The Tourist at Home: Porchfests - Somerville and Arlington, 2018

I’m interrupting my Galapagos blog series to talk about Porchfests.  One reason --it’s timely: there are still a few Porchfests coming up in this area.  Another reason:  Porchfest is an activity that everyone can enjoy, whether you walk, bike, drive, use a walker, crutches, push a baby stroller or get around in a wheelchair. 

Wouldn’t it be nice to go out on a pleasant spring or early summer day, stroll up the street to join friends and neighbors, meet new people,  and enjoy local musicians?

 Chaco  (Rock, pop, Indie, Funk) -Porchfest, Somerville MA

Want a change in music?  Walk around the corner.  Use your walker to go to another porch.  Blue grass, rock, jug bands, Latin, classical, a cappella, country, reggae.... what do you want to hear?  At Porchfest, you’ll find it.

This year, the Tourist at Home had the chance to enjoy two Massachusetts Porchfests for the first time;  one in Somerville and one in Arlington. 

Chaco

It’s not clear where Porchfest originated. The earliest reference I found was Newtown, PA in 2000--more of a block party that was a great chance to  just ‘hang out’.

Today’s music Porchfests seem to have started in 2007 in Ithaca.  Boston area’s first Porchfest was in 2011. 

Chaco

It’s a great way to spend some time.  Drive and bring a chair.  Walk and carry a blanket.  Get your walker or your crutches.  If you go, you’ll find music, friends, and neighbors.   Want a change in music?  It’s just the porch down the street.  Or around the corner.   Well, as long as we’re meandering, why not go up the block to hear some different music?

Minor Outages,  a cappella,   Somerville

Somerville Porchfest

Porchfests are well organized to take people through the community.  An Internet search will usually bring up a schedule, map, lists of performers, and locations.  

Mark Sandman at the Kickstand Cafe in Arlington Center

In Somerville, my friend Lisa drove a few of us to places we were able to park and walk (thank you, Lisa).   In Arlington, I chose early afternoon performances near the Center, that I could reach on foot (with my walker). 

The Quinn Connell Collective  (a talented group of High School musicians drawing from a variety of types of music)  in front of the Cyrus Dallin House in Arlington Center

This Tourist at Home really enjoyed both music afternoons going from one local ‘stage’ to another.

Hill’s Pond Jug Band playing in front of the statue of Uncle Sam in Arlington Center.

One thing is for sure.   When ya got a good thing, it’s gonna grow. 

From what I can find, there are over a hundred Porchfests throughout the country now. There are two  scheduled in the Boston area as I write this:   Saturday, June 23 Porchfest Quincy    and Saturday, July 7: JP  (Jamaica Plain) Porchfest  (click on the links for information)

Porchfests.  I’m hooked.  Already looking forward to next year.

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* I often remind readers that I write from the comfort of home, that my travel posts are based on journals I’ve kept when traveling.  One major change in the last few years is my mobility.  At first I thought ‘this will pass.‘  It didn’t.  I am now dependent on a walker or crutches to get around, and I’m adjusting.  The current travel series on the Galapagos and Machu Picchu and the next one (on Israel) are from a time that I was more mobile.
If you haven't picked up on my enthusiasm, I'll risk being repetitive:  Porchfests are a perfect activity for the (handicapped) tourist at home.  Choose where you want to go.   Go at your pace.  Through it all, you get to enjoy your neighbors,  your local talent, and your community.

Genovesa -continued: Birds Everywhere

There are birds everywhere. 

Each one has adapted to its environment.  The Galapagos dove (below) has a sharp beak that makes it easy to pick seeds from the ground.  The dove tends to stay on the ground, where it finds nourishment.  I don’t remember seeing any in flight.

 

 

And now...my first booby!  Totally unimpressed by us humans,  this Nazca booby is stretching his wings (note that wing span) as he gets ready for take off.

Nazca boobies are the largest of the boobies on the Galapagos.  They were once called ‘masked boobies’ because of the dark color mask around their eyes.  There are masked boobies, but the ‘real’ Nazca booby has a orangy-reddish beak.  They nest on the ground and breed annually producing two eggs that hatch a few days apart. 

I learned about bird ‘siblicide’ on this trip.  Many boobies have two hatchlings, but  only one of the chicks survives--and it’s not an accident.  The stronger chick eventually throws the smaller, weaker sibling out of the nest. 

Why did this behavior evolve?  Maybe laying two eggs assures that if a predator gets to the first egg, there will still be offspring.  But if both hatchlings survive, the older booby gets rid of the younger and the parents do not interfere.

Neither do we.  Going a little out of sequence.... later in the trip, on Espanola Island, we see two blue-footed booby chicks with their mother.  The well-fed, larger chick is safely nestled under mom.   Ousted from shelter and slowly starving is the small chick in the foreground.

The short hard life of the second booby chick

All of us wish we could do something.  But Roberto reminds us that we do not interfere with the natural way of life on the islands.  So I have this photo and a sad and painful memory that nature is sometimes cruel.  

Back to Genovesa.  Families of birds everywhere I turn, and they are not in the least bit interested--or intimidated --by me.

I introduce myself to an unintimidated booby...

....and its friend

Feeding time

 

 

Redfooted booby and chick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is much more to see here and we’ll return the next Galapagos post.  But next, a brief diversion to Porchfests. 
What?
Porchfests.... for the tourist at  home.

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