We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Truly a perfect testimony. Look forward to seeing the roses in person. m
----- Original Message ----- From: James Ayres [mailto:jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 04:42 PM To: Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
_______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini-lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always-wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
It's even good to read about it. Thanks, Doc and Clayton for giving me a little taste of what it was like to be there. How I wish I could have joined you.
--Mike
On Tuesday, March 15, 2011, James Ayres jayres@cvctx.com wrote:
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Ah, I did forget one detail:
The fresh flowers still resting on Lizz's bench from Saturday.
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 9:22 PM, James Ayres wrote:
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
I wish you'd been there, too, Mike Godwin--and every last one of you along with him. I love Clayton's recounting of the day.
We're ALL so damn lucky and blessed.
One of my most cherished moments was the brief round we sang: Rose rose rose rose / Will I ever see thee wed / I will marry at MY will, sire / At my will. (Jeff and I had learned it in our youth as THY will, but Maggie and Stan taught us the feminist revisionist version.) Jeff has a song to teach us all (in German and/or English) when we all gather again.
love, Susan
On Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 8:36 PM, Clay Stromberger < cstromberger@mail.utexas.edu> wrote:
Ah, I did forget one detail:
The fresh flowers still resting on Lizz's bench from Saturday.
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 9:22 PM, James Ayres wrote:
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
And now and ever shall be!!
From: James Ayres jayres@cvctx.com Reply-To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:22:57 -0700 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Dear Doc,
I'd like to send money for the roses. Could you remind me of your mailing address? I wish I could have been there.
Love, Gail ________________________________________ From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of James Ayres [jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: 16 March 2011 02:22 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
_______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
I'll pipe up here, in case anyone else wants to contribute to the cause. Doc spent just north of $400--I think it added up to $435--on the roses, compost, and irrigation supplies. I think with Gail's rose bush he's half way there.
Xxxm
maggie megaw | business affairs, inc | 2415 main street santa monica ca 90405 | ph 310 954 8440 | fx 310 362 8707
-----Original Message----- From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of McDonald G. Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2011 11:40 AM To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
Dear Doc,
I'd like to send money for the roses. Could you remind me of your mailing address? I wish I could have been there.
Love, Gail ________________________________________ From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of James Ayres [jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: 16 March 2011 02:22 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
_______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
_______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
As of today, I have 5 $30.00 sponsorships left. And will always welcome gifts to Camp Shakespeare!
Doc On Mar 17, 2011, at 12:23 PM, Maggie Megaw wrote:
I'll pipe up here, in case anyone else wants to contribute to the cause. Doc spent just north of $400--I think it added up to $435-- on the roses, compost, and irrigation supplies. I think with Gail's rose bush he's half way there.
Xxxm
maggie megaw | business affairs, inc | 2415 main street santa monica ca 90405 | ph 310 954 8440 | fx 310 362 8707
-----Original Message----- From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org ] On Behalf Of McDonald G. Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2011 11:40 AM To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
Dear Doc,
I'd like to send money for the roses. Could you remind me of your mailing address? I wish I could have been there.
Love, Gail ________________________________________ From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org ] On Behalf Of James Ayres [jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: 16 March 2011 02:22 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Doc, just sent you a check for those roses. Also sent a check for Camp Shakespeare last month. Hope you got em!
love, T
-----Original Message----- From: James Ayres jayres@cvctx.com To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Thu, Mar 17, 2011 8:35 pm Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
As of today, I have 5 $30.00 sponsorships left. And will always welcome gifts to Camp Shakespeare!
Doc On Mar 17, 2011, at 12:23 PM, Maggie Megaw wrote:
I'll pipe up here, in case anyone else wants to contribute to the cause. Doc spent just north of $400--I think it added up to $435-- on the roses, compost, and irrigation supplies. I think with Gail's rose bush he's half way there.
Xxxm
maggie megaw | business affairs, inc | 2415 main street santa monica ca 90405 | ph 310 954 8440 | fx 310 362 8707
-----Original Message----- From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org
] On Behalf Of McDonald G. Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2011 11:40 AM To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
Dear Doc,
I'd like to send money for the roses. Could you remind me of your mailing address? I wish I could have been there.
Love, Gail ________________________________________ From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org
] On Behalf Of James Ayres [jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: 16 March 2011 02:22 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
_______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Thanks, Terry. Yes, I did receive your gift to Camp Shakespeare. Thanks! And thanks for your rose gift. Wonderful! It was great seeing you and Donna last week!
Love,
Doc
On Mar 17, 2011, at 3:52 PM, tlgalloway@aol.com wrote:
Doc, just sent you a check for those roses. Also sent a check for Camp Shakespeare last month. Hope you got em!
love, T
-----Original Message----- From: James Ayres jayres@cvctx.com To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Thu, Mar 17, 2011 8:35 pm Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
As of today, I have 5 $30.00 sponsorships left. And will always welcome gifts to Camp Shakespeare!
Doc On Mar 17, 2011, at 12:23 PM, Maggie Megaw wrote:
I'll pipe up here, in case anyone else wants to contribute to the cause. Doc spent just north of $400--I think it added up to $435-- on the roses, compost, and irrigation supplies. I think with Gail's rose bush he's half way there.
Xxxm
maggie megaw | business affairs, inc | 2415 main street santa monica ca 90405 | ph 310 954 8440 | fx 310 362 8707
-----Original Message----- From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org
] On Behalf Of McDonald G. Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2011 11:40 AM To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
Dear Doc,
I'd like to send money for the roses. Could you remind me of your mailing address? I wish I could have been there.
Love, Gail ________________________________________ From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org
] On Behalf Of James Ayres [jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: 16 March 2011 02:22 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some
of
these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The
grass
was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing
into
a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off
the
rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some
old
iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn.
Meanwhile
Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs --
eight, I
believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the
bushy
grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off
to
UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and
it
was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some
chatting I
suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images:
Jeff
and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion
about
the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l _______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
I sent you 30 today and a dvd of Inside Job today. m
----- Original Message ----- From: James Ayres [mailto:jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2011 05:35 PM To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
As of today, I have 5 $30.00 sponsorships left. And will always welcome gifts to Camp Shakespeare!
Doc On Mar 17, 2011, at 12:23 PM, Maggie Megaw wrote:
I'll pipe up here, in case anyone else wants to contribute to the cause. Doc spent just north of $400--I think it added up to $435-- on the roses, compost, and irrigation supplies. I think with Gail's rose bush he's half way there.
Xxxm
maggie megaw | business affairs, inc | 2415 main street santa monica ca 90405 | ph 310 954 8440 | fx 310 362 8707
-----Original Message----- From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org ] On Behalf Of McDonald G. Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2011 11:40 AM To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
Dear Doc,
I'd like to send money for the roses. Could you remind me of your mailing address? I wish I could have been there.
Love, Gail ________________________________________ From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org ] On Behalf Of James Ayres [jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: 16 March 2011 02:22 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
_______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Thanks, Michael. Now we are four away.
Doc
On Mar 17, 2011, at 4:30 PM, Barker, Michael wrote:
I sent you 30 today and a dvd of Inside Job today. m
----- Original Message ----- From: James Ayres [mailto:jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2011 05:35 PM To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
As of today, I have 5 $30.00 sponsorships left. And will always welcome gifts to Camp Shakespeare!
Doc On Mar 17, 2011, at 12:23 PM, Maggie Megaw wrote:
I'll pipe up here, in case anyone else wants to contribute to the cause. Doc spent just north of $400--I think it added up to $435-- on the roses, compost, and irrigation supplies. I think with Gail's rose bush he's half way there.
Xxxm
maggie megaw | business affairs, inc | 2415 main street santa monica ca 90405 | ph 310 954 8440 | fx 310 362 8707
-----Original Message----- From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org ] On Behalf Of McDonald G. Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2011 11:40 AM To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
Dear Doc,
I'd like to send money for the roses. Could you remind me of your mailing address? I wish I could have been there.
Love, Gail ________________________________________ From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org ] On Behalf Of James Ayres [jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: 16 March 2011 02:22 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
P.O. Box 202 Round Top, TX 78954.
Doc
On Mar 17, 2011, at 11:39 AM, McDonald G. wrote:
Dear Doc,
I'd like to send money for the roses. Could you remind me of your mailing address? I wish I could have been there.
Love, Gail ________________________________________ From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org ] On Behalf Of James Ayres [jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: 16 March 2011 02:22 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Envelope addressed and stamped (that was the slow part last time, with the Camp Shakespeare check -- it's hard for a web 2.0 dude to wrustle up postage in this day and age!).
Check book (more 20th century technology, sigh) at home -- but I'll put the whole kittenkaboodle in the mail tomorrow.
Love, DZ
From: jayres@cvctx.com To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:33:02 -0700 Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
P.O. Box 202 Round Top, TX 78954.
Doc
On Mar 17, 2011, at 11:39 AM, McDonald G. wrote:
Dear Doc,
I'd like to send money for the roses. Could you remind me of your mailing address? I wish I could have been there.
Love, Gail ________________________________________ From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org ] On Behalf Of James Ayres [jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: 16 March 2011 02:22 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
And now 2 !
Doc On Mar 17, 2011, at 5:11 PM, David Ziegler wrote:
Envelope addressed and stamped (that was the slow part last time, with the Camp Shakespeare check -- it's hard for a web 2.0 dude to wrustle up postage in this day and age!).
Check book (more 20th century technology, sigh) at home -- but I'll put the whole kittenkaboodle in the mail tomorrow.
Love, DZ
From: jayres@cvctx.com To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:33:02 -0700 Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
P.O. Box 202 Round Top, TX 78954.
Doc
On Mar 17, 2011, at 11:39 AM, McDonald G. wrote:
Dear Doc,
I'd like to send money for the roses. Could you remind me of your mailing address? I wish I could have been there.
Love, Gail ________________________________________ From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org ] On Behalf Of James Ayres [jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: 16 March 2011 02:22 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note
to
those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all
there
for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I
even
saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal
folding
chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin,
"Some of
these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The
grass
was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing
into
a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future
date,
as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he
do
it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each
particular
rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root
food".
Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off
the
rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final
tune
was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan
convinced
her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew
repeated
it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a
variety
of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will
discovered --
time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some
old
iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn.
Meanwhile
Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs --
eight, I
believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the
bushy
grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping
around in
the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his
always-
wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed
off to
UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod"
while
piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done,
and it
was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed
for
Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some
chatting I
suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that
way
and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images:
Jeff
and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I
realized,
the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the
meadow
to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion
about
the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back --
well, of
course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though
not
much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang
moment,
as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my
Michael
Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my
way
across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just
had
to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each)
reading of
the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way
of
making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the
roses....
I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for
Clayton's
chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the
costs of
the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please
send
me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
....I am sending check(s), too! Love reading the messages; poetry; seeing the photos. Out of town, but will mail on Monday and that's a promise. Jayne
Sent from my iPhone
On Mar 17, 2011, at 5:15 PM, "James Ayres" <jayres@cvctx.commailto:jayres@cvctx.com> wrote:
And now 2 !
Doc On Mar 17, 2011, at 5:11 PM, David Ziegler wrote:
Envelope addressed and stamped (that was the slow part last time, with the Camp Shakespeare check -- it's hard for a web 2.0 dude to wrustle up postage in this day and age!).
Check book (more 20th century technology, sigh) at home -- but I'll put the whole kittenkaboodle in the mail tomorrow.
Love, DZ
From: mailto:jayres@cvctx.com jayres@cvctx.commailto:jayres@cvctx.com To: mailto:weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.orgmailto:weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:33:02 -0700 Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
P.O. Box 202 Round Top, TX 78954.
Doc
On Mar 17, 2011, at 11:39 AM, McDonald G. wrote:
Dear Doc,
I'd like to send money for the roses. Could you remind me of your mailing address? I wish I could have been there.
Love, Gail ________________________________________ From: mailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.orgmailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.orgweeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.orgmailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org ] On Behalf Of James Ayres [mailto:jayres@cvctx.comjayres@cvctx.commailto:jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: 16 March 2011 02:22 To: mailto:weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.orgmailto:weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list mailto:Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.orgmailto:Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin http://www.shakespeare-winedale.org www.shakespeare-winedale.orghttp://www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list mailto:Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.orgmailto:Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list mailto:Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.orgmailto:Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list mailto:Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.orgmailto:Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list mailto:Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.orgmailto:Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
_______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list mailto:Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.orgWeeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.orgmailto:Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-lhttps://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
_______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.orgmailto:Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
I'm in too, from earlier today, but methinks I have already been counted. Ours will be from Em and Aug too, though they have no money. One day a few years ago I stopped giving out an allowance, just to see if they'd notice. Haven't yet. Plenty more important things than money in their lives at the moment, I suppose.
cs
On Mar 17, 2011, at 9:15 PM, James Ayres wrote:
And now 2 !
Doc On Mar 17, 2011, at 5:11 PM, David Ziegler wrote:
Envelope addressed and stamped (that was the slow part last time, with the Camp Shakespeare check -- it's hard for a web 2.0 dude to wrustle up postage in this day and age!).
Check book (more 20th century technology, sigh) at home -- but I'll put the whole kittenkaboodle in the mail tomorrow.
Love, DZ
From: jayres@cvctx.com To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:33:02 -0700 Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
P.O. Box 202 Round Top, TX 78954.
Doc
On Mar 17, 2011, at 11:39 AM, McDonald G. wrote:
Dear Doc,
I'd like to send money for the roses. Could you remind me of your mailing address? I wish I could have been there.
Love, Gail ________________________________________ From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org ] On Behalf Of James Ayres [jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: 16 March 2011 02:22 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Wow, Clayton, that registers as extraordinary. You could write a best-selling book on that success...
From: Clay Stromberger cstromberger@mail.utexas.edu Reply-To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2011 19:22:30 -0500 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
I'm in too, from earlier today, but methinks I have already been counted. Ours will be from Em and Aug too, though they have no money. One day a few years ago I stopped giving out an allowance, just to see if they'd notice. Haven't yet. Plenty more important things than money in their lives at the moment, I suppose.
cs
On Mar 17, 2011, at 9:15 PM, James Ayres wrote:
And now 2 !
Doc On Mar 17, 2011, at 5:11 PM, David Ziegler wrote:
Envelope addressed and stamped (that was the slow part last time, with the Camp Shakespeare check -- it's hard for a web 2.0 dude to wrustle up postage in this day and age!).
Check book (more 20th century technology, sigh) at home -- but I'll put the whole kittenkaboodle in the mail tomorrow.
Love, DZ
From: jayres@cvctx.com To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:33:02 -0700 Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
P.O. Box 202 Round Top, TX 78954.
Doc
On Mar 17, 2011, at 11:39 AM, McDonald G. wrote:
Dear Doc,
I'd like to send money for the roses. Could you remind me of your mailing address? I wish I could have been there.
Love, Gail ________________________________________ From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org
[weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org
] On Behalf Of James Ayres [jayres@cvctx.com] Sent: 16 March 2011 02:22 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
>> Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts >> together so perfectly. >> >> This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled. >> >> Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief >> chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a >> few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to >> those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there >> for the next planting project. >> >> >> It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very >> fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds >> were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even >> saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding >> chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was >> warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of >> these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass >> was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into >> a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini- >> lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, >> as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood. >> >> Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely >> sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line >> (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), >> enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do >> it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly >> shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched >> in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their >> particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old >> gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the >> irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the >> length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at >> intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular >> rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". >> Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red >> bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was >> great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last >> summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the >> rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune >> was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young >> original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced >> her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated >> it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's >> pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different >> roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety >> of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring. >> >> Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. >> Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- >> time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old >> iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks >> who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to >> add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out >> there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended >> up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile >> Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I >> believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then >> "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of >> Shakespeare in the morning. >> >> Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy >> grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in >> the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a >> wheelbarrow. >> >> This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your >> neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school >> senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always- >> wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to >> UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for >> one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will >> and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while >> piling excess dirt on the little red wagon. >> >> At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it >> was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for >> Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I >> suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way >> and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff >> and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately >> pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty >> straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over >> the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; >> Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, >> the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" >> moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all >> stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future >> memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the >> meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. >> Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow >> to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the >> center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about >> the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor. >> >> We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of >> course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the >> Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not >> much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, >> as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael >> Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way >> across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in >> pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or >> strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the >> sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had >> to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, >> really. >> >> We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at >> Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of >> the Stein poem sent by Mary. >> >> What did I miss, fellow early-rosers? >> >> Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of >> making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it >> felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... >> I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that." >> >> Yep. You said it, buddy. >> >> >> >> cheers, >> >> cs >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote: >> > >>> We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's > >>> chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, > >>> Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah > >>> Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz > >>> (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs > >>> and a > >>> reading of Mary's rose poem. > >>> > >>> We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of > >>> the > >>> antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in > >>> place. > >>> Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send > >>> me > >>> a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 > >>> sponsorships. > >>> > >>> We had great weather and great fun. > >>> > >>> Doc > >>> > >>> _______________________________________________ > >>> Weeklong-l mailing list > >>> Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org > >>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l >> >> Clayton Stromberger >> Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale >> College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin >> www.shakespeare-winedale.org http://www.shakespeare-winedale.org/ >> cell: 512-363-6864 >> UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726 >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Weeklong-l mailing list >> Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l >>
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org http://www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
_______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Well I definitely cried at reading this one. Simply beautiful. My loss at not being able to attend, but reading this helps blunt that pain. Miss you all Bruce
-----Original Message----- From: weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Clay Stromberger Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 7:01 PM To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini-lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always-wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
_______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
________________________________
UT Southwestern Medical Center The future of medicine, today.
Where would we be without our Clayton Chronicles? Thank you, Clayton, how perfect. m
----- Original Message ----- From: Clay Stromberger [mailto:cstromberger@mail.utexas.edu] Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 05:00 PM To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini-lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always-wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
_______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
thank you for that Clayton, and thanks to all the gardeners.......my heart runneth over..... kat
I wish Donna and I had been able to stay that extra day but i loved reading about it, Clayton, especially now that summer is soon coming in.
Love to you all, Terry
-----Original Message----- From: kathryn blackbird kathrynblackbird@sbcglobal.net To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Wed, Mar 16, 2011 9:29 am Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
thank you for that Clayton, and thanks to all the gardeners.......my heart runneth over..... kat
_______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
And, Doc, when will the roses be in bloom (except for the perennial Shakespeare-at-Winedale-roses that you all are)?
From: Terry Galloway tlgalloway@aol.com Reply-To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:03:46 -0400 To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
I wish Donna and I had been able to stay that extra day but i loved reading about it, Clayton, especially now that summer is soon coming in.
Love to you all, Terry
-----Original Message----- From: kathryn blackbird kathrynblackbird@sbcglobal.net To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Wed, Mar 16, 2011 9:29 am Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
thank you for that Clayton, and thanks to all the gardeners.......my heart runneth over..... kat
_______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
_______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Addendum: The Roses were the best fun I've had this year....the sunshine...the chicken poop shoveling... the best cheese sandwich I've ever had.....and the Songs.... As Clayton said, Susan started (many) with "Love is a Rose" followed by every song we could think of that had a rose "Ramblin Rose" "San Antonio Rose" ."The Rose" (Bette Midler)....that one asked some tears.... My favorite of all was one called something like "Barbary Rose" all four verses sung with such beauty and grace and a bit of an Irish lilt by our own Miss Maggie Megaw..... Thank you so much Maggie.... You are a Rose. Love to you all! Joy
----- Original Message ----- From: Clay Strombergermailto:cstromberger@mail.utexas.edu To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.orgmailto:weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 7:00 PM Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini-lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always-wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.orgmailto:Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-lhttps://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.orghttp://www.shakespeare-winedale.org/ cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
_______________________________________________ Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.orgmailto:Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-lhttps://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
What an amazing job you all did. Thank you for the highlights and the wonderful details.
Can you tell us what colors the roses will be?
Mary
________________________________ From: JOY MARVIN joyandthomas@msn.com To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Thu, March 17, 2011 12:56:22 AM Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
Addendum: The Roses were the best fun I've had this year....the sunshine...the chicken poop shoveling... the best cheese sandwich I've ever had.....and the Songs.... As Clayton said, Susan started (many) with "Love is a Rose" followed by every song we could think of that had a rose "Ramblin Rose" "San Antonio Rose" ."The Rose" (Bette Midler)....that one asked some tears.... My favorite of all was one called something like "Barbary Rose" all four verses sung with such beauty and grace and a bit of an Irish lilt by our own Miss Maggie Megaw..... Thank you so much Maggie.... You are a Rose. Love to you all! Joy
----- Original Message -----
From: Clay Stromberger To: weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 7:00 PM Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini-lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date, as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades), enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food". Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find. Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered -- time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always-wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked; Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized, the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond" moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult. Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment, as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that, really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses.... I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan, Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs and a reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of the antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in place. Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send me a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6 sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin www.shakespeare-winedale.org cell: 512-363-6864 UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
Weeklong-l mailing list Weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
weeklong-l@lists.wikimedia.org