That’s your trigger warning, and it’s all you’re getting, except this: if you have a shellfish allergy, do not eat cicadas. I’m here to clarify things and dispute misinformation on websites written by people who have no first-hand experience (or possibly robots), where they talk about one cicada stage and…
When the pandemic hit, everything and everyone was frozen in time and circumstance. One consequence of that, at least in our collective conversations about financial assistance and vaccine distribution, is that people are defined by their jobs. I know that there have to be metrics in order to be as…
JANUARY 11, 2021 Washington, DC: Like many, I’m having trouble coming up with words to describe how the events of January 6, 2021, are affecting me. Some of those words must be kept private. But I’m offering a little photo essay about a flawed city that I have loved enough…
DECEMBER 23, 2020 One thing I’ve been missing during the pandemic is singing for funerals. As strange as that may sound, I have found that lifting up my voice to comfort and support people who are grieving is some of my most fulfilling work. It is a kind of service…
NOVEMBER 30, 2020 Here’s a snapshot of a strange moment in the history of musical performance. The Church of the Epiphany Tuesday Concert Series, where I’ve performed may times both as a soloist and in ensembles, is virtual right now because of the pandemic. It’s recorded on Monday with no…
NOVEMBER 6, 2020 Something about having a hobby that is dependent on the tides – stand-up paddleboarding – feels ancient, gives me a connection to my most basic existence. I depend on an online chart rather than observing the moon or the water itself, but still, having to put in…
An ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) is a good one for a beginning birder. They nest in the Washington, DC, area, and during spring and fall, migrating birds show up in great numbers on the way to their nesting grounds as far north as British Columbia (spring) and their wintering grounds anywhere…
It wasn’t a birding trip. I was supposed to be doing some serious biking on this, the nicest day we’d had in at least six weeks. I was in exercise deficit. It felt glorious, being on the bike and not feeling the resistance in the very air that has defined…
I’ve always been interested in how creative people deal with limits and barriers. The pandemic-related restrictions on public gatherings have caused great disruptions for performers like myself and many in my circle. I want to highlight one friend and colleague who has successfully brought his skills to a new medium….
Time held me green and dyingThough I sang in my chains like the sea. Dylan Thomas, Fern Hill I’m not the only performer who has struggled with identity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Entire weeks of creative paralysis have gone by. I didn’t feel like singing or writing and couldn’t begin…
