Page 36 - Leisure Living Magazine: June 2020 Edition

Entertainment & Pastimes
In The Time Of Social Distancing
By Catharine Hadley, Arts and Entertainment Editor catharinehadley@gmail.com
Birding
I recently had an unplanned zoom meeting that left me very happy.
It wasn’t an online Zoom meeting. I was in my front yard, by my birdfeeders. Something “zoomed” beside me, and then behind me. I froze. It disappeared.
I wish I had been able to see my first hummingbird of the season, but I was only able to hear it.
When I cleaned my birdfeeders, set them out, and filled them earlier this spring it was only an item on my to-do list. Now, it’s a wonderful new hobby – one of the benefits of spending more time at home. I want to be very clear about my expertise when it comes to birdwatching. It does not exist. I know nothing. I’ll be honest about another thing – I like it, but I don’t want to work too hard at it.
I found a Facebook group called Ohio Backyard Birding. Kim Kaufmann of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory is the group administrator. She, and many of the members, have been a great resource. I can take photos out my living room window while sitting on my sofa, and then post them so I can ask what sort of bird it is. The group members offer all sorts of advice about how to safely and humanely support and explore the wildlife.
There was one unexpected benefit from my window birdwatching: I was able to text my neighbors to tell them a skunk was in their front bushes right before the mail delivery person was due to arrive.
Some of my friends who are “real” birders have been posting amazing photos that they took of birds at Meadowbrook Marsh, the Marblehead Lakeside Daisy State Nature Preserve, and the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.
Stroll Through The
Herndon Sculpture Gardens
Another pleasant way to enjoy both art and the outdoors is by visiting the Charles Herndon Galleries and Sculpture Gardens on Kelleys Island. You can walk through the gardens while viewing dozens of sculptural works. “It’s in the neighborhood of 150,” Herndon said. “There are stone sculptures, steel sculptures, cement figurative work, and bronze figurative work.” The stone for several of the works came from Kelleys Island. All of the work in the sculpture garden is for sale.
One of the words used to describe the works in the sculpture garden is “diverse,” the artist said. “There’s a wide variety of different types of sculpture ... I have a
Erie Shore Wave Runners in Vermilion is open 7 days at 11am.
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