The Byrne Diaspora

Lamb surprise

Yesterday morning, Donny went to check on the animals as usual, only to find that Shamrock HAD GIVEN BIRTH. Six weeks late. TO TWINS. Nobody had any idea she was pregnant--only that, Dad and Donny said, she'd lately been particularly selfish and aggressive at feeding times. Now we know why!

The baby lambs are a girl and a boy. Their fates are unclear (breeding stock? lamb chops?) but right now, they're just hella precious-cute. Donny and I watched them staggering around in the hay for a long time. Here's to a last gift from spring! --MCB

The old landmark

We passed a milestone sometime last night -- Byrne Diaspora has had TWENTY THOUSAND views since its "birth" in January 2007. What that means, exactly, I have no idea, but it's a very large exciting number. Above is a random picture to celebrate. In the recent past, we've been found by Google searches for "salvia divinorum flower," "philadelphia wedding," and "Monica Byrne Bear Creek NC." Ha! Somebody's got my number...  --MCB

Fourth

Happy Independence Day! When I woke up this morning and went up to the main cabin to fill my "begging bowl" (i.e. get breakfast), Pam pointed out a beautiful sight. Dad and Donny had hung our flag from the pergola. It is actually Grandpa Byrne's flag, our father's father, who served Stateside in World War II. So we remember him today, and all who have fought for our crazy beautiful country.

See more pictures of the flag, and other assorted bright-hot-July-Melleray-morning pictures, here!  --MCB

Featuring Killa Clare

This week in New York, Clare is a guest performer for her old friend Nick Leichter, of nicholasleichterdance, at the Joyce in Soho. Mary, Mark, Julie, and Francie will all be in attendance! Above is a photo snapped during their rehearsal -- Clare is sitting in the back, in pink, I think ;)  As for Clare's own most recent work, see here for the sea and a story about rings...  --MCB

Abba father

Pam took the above photo of Dad, in front of St. John the Divine! She is now visiting from Pennsylvania. We celebrated Father's Day on the Solstice...or, Solstice on Father's Day ;)  Donny led us in a beautiful fireside service that asked us to reflect on the Father, the Sun, and all the light that He gives. And of course, we gave thanks for our own father -- Donald E. Byrne, Jr.  Speaking for myself, whenever Father's Day comes around I always feel kind of hopeless, because I can't think of anything to make or construct or give that would express everything I'd want to say to my Dad, and everything he means to me. So just: keep loving, day in, day out, best I can.

Dad wanted me to post a few pictures from his recent trip with Pam, up to New York -- they walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and took some nice pictures! See them here. --MCB

Masked

I took a note from my big sister Clare, and joined a group of 50 dancers choreographed by her old Conn College teacher, Mark Dendy. The American Dance Festival opened in Durham yesterday, and -- representing my theater group, Little Green Pig -- I was part of a special pre-show to "baptize" the new performance space. It was fantastic! People were alternately curious, nervous, and freaked out by our masked mingling. You can see a slideshow of the whole hour-long performance here. (And yes, I am the "aloof dancer" in pink ;)) --MCB

Nicole Lakaisha Barcelona

N. Kaisha is on the move! From family visits in Atlanta and Baltimore, to a trip to Philadelphia, to the current sojourn in Barcelona, June has been a month of travel. A few days ago, she arrived in Spain with friends Olga & Tony for time with their families and the baptism of their baby son, Nicholas, who is Kaisha's godson. She writes on her second day: St. Vincent del Horts is much like New York: a lot of people fitting into 8-9 story buildings on one-way streets, with cafes and shops below. Everyone hangs their clothes outside on the windowsills or in small walkways that connect to the kitchen and open to the sky and get the wind that is caught between the buildings. Tony's mom has small birds on her balcony. It's a nice mix of bird singing in the morning and traffic noise all night and day. With Olga's relatives we had fish stew made with a slimy red sauce of okra consistency (it was great), fried sardines (all seafood fresh from the Mediterranean), fried and boiled plantains, beer and champagne. Then, she wrote, they went to the baptism rehearsal "full and a little nice," lol ;-). Kaisha is bringing back seeds!--apricot, African okra, and nispero, a tree with a sweet, lemony fruit "that grows on just about every street corner here." Above is Dona Lakaisha garbed for the Philadelphia wedding of Don III's college friend Mark Franek and bride Maymon. Via con Dios, mi hermana!!!--JEB 

Happy birthday, flower child!!

HULLO everyone! I am finally getting back into the swing of posting, and the VERY first thing I want to do is celebrate my big sister's birthday -- our end-of-May baby, the firstborn, the leader of our clan. When she was born, Mom and Dad gave her the symbol of "flower" (it was the Summer of Love, after all!) and so our presents to her have been so themed over the years. So here's to an all-new Summer of Love for our eldest, Julie Elizabeth :)

Welcome home, Monica

 

By train, plane, and automobile, she is coming home to us, arriving from across the Pacific in Los Angeles and then flying to DC, where Don II will meet her late tonight.  Oh, and by bus!  From one of her last stops, the main Cook Islands land dot called Rarotonga, Monica wrote:  Two buses circle the island at all times--the Clockwise and the AntiClockwise, like matter and antimatter...and every time they meet, the drivers make faces at each other.  But wait--south of the equator, the Coriolis force means the very wind swirls the "other" way; does time go the "other" way, too?  Monica, you've been going with the flow of ever-changing time and space for a third of a year.  Come in, brave quester, and rest; let us wash your feet, feed you, and have you tell us stories.

Mickey in the mix

 
Don III sent this picture of the newly born Bear Creek boy-lamb!--with Nicole's report that the mother, Ulani, was nonplussed, just "ho-hum, ho-hum, something hanging out my bum, and then, thirty minutes later, little Mickey Finn drops out onto the hay."  Don Jr. wrote with more details: Ulani is about a year old herself; don't know if I could have handled a birth at that age (or any age, for that matter). She seemed to know about what to do, though Mickey had a hard time sometimes getting attached to the teat. He butts at it to get her attention, and she hunkers down. She licked him off and on until he was clean--he came out wet and had little bits of hay all over him. She ate the hay. The other sheep, Shamrock and the father Uwain, showed little to no interest, but Ringo, the dog, thinks Mickey is a toy and keeps batting him around with a huge paw. Bailey, the other dog, potential companion for Ringo, was only interested in eating the afterbirth, which I eventually rolled in straw and removed...Mickey is all legs, looks like he's walking on stilts. Well! Welcome to the world, Little Ram, and all things that spring up in spring!