tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37831820538074122852024-03-14T01:37:16.192-04:00A Bird a DayA creative exploration of dawns, birds, and music.Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.comBlogger223125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783182053807412285.post-1984195494090617952014-02-26T10:05:00.002-05:002014-02-26T10:05:30.846-05:00Arise for 18 solo string playersThis is a long, long, long overdue update.<br />
<br />
I spent much of 2014 working on a commission from A Far Cry (Boston-based conductorless chamber orchestra) in which I got to realize a long-nurtured vision of musicians in the treetops, playing birdsongs, with fragments of string quartet melodies wafting in and out.<br />
<br />
While I didn't yet put musicians in trees, the three levels of four-sided, surround-balconies of the Calderwood Hall at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was a pretty amazing space to explore this visual and sonic idea, and experimenting with the musicians in the space (testing sound, hearing and sightlines) over three months was pretty thrilling!<br />
<br />
It's the most fully-realized of my projects exploring three-dimensional sound composition, not to mention three years of birdsong research (17 species, four geographical locales represented). In addition to solo parts, and singing instrumentalists, I had the musicians organized in three different string quartets (strewn across various levels and sides of the hall) which played snatches of melodies. So fun!!!!<br />
<br />
Here is a little taster - if you'd like to learn more, you can read the program notes here:<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Arise</em> </span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Birdsong-based, site-specific composition for 18 solo string players </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">of A Far Cry </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">April 2013</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times;"><br /></span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Rf7wGfuzN90" width="640"></iframe>Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783182053807412285.post-14833089718403295732012-06-18T21:56:00.003-04:002012-06-18T21:56:47.835-04:00Mount Auburn Spring (AKA Birders' Paradise)<b>May 2, 2012</b><br />
<br />
6am-9:30am, Brooks Estate, Medford and Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge.<br />
<br />
My friend, Jim McCoy, an experienced birder, was kind enough to take me birding with him at an early hour this morning. We checked out some birds at Brooks Estate in Medford which was relatively quiet, then booked it over to the Birders' Paradise: historic Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge.<br />
<br />
I've only been to Mt. Auburn a couple times before, and was excited to have expert guidance for this trip.<br />
<br />
The place was actually crawling with birders, it being the prime of spring migration with rumors of "fallout" (migratory phenomenon where large number of migrants arrive in one night) in the air. Every now and then I'd glimpse a group of binoculared and be-hatted people, craning their necks or pointing or murmuring about recent discoveries. There was also the occasional hardcore lone birder. Awesome!<br />
<br />
There's a bit of a code of sharing too, as birders who knew each other would swap info about birds they had seen, upon encountering into one another. <br />
<br />
Jim was awesome about explaining and naming different birds. He was also a bit apologetic about the poor light - it was overcast but bright and seeing birds was difficult. Against that bright white sky, every bird was a backlit silhouette. Colors, markings, and details that help a person ID birds were all obscured.<br />
<br />
I didn't mind so much, in fact, it was a good excuse for me to focus exclusively on listening, which is my main interest anyway.<br />
<br />
Overheard in some bushes, the Yellow-Rumped Warbler:<br />
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<br />
I love accidental bird duets. This one, with the two-note descending call of the chickadee and the fluid gurgling melodic phrases of the wood thrush, was entrancing.
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<br />
Who is this bird? I'm a poor student, forgot to take notes on this one. Help, Jim!
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<embed wmode="transparent" height="36" width="470" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" src="http://www.divshare.com/flash/audio_embed?data=YTo2OntzOjU6ImFwaUlkIjtzOjE6IjQiO3M6NjoiZmlsZUlkIjtzOjg6IjE4Mzk4ODQyIjtzOjQ6ImNvZGUiO3M6MTI6IjE4Mzk4ODQyLWUwMSI7czo2OiJ1c2VySWQiO3M6NzoiMjA4ODI4MCI7czoxMjoiZXh0ZXJuYWxDYWxsIjtpOjE7czo0OiJ0aW1lIjtpOjEzNDAwNDY5Mjk7fQ==&autoplay=default"></embed></object>Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783182053807412285.post-56146709568181280292012-06-18T13:47:00.002-04:002012-06-18T21:53:17.403-04:00Birds on Tour - Tennessee and environs!<b>APRIL 2012</b><br />
<br />
So many new birds glimpsed in my two weeks on tour with <a href="http://www.theknightsnyc.com/">The Knights</a> (a NYC-based chamber orchestra), traveling through the Midwest and the South.<br />
<br />
It was an intensive pace - we played a concert each night for 9 out of 10 days, plus 2-5 hours of bus travel each morning to get to the next location. The most exciting birding was in Tennessee, where we had 24-hours free and I managed to squeeze in three hikes! (Sunset, Sunrise, and normal morning hike)<br />
<br />
Once again I'm grateful for my audio diary as I reconstruct the details 2 months later. I wish I'd taken notes, but it's also great to be able to reconstruct a memory and itinerary based on field recordings and time stamps!<br />
<br />
Things didn't start out super-exciting, birdwise. In our first stop, Detroit, I didn't manage to record any birds - our hotel was a Casino-Hotel, super-urban.<br />
<br />
Next stop, Ohio, was not much better. But I include the recordings to build up some suspense...<br />
<br />
<b>April 11</b><br />
<i>Akron, OH, 10am</i><br />
We stayed in a hotel made from converted Quaker oat silos! Amazing.<br />
Fortified by hotel oatmeal, I made my way to the Post Office, hearing this bird (and the passing cars) on University of Akron campus: <br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>April 12</b><br />
<i>Columbus, OH, 9am</i><br />
Went for a run along the Scioto River, and heard this cardinal. Not as exotic as one might hope, but the sound of the wind and the passing cars inspired a compositional query - how to compose a piece in which a sound travels down a line of musicians, such that it sounds like a wind (or a vehicle) moving around the audience? I love the feeling of space and motion that a travelling sound creates...<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>April 13 </b><br />
<i>Lexington, KY, 9:20am</i><br />
Bear with me - it's about to get good.<br />
This morning I went out in search of the delightfully-named Woodland Park, and found myself on a long desolate stretch of auto-row instead. Sad.<br />
I asked a kindly bakery worker and later, a couple friendly school marms for directions, but I was out of time to make the necessary rerouting. Meandering through some lush neighborhoods on my way back to the hotel, I got a bit of this bird, along with local dog:<br />
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<br />
<i>Lookout Mountain, Chatanooga, TN, 7-8:30pm </i><br />
Inspired by (pure jealousy of) a couple musicians who separated from our tour-bus, rented a car, and made their way to Tennessee via the Daniel Boone National Forest, I took advantage of a 5-hour wi-fi bus ride to research hikes and rent my own car in our destination, Chatanooga. <br />
<i> </i><br />
It was well worth the toil and run-around at the rental car locale.<br />
<br />
I'm a sucker for sunsets and sunrises. When I learned there was a "Sunset Rock" in the area, there was no other option - it had to be seen/conquered! My friend Emily and I took a gamble on a rather late hike to the rock, keeping fingers crossed that we'd make it back in time to retrieve the rental car from the lot which closed at "dusk".<br />
<br />
So worth it! After a week of intensive concerts, traveling, and disappointing
bird-expeditions, I was thrilled by the green therapy of these lush Southern woods, and new sounds on our
(sunset) hike to Sunset Rock. <br />
<br />
My first thrill - hearing these two birds in incidental duet. Such a great composite sound! I think the continuous one might be a red-eyed vireo.
<br />
<br />
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Next,
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And then, this fun bird:
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<br />
I was so hungry for new birds, this outing was deeply satisfying. <br />
<br />
The experience in this town was magical. Later that evening, yummy Cajun catfish stew and a smokin' live bluegrass performance stumbled upon in local cafe.<br />
<br />
Then, a short sleep in preparation for:<br />
<br />
<b>April 14</b><br />
<i>Sunrise hike! 6am-7:30am, Point Park, Lookout Mountain, Chatanooga TN </i><br />
<br />
It may not be prudent to admit it, but I am not above breaking a few rules in pursuit of a good view.<br />
<br />
A quick web search suggested Point Park's eastern trails were <a href="http://ngeorgia.com/tenn/pointpark.html">"exceptionally beautiful"</a> for sunrise viewing. I am only in town for one day, this will be my sunrise! I go for it alone, as no one else in the group is up for such an early outing. <br />
<br />
Imagine my surprise to find, as I approach around 6am, that the gates are locked and not to open until 8am. What?? Why did the Internet send me here for the sunrise?<br />
<br />
Luckily the adjacent walls are very low (less than 5 feet) and wide, with convenient indentations - practically built to be climbed. I'm not going to miss my sunrise - I scale the wall and land easily on the other side.<br />
<br />
Did I mention it's still dark out? I use my low-tech flip cell-phone as a light so I can read the map near the entrance, and figure out which way to go to the trail. There's a warm, blustery wind that is both comforting and scary somehow.<br />
<br />
Yes, I'm a little scared. As usual, my fears are not animal-centered, they are people-centered. I remember some bearded climbers we saw on the trail yesterday, and start to wonder if there are scary mountain men camped out in the park.<br />
<br />
The two flights of metal stairs in dim light gives me another adrenaline boost. I'm very awake, but appear to be the only one. No pre-dawn birds to be heard, just wind and rustling leaves and the mental chatter of my own fear, which is mounting. <i>Scary mountain man. Surely lying in wait to attack early morning hiker.</i><br />
<br />
I inch cautiously down the dirt trail, which is very dark and at times rocky and narrow. <i>What if I slip and die,</i> I wonder. Nobody would even know where to find me. And where are the damn birds I came to record? It is eerily quiet save for the wind.<br />
<br />
I text my sister in California, a text to her email account (so as not to wake her up), casually saying hello and mentioning what mountain I'm on and what I'm doing.<br />
<br />
Feel a tiny bit better.<br />
<br />
But actually, I've actually never been this scared in my life. I'm in the grip of a great, heart-pounding fear. I'm petrified - if a humanoid rock could cautiously walk down a mountain trail. I'm convinced that at any moment, someone may step out of the shadows or emerge from behind that rock, and attack me. I SO WANT TO TURN AROUND AND RUN BACK TO THE CAR!!<br />
<br />
But my rational mind knows this is ridiculous paranoia. I tell myself to breathe. I tell myself this is good practice - to be able to breathe and stay at least physically calm in the face of terrifying fears.<br />
<br />
A lifetime passes as I move very slowly down the dim eastern trail.<br />
<br />
When the sky at last begins to lighten, and a few birds sing, it feels like salvation.<br />
Objects gain shape and definition. The murk is clarified. <br />
Nobody is there to attack me.<br />
I will live.<br />
<br />
I'm embarrassed at my cowardice, but my relief at feeling safe is much greater than that shame.<br />
I rejoice that it's behind me, and that in fact I'm the bad-ass who got up at 5:30 and vaulted a national military park wall to see the sunrise. <br />
<br />
Here are my sunrise comforters:<br />
First bird: Carolina Wren:<br />
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<br />
First bird joined by second bird, Cardinal:<br />
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<br />
Wren and Cardinal, variation:<br />
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<br />
Bird of the Day (New Bird #1):<br />
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My on-site whistled version, followed by another clip of today's bird (in cohorts with a partner bird?):<br />
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<br />
A Tennessee take on the classic White-crowned sparrow and Chickadee combo:<br />
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<br />
And for anyone who's curious, many different songs of Carolina Wren:
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<br />
<br />
Later this morning, I pick up some friends from the hotel for a trek in the Tennessee River Valley Gorge. Really beautiful views of the river gorge, glimpsed from our trail. No new birds to report, though red-eyed vireo seem to be omnipresent.<br />
<br />
Hurray for the three hikes in 18 hours! <br />
<br />
<b>April 16</b><br />
<i>Along the Chattahoochee River, Columbus, Georgia. </i><br />
<br />
Lots of cities built along rivers.. I have frequented numerous riverside running paths on this tour, which is awesome. I also love that details on these audio recordings help me distinguish one memory from another.<br />
<br />
A new bird!<br />
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<br />
<br />
A bridge crosses the river, and on the opposite bank, a train passes as I stop to marvel at the virtuosity of this mockingbird:<br />
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After birding, I jog over to the local diner to join a group in a proper Southern breakfast.. grits, biscuit eggs. Yum!Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783182053807412285.post-62389241831541617142012-02-22T08:03:00.000-05:002012-02-22T08:03:46.569-05:00YOOOOOWWWWWWWZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!OK, I'm so excited I could just about burst!!!!<br />
This seems the most appropriate venue to share the exciting news...<br />
<br />
I've just been commissioned by one of my favorite ensembles, the conductor-less chamber orchestra<br />
<a href="http://www.afarcry.org/">A Far Cry,</a> to write a birdsong-based piece for spring of 2013 for their concert at the Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum.<br />
<br />
It's been a fantasy for over a year now to create a three-dimensional performance piece with "birds" calling and singing from all 360 degrees "live surround-sound", including up in the balconies, and it's totally thrilling to have the opportunity to realize this vision with some of my favorite musician friends. These guys kick ass, and can play anything. An incredible opportunity!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
Save the date: April 4, 2013 at the Gardner Museum, in their new and unique performance space.<br />
Wow, what to do with all this excitement???!!!<br />
<br />
For now, I'm directing it towards this weekend's <a href="http://www.abirdaday.org/p/performances.html">performances</a> with <a href="http://www.sarahbob.net/">Sarah Bob</a>, and a 3-cello piece I'm writing for my friends Michal, Aristides and Rafi (no birds, but still really exciting!) which premiers on <a href="http://www.dialoguejp.com/">March 4</a>.Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783182053807412285.post-87243362728482866792012-02-06T12:13:00.000-05:002012-02-06T12:13:40.629-05:00Feeling for SpringIs it spring? It's hardly winter this year, and frequently I suspect spring has already come.<br />
<br />
I don't trust the groundhog (according to Wiki his accuracy is 37%), so am a bit baffled as to how to call spring. Not so interested in arbitrary dates- I would prefer an environmental cue. Ideally I'd like to use the arrival of a spring migrant (bird) to determine a start date - something to consult my birder friends about.<br />
<br />
It's important as I am gearing up for a spring 2012 installment of A Bird a Day. Very excited to have another focused period of dawns and creative work! Last year, early spring got rained out, I was up north in Acadia when the migrants came through Boston, then I ran out of gas for the sunrises. Not this year! I intend to really study the dawn chorus and get to know my spring migrants.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, I am excited to polish some of my pieces from last year for an <a href="http://www.shawpong.com/p/calendar.html">upcoming recital</a> with my pianist friend, Sarah Bob, at the end of this month. I'm also hoping to write a short, structured improvisation for us that quotes some of my favorite Messiaen, from his incredible piece, "Catalogue d'Oiseaux" ("Catalog of Birds").Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783182053807412285.post-75128960012029736752011-10-21T12:05:00.001-04:002011-10-21T12:15:02.528-04:00Reflections on a YearWell, it's been a full year since I started A Bird a Day, and eleven months since my initial one-month idea got extended into a yearlong endeavor.<br />
<br />
While the project is not finished per-se - I am still developing material and compositions, and plan to record a CD this winter - I am no longer trying to get out every single day and make recordings.<br />
<br />
Completing a year feels like a significant step, and I have been reflecting on the things I learned - they are many!<br />
<br />
For one, it is hard to do something every day, even something you absolutely love. While I was thrilled each day of my first month, the subsequent eleven got harder and hard to keep up. I had no sense of pacing going into it. By the time the long-awaited, true birdsong season of Spring hit, I was exhausted and could not keep up my sunrise routine. So silly - I used up my sunrise energy on Fall and Winter, and their relatively few, non-singing birds! <br />
<br />
Moreover, at a practical level it's just hard to do something every single day, unless you are in a totally contained and small community / environment that specifically nurtures that thing, like a monastery or artist's retreat. When other work and projects were knocking, it was hard to keep carving out time every day to be meditative and connected to nature, not to speak of the time it takes to compose, blog, and sound-edit.<br />
<br />
When you add a sense of obligation to something you love, it can make even your favorite activities dreary. I was constantly fighting machismo and practicality. I would want to be hard-core and do the daily sunrise thing, especially as my daily posts racked up and looked ever-more "impressive" to me. Meanwhile, my practical side suspected that with a few days off, I'd be re-energized and more present in my nature meditations.<br />
<br />
Machismo almost always won out, as my allegiance to the task overwhelmed the point of the task, and I sometimes lost my point. My conclusion: obligatory and/or ego-driven meditation is a bad idea!<br />
<br />
I experienced relative social hermitude for a year. An early-morning routine is tough to keep up as a professional musician - rehearsals, concerts, and all the socializing in my field happens at night. For a year, I barely did any night-time activities that weren't gigs - I barely saw any live shows, passed up parties, left events early, and generally had a minimal social life as I was always trying to be in bed by 10pm! <br />
<br />
On the positive side, I am pleased to say that my initial hypothesis, "A bird a day keeps the doctor away" proved to be true, at least for this small yearlong sample. I can prove it - the only time all year that I got a bit of a cold, in mid-September, was after a couple weeks of very sporadic (not daily) bird walks. Otherwise, I made it through the winter and rainy spring without ever succumbing to a cold or flu, though people around me were falling over left and right. Aha! Let the National Audubon Society buy this motto from me =).<br />
<br />
Other things learned:<br />
--I now know the Arboretum and Franklin Park very intimately, nooks and crannies, and am familiar with several parks that I didn't know of before the project. <br />
<br />
--I know winter better, I've seen more of her many faces and the details of her daily changes after meeting her every morning for several months. I have new appreciation for her beauty.<br />
<br />
--I've trained my ability to listen deeply, and to slow down. The daily practice seems to have honed some listening, meditative, and observational muscles, which I'm excited about!<br />
<br />
--I've also discovered that I love to walk, and that a morning walk is the best way to start my day. Whodda thunk? I was always a runner before this project. It has helped me actually slow down, instead of just talking about slowing down.<br />
<br />
--One of the most thrilling developments is that this project has fostered a link back to my classical music roots. In September, I played Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1 with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and the experience was nothing short of revelatory.<br />
<br />
It felt like I was hearing and experiencing the piece for the first time, though I had studied it many years ago in school. Check out the opening and its remarkable evocation of nature, stillness, birds:<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GWASaebFhUA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
I felt a great sense of wonder, and connection - I've been exploring and struggling with ways to use music evoke the sonic and emotional experience of the natural world, and here had Mahler done it, some one hundred years ago. <br />
<br />
Sometimes I fester about my frustrations with classical music culture - its elitism, its rigidity, the narrow degree of creativity that is expected of players; but my week playing Mahler 1, I was all about love - love for this amazing music, the incredible composer. I was overwhelmed with appreciation for classical music's unique capability to create music of these dimensions, colors, formal cohesion, precision, and musical depths with some 100 musicians. I mean, no other genre of music can do this, especially with so many performers. It's really amazing!<br />
<br />
It's lovely to come full circle on so many things. I'm sure it's not the first time I will move towards one thing and away from another, but this particular circle is quite significant, as I had grown estranged from the most beautiful and precious elements of classical music - the very things that first inspired my love and desire to be a musician! So it's a happy homecoming, indeed.<br />
<br />
Now I will start taking orchestral auditions and give up all my crazy projects.<br />
<br />
Just kidding! <br />
However, I am pumped about planning a violin recital this winter and focussing on some standard repertoire, and not worrying too much about being experimental or cross-disciplinary. For once.<br />
<br />
More updates to come on A Bird a Day CD recording, concerts, and other performances. I hope to make up for this year's tired spring by re-engaging with my daily expeditions next Spring 2012.<br />
Stay tuned!Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783182053807412285.post-78144245595018258062011-10-21T10:48:00.000-04:002011-10-21T10:48:54.500-04:00Month 12: September 2011Here is a long overdue synopsis of the final month of my year of observations for <i>A Bird a Day.</i><br />
<br />
It was a full-circle kind of feeling as summer grudgingly gave way to autumn, the season during which I started this project a year ago.<br />
<br />
Did I say grudgingly? I should say, unwillingly! The cicadas were my favorite constant throughout the month (and they were still at it in early October, on the occasional warm morning).<br />
<br />
Here are some audio snapshots of the last month:<br />
<br />
<b>September 30, 2011</b><br />
<i> 6:50am, Franklin Park, Jamaica Plain, MA</i><br />
Let it be noted, the cicadas still sing on the last day of September! Crickets and an annoyed robin as well.<br />
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<br />
<b>September 26, 2011</b><br />
<b> </b><i>8:40am, Franklin Park, Jamaica Plain, MA</i><br />
Um, here come the nuthatches. They are so funny, I don't mind, especially since the cicadas still sing. Yes I am a summer-addict...<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>September 23, 2011</b><br />
<i>7:50am, my house, Jamaica Plain, MA</i><br />
My old friend, showing off two of his calls<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>September 22, 2011</b><br />
<i>8am, Franklin Park, Jamaica Plain, MA</i><br />
Still the cicadas persist, to my delight! I say it's still summer as long as they're singing (we'll just ignore that chickadee..)..<br />
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<br />
<b>September 20, 2011</b><br />
<i>1pm, London Heathrow Airport</i><br />
I got a kick out of this singing flying thing as it was landing. I fumbled for my recorder and got this snippet, though I missed a really great (almost vocal) gliss:<br />
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Seems fair to give the man-made bird one nod in the whole year, no?<br />
<br />
<b>September 19, 2011</b><br />
<i>9:50am, Parc de l'11 de Setembre, Vilafranca del Penedes, Catalunya, Spain</i><br />
I love the Catalan version of mourning doves: listen to the overlapping birds. A gentle but steady undercurrent to the blustery traffic of the adjacent road.<br />
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<br />
Also this great avian groove:<br />
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<br />
<b>September 18, 2011</b><br />
<i>8:30am, vineyards by Vilafranca del Penedes, Catalunya, Spain</i><br />
This bird stopped me in my tracks, though he was too well-concealed in a hedge for me to glimpse:<br />
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I also loved this quiet chorus of birds clustered in a tree:<br />
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<br />
<b>September 17, 2011</b><br />
<i>9am, vineyards by Vilafranca del Penedes, Spain</i><br />
I love this gurgling squeaking bird!<br />
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<br />
And this wild whistler:<br />
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<br />
Some more wacky and wonderful bird sounds (plus mosquito - no sign of fall here!!):<br />
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<br />
<b>September 10, 2011</b><br />
<i>8am, my backyard, Jamaica Plain, MA</i><br />
A fun duet between my neighbors: chickadee and Carolina Wren.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>September 9, 2011</b><br />
<i>10am, my backyard, Jamaica Plain, MA</i><br />
My daily alarm clock. I mostly love this guy (Carolina Wren), though sometimes he's up before I'm ready to be (though not today!)<br />
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<br />
<b>September 8, 2011</b><br />
<i>5:45pm, Franklin Park, Jamaica Plain, MA </i><br />
Harbinger of fall! Squeaky chickadee.<br />
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<br />
<b>September 5, 2011</b><br />
<i>9:15pm, Franklin Park, Jamaica Plain, MA</i><br />
The cicadas still sing<br />
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<br />
I have been moving house, which has been a relatively all-consuming affair. Plus, living among boxes, without functioning internet turns out to be a real impediment to a audio editing and blogging. Today is my first day at my own desk in 3.5 weeks, and it feels great!<br />
<br />
So much can happen in two weeks. New home. New neighbors - both human and birds. A hurricane downgraded to tropical storm downgraded to an excuse to stay in bed all day while the wind blew outside. <br />
<br />
What's fun and exciting is that I moved from one great backyard in JP (the Arboretum) to another (Franklin Park), and that I somehow managed to keep my third-floor treehouse status. Lucky me!!!<br />
<br />
Here is a brief run-down of the last two weeks:<br />
<br />
TODAY<br />
I thought it was a mystery bird - until he revealed himself. This guy is definitely one of the most fun of my new avian neighbors, and I hear him every day. While I no longer have a balcony on my bedroom, I was able to record him at my window. <br />
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<br />
True identity revealed:<br />
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How many times will it take me to recognize the Carolina Wren in his different voices?<br />
<b><br />
Wednesday, August 31, 2011</b><br />
<i>7:15AM back porch of my new house</i><br />
My new neighbor, whose song wakes me gently every morning (after the raucous alarms of the jays):<br />
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Did I mention a giant, five-house-long boulder runs behind my house?? This is the (sonic) view from my back porch.<br />
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<br />
<b>Tuesday, August 30, 2011</b><br />
<i>7:20-7:45am, Franklin Park, Jamaica Plain, MA</i><br />
<br />
Crickets and a cricket-like trilling bird.<br />
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<br />
<b>Monday, August 29, 2011</b><br />
<i>7:20am-8:00am, Franklin Park, Jamaica Plain, MA</i><br />
<br />
Post-storm survey of Franklin Park reveals lots of downed branches. Some of my favorite paths are strewn with large ones, and have been taken over by robins and squirrels. Reminds me of the book, <i>The World Without Us</i>, which argues that nature and the earth are much more powerful than human forces, and will eventually self-heal from human intrusions.<br />
<br />
Couldn't find this bird, but tracked it all around the pond for quite a while:<br />
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<br />
Also, first peewee I've heard in Boston after a summer full of them in Ohio!<br />
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<br />
<b>Sunday, August 28, 2011</b><br />
<i>7:15-7:40pm, Franklin Park, Jamaica Plain, MA</i><br />
<br />
"Tropical Storm" Irene just doesn't have the same ring!<br />
The would-be hurricane left a bit of destruction in its path, though not nearly as much as had been feared. I am grateful, truly, that there wasn't more damage to living beings nor their homes, but I was also disappointed to miss out on phenomenal high speed winds.<br />
<br />
My original plan was to go out to a big empty field and rough out the elements (had they come) with my friend, though in hindsight I'm not sure I would have been brave enough.<br />
<br />
Even walking into a calm Franklin Park at dusk made me a tad nervous. <br />
<br />
There were branches here and there, nothing giant, but I couldn't help wondering at each one if it would have been big enough to fell me, had I been passing by at the wrong moment. <br />
<br />
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<br />
I recorded these sparrows by the open path, where I hesitated to enter the potentially dangerous woods. The jingle at the end is the tag of a dog with his owner, nonchalantly strolling out of the woods. Their casual attitude emboldened me to take a short walk in the woods myself.<br />
<br />
<b>Thursday, August 25, 2011</b><br />
<i>6:20am, Peters Hill, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, MA<br />
</i><br />
Robin Central on Peters Hill seems relatively calm this time of year. Here is a snippet of overheard robin conversation, with the jays yammering away as always.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>Wednesday, August 24, 2011</b><br />
<i>7:20am, Arnold Arboretum, JP</i><br />
<br />
Jay playing hawk!<br />
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<br />
And today's bird, whom I suspect I know. I have been feeling rusty with my bird IDs. Just like any language, if you don't use it, you lose it:<br />
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<br />
<b>Sunday, August 21, 2011</b><br />
<i>6:20am</i><br />
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<br />
<b>Saturday, August 20, 2011</b><br />
<i>6:00am</i><br />
<br />
Birds singing in Couplets...<br />
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<br />
<b>Friday, August 19, 2011</b><br />
<i>11:53am, my balcony, Jamaica Plain, MA</i><br />
<br />
My bird didn't sing when I hoped it would. Here is my version (one octave lower):<br />
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cool, breezy, scattered clouds</i><br />
<br />
A "tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle" singin' Carolina Wren serenaded me before I'd gotten one block from my house.<br />
He lured me first with this trill:<br />
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<br />
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<br />
Then, I re-visited the Arboretum for the first time since early June. It was a gorgeous and happy reunion!<br />
<br />
I reveled in the lush, dense greens; the new shoulder-high meadows where last I'd seen cropped lawns; the bright dimples of wildflower-color everywhere. <br />
<br />
Running into Rocco and his owner, I babbled happily about how nice it was to see the Arboretum at its peak of summer glory. He burst my bubble by pointing out that there were already many fallen leaves, brown, on the path. I remembered the acorn from Franklin Park last week. My spirit dipped momentarily.<br />
<br />
As I strolled home, I noticed a whole stand of trees standing in inches of dead, brown leaves, and decided that those must be LAST YEAR's leaves, that have not decomposed yet. That's my story and I'm sticking to it...!<br />
<br />
Other birds this week:<br />
<br />
On <b>Tuesday 8/16</b> I heard a crazy bird in <b>Watertown</b> in my friend's backyard - new to me, though a little bit like a catbird in its eclectic and sheer weird-ness. To be recorded!<br />
<br />
Earlier that afternoon, I stopped by magical <b>Mt. Auburn Cemetery</b>, as the sun broke through a day of clouds, dappling incredible beeches and deeply-creviced sugar maples. <br />
<br />
I enjoyed this funny bird who looked almost like a non-blue (grey? white?) blue jay. Large, crowned head, black marks on his otherwise white throat.<br />
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<br />
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<br />
<b><br />
Sunday 8/14</b><br />
<i>late morning, Franklin Park, Jamaica Plain, MA</i><br />
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cool, clear, gorgeous</i><br />
<br />
First, a jay:<br />
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<br />
Next, a funny thing - an acorn falls on my head. After so many stormy fall and winter excursions without incident, it seems totally random to be dinged by an acorn in mid-August. Whoulda thunk?<br />
<br />
I suspect it's yet another premonition that summer is waning - just like the chilly weather two days ago that gave me a wave of frightened recognition. Just when I had settled fully into the idea of always-hot, usually-humid, and never a long-sleeve except to combat indoors-AC...<br />
<br />
A nice jaunt in Franklin Park, which is a-bustle with activity this morning, leads me to the Bevy of the Day. I know it's not the right term for chickadees, but I think it fits this scene - a roadside enclave of several chickadees whose varied songs were a mix of old and new to me. I wonder if some of the higher calls are summer variety, as I don't recognize some of the higher calls from my earlier spring, winter, or fall chickadee sightings.<br />
<br />
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<br />
How to get back on the blogging-wagon after a long sojourn away?<br />
<br />
It was a flurry-ous final couple weeks with <a href="http://blueskydayton.org">Blue Sky Project</a> and I just couldn't keep the blog up, though I did make the occasional birding excursion.<br />
<br />
Daunted by the backlog and lack of written notes, I've decided to have some fun and be a bit inventive with my explanations for each recording. The dates, locations, and characters are more or less accurate. The stories are embellished. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<b>August 11, 2011</b><br />
<i>6:45pm, on the road to Franklin Park, Jamaica Plain, MA<br />
warm, golden, gorgeous</i><br />
<br />
A mysterious animal with the face of a cat, the feet of a bird, and the tail of a squirrel, mewled at me from a low-hanging tree. The sound mesmerized me - it was disturbing, yet entrancing - and I inched closer and closer. I was saved from permanent hypnosis only by the familiar sound of human machinery. A close call! <br />
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<br />
<b>August 10, 2011</b><br />
<i>7:00am-7:45am, Franklin Park, Jamaica Plain, MA</i><br />
<br />
Before my astonished eyes, a rusty metal gate morphed into a blue jay!<br />
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<br />
<b>August 7, 2011</b><br />
<i>7:45am, parking lot, College Park Center, University of Dayton, OH<br />
misty and humid</i><br />
<br />
I wouldn't have expected it in early August, but there they were - a large V of geese headed (roughly) east. A sparrow wearing a bright-orange safety vest directed them, much like ground crew at an airport. <br />
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<br />
<b>August 6, 2011</b><br />
<i>7:00am, Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, OH<br />
</i><br />
In the distance, I saw an Eastern Pee Wee teasing a large hawk. The hawk was clearly upset, so I hurried over to try to help out.<br />
With the judicious use of animal sign-language (silent), I was able to convince the Pee Wee to lay off, though the hawk was a bit of a whiner in the end...<br />
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<br />
<b>August 4, 2011</b><br />
<i>Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, OH</i><br />
<br />
All it takes is one peewee. <br />
As the cemetery maintenance staff revved up for their daily morning tractor race, an excited peewee managed to infect a nearby cardinal with his enthusiasm. Before I knew it, a whole gang of cardinals was gathered, cheeping with excitement and jostling for the best vantage point (branch).<br />
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<br />
<b>July 31, 2011</b><br />
<i>Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, OH</i><br />
<br />
If you ever need some very precise glass-cleaning, I highly recommend the chickadees. They have a special technique using only their toes, a bit of grass, and chickadee speed! <br />
<br />
Here they are scrubbing away at the little glass house of a neighboring cardinal.<br />
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<i>Dayton, OH and Springfield, OH<br />
</i><br />
It's been incredibly humid and hot here the last week - high 90's, swimmably-thick air, etc.<br />
<br />
I've been embroiled(!) in preparing for a duo performance at the Springfield Art Museum with artist Rodney Veal for the opening of his solo multi-media exhibition, which launched beautifully last night.<br />
<br />
Very exciting! It was a really deep collaborative process, with our performance evolving through conversation, play, experimentation. It was fascinating to pick up ideas here and there and fold them into a seamless performance. <br />
<br />
We had decided beforehand to expand our boundaries as performers, so Rodney got to sing, and I got to dance (!) a bit. We snaked our way up and down a gorgeous gallery, interacting with the artwork and each other. It was so new, so fun, and so absorbing to be a part of. Video forthcoming!<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, I snuck some bird moments here and there:<br />
<br />
<b>Saturday, July 23</b><br />
<i>7am-7:40am, Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, OH<br />
</i><br />
<br />
The gate was closed, I meandered in my usual alternate entrance. As I worked my way up the hill, I heard the maintenance truck behind me, and had a moment of panic - oh no, they're going to kick me out! I decided to smile and wave to the maintenance guys as if I belonged there.<br />
<br />
It worked - they waved back as if it wasn't at all strange to see a woman in running clothes with a silver violin-case on her back wandering the grounds when the front gate was still locked. Phew!<br />
<br />
Lots of fun sounds today:<br />
the passing train<br />
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me and a couple peewees - getting my peewee practice in!<br />
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and, a robin joins the conversation:<br />
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<br />
<b>Wednesday, July 20</b><br />
<i>6pm, Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, OH<br />
</i><br />
The entrance of the art museum has some lovely trees and a small garden, where a couple of birds, including a cardinal, hang out regularly. This particular call was new to me, though it may be a bird I've heard in a new guise? Here he is, with some patriotic carillon captured in the background!<br />
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<br />
<b>Monday, July 18</b><br />
<i>8am, Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, OH</i><br />
Sparrows and robins sounding ticked off! I find the bouncing off of various individual's cheeps mesmerizing, the way they interlock and then go in and out of "phase" with each other. <br />
<br />
Later I saw a larger bird fly away, so they may have been provoked.<br />
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cool, scattered clouds, sunrise a beautiful mess of white-gold</i><br />
<br />
Lesson of the day: never assume that you know a place.<br />
<br />
I was groggy this morning, and as I wandered the cemetery I figured, I basically know all the birds here. Cardinals, peewees, robins, sparrows. What's new?<br />
<br />
As it turns out, Mother Nature likes these kinds of challenges, and a few new birds appeared in my aural field today. Of course this happened on the day I didn't bring my binoculars!<br />
<br />
There was this bird - which I thought was sized and moved (hopped) a bit like a robin, but it sounded quite distinct from any robin I've ever heard:<br />
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Then this chipping sound, which I always think should be a chipping sparrow, but then doubt myself as there are actually several birds who make some version of this (a single-pitched trill). On further web consultation, I feel confident that this actually is a chipping sparrow:<br />
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<br />
Most excitingly, I had my Nature Channel adventure of the week. <br />
<br />
First I heard this unfamiliar bird-sound (listen how it morphs into a wood peewee!):<br />
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Following it led me to discover not one, not two, but at least three large birds, hawks of some kind. They had white chests and banded tails, and were smaller than red-tailed hawks. <br />
<br />
I watched a smaller bird fly right over to the tree where the hawks were perched and get chased. Was the little bird a decoy, or a martyr of some kind?<br />
<br />
Following the pack of them, I made my way across the cemetery. I've only ever seen two hawks at the most, so I was quite intrigued by this noisy group of three, who were quite vocal. <br />
<br />
I lost sight of them briefly, only to be tipped off shortly by a ruckus of jays. Normally raucous, they seemed extra upset this time, and I watched as they challenged the hawks, flying and dipping close to them, and got repeatedly ignored or chased off.<br />
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Way better than the Nature Channel!!Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783182053807412285.post-49399490270950575792011-07-15T12:27:00.000-04:002011-07-15T12:27:45.240-04:00Summer 7: Post-Translations<b>July 10-14, 2011</b><br />
<br />
Well, we were inordinately blessed with fine weather this weekend.<br />
<br />
After weeks of worrying, hand-wringing, and rain-venue preparations, <i>Translations</i> totally lucked out and got perfect weather for both our shows (not to mention our dress rehearsal, which finished about 30 minutes before a torrential outburst of rain).<br />
<br />
The two days immediately following our performances were miserably hot (upper 90s) and humid - air you could swim in.<br />
<br />
You can't schedule fine weather, and all I can say is, we were very very lucky. Thanks, Ma Nature!<br />
<br />
So many things to reflect on after the <i>Translations</i> performances, and I've been doing a lot of it.<br />
<br />
A profound sense of gratitude is the common thread. I am so thankful for the opportunity that Blue Sky Project has afforded me to carry out this ambitious (and risky) investigation into such heterogenous elements (as dancers, classically-trained musicians, birds, and iPhones) coming together. <br />
<br />
I am grateful to be working in such a supportive community of artists, youth, neighbors, academics, scientists, starting with Blue Sky and extending with wonderful gooey tentacles into the Greater Dayton community: naturalists at the Aullwood Audubon Center, musicians from the Dayton Philharmonic, University of Dayton, the local youth orchestra, and a Dayton high school national champion in Ornithology! <br />
<br />
What incredible support: from the financial sponsorship of the University of Dayton to the artistic/technical/moral support of the Blue Sky community, whose artists and youth have helped in myriad ways. They've been sounding-boards for my creative process, contributed beautiful watercolor and ink artwork, taken photo documentation (see below!), volunteered as tech crew and vocalists. I love it!<br />
<br />
We've been so fortunate to work with such open-minded and adventurous performers, who brought their stage-proven talents to the vast and unbounded space of the outdoors, exploring the possibilities with enthusiasm.<br />
<br />
What an incredible experience to have a creative vision - an unconventional one, and one that requires so many people - and to be able to realize it in such a short few weeks.<br />
<br />
Rodney and I were definitely building on last summer's collaboration at the Schuster Center, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlT7I7zw1ck"><i>Of a River</i></a>, and it was fantastic to be able to build on our ensemble, with several dancers and musicians returning to work with us.<br />
<br />
Bringing new phenomenal dancers and musicians into our fold was also exciting, and I am hopeful that this is not the last in my work with Rodney: I feel like we are really developing a unique process and medium for the interaction of music and dance. It's an approach that balances improvised material with choreographed/composed material, creates unusually deep relationships between individual dancers and musicians, and challenges conventional experiences of performance space. <br />
<br />
It's literally un-real to have the time and resources to create an ensemble of musicians and dancers who develop a common artistic language - you hear of such groups comprised of musicians only, or dancers only, but I don't know that those worlds normally have the chance to collaborate the way we have here at Blue Sky.<br />
<br />
Collaboration takes a lot of time and a supportive community, two things that are extremely rare in our high-speed, efficient, individualistic culture. I am grateful for the Blue Sky counterweight! <br />
<br />
Thanks to Kaz McCue, resident artist at Blue Sky, for taking incredible photos. Here's a taste:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IBaFVobNzq4/TiBn25Hy74I/AAAAAAAAAmQ/Weqp3rkF2Fc/s1600/Translations_Color+02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IBaFVobNzq4/TiBn25Hy74I/AAAAAAAAAmQ/Weqp3rkF2Fc/s320/Translations_Color+02.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BG2iZeW6_eU/TiBBE6rgtHI/AAAAAAAAAl8/l4IVy0r6j4E/s1600/IMG_6226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BG2iZeW6_eU/TiBBE6rgtHI/AAAAAAAAAl8/l4IVy0r6j4E/s320/IMG_6226.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oCgvSmI9zH4/TiBoWbqDm1I/AAAAAAAAAmY/04siuK9w-M0/s1600/IMG_6446.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oCgvSmI9zH4/TiBoWbqDm1I/AAAAAAAAAmY/04siuK9w-M0/s320/IMG_6446.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783182053807412285.post-10417300216479000842011-07-09T13:14:00.000-04:002011-07-09T13:14:21.178-04:00Summer 6: Becoming Cardinal7:45am-8:45am, Woodland Cemetery (with detour to Walgreen's and Krogers), Dayton, OH<br />
clear, warm<br />
<br />
It was a mistake, I've decided, to skip so many of my morning nature expeditions these last couple weeks. <br />
<br />
Everything has been ramping up for the <i><a href="http://www.abirdaday.org/p/performances.html">Translations</a></i> performances, and I had dropped the morning routine in order to have enough time to pull things off, letting other, briefer moments suffice for my daily bird. <br />
<br />
It's difficult to balance between my commitment to a healthy daily regimen as proscribed by A Bird a Day, and the necessary hectic-ness involved in producing a major event.<br />
<br />
Clearly, I've been away too long. I feel the calmness, the slowing down of my mind and body as an exotic elixir. Ironic, that the creation of such an experience for audiences (Translations) has resulted in me missing out on it for many days!<br />
<br />
On the other hand, the absence has made my heart grow fonder, and I was delighted to jam with two cardinals at the cemetery.<br />
<br />
Was my whistle well-rested after not being utilized for weeks? Or have I been intuiting the song of Ohio's state bird the last month, since it is always around?<br />
Whatever the reason, I felt unusually capable in my cardinal mimic today (the sonically-reflective asphalt road and smooth buildings didn't hurt!).<br />
<br />
At one point, one cardinal upped his register, and I laughed out loud. He was out to test me, I'm just sure of it!<br />
<br />
It's soothing and grounding to remember the point of this project.<br />
<br />
I feel like no matter what happens in tonight's performance, my day, and this project, has been fulfilled. I got to jam with two cardinals. I had my moment of peaceful meditation. It's more than enough for one day, and that's all I'm aiming for.<br />
<br />
(Updates on the rest of the week to come...)Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783182053807412285.post-18179489615331235572011-07-04T16:06:00.000-04:002011-07-04T16:06:37.039-04:00Summer 5: A Week in ReviewIt's been an oh-so-busy, yet-fun week! Just six days until <i>Translations</i>!<br />
No time to make individual posts, here is the whole stretch of last week for you:<br />
<br />
<b>Monday, July 4 </b><br />
<i>10:20am, ArtStreet, University of Dayton, OH<br />
light rain</i><br />
<br />
Today I heard some goldfinches doing their "huh?" call in the little green space behind my apartment. I ran back for my recorder, as I really wanted to get them down. (I'm forever having trouble distinguishing it from the very similar question-mark-call of the Eastern Wood-Peewee.)<br />
<br />
However, in the few minutes it took me to get back down, the soundscape had changed dramatically. The rain was beginning to sprinkle, and the goldfinches were quiet. The only remaining singers were the usual house sparrows, and this lovely song sparrow:<br />
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<br />
<b>Saturday, July 2</b><br />
<i>9:20am-9:40am, Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, OH<br />
humid and very warm</i><br />
<br />
It's a jogging-listening-meditation this morning, and I'm happy to hear this Wood Peewee. I've been trying to calculate how long the pauses between Peewee calls should be (about 10 seconds, it turns out), so this encounter helps.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>Friday, July 1</b><br />
Today was a composition day, after many days of running around. I needed to really nail down the music for the Prairie, and I got some good ideas started - though I also keep going in circles with exactly how to notate/instruct the musicians.<br />
<br />
Yesterday's two field sparrows inspired me to make a kind of surround-sound tapestry of accelerating notes on multiple violins - the bow technique where it bounces rapidly at the end is known as "ricochet".<br />
<br />
Here's a sample:<br />
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<br />
<b>Thursday, June 30</b><br />
8:15am-9:45am, Aullwood Audubon Center, Englewood, OH<br />
<br />
It's Adult Nature Walk again, and today the crowd is larger than expected! I have to duck into the Center to make some extra copies of the fliers I brought for <i>Translations</i>.<br />
<br />
By the time I get out, I've lost the walkers, and I end up wandering the Audubon grounds by myself. It's the first time I've properly explored on my own, so I don't mind so much.<br />
<br />
I get to hear these two, very similar-sounding birds in a prairie - the first is definitely a field sparrow with its accelerating single pitch, but I'm not sure about the second one, whose pitch rises. I love the juxtaposition though! <br />
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<br />
<b>Wednesday, June 29</b><br />
<i>3:30pm-5:15pm, Aullwood Garden, Englewood, OH<br />
hot, sunny</i><br />
<br />
I've come with UD music student Phil Titlebaum to check out the possibilities of drums, crotales, cymbals, wood-blocks, and bows in the woods.<br />
<br />
I'm not going to give away too many secrets, but there was a new bird for the day (with some lingering percussion in the background):<br />
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<i>10:50am-11:40am, Aullwood Garden MetroPark<br />
breezy, sunny, a few clouds</i><br />
<br />
Today I came to Aullwood with my friend Chris Shea, who, in addition to being the director of <a href="http://freeshakespeare.com/">Free Shakespeare</a>, plays some amazing singing bowls. (That's a little internet-bonus secret of our upcoming performance <i>Translations</i>).<br />
<br />
We were excited to find the perfect spot in the woods for him and his otherworldly bowls, and we began to hike up the long loop trail to find it. <br />
<br />
I was concerned that the trail was simply too narrow, but as we neared the area I imagined for him, a little side loop appeared, magically. A perfect co-inciding of our needs with this space. <br />
<br />
We placed his table on the main trail, by a fallen tree that crosses it, and it's as if the side loop was made to divert walkers around Chris and his bowls, instead of the tree. <br />
<br />
Second coincidence: two of the three bowls that we randomly grabbed for the soundcheck correspond perfectly to the pitches of one of the birds in the woods. Nice.<br />
<br />
Here's the bird, and my version of it:<br />
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<br />
I like the idea of co - incidents. Two (or more) things happening at the same time, and there being some significance to their contemporaneity. That's kind of the underlying principle of the sound for <i>Translations</i> - how the happening of this bird here, plus the statements of that bird there, each basically doing his own thing, creates its own kind of meaningful music. I am seeking to emulate this principle in human forms. Co - incidents.Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783182053807412285.post-4914207751832884302011-06-26T23:01:00.001-04:002011-06-28T21:19:34.827-04:00Summer 3: Sparrow-Chickadee Sandwich<b>June 24-26, 2011</b><br />
<br />
All weekend the birds outside the music studio were distracting me from my work at hand .. especially that house finch which I have yet to transcribe! I was trying to focus on the recordings and birds from Aullwood, but it was maddening to hear so many birds outside at the same time.<br />
<br />
<b>sparrow</b><br />
At one point on Friday I ran out of the studio because I thought I heard a cool new bird outside. However, by the time I got out there, all that was left were the usual sparrows:<br />
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<br />
<b>chickadee </b><br />
Saturday morning I made an excursion to Woodland Cemetery, where I heard the four-note call of the Carolina Chickadee that Tom Hissong had told me about. Here are two different birds going at it!<br />
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Chickadee #2 on his own:<br />
<br />
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<br />
The rest of the day was focused on getting sounds, ideas, and transcriptions together for the dancers for <a href="http://www.abirdaday.org/p/performances.html"><i>Translations</i></a>, who would meet Sunday for the first time. I pulled a late nighter for the first time in a long while, and felt like an earnest college student when I left the music studio at 1am. I guess I don't usually have access to spaces where I can play and make music that late into the night!<br />
<br />
I was pretty happy with my sound samples (mimics of birdsong evolving into musical phrases), especially the Carolina Wren and the Wood Thrush. These are two birds I've recorded in the entrance area of Aullwood Garden, and they have great songs.<br />
<br />
The Carolina Wren I tried to slow down by the "heart rate" principle, bringing the tempo (and thus pitch) more in relation with human heart rate:<br />
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The Wood Thrush is an amazing songster, I get to play double-stops (two pitches at the same time) to try to match the original bird:<br />
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The two birds fit nicely together, which is good since these two will eventually come together in one "super-pod" during the performance:<br />
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<br />
<b>sparrow </b><br />
Today, Sunday, I did some final transcriptions and recordings for the rehearsal with dancers. It's a sparrow-chickadee-sparrow sandwich this weekend, as I ended up grabbing this recording of house sparrows during my lunch break. Am I crazy because I've been in intense birdsong mode, or are these birds jamming in a delightfully incidental way?<br />
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<i>8:10am-9:45am, Aullwood Audubon Center, Englewood, OH<br />
overcast, cool</i><br />
<br />
I've come to the weekly "Adult Nature Walk" at the Audubon Center in hopes of recruiting some birders for <i>Translations</i>: an exploration of birdsong, sound, and movement (official name of my upcoming dance and music collaboration with Rodney).<br />
<br />
Tom Hissong, the naturalist who I met last week, is leading the walk, and he is kind enough to introduce me to the group of walkers and let me give a quick spiel about the project.<br />
<br />
I don't get any instant volunteers, but I figure, I can come back next week to get folks on board.<br />
<br />
The walk itself is fantastic - I get to ask Tom about a whole bunch of songs whose birds I've been trying to figure out. I learn to name the Carolina Wren (teakettle teakettle teakettle) and the Acadia Flycatcher (peet-sah!). Here's the Acadian Flycatcher in both original and my mimicked versions:<br />
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I realize that the mystery prairie bird of last week, with an undulating pitch that reminds me of a car alarm, may well have been a <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Wren/sounds">House Wren</a>. <br />
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I hear and see for the very first time an Indigo Bunting (beautiful blue bird!) and a Summer Tanager. The tanager impresses me with his volume and projection - he must be at least 150 yards away and I can hear him loud and clear. Compare that to my little violin trying to rise over the volume of a small creek the other day!<br />
<br />
The summer tanager wins Bird of the Day! The disadvantage to group walks is that it's hard to get clean audio:<br />
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<br />
The experiential teaching prize today goes to Tom, who teaches me to forever remember the stinging nettle by rubbing a bit on the back of my hand. Before the rash has even welted, he puts an antidote plant's juices on the spot.<br />
<br />
It's the first time I've voluntarily subjected myself to a rash, and I have to say, it makes me feel hard-core! I am bemused and entertained every time I look at it (the rash dissipates in a few hours).Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783182053807412285.post-46349636458590836902011-06-26T18:47:00.001-04:002011-06-26T23:09:32.678-04:00Summer 1: Solstice<b>Tuesday, June 21, 2011</b><br />
<i>9:00am-11:20am, Aullwood Garden MetroPark, Englewood, OH<br />
very warm, humid, scattered clouds</i><br />
<br />
I fantasized about catching the sunrise and the sunset on our longest day of the year, but failed on both counts.<br />
<br />
It was a cloudy dawn, so my lazy rising at 6:30am was purely in search of a photo of the early morning, cloud-streaked sky:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i1uZkcjEZCE/Tgf0WcyL4-I/AAAAAAAAAlI/gjKfwwipex4/s1600/sky%2BJune%2B21%2B2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i1uZkcjEZCE/Tgf0WcyL4-I/AAAAAAAAAlI/gjKfwwipex4/s320/sky%2BJune%2B21%2B2011.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
Later Rodney Veal, choreographer (and creative partner-in-crime!), and I went to Aullwood Garden to meet Glen Pottenger, park manager, and to go over logistics and use of the space. <br />
<br />
We got to Aullwood an hour before the meeting to investigate and plan our performance. It was our first time exploring the park together, and I showed Rodney some of my favorite places.<br />
<br />
Together, we narrowed down the specific spots where we would put musicians and/or dancers, and where the culminating final piece would take place. Rodney was concerned about the length of the wooded trail (1 mile), so we decided to put up signs at both ends indicating the distance, so that less-mobile patrons would be informed.<br />
<br />
We also ran sound checks and discovered that a violin has to play pretty darn loud to be heard over a babbling brook! A friendly park visitor helped out with sound-checks for a little while.<br />
<br />
My bird of the day was actually on the bridge on the way from the parking lot to the park entrance. (I learned later that it is a Carolina Wren!)<br />
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Here is my version:<br />
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<br />
I can't remember now if it rained through the sunset, or if I just got too busy with work, but suffice it to say, I missed both the exact beginning and the exact end of the solstice this year...!Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783182053807412285.post-24792761087211767392011-06-26T18:29:00.000-04:002011-06-26T18:29:53.971-04:00Spring 86: Birds on High<b>Monday, June 20, 2011</b><br />
<i>5:20pm - 6:30pm, Aullwood Garden MetroPark, Englewood, OH<br />
warm, humid, rainy</i><br />
<br />
I've come to investigate the park and confirm the time of day our July 9th performance. I've been thinking 6pm, since the woods seem to get dark early, and today's visit confirms this as a good hour.<br />
<br />
As soon as I enter, I hear my first wood thrush of Aullwood! It's beautiful, and I'm excited to add him to the list of birds that can be included in the show.<br />
<br />
I walk through the wooded path two times, trying to get a feel for the space. It's longer than I remembered. I hear robins, a cardinal, a crow, and maybe a goldfinch.. or wood peewee?<br />
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<br />
Lots of these really high birds, who are my Birds of the Day:<br />
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By the creek, I discover a tree with incredibly gnarled, exposed roots, and instantly imagine a dancer with limbs twisted in imitation. <br />
<br />
Lots of new birds in the meadows who I still need to learn ...!Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783182053807412285.post-43445073413089962702011-06-19T22:58:00.000-04:002011-06-19T22:58:24.290-04:00Spring 85: Sweet Carolina<i>9:00am-9:20am, ArtStreet and environs, University of Dayton, OH<br />
overcast and humid</i><br />
<br />
It's one of those days that is hard to wake up. The light is dim from an almost-stormy sky, and my eyes just don't see the point of opening.<br />
<br />
I take the lazy Sunday morning option and sit out by the sweet little hollow of rushes and foliage right behind my apartment. It's a tiny little green wilderness in the middle of a concrete and lawn-ed landscape.<br />
<br />
One of my fellow artists, Marin, has seen lots of goldfinches out here, so I decide to look for them. <br />
<br />
Not much movement this morning, but eventually I see about five or six goldfinches, none of whom care to sing. All that I hear are a few raucously loud house sparrows amplified by the smooth cement.<br />
<br />
I go for a stroll and discover a couple Carolina chickadees on a neighboring lawn. Admittedly, I am only aware that they are Carolina (and not Black-Capped as the ones in Boston are) because Tom Hissong at Aullwood Audubon pointed this out to me last week. Still, it is fun to listen closely and try to suss out the nuance - the Carolina's "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" is faster than the Black-Capped, and (though I didn't hear it yet) they sing with four or more call notes instead of two. <br />
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<i>8:20am - 9:20am, Aullwood Garden MetroPark, Englewood, OH<br />
cool</i><br />
<br />
Back to Aullwood for further investigation. I'm trying to get a feel for the different settings within this park, the potential "scenes" that the upcoming performance can contain.<br />
<br />
Scene 1: The Woods<br />
It's buggy and cool this morning, and I regret leaving my jacket in the van. My stay in the woods is not as leisurely as I would have liked, as I battle the little mosquitoes.<br />
<br />
It's also not resounding with birds this morning, though I decide to annoint this Red-Eyed Vireo as the Bird of the Day:<br />
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<br />
I realize that the woods are not large, and it would be easy to overwhelm them with birdcalls. Just one or two additional "birds" (human-mimics) in the performance will be plenty.<br />
<br />
Scene 2: The Beech Lawn<br />
Upon my exit from the woods path, I am alarmed to discover that the path up to the Beech Lawn is marked Private. When I double back a few yards, I am relieved to see the second pathway is open to the public.<br />
<br />
It's a nice view and different feel up here, with the adjacent running creek. However, I forgot to record the soundscape here!<br />
<br />
Scene 3: The Flowerbeds<br />
The grass is really wet here, but a sign clearly indicates that I am to walk across it to reach the flowerbeds and apple trees.<br />
<br />
I do so, and am glad for this birdscape that I hear, between the various trees:<br />
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<br />
Scene 4: The Prairie<br />
This is one of my favorite parts of the Garden - it's so distinctly different, and the crickets? cicadas? create a wonderful drone that I want to replicate and play with.<br />
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<br />
Scene 4: The River<br />
It's lovely path between the Garden and the parking lot, and I take a long sit by the slow-moving river. A heron is poised in the middle of the river, still and quiet, and I listen for a long time to the birds who sing around him.<br />
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overcast, cool, windy</i><br />
<br />
It was a tour of the Five Rivers MetroParks System today as I tried to hone in on a performance site for July.<br />
<br />
I started the morning at Hills and Dales, where I heard my first wood thrush of Ohio (competing with lawn mower on adjacent golf course):<br />
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<br />
Hills and Dales is a lovely, long and narrow winding park that is at times sandwiched between two golf courses. I liked being able to disappear into the ultra-green woods on the Adirondack Trail off of Hirton Road (in between peeks of golf course!) <br />
<br />
However, the long layout, and the sound of passing traffic on adjacent roads, is not a good fit for the performance I had in mind. <br />
<br />
Next I checked out Wesleyan MetroPark, which is located in West Dayton along Wolf Creek. It is categorized as an "urban park" and I was curious to see it.<br />
<br />
The park is small, and has a paved trail that winds by the Creek, including an awesome view of an old railroad bridge. I could imagine dancers on that bridge. However, it doesn't have the variety of terrains I'm looking for.<br />
<br />
Later this evening, I made my way to Cox Arboretum.<br />
<br />
Cox is a well-known destination for Daytonians, and for good reason. The gardens and ponds are gorgeous, and there are miles of trails to explore. <br />
<br />
My main concern is acoustic - the traffic from nearby freeways is quite audible in the entrance area of the park. It dissipates considerably as you venture further in, but I don't think I can plan a performance that necessitates a half-mile hike to get to. Or can I?<br />
<br />
Alternately, it's been pointed out to me that the ambient traffic noise is a part of our everyday reality, so perhaps I should embrace it. That's hard for me, though. I don't hear beauty in the sound of traffic. <br />
<br />
It's been an intense couple of days of venue-searching, and I don't like the harried way that I've been running from park to park. That's not the point of this project! Nor is it the point to burn tons of fossil fuels as I have been, driving from park to park (my ideal site would be bike-able!).<br />
<br />
At Cox, I took a welcome sit below an arbor to reflect. The point of this project is to take time to tune into the natural world, and to carve out space for meditative listening and observation. Can I really rush my way into creating meditative work? <br />
<br />
I resolved to figure out a way to stay true to the unhurried, patient pace that is the impetus for this project, even if it means letting go of some of my exciting ideas. <br />
<br />
Perhaps I need to do smaller performances at a variety of sites, not just one. <br />
<br />
I could have daily mini-performances where my violin and I interact with my environment in a deeply observational way, kind of a "chamber music" or free improvisation with the world (see <a href="http://www.abirdaday.org/2011/06/spring-72-expedition-with-fiddle.html">June 3</a>). <br />
<br />
Or perhaps I could organize weekly performances, at a different park each week, with different collaborating artist/performers each time?<br />
<br />
Good thoughts to mull over.Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783182053807412285.post-73004708335282970442011-06-15T22:35:00.000-04:002011-06-15T22:35:49.204-04:00Spring 82: Aullwood!<i>8:20pm-10:00pm, Aullwood Audubon Center and Aullwood Garden MetroPark, Dayton, OH<br />
breezy, cool, full-ish moon</i><br />
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After a day at <a href="http://springfieldart.museum/joomla/">Springfield Art Museum</a> with Rodney, checking out the space for our July 23 performance, I made my way up north to the famed Aullwood Audubon Center and the Aullwood Garden as possible performance sites.<br />
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I was surprised to see a number of cars in the lot at the Audubon Center, and learned that there was a "Moon Walk" happening shortly. Sounded fun, but I was on an investigative mission to check out the Garden before dark.<br />
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From the moment I opened the car door, I heard many more birds than usual. A quick glance confirmed that the Audubon's facilities - feeders and birdhouses - were likely factors in encouraging birds to hang out here.<br />
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I wandered via a wooded path towards the Garden. I came upon today's new bird just as I approached a prairie:<br />
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Very cool, and I loved all the birds in the background as well, a couple of whom are new to me. <br />
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Shortly after, as I walked through the prairie, I was attacked.<br />
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No kidding, there were these small swallows darting through the air, and one that kept dive-bombing at my head (with a menacing little shriek). I had to duck to avoid being gored. <br />
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Totally terrifying, as evidenced in this clip:<br />
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Definitely my first time being attacked by a bird, and I couldn't stop alternately laughing and freaking out about how Hitchcock-ian it was. I figured I was too close to a nest, and ran my way through the prairie to get away from these scary birds.<br />
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(INTERLUDE: I discovered the perfect site for the environmental-music-dance installation I've been plotting: Aullwood Garden. It's an ideal scale - not too big, but plenty of nooks and crannies to explore and to set different sonic "scenes" in, from wooded trail to creek to planned gardens to beech lawn.)<br />
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On my way back, I heard the Moon Walk folks - ON THE DANGEROUS PRAIRIE PATH - and decide to find out what on earth those attacking birds were.<br />
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Chris Rowlands, Audubon naturalist, generously allowed me to join the party. He explained that the birds were tree swallows, and as insect-eaters were probably diving for mosquitoes around my body.<br />
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I wasn't not 100% convinced - I mean, that one bird was out to GET me!! - but decided it's a much more likely explanation. I joined the party in hopes of talking to Chris more about Aullwood, the Audubon Center, and potential collaborations.<br />
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It's a good thing, as I got to experience some pretty amazing things on this walk. First of all, it's really fun to walk in the dark, with no flashlight, with a group of strangers. <br />
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Next, Chris does an amazing impersonation of a woodcock. I'm not sure the real bird could be more entertaining!<br />
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Then, I got to hear the Rubber Band Orchestra - a pond full of Green Frogs:<br />
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Several stunning glimpses of a very bright, full moon.<br />
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Final magical moment was was seeing the prairie grasses lit up by dozens of flashing fireflies. One of my fellow walkers had red light-up sneakers, a funny parallel aesthetic that made me smile.Shaw Ponghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14194076730745834266noreply@blogger.com0