sound/garden

if it were below 90 degrees, I probably would have caught them....


don't stick your hand in there!


discovering a gypsy moth caterpillar:(


toads off roading


children chillin'


Last night I had a dream I was skiing in south america. I guess it kept me cool enough to sleep through the wave of heat and humidity we're "enjoying." I'm looking forward to our annual pilgrammage to the sawyer cottage and taking a long swim in the cool lake. Not to mention the fresh blueberries, grilling, reading books, daily beach trips, climbing the dune (but mostly running down at full speed hoping Kola doesn't bite the dust.)

The boys have tolerated the heat pretty well. I was impressed that they clocked 7 (sweltering) hours at the arb the other day. The excursion was facilitated by our resident environmental educator - grandma - who gave them lots to observe and think about. She also brought a handful of baby toads from her home's driveway, which were relocated in a beautiful, shady, damp spot in the woods. The lucky buggers probably thought their doomed fate was sealed in the tupperware and honda they travelled in, but they hit greener pastures just before their soggy paper towel dried up.

"Monster" took new variations as I chased the boys throught the animal houses on exhibit there. Usually, I was a fox chasing squirrels and beavers, but they seemed to like it best when I was a skunk, go figure.

We've been on a sound kick here lately. I've been subjecting, er exposing, the boys to my music collection and it's fun to see what they latch on to. Most people would think brainwashing is involved, but they were truly drawn to English Beat (several tracks), Smashing Pumpkins (rhino.), Pearl Jam (black), some of my all-time favorites. We zip through radio stations, too, and have compiled a list of about a dozen songs I'll put on CD for them, ranging from Rush (spirit of the radio) to Led Zepp (over the hills and far away) to the violent femmes (blister...). "Mom, do you have this one?" Several selections are in the boxes of cassette tapes stowed in the basement. iTunes here we come. Kola is drawn to the drums and guitars and organized beats with hooks. Ethan seems to like abstract sounds, time changes, and I think might appreciate some of my dad's jazz fusion CDs like weather report - we'll see.

E is interested in making his own sounds, mostly for the sake of making train announcements as we drive beside a track. He's able to name upcoming train stations correctly (Next Stop...) and uses his empty stainless water bottle in the car to imitate the pre-recorded messages, right down to the tinniness and attitude (Doors Open on the Left at LaSalle. Transfer to...) He uses a sound maker we have to ID different signals for his train layout and Kola is supposed to follow the sounds to make the trains back up or switch or slow down, with mixed results. Maybe if the foreman paid his employee, we'd have a better hit rate on that.

Ethan asked for details on how songs on the radio are made. Kola asked for details on why we can't watch it. We discussed sound engineers and sound boards, levels, base and treble. Does anyone have an 8-track recorder I can borrow??

We're hitting the yellow brick road soon, and will post our vacation journal upon our return! xo b/s/e/k