jump to navigation

Subterranean Summer Reading Club June 21, 2007

Posted by Dale in Books, Stories from the Stage.
2 comments

The orchestra started rehearsals for the Charlottetown Festival last Thursday, and we were thrown straight into the fire – a gruelling 7 rehearsals in 3 days. And just so things wouldn’t get stale, we had our first show on Monday. Just like that we are in full swing. Aside from the weekly paycheque, the greatest thing about starting up a new summer season in the orchestra pit is that I can finally get some reading done! Which means, dear reader, that you will finally see some action in my “Currently reading” sidebar. Along with getting to a few books that have been on the back burner for a while, I will be catching up on all the magazines that came through the door over the winter.

Now before you start imagining that I must have very little to play in the shows, let me assure you that I earn my pay. Anne of Green Gables-The Musical is full of notes (some of them quite challenging!), but we do get breaks while they yak about stuff on stage, and during my 17 years playing in Anne, I have honed my peripheral awareness skills to the point where I can drop my book in my lap, pick up the trombone and start playing, all in a heartbeat and right on cue. And while Anne is rich in music, it is also rich in dialogue, leaving me with enough breaks to actually be able to tackle some fairly substantial reading. Two summers ago I managed to read The Hobbit and the complete Lord of the Rings trilogy, and still had time for some Far Side collections! Stay tuned here to see what’s on my Pit Reading List this summer.

And since we’re on the topic of the Charlottetown Festival – If the audiences’ reactions the last two nights are any indication, it seems that British Invasion! is going to be a huge hit this summer. The sets and costumes are amazing, the tunes are great, the cast is fantastic – I think it is even better than Canada Rocks! If you enjoyed that, then you are in for a treat with British Invasion! Mick Jagger’s antics alone are worth the price of admission. Then again, how would I know? I’m too busy reading in the pit!

Distress in Desable June 8, 2007

Posted by Dale in Environment, Life on PEI, Wildlife.
2 comments

It is almost a perfect day today – sunny but not too hot, with a nice breeze to keep the mosquitoes at bay. Almost perfect, except that the pleasant chirping of birds is being punctuated by the sound of fake gunshots created by some stupid machine placed by a local farmer in his field to scare away the crows or raccoons or something. How stupid does he think they are?

So much for peace and tranquility in our woodland refuge.

Farmer Featherbrain started using his “gunshot machine” a few years ago, and some of the neighbours registered complaints about it. Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done – although it is extremely annoying, it does not exceed the decibel level allowed by noise bylaws. So, all we can do is put up with it and curse him under our breath. I suppose we should be grateful that he’s not starting it up at 5:00 AM anymore. After a couple of mornings of that, one of our neighbours would go over and shut it off, but when Mr. Muggins found out, he put up “No Trespassing” signs, and threatened to shoot the guy if he caught him on his land. Nice. He eventually listened to reason – well, sort of – and compromised by holding off until 7:00.

One of Herr Brain’s latest projects is to cut down all the trees surrounding his fields. I guess he figures if the crows have no place to perch, they won’t come around. Hmm, is it possible he hasn’t figured out that THEY CAN FLY…

Killing trees generates quite a pile of brush which our resident genius disposes of by setting on fire. Because they are green, the burning brush piles generate great plumes of smoke, polluting the air for miles downwind and adding to the sensory overload. And of course, our neighbourhood numskull doesn’t worry too much about acquiring burning permits, or the attendant bans of such on dry days.

One interesting fact that has arisen from all of this is the discovery that he has had corn in the same field for 3 or 4 years straight, which is a blatant contravention of PEI’s Agricultural Crop Rotation Act. As a result of this discovery, Farmer Featherbrain was fined – some consolation for the neighbourhood perhaps, although I honestly doubt the consequences amounted to more than a slap on the wrist.

How do you talk sense into someone like this? Hmm, I wonder what he would think of me practicing the trombone across from his house…