Looking up

Things are looking up here in West Marlborough Township: in the past few days I've received two emails from neighbors sharing their avian news.
One was nice enough to sent me a video she took showing flocks of black birds flying past the bare trees, chirping away like crazy. She wrote: "Every Spring, we get literally thousands of little birds that swarm through our property for just one day. They are so noisy that we can hear them from inside the house, even with the doors and windows shut. It really is magical!"
Reports another: "I am so very EXCITED - I heard the Canada geese begin their northern migration on Monday over the farm.  Every year they make a particular sound as they migrate north or south over the farm. I put that on Facebook and several said it was no big deal, but then another friend who is really into birding posted photos of the migration which he saw over towards the Oxford area.  Then the migration continued yesterday and this morning  - TRUMPET SOUND!!!!!!" She adds that there are Purple Martins building nests in her back-yard Purple Martin house. "Spring is really on its way!"
I think we are ALL ready for spring. Didn't it feel positively balmy when the thermometer rose above freezing for a few days? Muddy, yes, but warm!

The optimum ride

Each spring I receive a thick, glossy catalog of summer programs from a New Age retreat center. Among the varied offerings on yoga, telepathy, cleansing, memoir-writing, shamanic journeying, empowerment, and meditation, one might be of particular interest to some Unionville readers: "Conscious Horseback Riding." According to its description, the goal of this class is to learn "how we create our own experience" and to "achieve the optimum ride" using "a series of mounted asanas and breathwork." There are two hours of instruction in the mornings and "some bareback work" in the afternoons.
Perhaps they could offer a special deal if you take that class along with "Soul-Level Animal Communication" ("Learn about animal soul contracts and how animals use them to assist and heal us") and the numerous courses that are offered about spiritual healing from chronic injuries, trauma and pain.

Staples removed?

I saw a newspaper story about how Staples is planning to close many of its office-supply stores and reduce the size of the remaining ones; no word on whether the Kennett store will be affected. Staples management is saying that, like many retailers, to remain competitive they need to reduce their brick-and-mortar footprint because so much buying has shifted to the Internet. But as the Cranky Friend commented, who wants to buy a box of paperclips online? I always appreciate the helpful staff at the local Staples, too, who met the significant challenge of helping me buy and configure a new computer last year.

Grease

We saw the Unionville High School production of "Grease" on Saturday night. It was super; what a talented, energetic bunch of kids! The singing and dancing in the big production numbers were just terrific, and I loved some of the clever background "business," like when the greaser boys stacked tires around the hapless nerd Eugene.
After the curtain call, the cast presented flowers and thanks to the adults who directed the show (and what a logistical challenge that must have been, with all the snow days this winter!). It was so sweet when Jackie Tremblay, who did a marvelous job playing the cynical, hardened Rizzo, choked up when she gave director Betsy Ballard her bouquet.
Huge congratulations to everyone involved in this terrific production, and I hope you had an awesome and memorable cast party. You will be happy to know that my date did a doo-wop shuffle on the way back to the car, and I found myself belting out "Hopelessly Devoted to You" in the shower this morning.

Levi Weaver

Singer Levi Weaver presented a fascinating show at the Hockessin Baptist Church on Friday night. He used a suitcase full of digital gadgets to create amazing aural effects; he recorded snippets of his voice and then played them back while singing along with himself, adding layer upon layer of harmony. One mike that he used made his voice sound like an ethereal choir encircling around the room.
Levi, a gangly fellow with a shock of dark hair, hails from Texas, is the son of a rodeo cowboy, and now lives in an RV with his wife and kids. Between songs he spoke about his struggles with keeping religious faith (after all, the concert was in a church hall). He said that a few years ago he was diagnosed with depression and checked "yes" to almost all the boxes on a depression survey the doctor gave him. Then they asked for his occupation: "I wrote down, `Musician'. It was kind of like extra credit."
Headlining the show was an adorable and earnest young couple, Jenny & Tyler. They sang some very sweet love songs, including one about how Jenny gave up her beloved one-eyed cat because Tyler was allergic to him.

Harry Sighting

On Daylight Savings Sunday morning (possibly afternoon) I stopped in at Hood's for a breakfast sandwich and was delighted to run into my old friend Harry Wackerman, who runs the Kennett Senior Center's used bookstore on Union Street in downtown Kennett. Harry was telling me how much he enjoys living out here in the beautiful West Marlborough countryside.

Monument

The large monument honoring Indian Hannah, considered the last of the Lenni-Lenape Indians, was moved on Thursday, March 6, from its old site along Route 52 north -- the stretch that was abandoned when the new road opened -- and now sits opposite the main entrance of Longwood Gardens, just across Longwood Road, at the Brandywine Valley Tourism Information building. When I saw the freshly transplanted monument at its new home the afternoon of Friday, March 7, the base was still swaddled in a blue tarpaulin. I was very glad to see the marker again, and it will certainly get a lot more sun than it did in its old shaded location. I'm told a re-dedication ceremony is planned for the spring, with dignitaries.