Director's Note 5/1/12

It is May, and the warm weather has returned. Still, we are way ahead of schedule: Bob is mowing the lawns again, and the architecture of the individual trees, our winter companions, is disappearing beneath masses of green—a vast variety of greens. Time to bury your face in the lilacs is slipping away as they fade and lose their scent. Yesterday, when I began writing this, I could hear laughter emanating from the dining room across the hall, where a group had gathered for a lunch event (yes, it is possible to rent this and other spaces at Lynden); outside, I could see more than 60 children from Longfellow Elementary School in Sheboygan touring the garden in small groups. Most were listening attentively to their docents; a few were hanging back to examine plants, flowers, insects.

April, which had its share of good weather, brought the first of our dog days and the return, on a gusty day, of Kites over Lynden. At least one kite remains as a souvenir, high up in the branches of the elm by the lake. We’ve added two more dog days to the calendar, on June 9 and August 25, so spread the word to your canine friends. We’ve had a steady stream of visitors to Haiti and the Midwestern Imagination, which features paintings by Orville Bulman (on view through May 13).

But the future is always on our mind, and we’ve been busy planning our first annual fundraiser, Harry & Peg Bradley’s Backyard Barbecue, scheduled for Thursday, August 16. The proceeds will sustain our K-12 education programs by underwriting the costs of tours and field trips and subsidizing transportation costs for schools with limited resources, and providing camp and studio class scholarships for individuals. We’re envisioning an informal summer party, from 5-8 pm, with local food (Bob Retko of the Lynden staff is already growing corn for the event!), entertainment and plenty of activities for people of all ages. We will be sending out a save-the-date soon, and hope you can join us.