On Tuesday evening at 7:30, February 5, in the Fine Arts Recital Hall, Music faculty members took part in the Spring 2013 Music Faculty Recital. The short and exciting performances--enjoy the photographs from the evening--featured Tom Ediger on piano, Debra DeFrain on piano, Jacob Bartlett's bass-baritone voice, and Ken Meints on trombone.
On Thursday, January 31, I joined faculty and staff members for the Peru State Foundation's Faculty and Staff Appreciation Event at the president's house.
Among other things, including the difficulty of Dr. Daryl Long's Thursday morning calculus classes, Sara Beth mentioned a skit in which I played motorcycle rider with a sweet tooth: Tammy-Trucks Bordeaux, Brenda Trail, Sara Crook, Ted Harshbarger, and I teamed for our rendering of "The Leader of the Pack," which you can see on You Tube. 
I was glad to attend and talk with everyone because I missed because of conflicts the past two years.
After a couple hours, I left the Wheeler Center and drove over the bridge in Brownville to see Bald Eagles that congregated on the north side of the road during the cold spell. Unfortunately, the birds had dispersed in the warmer temperatures to open water. I will keep checking.
March 18-25: I will eventually go into the Oak Bowl and take photographs, probably next week. But now matters move quickly. I stopped by to take a few pictures before leaving for a conference in Orlando when building of the the retaining wall began; by the time of my return, well, the wall looks in good shape.
Friday, March 8: I checked out the area and took just a few new photographs added to the group linked here and there on this page. The area for the seating looks more and more settled, and work continues on the field and against what will be the ten-foot wall where the "P" hung out for all those years.
Wednesday, February 13: I took a few pictures, and work continues on the bowl. On Flickr, I add photographs and now date them for easy tracking. And I will get a better picture soon of the west side--as you can see, the picture on the left here competed with the late-afternoon sun.
Tuesday, January 29: Work continues apace on the renovation. The expansion of the field is evident, and the dirt removed from the east side bolsters the west. I enjoyed watching the process and will soon take photographs from the west side looking toward the campus, for that landscape changes rapidly.
Friday, January, 25: As the preceding photograph indicates, work continues on the expansion of the field. I understand that the "P" by the flagpoles will not return. The trucks bring in additional soil to stabilize the area.
I enjoyed a long conversation with an engineer about the challenges the soil presents and then talked with Scott Pistorius, the construction superintendent for the Kiewit Building Group, the firm that builds the new facility.
