Mosaics in May

Mexican mosaics adorned my ears today. My husband bought this pair for me almost 20 years ago when he visited Mexico during a music conference in San Diego.

They were perfect for today! Not only was I leading a project in which 100 children made 100 mosaic stepping stones, but the people who made it happen were Hispanic immigrants, many of whom spoke no English but worked with good humor and kindness in a playground swarming with young children and their teachers.

Each child designed a stone during our 100th day of school. They counted the green gems to use in making their numbers, and the tiles to make a decorative circle around the edge of the stone. After two rain delays, we built the path today.

Each stone is a 15 inch circle of concrete, made in a plastic form. I got home and realized that I should have taken a photo of my earrings on a stepping stone, but had to settle for this one of a prototype that I made back in February.

After my third graders finished their own stones, they helped younger students complete theirs. We plan to use the stones in math, allowing children to skip count by jumping along the path.

My hope is that the children will remember this experience and be able to revisit their stones over the years. I will always remember the amazing men whose labor enabled us to build our path.

May Flowers

Bling and I are strangers. Once upon a time, when I was two or three, it's possible that I liked to dress up and wear make-up. But since I have no such recollection, I think I can honestly say that I've never liked glam.

Among the many earrings I've been given, some bling with glam. If invited to the right occasion, I might wear them, I think. This pair is blue, given to me because I love blue. But since showing them off when I got them as a birthday present, I've never worn them out of the house, and I doubt I ever will.

Today is May Day, when many cultures celebrate the arrival of spring with festivals of flowers. I'm celebrating at home, on another rainy day. This pot of blue blossoms adorns my front deck, reminding me of their wild cousins that will be in bloom when I launch my kayak in the Clarion River to celebrate the beginning of summer.

A few years ago, I paddled near the bank and saw these delicate blue flowers. "I know I've looked those up before," I muttered to myself. "What on Earth are they called?"

When I got back to our cabin and looked in my wildflower guide, I shook my head in amusement. "Forget-Me-Nots. I guess now I'll never forget."

And now I'll always associate this pair of bling-glam earrings with one of my favorite wildflowers. Odd bedfellows spotted in this flower pot today!

A Concert of Stars

I bought these earrings 16 years ago, I think, at a fund-raiser for my husband's music ensemble. They were specially designed to match the logo of the children's group, with turquoise beads and stars.

I wear these earrings at least once a year to a concert of The American Children of SCORE, made up of children ages 8-12. My husband arranges music for stringed instruments, children's voices, Orff instruments like xylophones and glockenspiels, and recorders. During the concert, he accompanies the group and leads them with nods and glances, building each song with layers and variations as they perform. The sound they produce is unique and glorious. I am usually brought to tears as I listen to them perform a folk song, spiritual, or gospel tune.

Today, my eyes were dry. I didn't have time to feel any emotion other than stress from my post in the sound and light booth, where I handled sound and lights as well as the video camera. Fortunately, my daughter Kathe drove up for the day and ran the PowerPoint during one part of the show, keeping me company in the booth.

I imagine that when I watch the video tape, my eyes will fill with tears when I hear The Lone Wild Bird. All of my own children sang this song in SCORE. I wish all souls could be touched by the simple beauty of this sound.

Rings of hope

I wore rings today. Along with my ring earrings, I wore the necklace that I made to hold my reading glasses--it too sports a ring.

After getting up early to watch the British royal wedding along with two billion other people, I decided that today deserved rings.

I've done my best to ignore the hype about the wedding, changing channels when the reporting went on an on about dresses and carriages and reality/celebrity TV. I was surprised on Monday when I heard that today would be the day.

So why watch? Yesterday I heard a commentator say, "This is not a fairy tale. This is a marriage between two rather ordinary middle aged people."

During the ceremony, the Anglican priests talked a lot about the the ring as a symbol of the union of Christ and church, husband and wife.

I think I tuned in because I harbor a wish that this marriage of two ordinary people will last, and perhaps that it will set the tone of a new century of sensible people making wise decisions for the right reasons. Along with two billion people, I hope that this rather ordinary couple will thrive together.

Fish, responding to a deluge

When I left home this morning, thunderstorms were raging and tornado warnings filled the airwaves. I drove past many overflowing streambanks and a fair amount of water streaming across the road.

I chose these fish earrings with the thought that perhaps today's rainfall would create conditions in which they'd thrive.

By noon the skies were clear. In my world, a soaking rain fell. But news of disastrous weather still fills the airwaves, with tales of horrendously damaging storms.

I remember the night some 10 years ago when I awoke to hear a train passing close to our house. I sat up, listened, and thought, "Silly me. I must be dreaming! There aren't any trains on this mountain!" I curled up and went back to sleep. In the morning, we found tall trees strewn across our front yard, and ripped up all along our mile-long drive. How lucky we were that that "train" passed by, missing our house with my sleeping family inside. 

So many people awoke today to find their lives swept away. Another day to count my blessings.

I'd never really noticed how forlorn these fish look until I posed them on this disaster photo--they'd always seemed to bright and cheerful, dangling their their hearts below as they swim. An illusion.

This is another pair that I bought from the amazing Fimo clay artist at the Sawmill Center for the Arts in Cook Forest, PA.

Luxuriant green

Lilac blossoms have burst into bloom from their weekend buds, peeking out from among the luxuriant greenery that surrounds them. I saw them last night, and knew that I wanted to wear these earrings today.

They were a gift long ago from my husband who admired the craftsmanship. The detailed veins and serrations appear on both sides, likes those on real leaves.

I once again waited until dusk to take my photo, losing the optimal afternoon light.

The camera flash exposes the beauty of the leaves, but dulls that of the blossoms.

In another month, sun will linger into the evening for these photo-shoots!

Jabebo bluebirds

How I love this pair of earrings! Let me count the ways:

The two earrings share a shape; at first glance, they look identical. On closer inspection, the viewer says, "Oh! One is a bluebird, and the other is a tree trunk with a bluebird peeking out!"

I love bluebirds! For their beauty, for being harbingers of spring, for teaching humans that they can make a difference.

They are devoted parents who work as a team to care for their young.

They eat insects. (If they ate stinkbugs, I'd invite them in!)

They nest in cavities, but are willing to move into the boxes we humans build for them.

This pair of earrings reminds me of one of my favorite projects from my science teaching years: building bluebird boxes and monitoring the nest boxes on my school's nature trail. Teaching students how to sneak up on a box, tap on the side to encourage the parent to fly out, gently opening the flap and peeking in to see first the nest, then the eggs, then the nestlings, then the abandoned nest to clean out so that the pair can start again.

If you build a bluebird box, they will come! The comeback of the bluebird from the road to extinction demonstrates that humans can find simple solutions to complex problems if they just work hard enough.

I love these earrings because they were made by a family business, Jabebo, by an artist who shares his love and knowledge of science through his art. Check them out at http://www.jabebo.com/

Oh, yes. And I love them because I love blue.