I was thinking about the podcast topics for this weeks’s episode of TMSOG while walking my Diva poodle Sparkles and I saw a number of blackbirds flying from tree to tree, and communicating with each other with loud screeches. It got me thinking about birds and what they do in the dead of night, as well as how they protect their young. It also got me thinking about the tune Blackbird, which most of us thought was about birds. As it turns out, we were wrong, as the lyrics of Blackbird by Paul McCartney were not actually written about blackbirds. The tune was written about the integration of schools across the American south during the civil rights era in the 60s. More specifically, Sir Paul was inspired by the images of the Little Rock 9 in Arkansas, being assaulted and jeered by an angry mob. It seems that the US has been consumed by angry mobs for centuries, including today, as angry mobs mixed with peaceful protesters converge on many college campuses, but that’s a topic for another time. Paul McCartney met two of the women who were part of the Little Rock 9, Mothershed and Eckford, at his Little Rock concert on April 30, 2016. He took to Twitter after the meeting to say, “Incredible to meet two of the Little Rock Nine–pioneers of the civil rights movement and inspiration for Blackbird.” It’s a wonderful example of music as a message, and we need more more songs like that right now. Since Mother’s Day is almost upon us, Victoria Alzapiedi, our resident garden, wildlife and healthy yards guru discusses the connection with wildlife mammas and their coexistence with nature. Malcolm chimed in with a spider story, so we chat about insects as well. Victoria is a co-founder of New Castle Healthy Yards, and is a member of the Town of New Castle Conservation Board. She is a member of Friends of Buttonhook, which is working to save a 20.3 acre forrest in the Town of New Castle. In addition, Victoria is the co-founder of the New Castle Pollinator Pathways Coalition, and started the Facebook group “The Nature of Westchester” an active community of nature lovers which now has more than 4000 members. She is also a Native plant gardening consultant and coach providing eco-friendly planting recommendations, visit her website mynativegardenoasis.com for more information. Also check out New Castle Healthy Yards on Facebook and help save a forest at https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/ Visit https://www.audubon.org/ for great info on birds.
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