Sam Bush playing “Billy Bob” Marley’s “One Love”

When Sam Bush and his band started to play this bluegrass-reggae fusion of “One Love” by Bob Marley (or “Billy Bob” Marley as Sam Bush called him) I fumbled with my new camera to start recording. I missed the first minute or two, but still captured almost ten minutes. My son-in-law has played bass in reggae bands so I wanted him to hear this. He and my daughter have seen Sam Bush with us in this concert series in the past. As an unexpected bonus, the bass guitarist played a solo.

Sam Bush 2011, Olathe Free Summer Concert series.

This is the fifth year we’ve seen Sam Bush play in the Olathe Free Concert Series, which is in its 14th year.  Sam Bush performed this year on June 7th. (2013) I noticed as I looked at my photos from previous years that there’s at least one person in front of the stage wearing the same shirt each time.  See if you can find him.  You’ll see him in the video, too.

From the Olathe Website: “The Olathe FREE Summer Concert series began in 2000. Each year it showcases top quality, cutting edge artists featuring a variety of family friendly genres of music. Thanks to the support from the population at large and our generous sponsors, we are accomplishing that goal. Over the past 14 years the Olathe Parks and Recreation Department has presented local, regional, national and international performers. Some of these artists are in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, have won numerous Grammy Awards, have written #1 Hits on the Billboard charts, won Blues Music Awards, Country Music Awards and are in the Kansas Music Hall of Fame.
The series brings not only music to Olathe, but community giving. Each show a local charity is recognized and concert goers are encouraged to make donations. In the last 8 years more than $127,000 has been given back by the more than 15,000 a year attendees.”

Official Sam Bush Website.

Here’s a blog post I wrote about Asleep at the Wheel, which performed at the Olathe Free Summer Concert Series in 2010.

Sam Bush 2010, Olathe Free Summer Concert series.

 

Sam Bush 2012, Olathe Free Concert Series.

Sixth Annual Strawberry Photograph

These are the first strawberries to ripen in my garden this year (2013). This is more than two weeks later than usual.

This year’s (2013) first strawberries to ripen were the latest since I planted them more than six years ago. This year, I picked my first strawberries on June 6th. Usually I start picking in mid-May and by the end of the first week of June, the strawberries are done. In the Kansas City area, we had a cold, wet winter, and it’s wet and cool now. In May, we got 8.70 inches of rain. The average is 5.41 inches.

The rain has really helped to produce lush foliage, even if all of the plants are late to develop. Our neighborhood butterfly garden is prospering. Now, all we need are butterflies!

Click here to see last year’s post, a photograph and recipe for a strawberry walnut and blue cheese salad with balsamic vinegar dressing. Fifth Annual Strawberry Photograph.

Jackson Galaxy, the Cat Daddy, Comes to Kansas City

Jackson Galaxy is signing the book bag I won in a drawing at his talk in Kansas City on May 8, 2013.  The first book I put inside was Galaxy’s Cat Daddy: What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean, which he also signed.

Is your cat mojo working? I got my mojo revved up last night when Jackson Galaxy came to town in a Rainy Day Books event.

Jackson Galaxy’s “cat mojo” approach to cat behavior helps people to understand why their cats act the way they do. Galaxy, a cat behaviorist, spoke to a large, very enthusiastic crowd at Unity Temple on the Kansas City Plaza on Wednesday, May 8, as his first stop on a book tour for his book “Cat Daddy: What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean.”

Galaxy, known as the Cat Daddy, is the star of Animal Planet’s popular television show “My Cat from Hell.” My cats have all been little sweethearts, but even purr-fect cats can use a little mojo.

Many of the attendees were volunteers and staff members at Kansas City area no-kill shelters, such as Wayside Waifs, where I volunteer. In fact, many of these dedicated animal lovers helped to organize the event, including a reception. While on his book tour, Galaxy, a life-long shelter worker, has a great appreciation for shelter workers. At a shelter where he worked, Galaxy developed his cat mojo methods to help misbehaving cats become adoptable. Galaxy is also devoted to reducing to zero the number of animals that are killed in shelters. While that might seem an impossible goal, the number of animals euthanized has dropped dramatically in recent years. Spread the gospel of the joys of being a cat or dog guardian! Spay and neuter, too.

At Wayside Waifs, I’ve marveled to see scared and unhappy cats become loving companions with the love and devotion of the staff and volunteers. (Who wouldn’t be mad after what some of these cats have experienced?)   If you understand the needs of cats — food, territory, the need to hunt and explore, some companionship and physical contact — you can guide a cat to better behavior and enjoy meow-velous companionship. Looking at this list of feline needs, I see cats and humans are not so different after all!

When a woman in the audience asked whether most cat lovers were women, scores of men stood up to announce that they were “cat men.”

After his talk in kansas City, Jackson Galaxy signed copies of his book “Cat Daddy: What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean.”

Jackson Galaxy Website, including links to his Twitter feed (#TeamCatMojo) and Facebook page.

Click on “My Cat From Hell” to see episodes.

Tony (he’s on the back of the motorcycle here), is one of the cats featured in “My Cat From Hell. ”  Tony, with his friend Bud, is a star of greeting cards, designed by Tony’s guardian, Betty Matsumoto-Schuch. Click on the card to see more.

The episode featuring Tony: My Cat From Hell — Tony’s Follow-up

To see Screen-Size versions of these photographs, click on the thumbnails:

Birds on a Snowy Day

Whenever it snows, birds of all kinds flock to our bird feeder. Most of the birds wait on the nearby trees for a spot on the feeder. Our two cats love the snow, because it’s excellent bird-watching. They seem to know that there’s no chance of catching any birds, but they are vigilant anyway.

I hate snow, but our cats love it.  It’s great for bird watching.  We got about a foot of snow today in the Kansas City area, and the forecast calls for more.  The crowds at the bird feeder were huge today. I saw five pairs of cardinals, black-capped chickadees, blue jays, doves, nuthatches, a red-bellied woodpeckers and some birds I didn’t recognize. Click on the photos for a better view.

When the snow was falling hard, birds mobbed the feeder and filled the nearby trees as they waited their turn. When the snow stopped, the traffic thinned out. In the bottom photo, a cardinal leisurely eats his meal.

Kansas City Street Scene

I love this view of one section of Kansas City’s Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, juxtaposed between an unrelated mural on the left and the Denny’s sign on the right. I took this photo from my car window while stopped at a red light in June 2012. We were on our way to a wedding reception in the nearby Crossroads District of Kansas City. The Kauffman Center offers two performance venues.

The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri, is an artwork in itself. This photo only shows the west shell (wing) of the building, but the east shell looks similar. Shell seems like the right word for the wings, because the building does have a creature-like appearance. I thought of an armadillo when I first saw it. When my husband stopped at a red light as we drove near it on our way to a wedding reception in June, I quickly took the photo. Sometimes, long red lights are a good thing! My friend Jan and I had recently driven past the Center when she visited from Los Angeles, so Jan, here’s another view!

The two wings (Muriel Kauffman Theatre and Helzberg Hall) are designed for the needs of opera, dance and musical performances. The Kansas City Symphony, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and the Kansas City Ballet perform in the Center.

The Kauffman Center opened in September 2011, and a month later, friends invited my husband and me to a performance of “Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis” in the glorious Kauffman Center. It’s time we went back!

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts Website.

Wikipedia on the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

MEGA-MATCH-A-THON PET ADOPTION WEEKEND

This weekend, March 30 through April 1, 2012, three Kansas City shelters are joining 57 shelters across the nation in a Mega-Match-a-Thon pet adoption event to send as many homeless animals as possible into new, loving, safe, forever homes. All adoptions will be $25, and all animals will be spayed or neutered, microchipped and vaccinated.

The three Kansas City area shelter are Wayside Waifs, Heartland SPCA and KC Pet Project.  Bring home a furry friend this weekend or find a no-kill shelter in your area. Don’t miss this MEGA Match event!

Click here for information about Wayside Waifs.

UPDATE: 706 shelter pets found their forever homes during the KC Megamatch event at Heartland SPCA, KC Pet Project and Wayside Waifs!

Here are some of the beautiful cats I've recently photographed at Wayside Waifs. These cats and more, plus lots of dogs, will all be available for adoption this weekend (March 30-April 1, 2012) in a Mega Adopt-o-than.

Success!

Where in the Museum is Roy?

The Museum Guard "Roy,' a Duane Hanson sculpture, looks wistfully out a fake window in an 18th century re-created English room in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. Roy has been on duty at the museum since 2007.

My daughter and I visited the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art on a mission to find “The Museum Guard” sculpture in his current assignment. My daughter thought “Roy” might be in the English rooms on the first floor, but we decided to visit every room of the museum on our hunt before making the English rooms our last stop. Of course, to see the exhibits and art properly you’d be there for days…

My daughter’s instincts were right. Roy was in one of the last rooms on our speed-viewing list, “The King’s Lynn Room,” an 18th century Georgian drawing room, originally from King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England. “Roy” is the nickname the Museum staff have named this old friend.

Roy has spent most of his time in the Museum’s Bloch Building, which opened in 2007, but recently has been assigned to different galleries. Click here to read my post about one of Roy's recent assignments and about Duane Hanson, his creator.

Pardon Me, Ma’am, But Don’t Touch Me, I’m The Art

Duane Hanson's sculpture "The Museum Guard" has been temporarily reassigned to a new post in "The Hooper Room" in the Early American Art Galleries of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri.

I was disappointed today when I thought that one of my favorite art pieces was apparently “on vacation.”  Duane Hanson’s “Museum Guard” at the Nelson-Atkins Museum is like an old friend, and I wanted to say hello, but he’d been turned out of his old gallery to make room for a temporary exhibition.   I laughed when I discovered him in a new location in an Early American room. Good for him! We all need a little shake-up in our routines and locales.

A sign in his new, temporary location says:
Why is that museum guard standing in The Hooper Room?
Duane Hanson’s realist sculpture, Museum Guard, has stood faithfully at his post in Gallery L3 since the Bloch Building opened in 2007. Now that two of the contemporary galleries have been emptied to make room for the exhibition “To Make a World: George Ault and 1940s America,” he requested assignment elsewhere in the museum.
“Since my arrival at the Nelson-Atkins on November 18, 1976, I’ve heard only praise for the museum. Now, I have the good fortune to see what everyone has been talking about. For the next two months, I will be in this beautiful historic American home!” he said. “Then, I will be reassigned to Gallery P24, where I will experience the elegance of 18th-century English life in the King’s Lynn Room.”

Before moving to the new Bloch building, “Museum Guard” was stationed very near to his current temporary location in the main building, which was once home to the museum’s contemporary collection before undergoing remodeling to become the Early American Art gallery.  Duane Hanson, an American artist, was born in 1925 and died in 1996. He created “Museum Guard” in 1975 out of polyester, fiberglass, oil and vinyl. To read more about Hanson click on Duane Hanson.  Some of Hanson’s realist sculptures can be seen at The Saatchi Gallery.

Duane Hanson's "Museum Guard" in his usual spot in the Bloch Building of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. Life imitates art as a real museum guard stands to the right. People can't resist getting their photos taken next to the vinyl Museum Guard. I hope Museum Guard will eventually return here, but now that he's had a taste of freedom, he may be hard to track down.

Duane Hanson's "Museum Guard" is one of the most popular art pieces in the museum. He always draws a crowd.

Sign explaining Duane Hanson's "Museum Guard's" new assignment.

Hit a Home Run!

"Just like Stan Musial I'm an all star, widely considered to be one of the all time greatest snugglers of all time. I've compiled 3,630 purrs (the most in a career spent with only one team) 475 home runs for watching sporting events with my family, and was named the Most Valuable Pussycat by all my roommates."

Michelle Cour, volunteer at Wayside Waifs, interviews Stan, one of the new stars at the shelter.  Stan is looking for a grand slam into your home! Details on choosing Stan for your team are at the bottom of this post.

Stan the Man here! Just like Stan Musial I’m an all star, widely considered to be one of the all time greatest snugglers of all time. I’ve compiled 3,630 purrs (the most in a career spent with only one team) 475 home runs for watching sporting events with my family, and was named the Most Valuable Pussycat by all my roommates, I’d still be living there but the landlord in our new place allows only two pets and the dogs got to stay. I lived with only one family my whole life and I’m sad I had to go, but I just know I’ll find another family just as terrific. If you’re looking for a Hall of Fame Feline Friend, I’m your man!

You may have noticed I have only one eye. Kind of makes me look kind of rakish, like a pirate, I’m thinking Johnny Depp. Boy, is he hot! I hear the ladies really go for him. They go for me too! I have lots of fans here in the staff and volunteers at Wayside. I’m a people person and love to hang out with you, but do okay with small dogs. I lived with two small dogs for many years but I’m not good with big dogs as I’d been attacked by them in my past. Please don’t take me if you have a big dog. I’m very afraid. I shouldn’t go outside. I can’t defend myself well because I can’t see what’s coming on one side.

Inside I do great! I love to climb and my favorite place to perch is high up on the furniture. I respond well to my name, so please don’t change it when we go home. I’ve lost my people, my home and my dog brothers, so my name is all I have left that’s familiar and comfortable. I need something to hold on to, please. I’ve lived with a family the last 8 years so I’m having a little trouble adjusting to shelter life. I’m a bit shy and not as outgoing and friendly as I’d be with people I know and love. When we go home, I might go hide under a bed or in a closet until I feel comfortable joining the family. I’m affectionate and want to be buddies, but I’ll need a bit of time to adjust.

My family says I enjoy running water so if I can please have a kitty fountain or stick my head under the sink when you’re brushing your teeth or doing dishes sometimes, I’d like that. I have great hygiene habits and never have a litter box issue if you keep it clean for me. I eat dry food but shouldn’t have only dry food as it’s hard on my tummy. I need some wet food too. Thank you so much for honoring my requests. And don’t forget in these tough economic times, I’m a bargain, just $25 for a lifetime of friendship and affection. Such a deal I have for you!

I’m looking forward to joining your team and being your MVP. I’ll be at batting practice faithfully learning to swat my toy mice way, way out there… going going gone! Holy cow! See you around the ball park.

Stan

Stan can be found at Wayside Waifs, Inc., Kansas City’s largest no-kill shelter.  Wayside Waifs,  an independent, not-for-profit humane society and animal welfare organization established in 1944, is located at 3901 Martha Truman Road, Kansas City, Missouri, 64137.  The telephone number is 816-761-8151.  The website is Wayside Waifs.

Here’s a link to Sebastian The Sensitive Soul’s blog post about Bandit, another great cat in need of a home. He will steal your heart.  Bandit was fun to photograph!  Bandit.

Dining Under the Bridge

Tables are beautifully set under the historic 12th Street Bridge for the Food Now Fund-raiser in Kansas City, Missouri, on August 27, 2011.

My multi-talented friend Chris B. invited me and several others to the second annual foodNow local food experience under the 12th Street Bridge in the West Bottoms of Kansas City, Missouri, on August 27, 2011. I had no idea what foodNow was, but who wouldn’t want to eat an elegant dinner under an old bridge in one of Kansas City’s most historic areas?  Chefs from many Kansas City restaurants prepared a three-course dinner from produce from the area. The event was a fund-raiser for Beans and Greens –  Nourishing Neighborhoods with Local Produce ,  Greater Kansas City Food Policy Coalition  and Get Growing KC.

"Haunted Houses" attract thrill-seekers in the fall near the 12th Street Bridge.

The tables were set on the original cobblestone street where farmers brought their produce for sale.  I’m glad I was wearing flat shoes. Some women wearing more fashionable footwear were a little wobbly on the cobblestones.  Nearby the bridge are old warehouses, which now have a new life hosting “haunted houses” that attract thrill-seekers every fall.  Also in the area is Kemper Arena and the site of the American Royal.   Each table had a different menu.  Chef Michael Turner of the Classic Cup prepared the delicious dinner for my table.  There was a silent and a live auction. Unfortunately, my table was far from the auctioneer.  An old bridge may be charming, but the acoustics were not that great.  I could hear my table-mates, though, and that made for a very fascinating evening.

The 12th Street Bridge was built in 1915 and is now undergoing a major rehabilitation. The West Bottoms (official name Central Industrial District) is an industrial area immediately to the west of downtown Kansas City, Missouri at the confluence of the Missouri River and the Kansas River. The area is one of the oldest areas of the city and is home to Kansas City’s early agricultural markets.

Originally called the “French Bottoms,” French trappers and Kansas Indians traded here centuries ago. French Bottoms sounds a lot more appealing, doesn’t it?  Steamships traveling upstream on the Missouri river offloaded their goods at the Bottoms to provision those immigrating west and for trade with Mexico over the Santa Fe Trail. The advent of the railroad increased the importance of the area.   Major floods have engulfed the area (1903, 1951 and 1993), which have diminished the area’s commercial and residential importance.  You could say river affluence has lessened the area’s influence.

Les Dames d'Escoffier International (Heart of America Chapter) sponsored the silent and live auction of cooking and food-related items.

Tiny lights illuminate the tables under the 12th Street Bridge in the West Bottoms of Kansas City for the foodNow dinner.

Check out these links:
foodNow.
About the West Bottoms. Official West Bottoms Site.