Today we had the Care for Creation meeting after Mass, which is usually the second Sunday, but thankfully it was very short because I really wanted to get outside. First Travalon and I went to Culver's to get the salted caramel pumpkin concrete mixers we hadn't been able to get last night, and I was delighted to find they have a "mini" size, which is just the right amount for me. Then we took a walk on Governor's Island before my drumming class.
Today the teacher said to use the drum you used last week, but I said I hadn't been there last week. I had been playing the very biggest drum, but someone had already claimed that, and all the surdos were claimed, so I grabbed a caixa, which is basically a snare drum. The teacher stopped me and told me to play a repique, so I did, and it was fine but I still prefer the surdos. We grooved for an hour and a half, and when Travalon picked me up, I was too tired to do anything, so we watched the rail yard, but nothing ever happens there on a Sunday. He dropped me off early for the Slow Irish Session, which the Flute Player led today so it was like Moldy Jam - no projected notes (but people could use music if they wanted to), and we went around the room and each chose a tune or two. My regular readers will be stunned to learn that I called "Kid on the Mountain" with "Butterfly." Can't beat slipjigs in E Dorian, am I right? Two of my bandmates came too, since I was going to be there, and Hardingfele had a concert this afternoon and didn't want to go to band practice afterwards. I thought I would be too rusty and too braindead after drumming to succeed at fiddling, but it comes right back. We all had a really good time.
My FitBit recorded all this music playing as exercise, so it thought I got almost 14K steps today, while my phone said I barely got 5K. I don't know, phone - that drumming sure felt like exercising to me!
As promised, here are some photos from our hike on the Blackhawk Segment of the Ice Age Trail yesterday. But first, a photo of a tree in our neighborhood that also looks like a one-eyed monster, but one that's a cheerleader:
Stay tuned for lots of great photos of China Lights!
Famous Hat
