain Colonial, the team mascot, roamed the crowds rousing team spirit in his wake.
There was also the usual assortment of ballpark food and beverages, programs with little pencils, Colonials merchandise, etc. The pre-game show included a marching band, cheerleading squad, a local guitarist singing a fine version of "The Star Spangled Banner", and a little parade that included the local Little League team!
The ballpark has been here since 1892. The current stadium was built in 1919, seats 3,500, and is one of the last remaining wooden pro ballparks in the country. It has fielded more than 200 players into the ranks of the Major Leagues. And here's a FUN fact: Lou Gehrig once hit a home run over the right field fence into the Housatonic River!