Backyard Birding

Welcome back to the Warbling Vireo (I think) that's been living in our yard for years. He (I think) sits in a tree and warbles all day, a striking descending trill, over and over. I don't know how he eats because he never stops warbling. The repetitiveness of it used to bother me but now I've become accustomed to his call and listen for his song, a favorite sign of summer.

Graduation

College graduations are winding up and yesterday was about the most beautiful day of the year to hold one. Here's a pic from Middlebury's ceremony -- they're gaving a diploma to Charlotter Jake Stanley despite an unpaid a $3 parking ticket (magna cum laude, even). Congratulations to all our town's graduates!

It can't happen here...

Or can it? This pic was taken yesterday at Steve's Citgo and it shows the price of regular gas over $4.00 a gallon for the first time ever. And it sounds as if it will be getting worse from here. Charlotters who have figured out how to work from home are looking pretty smug these days!

Deer Bed

I came across a May 13 entry in a nice blog called Year In Pictures (pictureyear.blogspot.com) about deer beds. Here's what it said about this particular photographer's work:

"Katherine Wolkoff’s latest series are photographs of deer beds, and they are both subtle and stunning. (Deer sleep in beds of deep vegetation they press down with their bodies in order to hide from predators. They never lay down in the same bed twice, but the imprints can remain for several days.) What we see in the photographs are swirls of trampled grass, wild flowers, and a shadow outlining the hidden impression of the deer’s body. What we feel is the animal’s spirit, if not something deeper."

Anyway, I read this and then went outside to take the dogs for a walk, and there was what looked like a deer bed in the deep grass by some brush (pictured) -- what do you think? Now I'll be looking for them whereever I go.

A fine day

The plant sale at the Senior Center yesterday was held under unexpetedly sunny skies and a warm sun. Many gardeners were able to find bargains in their favorite plants as well as some unusual choices for those willing to take a little risk.

The Lilacs Are Out!

It's officially the most beautiful time of the year in Charlotte! The air is redolent with the smell of lilacs, the days are long and from now until November there's nowhere else I'd rather be . Enjoy!

CVU Singers Rock the Senior Center

The CVU Singers, led by Carl Recchia, performed their annual spring concert yesterday at the Senior Center and, as always, the concert was absolutely wonderful. Why these kids (and Carl!) want to get to school early to learn these old songs is a mystery, but we're very glad they do. It's reaffirming -- how bad can the world be if our teens can sing "Wonderful World" or "Cheek to Cheek" so beautifully it brought tears to many in the audience. See what I mean by playing this video:

Have you noticed all the new babies around town this spring? Here's one, an Aussie mix called (tentatively) Jackie, who arrived on Mother's Day. What a sweetie! She and her family are getting settled in nicely; look for her around town, soon to be larger.

Monumental tulips

Thanks again this year to Alexandra for planting the stunning tulip display at the four corners memorial!

CharLotte horses

Have you seen the new foal hanging out with his (her?) mom on Church Hill Road?

And here's another horse showing its stuff at Bonnie Sogoloff's Cedar Spring Farm on Saturday, where Bonnie held an open house featuring Morgan Horses. There was a terrific buffet spread complete with a bottle of Jim Beam for those who wanted to get into the Kentucky Derby spirit, and the horses were gorgeous.

Want to make yourself feel really good? Go outside and pick up a bagful of trash alongside your road. Then take the bag to the CCS parking lot and throw it in the truck, like Bunky is doing in this picture. While you're there, buy something at the bake sale and make the kids feel good, too. Then go home, put on warm dry clothes and snuggle up on the couch with a cup of tea knowing that you've done your part to pretty up our town. This week when all the crabtrees are in bloom you'll be driving or biking or walking along our clean, picked-up roads admiring the beauty of our town.

Above is a (very dark) video of a few bars from Marty and Robert's performance:

CharLotter Marty Morrissey and Robert Resnick performed at Carol's Hungry Mind Coffeehouse in Middlebury last night. Marty and Robert played a mix of traditional Vermont tunes and Irish jigs and reels (what's the difference??), including one tune about prohibition and Milton. The first set included two (2!) songs about black flies. Which was strikingly topical since I had spent the afternoon outside swatting at black flies in Milton (don't ask) and thinking about how fortunate we are to live just south of the worst of that particular scourge. We get the flies but not nearly as bad as up north -- or am I mistaken? Where's the worst black fly-location in our town? Anyway, it was soothing to sit and allow Marty's musical balm. By the way, Marty wasn't quite up to playing guitar with his post-surgery left hand but handled the concertina and drums with no problem, as you can hear from the video. Though he did say at intermission that the hand was pretty sore.

The first one

Congratulations to the owner of this fine sailboat, the very first in the water in McNeal Cove. It went in yesterday, on the first day of May. It's still a little chilly for sailing but we're optimistic that the cove will fill with boats and the warm breezes will blow soon.

Truck dance

Took a ride on the ferry yesterday. In this pic, Captain Lea Coggio is watching a truck hauling trailers about to get stuck. Because of the high water level, the loading ramp's angle is too high. In the end, Lea had two other large trucks back up so that their combined weight lowered the stern, and thus the ramp, to allow the trailer truck to get on. Then all three trucks moved slowly forward in a choreographed ballet, separated by inches.