April Showers - It is Raining Gardens in Philadelphia

I do not tire of old standards especially when they are mine. Repeating this as a public service. The PWD is moving its content. I have written to them and when I get new information, I will correct the links in this article.

The Philadelphia Water Department has some excellent information about Rain Gardens. You can make that boggy place in your front yard a thing of beauty and help clean and conserve water. Once planted, such a garden is maintained with little to no effort.

The photograph is a rain garden in Philadelphia, designed by Edgar David. Rainwater that flows from the house roof to the stone cistern is used to irrigate an intimate collection of woodland plants. You can read more HERE. 

Spring is here. I am ordering Herb Seeds. It is raining gently outside. I am getting that Happy Green Feeling. Now for some Velvet Fog. I repost this every April because I am a fan of Mel Torme, gardens, soft April rain and elegant jazz.

Musical Interlude for Attitude Adjustment - Ode to Joy

There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats. - Albert Schweitzer

"Over the years, Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" has remained a protest anthem and a celebration of music. From demonstrators in Chile singing during demonstration against the Pinochet dictatorship, Chinese student broadcast at Tiananmen Square, the concert conducted by Leonard Bernstein after the fall of the Berlin Wall and Daiku concerts in Japan every December and one after the 2011 tsunami.

It has recently inspired flashmob performances at public spaces by musicians in many countries worldwide, including Choir Without Borders's 2009 performance at a train station in Leipzig, Germany, to mark the 20th and 25th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Hong Kong Festival Orchestra's 2013 performance at a Hong Kong mall, and performance at Sabodell, Spain." - wikipedia

Make an Effective Covid-19 Mask at Home

Remember the Good Old Days? They will be back. 

I miss everyone. 

Photograph Courtesy of  u/brianbo402

You can make a contribution to the health and safety of your family and friends. I have some of these materials because I sew. If you sew, and you have a lot of these materials at home, and if you are really gung ho to make a contribution, sew these masks for healthcare workers. Sew one for yourself so you can go shopping safely. You can sew it by hand. The doctor says they are a bit more effective than the standard commercial N95 mask.

My friend, LarryM, posted that hepa filters may be impossible to find because retail markets are closed. Do not despair. You can make an effective mask with ordinary materials. Maybe not effective in the operating room under a viral shower but damn effective just the same. See the videos below: