This past weekend, we planted our spring vegetable garden. It’s a fun activity to do with the kids. It’s one of those things that you hope teaches them something beyond just the surface level of digging holes, putting plants in them, watering, etc. Indeed, tending a vegetable garden is ripe (pun intended) with potential lessons about life, growth, and death, responsibility and caring for things, and fostering a connection with nature and the food we eat. This spring planting has me reminiscing about our last growing season. For which I will provide a brief recap.

One of the more interesting and entertaining documentaries I’ve watched is Commanding the Table. It is a 2016 film by Academy Award-nominated director Leslie Iwerks about the life and influence of New Orleans Restaurateur Ella Brennan. The film chronicles her role in revolutionizing Creole cuisine, creating the jazz brunch, and launching the careers of celebrity chefs like Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse.

Spring turkey hunters have long held themselves in high regard. They are considered (by themselves) to be cerebral, spiritual even, when it comes to their craft. They are the higher order of huntsmen, the gentle woodsmen. 

Speaking of birthdays, numbers have a way of creeping up on us. Friday, April 3, was my father’s birthday; born in 1925, he would have been 101. Born and raised in North Carolina, he met my mother at Duke University. He graduated with a degree in civil engineering in just three years after enlisting in the Navy’s accelerated commissioned officers program during WWII. He served as a captain of a converted PT boat assigned to rescue downed pilots in the Pacific Theater.

This April is lining up as a great time to take advantage of the Spring weather with a variety of outdoor events and festivals. Be sure to check Tidbits and Best Bets each week for the latest music, live performances, and festivals in the Scenic 98 Coastal communities along the Gulf Coast!

It’s the early 2000s, and the Back Door Poets are hosting a poetry reading at Van Gogh’s coffee shop. Seating is couches from thrift shops or donated. Folk art hangs on the walls. Punk rockers, nerds, geeks, hippies, vegans, and other cast-asides of society gather to share stories and camaraderie, and outside they share beers and cigarettes. Many of the patrons walked around the corner from a house known as the 309 Punkhouse.

The word "stunning" is often used to describe the sounds of The Krickets, and it doesn't take long to understand why so many people feel that way. Even if their songs weren't captivating on their own, the beautiful blend of their voices would instantly make you want to lean in and listen.