Now available: “Christmas Songs for Native American Flute and Ukulele.” The ebook contains 16 songs with finger diagrams for Native American style flute showing you where to place your fingers for each note. If you play a concert-tuned Am (A minor) Native American style flute, then the chords for Ukulele tuned G-C-E-A to accompany the […]
Although the sandhill cranes have not yet migrated to Florida, every once in a while you see a solo bird who never flew back north with the others. The solitary crane saunters on someone’s front lawn, or is standing forlornly alongside a highway. You won’t be surprised to learn, that I had to woodburn a […]
Before I read about the story in the New York Times, about the Edgar Allen Poe exhibition opening at the Morgan, I had just finished a couple of platters paying a tribute to the clever raven. I wasn’t thinking so much about Edgar Allen Poe’s prophetic, if not morose, raven as much as I was […]
Using branches from the flowering dogwood tree to make Native American style flutes has become a favorite activity of mine. The dogwood is beautiful to work with — very cooperative and results in a clear crisp sounding flute. Dogwood is a hard wood (Janka hardness scale 2150) but not as difficult compared to the Florida Live […]
If you are in Gainesville on December 8, drop by the Glam Craft Show. From the look of the many vendors, it promises to have a wide range of great ideas and possibilities for your Christmas shopping. I’m excited to be there this year with Native American style flutes, wood burned platters, Christmas ornaments, unique jewelry […]
Recently, Jenny and Charlie came to visit. When I spend time with them, I always amazed by their boundless energy and creativity. Did I say they have an admirable amount of energy? Among the many activities we take on from cycling, disc golf, to eating ice cream and pizza, we usually embark on a creative […]
Recently, a new mockingbird came to the feeder while I was playing one of the low E flutes, I’d just finished making. I’d not noticed this particular mockingbird before. His eyes were particularly bright and yellow — which I’m not sure you can tell from the photos. Many of the mockingbirds have green, brown or […]
My mother arranged dried flowers for many years. As a teenager, I would watch her as she would arrange, rearrange, and then ask me what I thought. At the time, I never knew what I thought. I couldn’t see the difference between the flower in position A vs. position B. The arrangements were featured at […]
The Carolina wren, one of my favorite birds, visits the backyard regularly. If it doesn’t show up, I entice it with a bit of flute playing in the right key – Am or Bb or high D. Within five minutes of playing, I am charmed by the Native American flute music and the wren, who […]
Apparently the birds are having a third round of chicks this summer. The feeder, visited constantly with young chickadees, Carolina wrens, and fledgling cardinals, provides a real entertainment center. The young bird I hadn’t seen visit the feeder previous to Labor Day was the young house finch. It’s noisy, incessant demand for food was too much to […]