Fruitful

It is the start of my second summer living in my South of Lorain neighborhood in Ohio City. What's in season on my street? Sour cherries, mulberries and strawberries.

I am pleased that sharing summer's bounty from our patchwork of yards and treelawns is an easy, natural exchange.

I spent some time on Tuesday helping Esperanza pick mulberries from her treelawn. And, of course I went home with a bunch. I plan to go back for more soon because the mulberry tree in my yard had to be taken out to make way for a fence.


Esperanza on the way to pick some sour cherries



Kids picking sour cherries


cherry picker

My next door neighbors have two, beautiful sour cherry trees and I spent yesterday evening picking cherries with the neighborhood kids. Afterward, we de-pitted and de-stemmed them and made jam. I had tons of help and everyone went home with a jar of homeade sour cherry jam.


Gathered around my kitchen table prepping the cherries

I assume we'll have another go at jam making when my sideyard vine ripens with an over abundance of concord grapes.

Ingenuity Countdown

Bolts is just a couple of weeks from its premiere at Ingenuity Festival: 9pm on July 10th and 11th on Star Plaza. The full cast got together on Sunday to piece together much of what we've been working on in separate rehearsals.

Dancers Hope Schultz and Amy Compton Schulz

try on their 60s Sci-Fi inspired bolero jackets.

Alexandra Underhill's costumes are more than I could have hoped for. The 60s Sci-Fi inspired get-ups won't be complete until the dancers don their glowing beehive wigs.

It was heartening to witness the music, dance, acting and costumes fitting together to create a story that can only be described as Pee Wee's Playhouse meets 60s Sci-Fi.

Next Sunday we add props and a working musical Tesla coil. Stay tuned for more photos and potentially video of our work in progress.

Staycation Weekend

I had a great, almost free, weekend right here in good ol' Cleveland.

Friday: After a full day's work and a job interview (yikes), I went home to regroup and meet up with Jeff. We took the Rapid to University Circle and strolled to the Cleveland Museum of Art to see our friend R.A. Washington's choreopoem entitled A Love, A Kiss, A Death. His production was proceeded by some really great open mic poetry reading as part of the free Black Poetic event.

On to Mekong River for a late dinner of Pad Thai and Basil String Beans. Last stop, Passport Project for the 2009 Global Groove Party. I traveled the world without leaving Passport's storefront on Buckeye.

Saturday: Slept in and then bussed downtown to volunteer at Councilman Cimperman's Cleveland Pride booth. I ran into friends I hadn't seen in awhile and just generally enjoyed the good, friendly vibe of the festival.

I walked down picturesque Lakeside Avenue to Tower City and then took the Blue Line to Shaker Square where I met up with some folks for the Larchmere Porchfest, a free music festival hosted on the front porches of folks in the Larchmere neighborhood. We ended Porchfest at the Academy Tavern where the booze, blues and breezes cooperated with my staycation vibe.

Heelsplitter

Riders Pay Cost of Kickbacks

The recent RTA construction manager kickback news is disheartening. RTA is cutting service and raising fares because of budget shortfalls while at the same time most likely overpaying for construction, renovation and maintenance. Sigh.

Maybe RTA can recoup some of the money and use it for the Metroparks Zoo Bus.

Duplexity

Oh, Cleveland. I saw you standing on half of a duplex porch with your suspenders and your flyswatter slapping at mayflys through the smoke from your cigar.

Boltz

I am knee deep in collaboration as a choreographer with the fab creative team of the Tesla Orchestra. We are a group of Clevelanders versed in wacky ideas, science, engineering, choreography, costume design, screen-writing, music, videography and general DIY-ness.

The performance, Boltz, is a multi-elemental performance featuring a 2 mega-volt musical tesla coil. 

Last night I ran the second dance rehearsal with a group of three open-minded, creative and talented dancers. I am having fun working with new people, sharing artistic vision, opening myself to new posibilities and creating something in community that none of us could do on our own. It’s my hope that Boltz is the first of many Tesla Orchestra productions.

Boltz will premiere at 9pm Friday July 10^th and Saturday July 11^th on Star Plaza at the 2009 Ingenuity Festival. 

Things I've Been Doing Instead of Blogging

MacGyvering seed starting shelves

Retro-fitting toilet paper tubes as compostable pots

Gardening with Jeff and the neighbor kids

Finishing an alpaca wool vest just in time for summer

Wrapping up my dance career 

with a performance of Molt at Cleveland Public Theatre

Last day in Stuttgart

Aided by a map and five hours of free time, I went on a self-guided walking tour on my last day in Stuttgart. My intent was to expand my experience to other neighborhoods beyond the center of the city. 

About half a kilometer uphill from my hotel is Karlshohe Hill, a ridge that runs across the south and western parts of the city. The hill is a picturesque park with winding trails, plenty of benches and a vista overlooking the center city. Grape vines were grown along the slopes during the middle ages until the end of the 19^th Century; they have been reintroduced on some of the terraces.

View from the Milch Bar

I stopped at the Milch Bar on the Terrace which was designed for a federal garden show in 1961. I had a cappuccino, read Moll Flanders and sat at the edge of the vineyard overlooking the city. After reading a couple of chapters I set off to see the majestic Athena Fountain, built by Karl Donndorf in 1911.

Athena

I wound through the park, getting a little lost until I found the Hasenbergsteige, a steep ancient road which eventually leads to the Northern Black Forest. The steep road turns into a footpath, the Blauer Weg (Blue Path) that continues up the south side of Hasenberg Hill. Along the path are ancient stone walls with steps and narrow gates every so often leading up a terrace to residences. Looking down the hill, I had breathtaking views of Heslach Valley.

Back gate on the Blau Weg

The trail leads to Mount Birkenkopf, a 511 meter hill, World War II memorial and the highest point in the area. Between 1950 and 1955, 1,750,000 cubic meters of rubble from World War II were deposited on the hill, which locals call Monte Scherbelino (Mount Shards). From the top of the hill, there are panoramic views of Stuttgart and the country.

I returned via the Blauer Weg, but then took an alternate route back to Hasenbergsteige. I descended a narrow, steep staircase and path instead of the less steep, winding trail. I got lost on the way back to the hotel and accidently explored Bobblingerstrasse, a colorful and less ostentatious neighborhood than the one along the Hasenberg. 

Looking up the steps towards the Blau Weg