Doo-blee-ooo-doo

TIMBER!!!!: The sound of chippers and chainsaws rattled round the MPA campus this morning. At first I couldn't figure out exactly where it was coming from - I just knew it was close by. But before too long we had our answer: A logger was framed in our our east side picture windows. He was systematically cutting the branches off two 40-plus foot cedar trees in a neighbor's yard.

"Wow, are they cutting that whole damn thing down?" asked Annabelle. "It's not like it sheds leaves or anything," she added matter-of-factly. :) Her declaration was followed by the more age-appropriate, "How do those guys climb so high?"

We watched as the logger climbed ever skyward and before long he was topping the trees.

Yup. They were cutting the whole damn thing down. Not sure why exactly, though Christian and I surmised it might involve a minor property line skirmish (there appears to be a fence line that jogs around the trees, and maybe a neighbor decided he needed to reclaim that two feet and cutting down the trees was the way to do that). Regardless, it's a bit of shame to see the big cedars go. ... I hope they plant a couple of other trees in place. The world needs more trees, not less.

THANKS AGAIN: The kids participated in an little art and writing project this morning- making thank you cards to Grandma and Grandpa for gifts they were given on Friday. I was impressed by how quickly CJ got his writing done (and done well!). Annabelle lingered over her project, upping the fancy factor. "I made an emoticon," she noted at one point.

SCAT, CAT!: Last week I picked up a library book "When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat." Before we read it today, I showed the kids the classic Muppets' video "Mah-Na Mah-Na."

BTW, from a Muppet wiki, we learned today that the song penned by a Piero Umiliani for a documentary about life in Sweden titled Svezia, Inferno e Paradiso (Sweden, Heaven and Hell). Who knew?! The Muppets version first appeared on Sesame Street (episode 0014), performed by Bip Bippadotta and two Anything Muppet backup singers. It went "viral" after the song was performed on the Ed Sullivan show in November of 1969.

After the Muppet videos, I asked the kids, "So, what were they singing about?" And they both responded with something along the lines of "nonsense" and "not even real words." I asked how in the world a person can sing a song without using real words - how silly is that? They both agreed it was kinda silly, but that didn't stop them from liking it! They love "Mah-Na Mah-Na" and I reminded them that last Thursday at the Caspar Babypants concert, during one song where the audience was supposed to echo Caspar's lines, Caspar went on a freak out and started spouting long lines of nonsense which the kids found hysterical. "That," I explained, "was SCAT."

At which, I pulled out "When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat" and we began reading it. Beautifully illustrated and fun for the tongue, it's a wonderful read. We all thoroughly dug it. Of course, immediately afterward I had to get on YouTube and find some old video of Louis Armstrong scatting. We found a gem with him singing "Dinah." How wonderful that moments like these are a) preserved and b) so easily available to me to show the kids.

I found a bunch more info about the scat book (including interviews with the author and illustrator) on the Chronicle Books Web site. It was a great enrichment to just reading the book.

CALLING OCCUPANTS (OF INTERPLANETARY CRAFT): The kids saw that BrainPOP's featured movie this week was about aliens, and they practically begged to watch it. :)
I asked the kids what they learned by watching they film. "Aliens do not exist," CJ responded immediately.

"CJ they *might* exist," Annabelle countered.

"Yeah, they might exist. You can tell from UFOs in the sky," CJ conceded.

The film was straightforward and factual, not a bit fanciful. That's probably just as well. It will help balance the kids' education out, since I'd err on the fanciful side when it comes to the existence of aliens. :)

UP ON THE ROOF: The campus beautification continues. Today was spent working on the porch green roof project. I did a little painting of the posts and beams, Christian worked on more framing and got started on the waterproofing. The kids supervised. :)
Before too long, the rooftop will be covered in gravel and dirt and then we plant!!