Alive and Well and Thankful
It appears that the Occasional Communiqué I promised has become, more aptly, as rare an event as a Ring of Fire eclipse! But we are all here, alive and well in our town of 50 and preparing for the holidays. We have had our first big snow (end of October) and students from Ovando School spent a morning last week helping to decorate the town. We are now lit for Christmas, and especially for our annual Christmasfest.
Many come from surrounding towns for this unique event. (You might enjoy a video I made of a previous event.) The children love sitting on a saddle in the museum and talking to Cowboy Santa, who arrives by horseback down Route 200.
Our Town Crier, Kathy Schoendoerfer,
is still busy keeping everyone up
on the latest news and events.
(Note: She is also an excellent Photoshop-per.)
Here are a few.
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THE ANNUAL OVANDO HARVEST DINNER
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SEW AND SO CLUB
SATURDAY - NOVEMBER 14TH
Ovando School Gym
Doors Open at 5:30
Silent Auction begins at 5:30
Pot Luck Dinner at 6 pm
Please bring a main course, side dish or dessert
The Crazy Live Auction at 7 pm
Donations for Auction are welcomed!
All proceeds go to help our community members in need.
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Join Us for a Back-to-School
Community Workday!
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Monday August 21, 2023
Ovando School
2-5 p.m.
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THE OVANDO SCHOOL NEEDS YOU!
Get Ready for a New School Year with Community Unity!
Let's come together to prepare our school for an amazing year ahead!
Our Back-to-School Community Workday is a wonderful opportunity
to make a positive impact on the learning environment
and connect with families new and old.
Ovando school has 23 students this year!
Help us spruce up classrooms, beautify outdoor spaces,
and create an inspiring back to school day.
Supplies and refreshments will be provided.
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Freezing temperatures arrived at the end of October and will be with us from now on. Our entertainment activities make a big shift for the winter. Skis and snowshoes, sleds and snowmobiles... Trucks of logs have been arriving as people fill their woodpiles and clean their chimneys.
Here is an activity you might not have thought of: freezing bubbles!
If this catches your fancy and you'd like to try it, here is a step by step video.
Now for an indoor activity you might not have thought of: paper folding. This woman in Wales sets a very high bar with her remarkable creations. It is an original, family art form.
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I am missing the birds as they leave, although I admire my chickadees and woodpeckers for sticking it out.
Believe it or not, an album called "Songs of Disappearance" rose to the top of the charts in Australia. Soaring past big names like Taylor Swift and Michael Buble, an album featuring 53 of Australia's most endangered birds has flown to No. 3 in the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) album chart since its release on Dec. 3 (2022).
Here is a charming video version of the album.
I am missing the birds as they leave, although I admire my chickadees and woodpeckers for sticking it out.
Believe it or not, an album called "Songs of Disappearance" rose to the top of the charts in Australia. Soaring past big names like Taylor Swift and Michael Buble, an album featuring 53 of Australia's most endangered birds has flown to No. 3 in the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) album chart since its release on Dec. 3 (2022).
Here is a charming video version of the album.
While on the subject of flight, an experimental all-electric plane took flight from Plattsburg, New York to Bentonville, Arkansas. Keep in mind that this required an electric charging infrastructure to be in place as well. The team celebrated a successful maiden voyage!
I sometimes find it difficult to believe how much has changed in my own lifetime. I was a child of the 50s and it was certainly a different world! I came across this film made in 1949 to help people address their problems within the family. I think it will bring a smile, to those remembering and those glimpsing it for the first time.
Some things, however, never grow old. Dancing is one of them, and it is an indoor activity, perfect for winter, like listening to music. Here, two unlikely things come together: Dancing and Bach. Even more surprising, both are performed by the same person, so you can add a little digital sleight-of-hand. Enjoy!
All right. So you're not going to be tap dancing around your kitchen, especially to Bach. Or you're saying "I'm too old." But as we've said, dancing is timeless. If you don't believe it, just watch this!
But what if it's just you and your dog and you don't ski? Or the power is out. No music for dancing?
No problem!
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My dream of seeing the James Webb Telescope launched has come true and the universe is daily filling with more wonders. I never tire of a stretching of the imagination to take in the nearest planets and the farthest stars. If you are a sky watcher, I should alert you that the rings of Saturn will disappear next year, but don't despair. They will come back in 2025. We will briefly be seeing Saturn edge-on so the rings don't show up, but it's just an illusion. See Saturn's Disappearing Rings.
The American Museum of Natural History brings us this view of "The Known Universe.
That we now have this extraordinary view of ourselves, we owe to the recent generations of scientists whose imaginations have met their abilities to solve technical problems. Carlo Rovelli is a theoretical physicist, philosopher and best-selling author who shares his own experience of becoming a scientist.
My wonderful professor and friend, cosmologist Brian Thomas Swimme, has a new book out called Cosmogenesis: An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe, which also presents a new picture of the role of the scientist. (You can find my review of the book at Amazon or a more complete article in the Journal of Ecozoic Studies.) Swimme has delighted audiences for years with his captivating way of telling the story of the universe, in all of its astonishing detail. Here is his reply when asked about his new approach to writing about this.
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With Thanksgiving, we are officially in the holiday season and that means visiting family and friends. Travel deals are much sought after and cheap flights come with their own "costs." Here is Tim Conway's comic riff on "The No-Frills Section."
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I leave you with my heart-felt gratitude for the gifts of my town, my friends and my family as expressed in a favorite piece that joins the wisdom of Br. David Steindl-Rast with the film artistry of Louie Scwartzberg.
I leave you with my heart-felt gratitude for the gifts of my town, my friends and my family as expressed in a favorite piece that joins the wisdom of Br. David Steindl-Rast with the film artistry of Louie Scwartzberg.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Be well.
Sheri Ritchlin
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