2017-07 5enses

P.12

JULY 2017 | VOLUME 5, ISSUE 7 | 5ENSESMAG.COM

5enses

July MMXVII • Volume V, Issue VII ~ ut proverbium loquitur vetus ... ~ Copyright © 2017 5enses Inc. Contact us at 5ensesMag@Gmail.Com & 928-613-2076 Visit 5ensesMag.Com & ISSUU for more

In which: David Moll

4 16 5 18 6 7 + 10 8/9 11 20 12 21 14 22 discusses art and community with Barb Wills of Les Femmes des Montage

Justin Agrell

reviews reports and ranges out to spy a bird who’s cuckoo for caterpillars

Kathleen Yetman

COVER IMAGE: Bumble Bee Jasper cut by lapidary artist Dan Cassetta of Prescott. Courtesy photo. See page 12 for more.

Robert Blood

peels back some petals and brings his botany skills to bear, beeblossoms

Russ Chappell

plays a game of “Password” and sows the seeds of more memorable markers

considers the vegetative state of a plant that’s, technically, a fruit

Peregrine Book Co. staff

turns a page in the Big Book of Books and requisitions recommendations

Alan Dean Foster

Here & (T)here

spends a night on Bald Mountain and returns with classical commandments

Reva Sherrard

Sean Gote´ Gallery 702 West Gurley Prescott, AZ 86305 928 445 2233

New shipment of Western & Animal Sculptures

Discover events in and around Prescott and the surrounding area

Prescott Peeps

moves (through) mountains and and contemplates tunnel vision(s)

Celebrate someone who’s making our community an even greater place

Lesley Aine McKeown

Whimsical art for creative minds

Get Involved

rocks mineral knowledge and visits the Prescott Gem and Mineral Show

Ty Fitzmorris

Publisher & Editor: Nicholas DeMarino Copy Editor: Susan Smart Featured Contributors: Alan Dean Foster, Ty Fitzmorris, Reva Sherrard, & Russell Miller Staff Writers: Justin Agrell, Robert Blood, James Dungeon, Mara Trushell, & Kathleen Yetman

Discover ways to make a positive difference in our community

Oddly Enough

contemplates the elements and delves into the depths of the wilderness

Smart, quirky comics about the strange-but-true by Russell Miller

Adorn Your Lifestyle Buy | Sell | Trade •

UNIQUE APPAREL & EXOTIC GOODS

928-776-8695

133 N. Cortez, Historic Downtown Prescott

22

ea es rs i n busin

y

OPEN DAILY 10AM-5PM •

brating Cele

s

@ Snap Snap

5ENSESMAG.COM • JULY 2017 • CONTENTS • 3

Plant of the Month

Scarlet Beeblossom The Scarlet Beeblossom needs a closer look to reveal its evening primrose heritage. Photo by David Moll.

I

By David Moll have a personal connection with Scarlet Beeblossom. Long ago, I received instruction in botany. Afterward, I was on my own. One day, I noticed a wildly unfamiliar-looking flowering plant around the driveway. From a distance, the flowers of this plant were so unrecognizable that I had no idea where my investigation would take me. I took a closer look and was surprised, not by novel discovery, but by familiar recognition.

We may recognize a willow tree just by looking at its general appearance — though there are look-a- likes. When it come to the more numerous herbs (and sometimes shrubs), the presence of a flower is going to get us further down the road of identification than using the vegetational clues. Flowers, the number and arrangement of their parts, are the pivotal characteristic for identifying flowering plants in the field.

ART WALKS 2017 Jan. 27 Feb. 24 March 24 April 28 May 26 June 23 July 28 Aug. 25 Sept. 22 Oct. 27 Nov. 24 Dec. 22

See Special Events

www.ArtThe4th.com

4 • FEATURE • JULY 2017 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

S

carlet Beebossom is a nice example of variation within a plant family (and now even within a genus). One of the categories of flower part arrangement is symmetry. The most common types of flower symmetry are radial and bilateral. If a flower can be bisected through its center by two or more planes and show symmetry, it’s called radially symmetrical; imagine a thistle flower. If a flower shows symmetry with one and only one bisection, it’s called bilaterally symmetrical; think Penstemon.

The mystery flower along the driveway showed bilateral symmetry, but not in the typical Penstemon, snapdragon, lupine, mint, monkeyflower way. When I got down on the ground, noticed and counted the flower parts regardless of symmetry, I was delighted to find myself facing a member of the evening primrose family (Onagraceae) with its typical four sepals, four petals, eight stamens, four- parted stigma, and ovary buried deep in the flower. With placement in that family and the right books, I was well on my way to identification of Scarlet Beeblossom, formerly in genus Gaura now placed with the more familiar evening primroses in Oenothera (Oenothera suff rutescens).

All I had to do was take a closer look, but it helped that flower parts in fours are limited to a few families such as the mustard, dogwood, and evening primrose families. Make sure you call them evening primrose because the primrose family is unrelated.

On my own in the vast universe of botany, my finding of Scarlet Beeblossom assured me that, hey, this botany stuff works. ***** David Moll studies nature in Arizona.

H

By Russ Chappell igh on the list of any Yellow-billed Cuckoo’s culinary menu are caterpillars. They are one of a few species capable of eating hairy caterpillars, and often consume thousands each season.

A close relative of the Greater Roadrunner and Blackbilled Cuckoo, Yellow-Billed Cuckoos have a croaking call they often voice in response to loud sounds, such as thunder, leading to the nick name “rain crow.”

Fairly large, long, and slim with a long, primarily yellow, thick, downward curved bill and flat head, they are a distinctive bird with brownish backs, white underparts and yellow orbital eyering. They also display wide white bands mixed with narrower black ones on their tails.

The parents share nest building, incubation and brooding of their young. Eggs are laid one at a time over several days, with the period between eggs being as long as 5 days, making the period from incubation to total fledging around 17 days.

Chicks are born featherless, with the young fully feathered and ready to leave the nest within a week.

Y

ellow-billed Cuckoos forage methodically in treetops for large, hairy caterpillars and live primarily in the canopies of deciduous trees in woodland areas. In the West, they are elusive and difficult

Bird of the Month

maps and lists of past and current sightings.

The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is recognized by U.S. Fish and Wildlife as a “threatened” species, meaning they are likely to be “endangered” in the near future, and several bird organizations are involved in USFW sponsored scientific surveys monitoring their status.

Spotting a Yellow-billed Cuckoo is something most birders only dream of, so if you are successful you will be joining an elite group. Are you up to the challenge?

Yellow-billed cuckoo

***** Prescott Audubon Society is an official Chapter of the National Audubon Society. Through our “Window On Nature” presentations, exciting field trips, and a multitude of educational outreach programs, PAS is your one-stop nature resource.

Check us out online at PrescottAudubon.Org.

Photo by David Speiser, LiliBirds.Com.

Russ Chappell is a member of the Prescott Audubon Society and supports the Chapter as webmaster and as needed. A retired helicopter pilot, he spent most of his life avoiding birds, now he spends time photographing and studying them.

to spot, normally found in Cottonwood-dominated areas near rivers flowing through arid habitats.

They are visitors to the Prescott and Verde River regions in the summer and though difficult to locate can be found if you look in the right areas. For insight into past sightings check out eBird reports at EBird.Org/ebird/hotspots. Simply type “Yellowbilled Cuckoo” in the Hot Spots search window for

5ENSESMAG.COM • JULY 2017 • FEATURE • 5

T

By Kathleen Yetman he tomato is the fruit of Solanum lycopersicum — a nightshade plant in the Solanaceae family, which includes eggplant, peppers and potatoes. The tomato is native to South and Central America, where ancient peoples domesticated the wild plants. While the date of its domestication is unknown, records show that it was being cultivated in Mexico as early as 500 B.C.E. When the Spanish invaded Mexico, they took tomato seeds back to Europe, where varieties evolved and spread.

Tomatoes are a great crop for the beginning gardener. Plants can be started from seed indoors and transplanted outside after the danger of frost has passed (usually mid May), or simply planted in the ground at that time. Plants are categorized as either determinate, meaning that they will only grow to a certain height, or indeterminate, meaning they will grow as wide and high as possible.

In greenhouses, growers have mastered pruning and fertilizing techniques that keep indeterminate varieties vining for several years, continuously producing fruit.

T

omatoes come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors beyond read. Some tomatoes are green, yellow, purple, pink, orange, black, white, or combinations of those colors. Tomatoes are

Vegetable of the Month

Tomato categorized based on their uses — plum tomatoes like Roma have a lower water content and are best for making sauces while Beefsteak tomatoes are best sliced on sandwiches. Heirloom varieties are increasingly popular with the best selection found at farmers markets. Heirloom varieties are those that have been saved for generations by gardeners and farmers. They are full of flavor and should be used within one or two days of purchasing.

Tomato seeds are easy to save for planting the next season. Squeeze out seeds into a jar or glass half-full with water and cover with a cloth or screen to keep insects out. The seeds will ferment after two to five days, which erodes the protective layer that keeps seeds from germi-

Prescott’s finest submarines since before downtown traffic 418 W. Goodwin St., 778-3743 M-F 10:30-2:30, Weekends closed

6 • FEATURE • JULY 2017 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

Photo by Kathleen Yetman. nating. Strain the seeds out and let them dry for next year. ***** The Prescott Summer Market is 7:30 a.m.-noon Saturdays, May through October in Yavapai College Parking Lot D, 1100 E. Sheldon St. Find out more at PrescottFarmersMarket.

Org. Kathleen Yetman is the managing director of the Prescott Farmers Market and a native of Prescott.

Peregrine Book Co.

Staff picks Catered by Reva Sherrard “The Wrenchies”

By Farel Dalrymple Mr. Dalrymple does it all.

Penciled, inked, watercolored, written, and lettered by the man himself. It is truly awesome. ~David “The Quiet American”

By Graham Greene This melancholy classic, redolent with the damp heat and grenade-jarred grace of French-governed Saigon, raises more questions of responsibility, involvement, & guilt than seem possible in such a compact narrative. A disillusioned British journalist covering the progression of the Indochinese War befriends an intense, naive young American aid worker, and in spite of a studied determination not to “get involved” finds himself forced to do just that. ~Reva “Heart of Europe”

By Peter H. Wilson Ever heard of a complete history of the Holy Roman Empire? No, you haven’t — luckily, here it is. Grab it for yourself or any history buff you have to entertain for a while. This book is dense and demanding but it includes absolutely everything. ~Veri “Beneath the Wheel”

By Herman Hesse Being one of Hesse’s earliest works it differs vastly from favorites like “Steppenwolf.” However, it doesn’t in the least lack his brilliance and is an absolute must read for “Siddartha” fans. ~Veri

“Ancestor”

By Matt Sheean and Malachi Ward Ancestor is an incredible sci-fi comic about a tech guru who sets out to put an end to problems that have long plagued humanity. The team of Sheean and Ward have created a richly illustrated unique book, dealing with “Ascended” humans and multiple civilizations.

Originally serialized in the Island Anthology by Image Comics. ~David “Whatever Happened To Interracial Love?”

By Kathleen Collins Kathleen Collins was a playwright and filmmaker during the ’70s who died at the young age of 46. As such, her small collection of short stories wasn’t published until 2016, and reading it is like time traveling to intimate moments in strangers’ lives.

Each story reads like a short film — simple, vivid, and moving. I loved each one, but right off the bat “Interiors” had me hooked. ~Hannah “Trophic Cascade”

By Camille T. Dungy What poems. Dungy conveys fragments of individual human experience so perfectly they become universal- then takes the universal and makes it shocking, intimate and new. Her evocations of physical things and nature sink into the tongue and press the skin. ~Reva

***** Visit Peregrine Book Company at PeregrineBookCompany.Com and 219A N. Cortez St., Prescott, 928-445-9000.

TRAX Records 234 S. Montezuma St. 928-830-9042

Turntables & quick special orders Buy/Sell/Trade new & used vinyl & CDs “ I read that prior to the advent of color TV most people dreamed in black and white.” Damian Loeb

Black and White with a Splash of Color 2017 Works by Prescott Area Artists

July 27—August 23 4th Friday Art Walk Reception July 28th 5:00—8:00 PM [xob eht edistuo kniht]

In the ‘Tis Art Center Main Gallery 105 S. Cortez St. Prescott www.TisArtGallery.com

$5 off any service ≥$30!

515 E. Sheldon St., Prescott, www.erasalonandspa.com

5ENSESMAG.COM • JULY 2017 • FEATURE • 7

Here & (T)here

Find out what's happening in and around Prescott Talks & presentations

6 8

“The Woman Who Shot Cowboys” • 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 6: Author Jan Cleere shares the life and work of rodeo photographer Louise L. Serpa. An Arizona Humanities Lecture. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-777-1526) “Living History Adventure” • Saturday, July 8: Take a peek back at territorial Prescott through the activities like period gardening, cooking, handcrafts, blacksmithing, print shop work, and more. A monthly event. (Sharlot Hall Museum, 415 W. Gurley St., 928-4453122) “The Yoga Healer” • 2 p.m. Saturday, July 8: Christine Burke discuses her book and leads a workshop including meditation, mudras, and simple breath work. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000, PeregrineBookCompany.Com)

15

“Frontier Arizona Experience” • Saturday, July 15: See a day in a frontier soldier's life from officers to cavalrymen. A monthly event. (Fort Whipple Museum, Arizona 89, north side of Prescott)

“Tried & True Just for You!” • 2 p.m. Saturday, July 15: Sara Dolan discusses her cookbook. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000, PeregrineBookCompany.Com) “Arizona's Historic Trading Posts” • 1 p.m. Saturday, July 15: Carol O'Bagy-Davis discusses early traders. (Phippen Art Museum, 4701 AZ 89, 928-778-1385, PhippenArtMuseum.Org)

22

“Southwestern Rock Calendars & Ancient Time Pieces” • 1 p.m. Saturday, July 22: Allen Dart discusses the sophisticated astronomy skills of Native Americans in the Southwest.

(Phippen Art Museum, 4701 AZ 89, 928-778-1385, Phippen ArtMuseum.Org)

Prescott Professional Writers • 2 p.m. Saturday, July 22: Four local authors discuss their books including Creighton Thompson, author of “Failing Good! My Stories of Triumph, Failure and Perseverance … But Mostly Failure,” Darlis Sailors, author of “Reflections: Inspirational Stories from Everyday Life,” Pat Frayne, author of the “Topaz the Conjure Cat” children's series, and Wendy Ratner, author of the children's book “Sheena's Kiss.” (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000, PeregrineBook Company.Com)

26

Professional Writers of Prescott • 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 26: A monthly Professional Writers of Prescott meeting. (Prescott Valley Public Library, 7401 E. Civic Circle, 928-864-8642, Catalog.YLN.Info/Client/En_US/ PVPL)

Nature, health, & outdoors Jay's Bird Barn bird walks • 7 a.m. July 6, 15, 20, & 28: Local, guided bird walks. Via Jay's Bird Barn. (Jay’s Bird Barn, No. 113, 1046 Willow Creek Road, 928-443-5900, JaysBirdBarn.Com, RSVP)

8

Prescott Audubon bird walk • 7:30 a.m. Saturday, July 8: Monthly bird walk. (Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-7769550, HighlandsCenter.Org, PrescottAudubon.Org)

Prescott Garden Tour • 8 a.m. Saturday, July 8: Self-guided driving tour of five local gardens via The Native Garden featuring native and drought tolerant plants plus some vegetable gardens and fruit orchards. Benefits The Hungry Kids Project. (The Native Garden, 602 S. Montezuma St., 928-237-5560, $10)

21

“The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs” • 9:30-10:30 a.m. Friday, July 21: Discuss Tristan Gooley's book, “The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs: Use Outdoor Clues to Find Your Way, Predict the Weather, Locate Water,

Shootout on Whiskey Row • July 22 & 23: Twelfth annual Old West re-enactment event via the Prescott Regulators & Their Shady Ladies. See Page 21 for more info. (Downtown Prescott, PrescottRegulators.Org) PHOTO: A scene from a Prescott Regulators re-enactment. Courtesy photo.

22 29

Prescott Indivisible • 6-7:30 p.m. Friday, July 7: Monthly meeting of a non-partisan group which seeks to promote a progressive and inclusive agenda in support of human rights and the environment.

(Granite Peak Unitarian Congregation Education Center, 882 Sunset Ave., 928-443-8854)

“The Art of Brewing Your Own Kombucha” • 9 a.m. Saturday, July 22: Explore the whys, how-tos, and purported benefits of this DIY ancient elixir. Includes tastetesting, starter kit, step-by-step instructions, and recipes.

(Nectar Apothecary, 219 W. Gurley St., 928-445-4565, NectarApothecary.Com, $30)

Iris Rhizome Sale • 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 29: Annual iris rhizome sale via the Prescott Area Iris Society featuring hundreds of iris varieties, multitudes of colors and forms, from recent introductions to historics. (Yavapai Title Building Conference Room, 1235 E. Gurley St., 623-980-6627, PrescottIrisSociety.

Org) Chino Valley Market • 3-6 p.m. Thursdays, June-October: Weekly farmers market featuring local food and much more. (Olsen's Grain parking lot, 344 Arizona 89, Chino Valley, PrescottFarmersMarket.

Org)

Prescott Summer Farmers Market • 7:30 a.m.-noon Saturdays, May through October: Weekly farmers market featuring local food and much more. (Yavapai College Parking Lot D, 1100 E. Sheldon St., PrescottFarmersMarket.Org)

Groups & games

1

LAN party • 10 a.m. -10 p.m. Saturday, July 1 : Play multiplayer computer games like “Killing Floor,” “Rocket League,” “Counterstrike,” and “Tribes.” A monthly Prescott PC Gamers Group Event.

(Step One Coffee House, 6719 E. Second St., Ste. C, Prescott Valley, PPCGG.Com, $10) Prescott Area Boardgamers • 4-8 p.m. first and third Wednesdays: Play European-style board games. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-777-1500, Prescott.Library.Info)

8 • EVENTS • JULY 2017 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

6

“Death Cafe” • 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 6: People gather to eat cake, drink tea, and discuss death with the objective “to increase awareness of death with a view to help people make the most of their (finite) lives.” Hosted by Dani LaVoire. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000, PeregrineBook Company.Com)

Track Animals — and Other Forgotten Skills.” A monthly Natural History Book Club meeting. (Gateway Mall Food Court, 3280 Gateway Blvd.)

7

18 21 28

GYCC LGBTQ Coalition • 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 18: Monthly general meeting open to all LGBTQ and allies in Yavapai County with guest speakers.

(First Congregational Church, 216 E. Gurley St., Facebook.

Com/LGBTQYavapai) PFLAG Support Night • 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 21: Monthly support night for LGBTQ+ community and those who love and support them or desire to do so. (First Congregational Church, 216 E. Gurley St.)

NAZGEM Support 7 p.m Friday, July 28: Monthly support group meeting for members of the transgender and beyond gender binaries community as well as family, friends, and youth. (Granite Peak Unitarian Congregation Education Center, 882 Sunset Ave., Facebook.Com/LGBTQYavapai) Prescott Public Library vieweries • Mondays through Saturdays: Library vieweries featuring displays from Arizona's Finest Artists of the Southwestern Artists Association, Elks Opera House, and Granite Dells: Bathing Beauties. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-777-1500, PrescottLibrary.Info)

22 26 30

Performing arts

Contra Dance • 7-7:30 p.m. lesson; 7:30-10 p.m. dance Saturday, July 22: Contra dancing, via Folk Happens. Calls by Kristen Watts, music by Privy Tippers. (First Congregation Church, 216 E. Gurley St., 928-925-5210, FolkHappens.Org, $4-$8)

Open mic poetry • 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 26: Poet Dan Seaman emcees monthly open mic poetry. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000, PeregrineBookCompany.Com)

“Build the Bridges” tour fundraiser • 5 p.m. Sunday, July 30: Jonathan Best hosts a fundraiser/ send off for his upcoming West Coast “Build the Bridges” tour.

(Raven Café, 142 N. Cortez St., 928-717-0009, RavenCafe.

Com) Social dance classes • Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, & Sundays: Learn the Argentine tango, West Coast swing, tribal belly dance, Lindy hop swing, flamenco, and Latin dance. (Flying Nest Movement Arts, 322 W. Gurley St., 928-432-3068, FlyingNestStudio.Com, prices vary)

“A Midsummer Night’s Dram” • 4 p.m. Sunday, July 2; 2 p.m. Sunday, July 9: The Wit’s Shakesbeer presents an original 60-minute adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic romp, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with beer, love, hate, fairies, hilarity, and even more beer. In true Shakesbeer fashion, actors imbibe alongside the audience before and throughout the show and hijinks ensue. (Raven Café for July 2, 142 N. Cortez St., 928-7170009, Prescott Public House for July 9, 218 W. Gurley St., 928-277-8062, Shakes.

Beer, free but donations accepted)

Performance dance/movement arts classes • Wednesdays & Thursdays: Learn contemporary dance, movement for life, and normative movement. (Flying Nest Movement Arts, 322 W. Gurley St., 928-432-3068, FlyingNestStudio.Com, prices vary)

Visual arts Arts Prescott Cooperative Gallery • June 23-July 27: “The Long Way Home,” featuring prismacolor, graphite, and oil pieces by Marko Donnelly.

• July 26-Aug. 23: “The Linscott Group,” featuring watercolor paintings and jewelry by students of Caroline Linscott, opening reception is July 28, 4th Friday Art Walk.

(Arts Prescott Cooperative Gallery, 134 S. Montezuma St., 928-776-7717, ArtsPrescott.Com)

6

“Hot Mess” • 7:30-9 p.m. Thursday, July 6: Sixth annual Female Playwrights ONSTAGE Festival including 12 new (short) plays and monologues by female playwrights from around the country.

This year’s theme, Hot Mess, includes a variety of hilarious, unusual, moving, and flat out messy plays and monologues.

Proceeds benefit Little Black Dress INK’s 2018 ONSTAGE Festival and Days for Girls. (First Congregational Church Perkins Hall, 216 E. Gurley St.)

“Plaza Suite” • 7:30 p.m. July 6, 7, 15, 27, 28, & Aug. 5; 2 p.m. July 23 & Aug. 13: Hilarity abounds in this portrait of three couples successively occupying a suite at the Plaza. (Prescott Center for the Arts Stage Too, alley between Cortez and Marina streets behind Peregrine Book Co, 928-445-3286, PCA-AZ.Net, $15) “Bus Stop” • 7:30 p.m. July 8, 20, 21, 29, & Aug. 10 & 11; 2 p.m. July 16 & Aug. 6: The action of this endearing romantic comedy takes place during a howling snowstorm in a cheerful street-corner restaurant adjacent to a bus stop in a small town about thirty miles west of Kansas City. (Prescott Center for the Arts Stage Too, alley between Cortez and Marina streets behind Peregrine Book Co, 928-445-3286, PCA-AZ.Net, $15)

Art2 • 4th Friday Art Walk participant. (Art2, 120 W. Gurley St., 928-499-4428, ArtSquaredPrescott.Com) The Beastro • 4th Friday Art Walk participant. (The Beastro, 117 N. McCormick St., 928-778-0284, TheBeastro.Org)

8

Les Femmes Des Montage • 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 8: Annual one-day sale by members of an all-female art group. This year’s guest artists is Jody Skjei. Raffle items and 10 percent of sales benefit the Highlands Center for Natural History. (Hassayampa Inn’s Marina Room, 122 E. Gurley St., LesFemmesDesMontage.

Weebly.Com)

28

4th Friday Art Walk • 5-7 p.m. Friday, July 28: Monthly art walk including artist receptions, openings, and demonstrations at more than a dozen galleries. (ArtThe4th.Com)

Huckeba Art Gallery • 4th Friday Art Walk participant. (Huckeba Art Gallery, 227 W. Gurley St., 928-445-3848, Huckeba-Art-Quest.Com) Ian Russell Gallery • 4th Friday Art Walk participant. (Ian Russell Gallery, 130 S. Montezuma St., 928-445-7009, IanRussellArt.Com)

’Tis Art Center & Gallery • June 15-July 14: “Twisted Roots,” featuring fine art burl wood creations

by John Hoyt and poetically powerful paintings of practically perfect people by Thatcher Bohrman.

• June 22-July 15: “The Eyes Have It!,” annual summer photography exhibit.

• July 15-Aug. 14: “Clay + Wax = Fresh New Art,” featuring work by Mary Lou Wills and Patty Heibel, opening reception is July 28, 4th Friday Art Walk.

• July 27-Aug. 23: “Black and White with a Splash of Color 2017,” featuring works

by Prescott area artists, opening reception is July 28, 4th Friday Art Walk. (‘Tis Art Center & Gallery, 105 S. Cortez St., 928-775-0223, TisArtGallery.Com) IMAGE: “Never Moo,” hybrid monotype print by Mary Lou Wills. Courtesy image.

Random Art • 4th Friday Art Walk participant. (Random Art, 214 N. McCormick St., 928-308-7355, RandomArt.Biz) Sam Hill Warehouse • Student, faculty, and alumni exhibitions. (Sam Hill Warehouse, 232 N. Granite St., 928-350-2341, PrescottCollegeArt Gallery.Org) Sean Goté Gallery • New art and décor, plus guest art in the parking lot on weekends. 4th Friday Art Walk participant. (Sean Goté Gallery, 702 W. Gurley St., 928-445-2233, SeanGote.Com)

“Same Time, Next Year” • 7:30 p.m. July 13, 14, 22, & Aug. 3 & 4; 2 p.m. July 9 & 30: A love affair between two people, Doris and George, married to others, rendezvous once a year. Twenty-five years of manners and morals are hilariously and touchingly played out by the lovers. (Prescott Center for the Arts Stage Too, alley between Cortez and Marina streets behind Peregrine Book Co, 928445-3286, PCA-AZ.Net, $15)

Mountain Artists Guild • June 26-Aug. 25: “America the Beautiful” gallery show.

(Mountain Artists Guild, 228 N. Alarcon St., 928-445-2510, MountainArtistsGuild.Org)

Open mic poetry • 7-9:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 12: Monthly poetry jam presented by Decipherers Synonymous. (The Beastro, 117 N. McCormick St., 971-340-6970, TheBeastro.Com)

Prescott Center for the Arts Gallery • June 12-July 22: “Beauty in the Abstract,” featuring art that builds on abstract and non-representational art of the 20th century.

• July 24-Aug. 19: “Artistic Visions,” featuring art from Visual Arts Committee members and more.

(Prescott Center for the Arts, 208 N. Marina St., 928-4453286, PCA-AZ.Net)

Thumb Butte Distillery • 4th Friday Art Walk participant. (Thumb Butte Distillery, 400 N. Washington Ave., 928-443-8498, ThumbButteDistillery.

Com)

Prescott Indian Art Market • 9 a.m.-5 p.m. July 8 & 9 a.m.-4 p.m. July 9: The 20th annual event featuring authentic American Indian/Native American artwork, from sculpture to jewelry and paintings to pottery, plus entertainment and demonstrations. (Sharlot Hall Museum, 415 W. Gurley St., 928-445-3122)

Yavapai College Art Gallery • June 15-July 10: “Flight of Obscurity XI,” featuring sculpture by Nathaniel Foley. (Yavapai College Art Gallery, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-445-7300, YC.Edu)

12

“Urinetown” • 7:30 p.m. July 14, 15, 21, & 22; 2 p.m. July 16 & 23: A sidesplitting sendup of greed, love, revolution, and musicals, in a time when water is worth its weight in gold — a satire of the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, municipal politics and musical theatre itself. (Prescott Center for the Arts, 208 N. Marina St., 928-445-3286, PCA-AZ.Net, $10-$15)

Mountain Spirit Co-op • 4th Friday Art Walk participant. (Mountain Spirit Co-op, 107 N. Cortez St., 928-445-8545, MountainSpiritCo-Op.Com)

Smoki Museum • 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Saturday, July 22: Consignment market featuring items from members’ and the public’s collections.

Fixed prices. (Smoki Museum, 147 N. Arizona Ave., 928-4451230, SmokiMuseum.Org)

Van Gogh’s Ear • 4th Friday Art Walk participant. (Van Gogh’s Ear, 156 S. Montezuma St., 928-776-1080, VGEGallery.Com)

9

Stravinsky, dinosaurs optional: Part I

On discovering a fantastical hearing aid for classical music was great. Both are long gone now, like the huge Tower Records store on Sunset where, when I became able to afford it, I used to go to shop for new releases. Or the numerous wonderful used book stores on Hollywood Boulevard. But I digress.

H

By Alan Dean Foster ere’s how you get kids interested in classical music: you throw out all the traditional “music appreciation” courses, haul your class to a theater, and have them watch the original Disney “Fantasia.” Then you go back to the classroom and spend a semester discussing it.

That’s what did it for me, and I did my own homework because the class in question didn’t exist.

I remember being taken to see a re-release of the film when I was about 7. We had a little classical music in our house. Beethoven’s Fifth, some Tchaikovsky, on 33 rpm records. My mother played a mean “Rhapsody in Blue” on her baby Steinway. But “Fantasia” simply overwhelmed me.

I remember my initial reactions to it to this day.

Confusion at the abstract visuals of Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue”, mild amusement at Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours”, quiet awe at the sheer beauty of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite,” wonderment at Beethoven’s sixth symphony, amazement that Mickey Mouse could do more than giggle in Dukas’ “The Sorceror’s Apprentice,” and yawning at the concluding Schubert “Ave Maria.”

But … there were dinosaurs. Ah, dinosaurs! As part of the whole evolution them of the Stravinsky “Rite of Spring.” Stravinsky hated Disney’s take on his ballet, but the appearance of the score in Fantasia has probably sold more copies of recordings of “Rite” than all the other sales put together.

Ironically, in showing fast-moving, highly active dinosaurs, Disney’s artists got the paleontology right decades before it was determined that dinos weren’t lumbering, slow-moving, swamp-surfing critters.

Lastly, there was what for Disney was doubtless the greatest gamble in the film: a fairly literal visual interpretation of Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain,” with its howling, bare-breasted she-demons and a Chernobog/devil that scared the bejeezus out of me for many nights thereafter.

Kid stuff, my ass.

A

s soon as I started buying classical music, my first purchases were all of music from the film. Which led me to other compositions by the same composers. I devoured all of Beethoven, Stravinsky, and Mussorgsky. None of this thanks to public school music appreciation classes; all of it because of the Disney version. Learning that Beethoven wasn’t really thinking of gamboling Greek mythological characters when he wrote his sixth symphony or Stravinsky of the march of life when he did “Rite of Spring” did nothing to mute my enthusiasm for the music itself.

Alan Dean Foster’s

Perceivings

W

ith “Fantasia” as my classical music foundation, I went on to explore more and more pieces by more and more composers, always trying to keep an open mind. Despite this I never could get behind such developments as 12-tone music or the works of John Cage and his ilk. Call me old-fashioned, but to me music needs rhythm and melody. Throwing bricks at a piano is something I can do for myself. I don’t count it as composition, just as I don’t count blowing up balloon animals to Green Giant size or painting a black square in the center of a red canvas as art. To me, the biggest problem with contemporary classical music is not a lack of new material but a turgid reliance on the same old standards.

Go to a typical classical concert in the U.S. and who might you hear? Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky … sound familiar? And not just Bach, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky, but the same Bach, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky that was on the program last month, or last year. Great music to be sure, but isn’t there anything else listenable out there? Anything? Orchestral programmers don’t seem to think so. Well, they’re wrong. Just as the writer Robert Bloch (of Psycho fame) once told me that he’d heard “everything worth listening to.”

As I’ll discuss in next month’s column.

When I started attending UCLA I learned that the Los Angeles Philharmonic sold student tickets, at the box office, just before performances.

When I could get gas money I’d fire up the old Ford Galaxie and haul myself downtown. Though the last-minute student seats were usually in the first few rows, hard up against the stage, I didn’t care.

You could still hear the music and as a bonus you got to observe the conductor and soloists up close. I saw some wonderful performances that further expanded by knowledge and love of classical music.

Anyone who thinks of L.A. as a cultural wasteland is plainly unaware of the musical offerings to be had that extend far from Sunset Blvd.

I remember seeing the legendary Otto Klem***** perer conduct in Pasadena, and regular specAlan Dean Foster is author tacular performances led by Zubin Mehta (with of more than 120 whom, in one of the universe’s odd coincidences, I books, visitor to shared a dentist). There was a grand performance more than 100 of Mahler’s second symphony back before Mahler countries, and still became a staple of orchestral programming evfrustrated by the erywhere. human species.

A used record shop on Santa Monica Boulevard Follow him at Alan near Vermont became a second home, so much DeanFoster.Com. so that the husband-and-wife owners got to know me by name. Perhaps because I was often the youngest customer browsing the classical section they would sometimes give Gramophone, public domain, “Fantasia” dinome unrequested discounts on saurs by Disney, fair use. Illustration by 5enses. multiple purchases. The neighborhood sucked, but the store

10 • COLUMN • JULY 2017 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

Myth & Mind: In the Halls of the Mountain Kings

W

By Reva Sherrard

— but when wasn’t it? — this is the account of his death preserved in the saga of the Yngling kings.

inter or summer, it’s cold in the mounhy mountain. The tains, last time the sun touched as the this place was in the age location or when oxygen first accumuportals to lated in the atmosphere, an otherworld whose decephundreds to thousands of tions the premodern Scandimillions of years ago. It has navians feared even as they been very quiet until now. longed for its reputed abunI am on a bus, one of the dance, particularly during modern heated fleet that the plague- and faminepunctually connects the ridden Middle Ages? (One villages of Western Norway bergtått man in medieval to the towns and rail centers Norway sent back a meswithout fail, except in cases sage that where he’d crossed of natural disaster. The to, it was like Christmas Lærdalstunnel, the world’s longest road tunnel (15.23 drivers are curt, competent, every day, meaning plenty and speak no English. I am of food, warmth and cheer: miles). Photo by Svein-Magne Tunli, Creative Commons 3.0. counting the minutes we have surely a quicker and more trabeen inside the mountains and ditional route to paradise than watching the kilometers tick by, four at a time, till The queen is so dazzled with their marvelous the Catholic Church offered.) But “mountain” is we are out in the daylight world again. an imperfect translation of the word berg. It can weaving skills that she offers one her son in marThis is the Lærdal-Aurland tunnel in Sogn og denote anything from a mound to a fortification to riage, at which they reveal their identities and Fjordane county, Norway, at 24.51 kilometers explain that they have been in “the troll mouna hill to any of the innumerable small mountains (15.23 miles) the world’s longest — but I didn’t tain” all this while. The motif appears in Henrik that corrugate the Norwegian landscape, while Ibsen’s play “Peer Gynt” when the eponymous fjell means the really outstanding features that know that when after a series of lesser entombhero follows a beautiful woman into a mountain English-speakers call mountains. Thus the inhabments we entered this timeless hole. At three and confronts her father, the Troll-King, and is itants of flatter Sweden, and flattest Denmark, places along its length the tunnel widens and could be bergtått, too. It’s a concept very similar glows with eerily intense blue light, fading pale to- the source of the famously dramatic Grieg piece “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” to the Irish and Scottish fairy mounds where wards the ground, and you think you have begun My favorite mountain disappearance was the humans might be taken to visit the Aos Sí, “people to hallucinate. But it’s part of the design, meant downfall of the 1st-century B.C.E. Swedish king of the mounds.” to imitate sunrise according to the government. It Sveigðir, who returning with a friend one night The road tunnels (1,062 to date, covering some does not. If anything it says you have left the livafter a heavy drinking bout saw a dwarf beck500 miles and counting) below the mountains of ing world behind and entered a place where flame oning to him from under a stone, promising to modern-day Norway have a more mundane naburns blue yet gives no heat; you have been taken take him to Odin. He may have done so, too, for ture: before them much of the country was impasinto the mountain.

Sveigðir ran inside the stone and was never seen sible by land from October to May, plus whenever again. Bearing in mind that alcohol was involved he Norwegian word is bergtått, mouna strong storm blew up; not for nothing is this the tain-taken, and the concept homeland of the ski. Even the main bus pervades Scandinavian folklore: route from the western city of Bergen (the a man out hunting finds himself name means “the berg,” in the sense of forsuddenly in a comfortable room tress) up into the fjords must cross by ferry where a lovely girl is offering him a meal, twice between tunnels. While I was there then just as suddenly returns to the forest last fall, the spectacular alternative route to find he has been gone hours instead of over the bare skulls of the mountains was minutes; children strayed from the farm closed by heavy snowfall Sept. 29. So it’s are taken by the mysterious dwellers uninside the mountains instead that drivers derground to live with them and are never must go, while road crews labor every year seen again, or else return many years later to open still more passages through secret with uncanny abilities; pretty herding-girls places their ancestors never dreamt of. are whisked away to be brides to shapeshifting troll-kings, and comely young men ***** to wed subterranean princesses. In Reva Sherrard works at Peregrine a Swedish folk song, two princesses Book Company, studies Old Norse A misty Norwegian fjord. Photo by Reva Sherrard. disappear from their home as children religion, and is writing a novel. and return unrecognized as servants.

W

T

5ENSESMAG.COM • JULY 2017 • COLUMN • 11

fossilized creatures captured in limestone, frozen forever and telling stories of life on a planet much different from ours. Prehistoric trees, fallen long ago and their organic compounds replaced with minerals, reveal their forms enhanced with the glorious colors of nature.

Explore the tremendous variety of stones. You’ll see slabs of raw material like jaspers and agates, used by lapidary artists to create cabochons. Many dealers sell precut cabochons in a mind-boggling array of materials. Be sure to stop, look, and ask about the ones you don’t know.

A

Lesley Aine McKeown digs into our obsession with rocks & gemstones

W

By Lesley Aine McKeown ho hasn’t walked a beach and come back with a pocket full of shells, or schlepped a five-pound rock back from a hike just because it was cool? We’re drawn to pretty things, unusual things, things with a story. To understand the natural world and possess a piece of it is what motivates us to collect rocks, gemstones and ultimately the jewelry made with these things.

When Elizabeth I sanctioned privateers to loot Spanish ships off the English coast, it wasn’t to simply to gather loot, rather to find a single pearl called La Pelegrina, a betrothal gift to her sister Mary from Prince Phillip of Spain. On Mary’s death the pearl was returned to Spain, but Elizabeth had to have it, even at the risk of war. This desire to possess something unique, to the point of obsession, can drive any of us. It’s important to our nature, even instinctive.

As a child, I’d often go with my parents down to the limestone cliffs by the Missouri River to search for crinoids, the stem of a fossilized mammal that looked like beads, round and plainly once alive. This fascinated me, quite possibly sparking the lifelong obsession with collecting rocks and gems that I’ve been able to turn into a business.

W

ant to buy a gemstone? Looking for a specimen? Fascinated with fossils? Attending a gem show can be a great way to submerge yourself in gem world. We’re very lucky here in Arizona, particularly in Prescott. Each year during the first week of August, the Prescott Gem and Mineral Club hosts its Gem and Mineral Show. Begun 14 years ago, the PGM show boasts over 60 vendors selling everything from slabs, cabs and beads to finished jewelry. Tool displays, a fluorescence booth, geode cutting, face painting, gold panning, a junior rock-hound area, and many demonstrations make this a must-do for almost everyone.

If you’re really serious, taking the plunge and attending the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show can be a mind-blowing experience. This is literally the largest gem and mineral show in the world, where you can see everything from fossilized dinosaur poop (coprolite) to precious gemstones valued in the millions.

Exploring the gem world is only limited by your desire and imagination.

So let’s talk about what you may see at the local gem show.

While you’ll see lots of cabochons and finished jewelry, don’t miss the dealers in specimen minerals and fossils as well. Many common minerals appear quite different in original form, providing glimpses into the amazing world we live in. You’ll also find

12 • FEATURE • JULY 2017 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

rizona is perhaps the best state in the U.S. to search for rare minerals and semiprecious gemstones. We’re famous for copper, and a variety of copper-containing minerals are mined as gemstones, including azurite, chrysocolla, and malachite. Other Arizona gem materials include agate, amethyst, garnet, jade, jasper, obsidian, onyx, opal, topaz, and petrified wood.

One really fascinating aspect is that someone had to mine that stone, often in an exotic place, facing difficult travel and conditions. Bumblebee Jasper, for example, comes from inside a volcanic fumarole on the island of Java in Indonesia and consists of over 47 different minerals, offering some of the most dramatic colors in the gem world.

Turquoise is probably the most common semiprecious stone we see here in the Southwest, and without a doubt the least understood. Turquoise is found all over the world, and some of the most valuable comes from here in the Southwest. Confusing information about what constitutes quality turquoise has filtered into the market and the minds of buyers, creating a quagmire of misinformation.

The word “stabilization” has become synonymous with bad material, and this is simply not accurate.

Most turquoise on the market has been stabilized, meaning resin is applied to allow a higher polish and increase the tenacity of the stone. Of the tons of turquoise mined, very little is what we call high-grade and stable enough to be cut and polished without treatment. A good stabilization process enables a mine owner to use turquoise with gorgeous color but chalky structure. Stabilized turquoise is viable, acceptable and important to the gemstone market.

Beyond stabilization, there’s one more turquoise material you should be aware of. Cutting turquoise produces a lot of dust. Some commercial cutters, particularly those in Asia, produce what we call “block” turquoise by adding resin to this dust. It is virtually impossible for the untrained eye to differentiate between this reconstituted turquoise and natural material, but a reputable dealer will disclose the nature of the turquoise they’re selling. If you choose jewelry featuring a beautiful piece of turquoise, you will own a what the Navajo call the stone of heaven, and that Egyptian pharaohs and Persian kings treasured above all other stones.

W

hether you’re interested FROM LEFT: Crinoids, Navajo turquoise in buying a piece of jewelry or simply in colbracelets, hematite jasper. Courtesy photos. lecting rocks, the Gem Show provides all that and more. But beware, attending can lead to symptoms that include an inability resist anything sparCan you give us an overview of the event? kly, stooped posture, owning more pieces of quartz We have more than 50 vendors who come and than underwear, or finding yourself compelled to sell their different items. Some have beads, but it’s examine individual mostly rock-related pebbles in driveway cabochons. There’s cut Looking for shopping advice? gravel. So join the and polished jewelry club and get one of the as well as unfinished greatest addictions in specimens. We have a If you intend to buy a stone as an investthe world. raffle, a kids activity area, geode cutting, ment, always have it appraised and buy ***** and other demonstraThe Prescott Gem & tions, but the main from a reputable dealer. Many stones will Mineral Show is 9 event is really the vena.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 4th dors who come and sell come with certificates of authenticity, and & 5th and 9 a.m.-4 rock-related items. The p.m. Aug. 6 at the Prescott Gem & Minera diamond may have a GIA number enPrescott Valley Event al Club started in 2001 Center, 3201 Main St., and the first Prescott graved on its girdle assessing its four Cs: 928-772-1819. Tickets Gem & Mineral Show are $5 for adults, $4 was in 2003, so this is color, cut, clarity and carat weight. for seniors, vets, and our 14th annual event. students, and free for The first year we held it children under 12. at the old fairgrounds in very primitive condiLesley Aine Mckeown has been making jewelry for tions. Then we moved to the Embry-Riddle auditoover 35 years. Admittedly obsessed with stones, she rium for years, then, four years ago, we moved it to lives and works in Prescott. the Prescott Valley Event Center. It’s for people who are interested in rocks to come purchase specimens ***** and jewelry. It’s for people who want unusual, handLinda Loschke, a board member and previous crafted pieces. president of the Prescott Gem & Mineral Club, discusses this year’s show. Find out more at PrescottCONTINUED ON PAGE 19 >>> GemMineral.Org.

13

News From the Wilds Weather Average high temperature: 89 F (+/-2.8) Average low temperature: 57.8 F (+/-2.8) Record high temperature: 105 F (1925) Record low temperature: 34 F (1912) Average precipitation: 2.89” (+/-1.71”) Record high precipitation: 8.8” (1908) Record low precipitation: 0” (1993) Max daily precipitation: 2.96” (July 24, 1970)

A double rainbow over Badger Mountain and Glassford Hill in Prescott. Note that the colors in the fainter rainbow are reversed from the primary rainbow, and also the dark band between, called “Alexander’s Band,” which gives the phenomenon a curved-column appearance. Photo by Ty Fitzmorris.

J

By Ty Fitzmorris uly in the Mogollon Highlands of Arizona growls with the rumbling of the afternoon clouds and rings with the first drops from the monsoon storms. After the high temperatures and low relative humidity of June, the plants and animals of the wild areas are at their most stressed and are at high risk of death from extreme temperatures and lack of water. But during this time, many species gave birth to their young, provisioned nests, and lay eggs in anticipation of a coming time of abundance and growth. Though this is a gamble, the first, massive raindrops near the beginning of the month, and the first flush of monsoon flowers that follow, prove it to be well-founded, and so the second grand flush of life begins.

Though the climate of the Central Highlands can be harsh for part of the year — dry and firescorched in early summer, cold and snowy in the winter — these tough times are typically followed by some of our most exuberant seasons. So it is with the annual drought of June, which is followed by the coming of the monsoon rains in July.

Especially in drier years, the July showers are a real cause for celebration. They are, however, something of a mixed blessing — they’ll bring a second wave of growth and flowering, but in the short term they bring lightning, which, when combined with the low fuel-moistures from a dry June, might lead to a proliferation of new fires.

J

uly is the most reliable month in terms of rainfall, and only once in our recorded history have we received no rainfall at all during this month. It’s this predictability, in fact, that allows many of our plants and animals to survive the year in the Highlands, serving as a strategic infusion of vitality.

When the rains come, we enter the second massive proliferation of life in the region, which will continue until September. Birds fledge their young while reptiles hatch, and some mammals, such as the bats, give birth, while others begin their mating seasons, as do the Badgers. A second “spring” of flowering happens now, led by the deep purple four-o-clocks (Mirabilis spp.), varicolored penstemons, golden columbines, clovers, and monkeyflowers. But most noteworthy is the explosion of

14 • FEATURE • JULY 2017 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

Source: Western Regional Climate Center Note: Does not reflect 2016 data

insect life during this time, especially at night.

Beetles fly in huge diversity, from the massive Grant’s Hercules Beetle (Dynastes granti) to the Glorious Scarab (Chrysina gloriosa), considered to be the most beautiful beetle in North America.

Thousands of species of moths, from giant Saturn moths to small bird-dropping mimic moths to beautiful Cecrops-eyed Silkmoths (Automeris cecrops pamina) are also flying now, and can be drawn to porch lights for close observation. During the daytime butterflies, dragonflies, damselflies, and cicadas abound, while the ants launch their nuptial flights. The dazzling diversity of life in the Mogollon Highlands in July is extraordinary, and is one of our most wonderful times of the year. ***** Ty Fitzmorris is an itinerant and often distractible naturalist who lives in Prescott and is proprietor of the Peregrine Book Company, Raven Café, and Gray Dog Guitars, all as a sideline to his natural history pursuits. He can be reached at Ty@PeregrineBookCompany.Com.

News From the Wilds, too A very brief survey of what’s happening in the wilds ...

By Ty Fitzmorris

Riparian areas • As the monsoon rains arrive, our interHigh mountains mittent creeks, such as Granite, Butte, • Ravens teach their young to fly, waiting Aspen, and Miller creeks, begin running, for the approach of monsoon storms and sometimes in turbulent flash floods. flying in the rolling blasts at the leading • Young Common Mergansers are nearly edge of the storm system. Ravens are grown, though still unable to fly. They’ll unusual in that they fly preferentially in stay with their mother and learn to fish storms and perform extraordinary aerofor several more months. batics in gales and high winds.

• Arizona Blackberry (Rubus procerus), • 1-month-old Elk calves begin travelling which is, in spite of its name, not native with their parents and start to lose the to Arizona, begins bearing its delicious spots that have helped hide them during berries along the perennial streams of the first few weeks of their life. the Verde Valley.* • Badgers (Taxidea taxus) begin court• Golden Columbine (Aquilegia chrysaning and will soon form pairs and mate. tha), one of our most beautiful flowers, A 6-month-old Otter kit travels with his mother on These remarkable creatures are imporappears now.

Oak Creek, learning how to hunt crayfish, invertetant predators of pocket gophers, venom• Grand Western Flood Plain Cicadas ous snakes, and mice and rats.

(Tibicen cultriformis) emerge at night brates, and fish. He will swim with his mother • Orange Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) from their larval homes in the roots of for roughly four more months before beginning flowers, attracting fritillary, checkerspot, cottonwoods, sycamores, and willows. to hunt on his own. Photo by Ty Fitzmorris. and, most notably, Monarch butterflies.

These alien-like creatures climb up trees Visit: Maverick Mountain Trail, No.65. and buildings in the thousands and slowly shed their larval skins, as the winged Ponderosa Pine forests Pinyon-Juniper woodlands adult breaks through. Once their wings harden, • Bergamot (Monarda menthaefolia) flowers. The • Juniper berries proliferate on some trees while the cicadas fly into the treetops. This is by far the beautiful lilac flowers of this plant draw in native other trees have none. This is because some of most conspicuous insect in the Central Highlands. bees in large numbers, giving it its other name, our species, such as One-seed Juniper (Juniperus • Dragonflies abound above creeks and lakes.

Beebalm. The flowers of Bergamot are edible, and monosperma) and Alligator Juniper (Juniperus Look for Giant Darners (Anax walsinghami), spicy to taste, used in salsas, while the leaves are deppeana) have their male and female flowers on Flame Skimmers (Libellula saturata), and Twelvefragrant, and often used as a mint-like spice.* separate plants, while others, most notably Utah spotted Skimmers (L. pulchella).

• Several species of ants have their annual nupJuniper (Juniperus osteosperma) have both on Visit: West Clear Creek Trail, No.17. tial flights within days after the first rains. Some the same plant. These berries, which are actually species are so consistent that they fly almost cones surrounded by fleshy tissue, are important Deserts/Chaparral the same day every year. Early in the morning, food sources for many birds and mammals.

• Prickly pears, mesquites and mimosas bear their winged males and females fly in tremulous clouds Visit: Tin Trough Trail, No. 308. seeds and fruits, while Western Pipistrelles and from the previously unobtrusive colony entrance.

Western Mastiff bats bear their young and horned • Wiry Lotus (Lotus rigidus) flowers. These very Grasslands lizard eggs hatch. small snapdragon-like flowers are bright irides• Young Sonoran Mountain Kingsnakes (Lam• Couch’s Spadefoot Toads (Scaphiopus couchi) cent yellow, but change color to orange and then propeltis pyromelana) hatch after the first rains emerge at night, sometimes in the hundreds, to to red after they are pollinated. Their yellow come. These snakes are harmless to humans, eat, mate, and lay eggs after the beginning of the appears bright to us because it includes a certain though they somewhat resemble the venomous monsoon rains. The tadpoles can mature in as few amount of ultraviolet pigment, and human vision Sonoran Coralsnake (Micruroides euryxanthus) . as eight days, a crucial desert adaptation, since sees just barely into the ultraviolet spectrum.

Their identities can be determined by the simple pools rarely last long.

Bees, by contrast, see ultraviolet clearly. rhyme “Red on yellow kills a fellow; red on black • Tarantulas emerge, sometimes in large numbers, Visit: Miller Creek Trail, No.367. is a friend of Jack.” If the red on the snake’s body with the rains. These spiders are harmless to borders yellow, the snake is the venomous Coral humans but shouldn’t be handled due to stinging Pine-Oak woodlands Snake, if the red borders black, then the snake is hairs on their abdomens.

• Young Western Screech Owls begin to lose their the more common Kingsnake. Either way, all of • Rainbow Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus pectinadown and molt into their adult plumage, during our Prescott snakes like to be left alone, and move tus) and Buffalo Gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima) flower. which time they stay near their parents. away from people given the chance.

Visit: Aqua Fria National Monument.

• Longhorn Oak Borers (Enaphalodes hispicornis), • Bluestem Pricklepoppy (Argemone pleiacantha), large, lumbering black beetles with long antennae, also known as “tissue-paper flower” for obvious *Always consult with a trained professional emerge from their underground pupae and begin reasons, blooms. before ingesting any part of a wild plant. This looking for mates. These beetles are harmless, • Parry’s Agave (Agave parryi) seed pods begin to information is not intended to encourage the though they are large and somewhat alarming. grow by the end of the month. attempted use of any part of a plant, either for Visit: Little Granite Mountain Trail, No. 37.

Visit: Mint Wash Trail, No. 345. nutritive or medicinal purposes.

15

Artfully giving back

Les Femmes des Montage return with 13th annual show

By Robert Blood [Editor’s note: The following interview was culled from conversations between the reporter and Barb Wills of Les Femmes des Montage. The 13th annual Les Femmes des Montage show is 10 a.m.4 p.m. Saturday, July 8 in the Hassayampa Inn’s Marina Room, 122 E. Gurley St. Find out more at LesFemmesDesMontage.Weebly.Com.] What’s the origin of Les Femmes des Montage?

This is a group of female artists that originally started out as teachers who donated 10 percent of their sales to art programs in elementary schools.

Over the years, it’s evolved into a group of eight or nine women and we work with a nonprofit and we also donate 10 percent of our sales to that group.

Why an all-women group?

That’s just how the group started out. It was a group of art teachers and it just happened to be a group that was all women. We liked the name Les Femmes des Montage and figured if we were going to keep the name, we should probably keep the group all female. We do have guest artists every year, though, and have had males in that spot.

So the group was all-female because of circumstance. Still, does the group’s makeup affect the art in any way?

I think that just by our nature of being all woman, we come at art with a different esthetic.

There are probably other things about us being all

Annie Alexander creates books, wall art, cards and other items using her unique hand made paper. Her paper can be made from recycled items, natural items and may include “surprise” materials.

She has also created walk thru installations for her show at Yavapai College Gallery.

female, but it’s not something we often consciously reflect on. One obvious thing, I guess, is that we know what women like in terms of art in their homes or as wearables. Being all female helps define the group a bit and makes us a bit different, as well.

What are some of the groups that have benefited from the show in the past and who is the group currently donating to?

We’re focused on supporting whatever nonprofit partner we’ve paired with throughout the year, but the show is the focal point. We started with art programs at elementary schools, and it’s changed from there. We did the American Legion one year. A few years ago, for a couple of years, we paired with the Yavapai Humane Society. We picked that one because most of the people in the group have at least one dog or cat and we felt like it was a group we’d like to support. … For the last two years, we’ve worked with the Highlands Center for Natural History. We try to pick places where our members are already active and believe in what the group’s doing. We all spend a lot of time outdoors — that’s one of the great things about living in Prescott — and we really like what they do for children and adults.

This is the Highlands Center’s second year as the recipient of the show. How did things go last year?

It’s hard for me to say. We each commit to sending in 10 percent of our individual sales, but ...

Patricia Tyser Carberry creates handmade glass beads and jewelry. Her work is inspired by the ever changing rainbow of color and light while working with glass. Her work features one of a kind, wearable jewelry.

16 • FEATURE • JULY 2017 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

The guest artist invited to participate is Jody Skjei who has created through many mediums throughout her life. She found metal and loves all the adventures it takes her on ...

From whimsical characters to creative functional pieces and decorative yard sculpture. At times the metal speaks to her and at other times, she informs it, and combines various other materials as they present themselves. It’s all about “joy, spirit and form.”

Abby Brill makes functional pottery with forms and colors reflecting the Southwest desert. Focusing on the point where function and beauty meet, she designs pieces that can be used every day. Her work ranges from individual pieces to full place settings.

Barb Wills, an award-winning artist who exhibits internationally, incorporates ancient Japanese techniques into wearables and accessories. She will exhibit silk scarves, new ice and snow dyed scarves as well as nature dyed scarves using materials from the Prescott area original and upcycled wearables not found anywhere in the Prescott area.

Cindi Shaffer, a glass artist, will feature kiln-fired functional glass pieces, glass sculpture and 2D Wall pieces, as well as jewelry. Her work is inspired by the dance within glass between light, color and texture.

Cindi is also a printmaker and includes her own photography within many of her pieces. She makes her own glass sheets embellished with enamels, silver and gold leaf and glass powders and frits, prefires them and then includes them in her artistic compilations.

Jo Manginelli, a textile artist has had a lifelong fascination with textiles. Her primary source of joy is weaving. She enjoys exploring and creating her woven work by applying a multitude of structures, fibers, patterns and colors. Jo exhibits her versatility with textiles by combining her weaving, quilting, felting and dyeing skills. She creates wearable art as well as other functional art for the home.

... I know quite a few of us just send in a check for $100 or $150 if we make less than that, anyway, just because we believe in the cause. The minimum is 10 percent of sales, though. We also donate a raffle item, one for each artist to the Highlands Center, and they get the money from that, too.

It seems like the group represents a lot of artistic mediums.

We really try to offer as many mediums as we can. The main priority, though, is that the art has to be of a very high quality. I think that’s probably the one thing we talk most about. We do jury members in and have to see actual work done by the artist. We have one member who does glass beads and she blows all the glass herself. That’s the level of artistic care we’re talking about. We try to make sure we’re always focused on quality. … In terms of range, we have kiln-fired glass, 3-D sculpture, hand-woven wearables, photography, and accessories, mixed-media, 2-D art work, and this year’s guest artist does welded metal sculpture, and we also have silk scarves, glass beads, handmade jewelry, and all kinds of different things, really. One of the things we do when we jury artists is make sure we don’t have too many artists in competing mediums.

I imagine the show’s a way to see some of these people’s work in a different context.

Yes, quite a few of them do the Mountain Artists Guild’s Prescott Area Artists’ Studio Tour, and some of them are in galleries around town. You know, it really depends on the gallery’s relation-

Carolyn Dunn works with both traditional and non-traditional photographic processes to create what she refers to as photographic art. Her work covers a wide range of subjects which include antique vehicles, abandoned buildings, windmills and Prescott street scenes.

Whether working with a single image or blending many images into a montage, she strives to intrigue the viewer and draw them in for a closer look and new discoveries.

ship with the individual artist. There are some galleries that want exclusive rights to work, so if you’re an artist in one of those galleries, you have to come up with something different for Les Femmes des Montage. A lot of the nonprofit and coop galleries, though, are great about letting artists take their work out there in other venues.

What’s the biggest challenge for you regarding the annual show?

Balancing my time between my work that goes into museums and out of state and out of the country with my works that stays in Arizona. The work, itself, is created very differently, all the way from the basic concepts of design to composition and color. I need those different ways of working, I think. With the wearables and scarves, I’m a lot more free and I have flexibility to try things.

That’s my escape from the focused, exhibition work, where I have a lot more time and money invested in entering shows and shipping the work.

This might seem obvious, but why fundraise with art via Les Femmes des Montage?

It’s an important thing to do for the community, I think, especially in a town like Prescott. For a couple of members, being an artist is their full time job. For the rest of us, we’re retired from other careers, but we’re all very involved with nonprofits around town. Most of us are at a point in our lives where we have time to get involved.

We’re just the kind of people who feel like it’s important to give back to the community, that that’s

Anne Legge’s mixed media work is done in a variety of woods, using wood stains for color and a burning tool for line definition. She uses natural wood grain to help carry the viewer through her compositions and adds found materials in many of her works, adding texture to the compositions. Her subject matter encompasses landscapes to interiors, depicting every day life.

She frames in unique ways, finding antique drawers and boxes to draw a person into her scenes.

an important part of who we are. … Doing the show, itself, also helps the artists to understand the base of shoppers here. That’s really important when you have a limited group of people who buy art, some of whom can buy whatever they want, and some of whom are a little more price aware.

The show is a great way to help a local group, in this case the Highlands Center, by picking up something for yourself or for a gift for a friend.

Les Femmes des Montage … The range of prices at the show is $15 up to $800 or so. You know, this is one of the few places in Prescott in the summer that you can find gifts that you can ship or take home. You can find something that nobody else in town has, whether it’s a wearable scarf, kiln-fired glass, or jewelry. All of us almost never do two of the same thing. ***** The 13th annual Les Femmes des Montage show is 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 8 in the Hassayampa Inn’s Marina Room, 122 E. Gurley St. Find out more at LesFemmesDesMontage.Weebly.

Com. Artist bios and images catered by Les Femmes des Montage.

This year’s show benefits the Highlands Center for Natural History. Find out more at Highlands Center.Org. Robert Blood is a Mayer-ish-based freelance writer and ne’er-do-well who’s working on his last book, which, incidentally, will be his first.

Contact him at BloodyBobby5@Gmail.Com.

17

Passable key words

Simplify your life by seed-ing passwords

I

By Justin Agrell remember the day my password was no longer good enough. I’d used it for everything going all the way back to my America On Line account. One day, when creating a new account for my bank, they told me I couldn’t use it. My password, which was perfectly good enough before, was now too “weak” and too “insecure.” Suddenly, I was presented with the issue of having more than one password to remember. I wasn’t pleased.

Fast forward to a few years ago when I was at a security conference. By then, I was an adult used to a hefty collection of passwords scribbled on all sorts of odds and ends scattered about my office.

All of that was about to change, however, when the speaker began to describe a new popular method in the technology world called “seed passwords.”

You see it had been recognized that the common user will stick with the same password as long as it was allowed. A popular example is a person using their pet’s name. When that wasn’t secure enough, they would simply add some important number to the end like when they got married or were born.

This variation of a user’s password would then populate every account the person owned and that is when the worst possible thing can happen.

The future is mostly automated requiring only the slightest, if any, human supervision. It is common to think of a hacker as some mysterious figure in a dark hoodie clicking away on a stickercovered laptop in the back of some dingy dance club but, in most cases, that’s far from the truth.

Most intrusion is completely scripted. The hacker will spend their time programming a daemon that runs constantly scanning the internet for vulnerabilities. When a cache of passwords is stolen from a database it is quickly scanned for email accounts and their associated password. Most of the time the database that has been hacked is not

numbers, and at least one symbol. For example I will use a distorted version of the word password as my seed: P4$$w0rd This meets all of the requirements, but we aren’t done yet. Now we must use the seed to generate our first secure password. Let’s say we are redoing our password for Facebook. Let’s take the seed and add it to the easy-to-remember name of the page: FacebookP4$$w0rd There, that wasn’t so hard? Now we have quite a long, secure, and unique password that is easy to remember and does not have to be written down anywhere. Please note the capital letter on the site’s name that also helps improve the result.

Here is another example for if were to hypothetically replace our password for our gmail account: GmailP4$$w0rd

Two-bit Column from a source with high security and therefore is not a profitable target. Here’s is where the magic happens. The email and password are now used to infiltrate more important targets such as the email account itself, and then possibly a bank account. You see this happens instantly and if the password for the hacked source is not the same as the password for the email account then the daemon gives up and simply moves on to the next email it stole.

B

ut why doesn’t everyone just switch to highly secure generated passwords that are unique to every account? Because it is complicated, impossible to remember, and even a pain to record.

So, I offer here the same middle-ground solution that the speaker at the conference did: seed passwords. A seed password is so named because you generate a single secure base set of characters to act as the source of every password then created and used. A good seed should meet all common restrictions that websites will expect of you so that means a minimum of eight characters containing upper and lower-case letters,

18 • COLUMN • JULY 2017 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

T

hat’s all there is to it. Once our passwords have been changed throughout the accounts we own we will no longer need to hunt for them on some poor tattered scrap of paper or worry about using the same insecure password we’ve had since Zip drives were a thing. Don’t be afraid to deviate from the given examples as well. You can put the name of the site in front or back of the seed, use only part of the site name or a slang term for the site to make it even more unique, have more than one seed, add numbers or symbols to sites, et cetera. The more obfuscated the password, the more secure it’ll be.

For added security I’d recommend two things.

When creating a password for something more critical, like a bank account, consider using separate seeds altogether that have a higher complexity or just a truly secure fully generated password.

I would also recommend changing out your seed every year or two, or if you ever get in a bad way with someone you trusted enough to give one of your passwords to. You see the Achilles’ heal of the seed password is that once you know someone’s seed, figuring out all of their other passwords can be simple, though this directly depends on how simple your additions to the seed are. This is what makes seed passwords great for you, but also great for a human who is really pissed at you.

Keep your passwords to yourself and be sure to lock your devices to keep the curious at bay.

So, give it try. I’ve already heard success stories about seed passwords and look forward to hearing more. ***** Justin Agrell has been a certified IT technician since 2005. He loves Linux, adventure motorcycling, and computer gaming. To get in touch just email him at Justin@U4E.US.

... FROM PAGE 13 What kind of gems and minerals do people associate with Arizona?

Amethyst, quartz, agates, those kinds of things.

Turquoise, obviously, but that’s pretty much mined out. It’s very hard to find pure turquoise.

Most of the stuff you find has been stabilized, which means it’s mixed with a chemical to make it hard. There’s a lot of agates found in Arizona, a lot of jasper and a lot of onyx. And, of course, there’s obsidian and quartz.

That’s not necessarily germane to the show, though, considering the vendors are from all over.

It’s a pretty wide range of stuff. The vendors, themselves, are mostly from states surrounding Arizona, but the things they sell are from all over the world.

What’s something you’ve purchased and enjoyed from the show?

I buy cabochons and make jewelry out of them — pendants and earrings and those sort of things.

I’ve also been a vendor and sold my jewelry there.

There’s a lot of really good quality handmade jewelry there.

To play devil’s advocate, in the digital age you can find this kind of stuff online. Why go to a gem show — specifically this gem show?

For one thing, you can see what you’re buying.

Different dealers have different eyes for things.

We’ve got a lot of repeat vendors too, including one who’s been here since we first opened up in 2003. One of the our vendors, Keith Horst, is a lapidary instructor at Yavapai College, and he’s got a reputation of having very unique, high quality stones. When you go to a show, you’re looking for something unique, something different that you wouldn’t find online, or, at least, certainly not at a jewelry store.

A scene from the 2016 Prescott Gem & Mineral Show. Courtesy photo. about how much the show’s grown and changed over the years.

Since we moved to the event center, it’s really grown and grown. When I first started working the vent in 2009, it was held at Embry-Riddle, and we had about 2,000 people. Last year, we had more than 4,200 people come through the doors in those three days. That larger arena has really helped, and we’ve included more vendors. Our advertising budget had been about the same, but Melanie (Capps) is doing a great job. Everyone knows it’s the first weekend in August. And our vendors come back year after year. That’s a good sign. … In oder to be a vendor, you send a sample of your items to Melanie and scrutinizes everything. One of the things we’re doing this year is trying to get more people with rock specimens instead of just jewelry. We have a lot of jewelry, and that’s good, but we want things to be diverse, too. We added the geode splitting a couple of years ago, and that brings in more kids, which also brings in more parents.

I believe the geodes are from Morocco. We ran out of them last year, so there’ll be more this year. It’s in the back area of the show near the children’s area. There’s also a florescence booth, so people can see some specimens under a black light. So, there are different facets to the show.

When you prepare to go to a show, do you recommend planning on buying one really nice piece, or several lowerdollar items?

Well, I would say the latter, but we do have a vendor who has more high end, expensive things, if that’s what you’re looking for. I wouldn’t say that things, in general, are inexpensive, but, for the Who is this show for? quality, it’s all well-priced. …

Linda Loschke. Courtesy photo. What do you see as your It’s absolutely a great place demographics? to shop for holidays, birthWell, let me ask you, do days, gifts of all kinds because the items are so like rocks? unique.

Sure, who doesn’t like rocks?

We ran a story about the show last year, See? Everybody likes rocks. I think we apand a lot of the comments we got were peal to people who want to see what different

rocks they can find, as well as other things like meteorites, and, of course, jewelry. We get a pretty large contingency of people who’ve taken the jewelry class at Yavapai College who buy specimens to use in their jewelry. We’ve also got wire wrappers, too, and a few beaders. … You know, you talk to little kids and they love rocks. What happens when you go out hiking? What do they pick up and carry around with them? Rocks! Just as we have really diverse members in the club who do all kinds of things with rocks, I think the show appeals to a really diverse set of people with many interests.

The club, proper, has a Junior Rockhound program, correct?

We have a program for kids from 6 to 16. They meet once a month and they’ll have a booth there about what they do and they’ll have some specimens on display, as well. It has about 17 members and has been part of the club since, I believe, 2011. They earn badges just like the Boy Scouts and they’re part of the Rocky Mountain Federation.

What are some of the questions you field at the event?

Mostly the vendors get questions like, “Where does this rock come from?” People want to know if it’s from here in Arizona or another country. I mentioned Russia earlier, and that’s because there are a lot of beautiful rocks that come from that country. Mexico has some beautiful fire agates, too, by the way. Personally, rocks from Russia and Mexico are my favorite. But, yeah, the most common question, by far, is where the rocks come from. ***** The Prescott Gem & Mineral Show is 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 4 & 5 & 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 6 at the Prescott Valley Event Center, 3201 Main St., 928772-1819. Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, vets, and students, and free for children under 12.

Find out more at PrescottGemMineral.Org.

5ENSESMAG.COM • JULY 2017 • FEATURE • 19

Prescott Peeps: Jonathan Best How do you introduce yourself?

I’m a music gardener, that’s my title. I plant musical seeds and they grow and I tend them and water them and prune them. You could take that metaphor as far as you want. I just really live in music.

What are you up to these days?

In August I’m going to do this “Build the Bridges” tour along the West Coast. It’s part of a mission to build all kinds of bridges — musical, social, you name it. Someone, a student of mine, bought and donated a little upright spinet piano, a Melodigrand. I’m going to have this little piano on wheels. It’s light enough, I’ll probably be able to pull it with my bicycle. The idea is that I’ll be able to take it anywhere. The tour is based on the “Build the Bridges” song.

Which is? Sorry, I’m not familiar with it.

Ohh, well, I was at a Trump rally and making music. I believe that the more people who play music the better, especially in places where there’s going to be discord. I was there with my ukelele and I was trying to turn what they were shouting into music, into singing. I heard somebody shout “build the bridges, take down the walls,” so I started playing and singing that, and people started singing, and it kind of grew out of that and turned into the chorus of the song. It strengthened my belief that none of us really write our songs; they come out of things that happen. Then, I was at another rally and the verse came out of that. So, I’ve been singing that song at rallies and I really believe in it. I’m not afraid to get people involved in singing, and it’s going to be easier to promote this tour than other things I’ve done, I think.

Which begs the questions, who are you?

And how did you end up in Prescott?

I think I should go a little further than that. I don’t enjoy just autobiographical stuff, so some of this is going to philosophical, too, so just bear with me. Music really made me feel like a human being. Before that, I felt like an outsider; I had no real connection with people. I was afraid to talk.

Music changed me very dramatically. So, I knew immediately the power of music and its ability to connect people. From performing music, I learned that I could just have regular conversations with people, too. … I think it was for my 14th birthday that my mother gave me a piano. I took a kind of a correspondence course. It was really a life changer. She knew that I was probably going to be a musician. At 14, I did my first performance and I was like wow, I’m not going back, I’ve got to keep doing this. When I was in New York City, I rented a spinet piano and had it on a dolly and I would push it all around town and play it. I had to tune it all the time, which helped me a lot. I started playing with different bands and stuff. People would

Jonathan Best. Courtesy photo. see me play and I’d make connections with people who were playing with bigger and bigger people, and eventually stars. Eventually I went on tour, and I felt like I’d finally made it. I’d moved to New York City in 1981, and I went on tour with David Byrne in 1992, so it took 10 years of working my ass off, but I was starting to really get places. After the tour, I was working on an album with the music director from the tour for David Byrne’s label and … well, I haven’t thought about this in a little while.

I’m not sure why it didn’t happen. It just kind of fizzled and never really officially ended. Maybe too much direction from on high? I don’t know.

When did you get to Prescott and what were your early years here like?

I came to Prescott in 2002 with my wife at the time. She’d gotten a job teaching at Prescott College, so I left my music career in New York and moved here. You know, I never really stopped playing, though. We bought a house in Chino Valley and that’s where I really got into gardening and came up with the music gardener thing.

How is the “Build the Bridges” tour going to work?

So, we’re probably going up the West Coast, that’s my plan, at the beginning of August, and it’s going to be about three weeks just playing music wherever we can and encouraging people to sing along. We have this song, “Build the Bridges,” and there’s a link to it online where you can hear the song, see the chords, and play along. Part of what we’re doing is recording people singing the song and putting it together as a video. And we want people to send in their videos, too. It’s all via ComMUSIKey, but who knows how it’s really going to turn out. I’m inviting people to come along on the tour. I have nothing booked. This is

20 • FEATURE • JULY 2017 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

all possible because this piano came along and it felt right. I suddenly felt like I could really just go anywhere, just roll this piano out and start singing. It’s been about 35 years since I’ve done things this way. ...

The words to the song, itself, are “Gonna build the bridges/Take down the walls/Gonna build the bridges/Not the walls.” That’s the chorus and that repeats. There are three verses, and the words are exactly the same except for one. “Gonna love everybody/Everybody that I see/Gonna love everybody/Even if they don’t look like me.” So the second verse is the same thing with “think” instead of “look” in the last line. The third verse has “love” instead of “think.” This song, I think it can make change and be part of a movement, like “Give Peace a Chance” or “Imagine.” Now that I think about it, those are both John Lennon songs, aren’t they? Well, he was bridge builder.

So there’s the elephant in the living room: This seems like a pretty partisan message given the metaphor you’re using.

Well, I see a lot of division. I think, maybe, this is the most divided our society’s ever felt. And it feeds on that division. Music can bridge that divide. I don’t see that as a partisan idea. Music, by its very nature, bridges people.

Still, though, you’ve got to be aware of the context of those metaphors in the Trump presidency.

I don’t buy into that part of it, myself, but if people want to see it that way, it’s up to them. This idea of a wall goes way back before the person you’re talking about. These divisions go way further back. Yes, current partisan divisions are part of that, but my pet peeve is that you have to be either a liberal or a conservative, a Democrat or a Republican, a Trump supporter or a Trump protestor. None of those things are real. No person is any one thing like that. We have to stop using those divisions. We all care about each other. I truly believe that’s part of human nature. We have to stop putting people into different boxes. And I think music does that. And I think this song can help do that.

That’s a lovely sentiment, but when you were at the Trump rally, for instance, you had to choose which side of the fence to be on, no?

That’s true. I really didn’t care which side I was on though. I may’ve been on the protester side, but I was singing to the Trump people. I connected with a person who I know, if we wanted to, we could’ve disagreed on a lot of stuff, but, instead, we bonded through music. Now that I know him, I bump into him all the time around town. I actually just saw him in the men’s room at a classical concert we were both at. We both love music and

Get Involved Jonathan Best (cont.) & ComMUSIKey were moved by this music and what’s deeper than that? Than feeling connected to music? … At another rally, there was someone on the other side, this tough looking guy with tattoos, just kind of designed to be scary, and he looked at me, and I started singing to him. He’s looking at me, and we’re interacting through the fences, and I don’t remember how it came up exactly, and I said, “I love you.”

And he said “Man, you’re crazy,” and he paused, and he said, “I love you, too.” I think that’s pretty special.

What exactly is ComMUSIKey? Well, I’ll take it straight from the business card: ComMUSIKey is dedicated to building community through all inclusive participatory music, ComMUSIKey is predicated on the belief that all human beings are innately & uniquely musical, and ComMUSIKey is a tax-exempt 501(c) (3) non-profit corporation.

What exactly does that mean?

It means my life is dedicated to encouraging people to become participants in music in any way they can. Even if it’s listening, people can become more participatory and not think of themselves as bystanders.

I really want to change the normality of people allowing their music to be co-opted. ComMUSIKey has workshops, but right now, I’m mostly doing stuff with kids. The first and third Fridays of the month, we do music improv for kids and parents are encouraged to join in. Any adult can come, as along as they’re accompanied by a child. It ends up

being this amazing things for the parents, too, because so many adults aren’t aware of how musical they are.

ComMUSIKey has studio space at Prescott College through the class I teach, too, though I haven’t been creating as many events as usual.

I’m really putting my attention on this tour right now.

How can we get involved?

Actually, we have a fundraiser at 5 p.m. Sunday, July 30 at the Raven Café (142 N. Cortez St., 928-7170009, RavenCafe.Com). And, people can join us on the tour. They can caravan along with us. I want this to be flexible for people, which is why there aren’t any firm commitments yet.

People can use the recording, studio, too.

It’s a place for people to, well, process and connect with their music. It’s more than a recording studio. We can work out all different kinds of arrangements there. It’s part of the nonprofit concept. It’s a community service and there’s a sliding scale. We rely on donations and contributions to keep it going.

I know those sound like the same thing, and, in some cases, they’re the same thing, but we’ll figure out a way you can contribute one way or another. I know that sounds kind of vague, too, but that’s on purpose. It’s a different approach. ... It really is for the community, at large. ***** Contact Jonathan Best at 928-8304887 or JB@ComMUSIKey.Org. Find out more at ComMUSIKey.Org.

Prescott Regulators & Their Shady Ladies Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Neil Thomas, president of the Prescott Regulators and Their Shady Ladies. We’re a 501(C)(3) and the official Old West Ambassadors of Prescott, Arizona. We do reenactments across the state.

We’re currently 14-years-old and, in the last six years, we’ve won True West magazines’s “Best in the West” re-enactors four times. We have the annual “Shootout on Whiskey Row,” and we took the “Best Wild West Show” for 2o17 for that. We perform all over the state and, basically, we’re trying to keep the Old West alive as best we can. ... We raise money for scholarships, which are for veterans as well as the families of veterans.

Our reenactments are between 8 and 10 and 15 minutes long, the lengths of which are pretty set because of competitions. What we do is take a story or a line of history and try to turn it into something. You rebuild and reenact a scene. Most are not spot-on to history and we always refer to it as either history as it was or rather should’ve been. It’s what could’ve happened or what should’ve happened. A lot of the events are based on a single paragraph in a newspaper. We try to keep things as close as we can to the times, including the clothing. We’re looking at a range of 1866 to 1892. We’re trying to raise money, not do living history, so it’s got to be entertaining.

It’s a performance. The “Shootout on Whiskey Row” is in its 12th year and it’s the largest re-enactment in the state of Arizona at this point.

It’s the fourth weekend in July, July 22 & 23, which coincides with the National Day of the Cowboy. ... For the shootout, groups from all over the Western United States come to do reenactments in front of judges who rate the historical accuracy of their costumes and weapons and the performance.

How can we get involved?

The easiest way to get involved with the Prescott Regulators & their Shady Ladies is to come see the Shootout on Whiskey Row on July 22 and 23 and see what it’s all about.

It’s free to attend, and if you feel like making a donation, it goes to charity. If you like what you see, you can find out more on our Facebook page. We’d love to see more people join the group. We currently have over 70s members and cover the entire state of Arizona. It’s easy to get involved and you’re welcome to come and join us for a couple of meetings and, if you’re still interested at that point, we have a clothing closet to help get you started so you don’t have to put out a whole bunch of money up front. We can loan items out once you decide what kind of character you want to play. We have seamstresses who can work with you. It’s a fun hobby and you get to give back to the community. ***** Find out more about the Prescott Regulators & Their Shady Ladies at PrescottRegulators.Org and via Facebook.

***** In these features, 5enses highlights individuals and organizations in the community that are making a difference. They were inspired by Alert Reader Aarti Pani and community leaders Sadira DeMarino and John Duncan. Thank you, Aarti, Sadira, and John.

Want to nominate a do-gooder or a doing-gooder group? Email tips to 5ensesMag@Gmail.Com with “Get Involved” in the subject line. Don’t like who we feature? Do some good deeds or start your own group and tell us about it. Remember, our community is whatever we make it.

5ENSESMAG.COM • JULY 2017 • FEATURE • 21

T

ommy Cooper, a Wales born prop-comic, was born in 1921 and served with Montgomery’s Desert Rats (an armor division) in Egypt during WWII. Known for his trademark red fez perched on his unkempt hair and an ostentatious cigar jutting from his clenched lips, Cooper would deliver a deluge of surreal one-liners while performing magic acts that constantly went horribly wrong. Though a skilled and respected magician, Cooper got more laughs fumbling his illusions and tripping through his routines. A statue of Cooper stands in his birthplace of Caerphilly, Wales. In 2008 it was unveiled by fellow entertainer, Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Not-asholy days

O

dds are you’ve already got plans for the month’s flagship holiday. Still, there’s no reason to anchor the party boat for the rest of the month. Consider celebrating ...

July 2: I Forgot Day. (Was that today?)

July 7: Chocolate Day. (Say no more.)

July 10: Teddy Bear Picnic Day. (What are they up to out there?)

July 13: Embrace Your Geekness Day. (Shouldn’t it be “geekiness?”)

July 14: International Nude Day. (No shirt? No shoes? No problem!)

July 17: National Ice Cream Day. (Take that, frozen yogurt.)

July 24: Cousins’ Day. (One of the predominant forms of marriage the world over is ...)

July 25: Thread the Needle Day. (Sew what?)

July 27: Take Your Plants for a Walk Day. (Is that NORML?)

ODDLY ENOUGH … Cooper has the singular distinction of actually dying on stage while performing on live television. *****

M

eg Mons is a cannon with a long history. She was built in 1449 by orders of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy in France. Philip made of gift of her to James II, King of the Scots in 1454. His hopes were that James would use this bombardment ordinance against the English. He did. When fired in 1681 celebrating the visit of James, Duke of Albany and York, the barrel ruptured and the cannon fell into a corrupted state. After the Scottish Jacobite Rebellion, the clearing of the Scottish Highlands, and the disarming of the Scots, the British moved the massive gun to the Tower of London, still considering it a threat. Meg was eventually returned to Scotland after a movement championed by Sir Walter Scott (called Society of Antiquaries of Scotland) petitioned for the cannon’s return in 1829. Currently, she is on display at Edinburgh Castle, Scotland.

ODDLY ENOUGH … Meg is 15 feet long and weighs 15,366 pounds. With a bore 20 inches across it is one of the largest cannons by caliber ever made. The stone cannon balls it fired weighed 400 pounds and have been known to travel over 2 miles. ***** Russell Miller is an illustrator, cartoonist, writer, bagpiper, motorcycle enthusiast, and reference librarian. Currently, he illustrates books for Cody Lundin and Bart King.

July 29: National Lasagna Day. (Garfield, eat your heart out.)

22 • FEATURE • JULY 2017 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

Announces A New Name

Same Friendly Staff, Two Great Locations, One Name: SWC SWC Prescott

FREE GRAM with the Purchase of 1/8th

123 E. Merritt St. Prescott, AZ. 86301 928-778-5900 Mon-Sat 10:00-7:00 Sun 12:00-7:00

SWC Tempe

New Patient Special

Follow Us On

2009 E. 5th St. Ste. 11 Tempe, AZ. 85281 480-245-6751 Mon-Sat 10:30-6:00 Sun 12:00-6:00

SWCARIZONA.COM

by

Moonlight Join us for a howling good time!

Bring your flashlight and see some of the sanctuary’s nocturnal residents out and about under the full moon.

June 9 • July 8 • August 7• September 6 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm Special admission prices: Members $4, non-members $6, under 3 FREE

1403 Heritage Park Rd.; Prescott, AZ 86301 • www.HeritageParkZoo.org Phone: 928.778.4242 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supported by the community.