Quite time

I've enjoyed the "Moment in Nature" videos that CBS Sunday morning has begun airing at the end of the broadcasts. Here are a few that I hope you will enjoy.

funnies and flowers

Something that I hope will make you laugh, and an update from what's up in the garden. Couldn't get many photos since the sprinkler was on & I had to dodge the droplets.

Summer Solstice

Here's a celebration of the day from the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture:

And the schedule if you want to jump around (my favorite is the Stonehenge segment around 50:50):

10:00 am | WELCOME MESSAGE
Diana Xochitl Munn
Director of Public Programs, Harvard Museums of Science & Culture

10:05 am | SUN SALUTATIONS

Settle in with a gentle breathing exercise and then move through a short-guided sequence of sun salutations. Suitable for all levels.

Andrea Heller, Program Coordinator
David S. Rosenthal Center for Wellness and Health Promotion, Harvard University
 

10:15 am | SOLSTICES FROM THE STONE AGE TO THE ROCKET AGE

Solstices have been important cultural events long before written records were kept. In modern times we use atomic clocks and mobile phones to tell the time of day, but solstices are still important in marking the passages of time. We will look at why solstices occur and why they are still relevant even in the space age.

Henry "Trae" Winter III, Astrophysicist, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory 

Short presentation followed by a live Q&A

 

11:00 am | SOL Y CANTO: LATIN MUSIC FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY!
Sol y Canto’s songs feature toe-tapping plena, son, calypso, reggae, and more from their Parents' Choice Award-Winning CD, Twice as Many Friends/El Doble de Amigos !  With their irresistibly singable and danceable high-energy sound, Sol y Canto (sun and song) immerses audiences of all ages in the joys of a bilingual celebration.
“Sublime ambassadors of Pan-Latin music.”  Boston Globe 

11:30 am | VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP TO STONEHENGE, ENGLAND

Take a virtual field trip to Stonehenge, the famed English prehistoric monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site! Learn from English Heritage experts about the links between summer solstice and Stonehenge and why the site was important to the prehistoric peoples who built it.

Susan Greaney, Senior Properties Historian, English Heritage; Heather Sebire, Senior Property Curator, Stonehenge, English Heritage; Jane Pickering, William and Muriel Seabury Howells Director of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology 

Short presentation followed by a live Q&A 
Presented in collaboration with English Heritage  

 

12:15 pm | KUUMUNITY COLLABORATIONS MUSICAL PERFORMANCE

Music and art have the power to change hearts, communities, and ultimately the world. In this choral presentation, Kuumunity Collaborations—a Cambridge-based nonprofit that builds stronger communities through artistic development—presents inspiring musical selections that speak to our present and motivate us all towards a better future.

Kuumunity will be represented by: Eden Girma, Harvard AB '18 ; Tsion Aberra, Harvard AB '11; Paris Woods, Harvard AB '06, EdM '08; Teddy Hickman-Maynard, Harvard AB '00; Willie Jones, UMass Boston BA '16; Under the direction of Sheldon K. X. Reid, Harvard AB '97, EdM '98 

 

12:30 pm | FABIO PIROZZOLO & SHELLEY OTIS MUSICAL PERFORMANCE 
Italian multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Fabio Pirozzolo and harpist Shelley Otis will join forces to deliver a performance that will showcase both Celtic and Southern Italian traditions. Be ready to enjoy the sound of serenades, jigs, reels, tarantellas, and more for this special solstice event.
 

1:00 pm | SUMMER ON THE HALF SHELL: OYSTERS FROM SEED TO SLURP

Come explore the world of oysters, a summertime specialty. Learn about oysters and take a virtual tour of a local oyster farm. Bring your own cocktail sauce! 

 

Skylah Reis, Harvard College Undergraduate, Concentration: Integrative Biology 

Short presentation followed by a live Q&A 

1:45 pm | CLOSING

Happy Birthday, Igor

From back in the day when classical composers were better-known to hoi polloi than they are now.

Happy birthday Igor (17 June [O.S. 5 June] 1882 – 6 April 1971)

And in case you were thinking it was Eyegor,

And if that's not enough:

Fast car

For some reason the lyric "me myself, I've got nothing to prove" as sung by the Black Pumas on A Later Show last night moved me to me to tears.

Let's hope things get better soon.

[Verse 1]
You got a fast car
I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere
Any place is better
Starting from zero got nothing to lose
Maybe we'll make something
Me myself, I got nothing to prove

[Verse 2]
You got a fast car
I got a plan to get us outta here
I been working at the convenience store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
Won't have to drive too far
Just 'cross the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
Finally see what it means to be living

[Verse 3]
See my old man's got a problem
He lives with a bottle that's the way it is
He says his body's too old for working
His body's too young to look like his
When momma went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
Said somebody's gotta take care of him
So I quit school and that's what I did

[Refrain]
You got a fast car
Is it fast enough so we can fly away?
We gotta make a decision
Leave tonight or, live and die this way

[Chorus]
So I remember when we were driving
Driving in your car
Speed so fast it felt like I was drunk
City lights, lay out before us
And your arms felt nice wrapped around my shoulder and
I-I had a feeling that I belonged
I-I had a feeling I, could be someone, be someone, be someone

[Verse 4]
You got a fast car
We go cruising to entertain ourselves
You still ain't got a job
I work in a market as a checkout girl
I know things will get better
You'll find work and I'll get promoted
We'll move out of the shelter
Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs

[Chorus]
So I remember when we were driving
Driving in your car
Speed so fast it felt like I was drunk
City lights, lay out before us
And your arms felt nice wrapped around my shoulder and
I-I had a feeling that I belonged
I-I had a feeling I, could be someone, be someone, be someone

[Verse 5]
You got a fast car
I've got a job that pays all our bills
You stay out drinking late at the bars
See more your friends than you do your kids
I always hoped for better
That maybe together you and me would find it
I got no plans, I ain't going nowhere
>So take your fast car and keep on driving

[Chorus]
So remember when we were driving
Driving in your car
Speed so fast it felt like I was drunk
City lights, lay out before us
And your arms felt nice wrapped around my shoulder and
I-I had a feeling that I belonged
I-I had a feeling I, could be someone, be someone, be someone

[Refrain]
You got a fast car
Is it fast enough so you can fly away?
You gotta make a decision
Leave tonight or live and die this way

Sheep socks

A couple of my Ravelry friends were apparently on a search for socks with sheep. Here are a couple of the results:

Lakeside Sauna

by Sisko Sälpäkivi

Celtic Sheep Stocking

by Darlene Swaim

Sadly, neither is a free pattern. Links under the name to to the Ravelry page in case you're a member & want to check it out. :)

thoughts and dances

#11

If I spell my name in bruised melanin
and ink                    across this mud and breath
made flesh             melt down these gold fillings
into an alphabet of love letters
would you recognize your reflection in me
Hakim Bellamy

My sentiments exactly

Thank you for being in my life.

Magical moments

Took a wee toddle to the P.O. this AM to drop of some packages. Took the long way home to get in a bit of a walk, meeting a couple-streets-over neighbor, Warren, whose three dalmatians used to accost, er, greet me when I walked by before they built the solid fence in their yard so they couldn't see me. He's down to 1 pooch, who's being spoiled now he's alone & getting old.

Told myself I wanted to get some pictures when I got home and before I knew it had oodles. Being all Whistler about it, I'll call them studies in green and pink, green & purple, studies in green, etc. There's also one of the Wright sprite who's now out protecting the plants. And another sweet one (IMHO) of a tuber rose and bee. The red poppy's color is so vivid it freaked out the awful camera on my iPhone SE. I understand the newer ones' cameras are better. Time for an upgrade? Nah. I'll deal and maybe just get an actual, factual camera for less $$.

The things you see

when you ain't got your gun.

I noticed this strange growth on one of the living room jade plants. Has this ever happened with yours. Kinda creepy. I think you can get a bigger version by clicking on the image.