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This is a strange, scary, and trying time, with most of us huddled up in our homes for who knows how long? I sincerely hope that you are taking care of yourselves and your loved ones. It’s been comforting for me to be able to talk with friends from afar, and check in with people. If anyone would like to talk, please drop me a line, and I am happy to talk about anything.

While I’ve been mostly indoors, I do have a window out onto the world. Spring has arrived, and with it, the birds are returning to Monhegan. Mandy reminds me that nature persists, and the cycle continues. While I know that we all have work to do and important sacrifices to make, it’s somehow reassuring to see our yard fill with grackles, red winged blackbirds, and other harbingers of spring.

To mark the occasion, I’m doing an online sale of this series of papercut birds which I’ve made over the last couple years. They are all made of cut and layered colored paper, and mounted on thin balsa wood with a little wire on the back to hang them with. I love these little guys.

I’m selling them for $125 each, and I’m donating $25 from each sale to the Seacoast Relief Fund for Musicians. This fund is specifically designated for musicians in the greater Portsmouth, NH area who have lost gigs, lost income, and lost opportunities, many of which will never be regained. This community has been my musical home for decades, and this is just a small way I can try to help out those in the community in need.

According to the Fund, “We will start with those in most critical need first.  This fund will serve first those households that already exist at or below 150% of the 2020 Federal Poverty Guidelines.  If funds allow, we will increase this to allow funds to be released to those households at or below 200% of FPG, and so on.”

The birds available are in the three pictures above. (click on them to make them bigger on your screen) If you would like to purchase one or more, please send me an email at dylanmetrano@gmail.com, let me know which one you are interested in, and your mailing address. These are all one-of-a-kind, and first-come, first-served. I’ll write back to you with details on how to pay, and I’ll carefully ship it right out to you.

Thanks for checking this out, and stay healthy.

Dylan