Photo of the Well-Read Wildlife Now: 1 July 2011

The Dexter library celebrated Canada Day by inviting kids to enjoy a presentation by a wildlife expert. (The library didn’t actually mention Canada Day at all, but I know for a fact there was at least one hockey fan in the library that day. Close enough.)

The room was packed…

…but unfortunately, Dan the Creature Man was twenty minutes late due to traffic, so the crowd got a bit restless. However, Dan did arrive, and the kids settled down to enjoy the show.

There was a parrot…

…that was more in the mood to nibble on the microphone than he was to talk.

There was also a chameleon…

…that happily grabbed a few crickets with a tongue that would make Gene Simmons jealous.

There was an iguana…

…that wasn’t nearly as grumpy as he looked. Oddly enough, this was the only creature that caused tears; when Dan brought out the iguana, one little girl started crying.

Most kids were fascinated…

…but note the worried expression on the girl near the left side of the photo. She didn’t cry, but it didn’t look like she was eager to make new friends.

There was a chinchilla…

…that added just the right amount of “Awwwwwwwwww!” to the show.

There was a tortoise…

…that looked as grumpy as the iguana. He probably wasn’t as grumpy as he looked, either. (Also, he looked like he should be a character in a classic Bill Peet book.)

There was an American alligator…

…that certainly didn’t look grumpy. I didn’t ask him why he was smiling, mostly because I enjoy having ten fingers. And because he didn’t speak English.

After the show, Dan brought back out his albino python so the kids could touch and hold it.

Many hands make light snake:

Surprisingly, the little girl who looked worried during the show was happy to touch the snake. Maybe during the show she was worried about the economy or unemployment or the major rules violations coming to light in college football or something.

Photo of the Baffling Illusions Now: 29 June 2011

The Chelsea library invited Baffling Bill the Magician to put on a magic show for local kids.

Bill brought a book full of magic words hoping to light a candle…

…but it didn’t quite work out that way.

He also brought a rope…

…and invited two volunteers to tie his hands…

…after which he quickly (and humorously) extracted his hands from the rope.

(Take a look at the volunteer on the left: he might be doing his best to sneak a glance at the trick without looking like he’s peeking.)

The kids were eager to volunteer.

Baffling Bill was astounded to discover his magic wand was broken.

Later in the show, Bill introduced his rabbit, Gus.

Gus displayed his own magical talent…

…by correctly identifying the card a volunteer had picked.

Photo of the KABOOM!, Oooh, Ahhh Now: 3 July 2011

We interrupt the usual delayed timeline to bring you these unusually timely photos. Happy Fourth of July!

The Dexter area’s tranquility was shattered last night by the always well-attended fireworks show at Hudson Mills Metropark.

I’d never been inside the park for the fireworks, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I got an idea, though, when I was told to show up at 6pm if I wanted a decent parking spot inside the park. (The fireworks start at 10pm.) This turned out to be excellent advice.

What do you do when you’re going to wait four hours for a fireworks show? You bring comfortable chairs and tasty food, and you enjoy the park’s amenities.

Hudson Mills includes an excellent playground.

One of the sand volleyball courts didn’t have a net, so a number of kids repurposed it as a very large sandbox.

Some kids took the opportunity to declare their independence from instructions and rules.

(Actually, as far as I could tell, that hill wasn’t actually off-limits until the fireworks started: the launch site was just a bit beyond those trees. But the photo opportunity was too good to refuse.)

The Bearclaw Coffee van did an extraordinarily brisk business. The line you see here was as short as it got.

For those inclined to lose a little bit of hearing, there was live music.

A number of vendors were selling various light-up trinkets like necklaces, swords and mohawks. They weren’t too interesting in the daylight, but when the sun went down, they became a prime target for a strange-looking long exposure photo.

Finally, the fireworks started. Hudson Mills puts on a great show.

The finale was crazy enough to give me slightly overexposed photos…

But that also provided a look at the smoke produced by all those launches.

Photo of the Sounds & Sights Now: 16 June 2011

On Thursday evenings during the summer, downtown Chelsea gets a little more lively thanks to Sounds & Sights on Thursday Nights. What’s that, you ask as you don’t click on that link? (Hey, it worked last time.) That’s a weekly festival that brings a variety of live music, entertainers and art to the streets of Chelsea.

Thursday the 16th marked the first Sounds & Sights of 2011.

The library has started to bring in comedians to perform on its front lawn.

Comedians like to smile.

As usual, there were lots of musical sounds, like those from Bill Bynum.

Dave Boutette and John Latini were there, too. This is John:

And this is Dave:

For the kids, there were various balloon creations. Take note of the hat on the right side of the photo:

Is that hat amazing? Yes. Yes it is.

Photo of the Pomp and Circumstancin’ Now: 5 June 2011

Chelsea High School graduated another class of young whippersnappers. Before I get to the photos, you should go listen to this to get you in the mood. (No, really. Do it. Skip to around 50 seconds if you want.)

Yes, they were playing that song. Over and over and over and over and over again. Is it time for another song to be associated with graduations? Maybe a song longer than five seconds? Yes. In fact, that time came right around the moment that song was written.

Anyway.

Graduation is a happy time.

See?!

Because the graduates’ brains are so full of accumulated knowledge that they might not be able to remember the current year, the tassels feature a reminder. It’s very helpful.

Occasionally, faculty members or administrators have the privilege of giving diplomas to their graduating kids…

…and this year’s ceremony had a particularly notable such moment featuring outgoing athletic director Wayne Welton.

I told you graduation is a happy time.

As one final test, the graduates were asked to test the continued existence of gravity.

Obviously, their tests confirmed gravity’s presence.

Photo of the Library Pergola Now: 4 June 2011

Remember the photos of the tile installation at the library’s new pergola? It’s all done, and the library held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the pergola.

Ribbon cutting action shots: for professionals only. Please don’t try this at home. Unless you’re having a ribbon cutting at your home, in which case…well, go for it, I guess.

If you think it’s strange that they’d install clay tiles on a white plastic table, you’re right: these are the leftover tiles. They’ll be given homes somewhere around the pergola.

Photo of the Memorial Day Now: 30 May 2011

Chelsea held its annual Memorial Day parade and ceremony.

Photo of the Showing a Little Ginger Now: 21 May 2011

The Chelsea Monitor Base Ball Club was a real baseball team that played back in the mid-19th century, when baseball was called base ball, nobody wore gloves and hits could be fielded on one bounce for an out. The club was recently resurrected by a determined group of local citizens, and after a short break of more than a century, the MBBC played base ball once again when the Royal Oak Wahoos came to town.

Oh, and if you’re wondering about the post title, the very helpful game program explains:

“Should a ballist [player] lack effort, implore him to “Show a little ginger!”

Also, before I get to the photos, let me add that vintage base ball is wonderfully entertaining. You can find the club’s schedule on its website; if you’re in the area, I’d highly recommend going to a game.

And now, on to the photos.

Hank the friendly English bulldog enjoyed his afternoon at the game.

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Photo of the Walkin’ Around Chelsea Now: 21 May 2011

Chelsea has seen very little sun and very few clear skies this spring, so when I spotted that bright hot sphere thing in the sky and saw something other than clouds, I took a walk around Chelsea to get a few photos. I expect to do more of this as more clear skies make the apparently grueling commute to Chelsea.

Yeah, yeah, I know everybody takes pictures of it…

…but I think I’d be exiled to Dexter if I didn’t take at least one photo of it.

Just outside the library I encountered a man who was installing clay tiles that were created by Chelsea middle schoolers back in October. He, too, had been waiting for a sunny day to start work.

Photo of the Simultaneously Exercisin’ Now: 4 May 2011

Chelsea’s South School* participated in All Children Exercise Simultaneously 2011. What is that, you ask as you don’t click that link? Well, as that website proclaims, millions of kids get outside and exercise all at once “in a symbolic gesture of fitness and unity.” For the benefit of all of us, I’m going to stifle all my natural sarcastic responses to such idealistically empty phrases and just say the kids enjoyed getting outside and burning off some energy for half an hour. (I’m sure the teachers were glad to have the kids burn off some energy, too.)

*(Yes, I know it’s officially named South Meadows Elementary now, but when I was a kid it was just plain South School, and I didn’t approve the name change. Does my stubbornness in adhering to old names mean I’m getting old? Probably. But it’s inevitable, so…why fight it? Rabble rabble rabble.)