June 12, 2010
www.northcountryman.com
Editorial/Opinion • North Countryman - 5
The magic of fairy gardens Practice does make perfect
A
fter a recent trip to an area garden center, my two young children became fascinated with the idea of building a fairy garden. My children, like many of us, were excited about the idea miniature, magical people with wings lived among us and we could attract them to our garden. And, while I know the evidence that fairies exists is “slim to none,” I thought the idea of creating a garden for my children to play with and explore was magical enough to create a new garden. Fairy gardens are basically miniature gardens with added touches that give the appearance of tiny creatures residing in the garden. Some people plant their fairy gardens in secluded areas, at the base of a tree, or even in a container. Then miniature decor is added to provide a feeling of magic. This can be a small fairy cottage, miniature furniture, gravel walking paths, or even a miniature water feature. Really, fairy garden ideas are only limited to your imagination. Once you have decided on what kind of fairy garden you would like, you need to decide on the design of your fairy garden. We chose to place the garden in a corner of the yard as opposed to using a container.
There are walking paths, a swimming pool (a large saucer from a pot), sweet fern shrubs for a deciduous forest, a juniper shrub pruned to look like an aged conifer tree, Irish moss, creeping thyme, and other miniature flowering ground covers. The next step for the garden is creating a fairy house. We’ll use natural dried materials, such as grasses, moss, white birch bark, and twigs, to decorate the house. However you decide to build your miniature fairy garden, whether it be a woodland fairy garden or a fairy garden of your own imagination, the important thing to remember is that fairy gardens are all about having fun. Get crazy, get silly, just keep it small and I guarantee any fairy (or child) visiting your garden will appreciate your efforts. I find my garden being used by race cars, dolls, and other toys. And, each night we chat about whether or not the fairies are enjoying the garden as the children fall asleep. Anne Lenox Barlow has had experience in the agricultural field as a horticulture educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Clinton County. She can be reached by e-mail at a.lennox.barlow@gmail.com.
T
his month’s article is solely on warmups and practice time. I cannot stress enough the benefits of exercises and duration of floor practice time. I have to discipline my practice time and especially warm-up time. These cover some of the first lessons for all my students. One exercise is something you can do while watching TV or while you Twitter away on your PC. Alternate picking which is one down stroke and then one up stroke — back and forth, preferably while using a metronome or while tapping your foot if you do not have a metronome. You will soon see there are a few different ways you can do this. Exercise one is to alternate pick on the same string with no palm muting. If you do not know how to palm mute your strings, just gently rest your picking hands palm lightly on top of the strings and there you go! The harder you press, or more coverage of your strings, the more you mute the strings. If you are using a metronome and you are a beginner, start at around 80 BPM (beats per minute)and gradually work your way up. Even at a low BPM you can work on your technique and tempo. Tempo ranges go anywhere from 40-60 BPM (Largo) all the way up to 200-208 BPMs (prestissimo), a la Ingwie
Readers Poll Do you think there’s enough social acceptance locally of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community?
Yes, there’s been great progress made There’s some, but there’s a long way to go No, there’s little to no acceptance Undecided/Other Cast your vote and share comments on-line today at... www.nor thcountr yman.com
Stage presence Morrisonville Elementary School recently welcomed the Hampstead Stage Company, a nonprofit theatre group from New Hampshire, for a production of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s “The Secret Garden.” Students participated as creatures, including Christina Lashway as the raven, seen here with one of the company’s actors. Photo submitted by Tracie McCarthy
Malmsteen. Now for the left hand you can try this: Index finger on the first fret of the 6th string (low E string). Next: Middle finger on 2nd fret 5th string; ring finger on 3rd fret 4th string and pinkie on 4th fret 3rd string. Once you have picked the 3rd string, slide your pinkie up one fret and reverse, going from 3rd string to your 6th string. Make sure you are getting a clean sound from each note. You can make up your own exercises. What is important is that you practice, practice, practice. Tip of the Month: Changing your strings every 6 to 8 weeks will make your playing time more enjoyable. There is nothing worse than strings that have lost there tone quality. Wash your hands before playing — dirt and grease on your fingers will deaden your strings. Wipe your strings down after you play with a lint-free cloth — this will lengthen the life of your strings. Johnny Charron is the owner of Rockin’ Johnnys, 103 Lake St., Suite 1, Rouses Point. His column will appear each month in the North Countryman. Charron has been a musician since the age of 14 and has been teaching others for 15 years. He can be contacted by e-mail at johncharron@yahoo.com or by phone at 297-ROCK (7625).