Thumbs up to Frewsburg pitcher Thad Johnson for setting a career high 17 strikeouts in a game against Cassadaga Valley on Tuesday. For icing on the cake in that game, Johnson also had a single and a double and he scored twice. With Johnson's team mate Connor Grey, who pitched a great game last Saturday against St. Mary's of Lancaster, the Bears are a formidable team in their league.
Thumbs up to another good kid: Jamestown High School senior Alexander Kulakowski, recipient of the Fledgling Birdathon scholarship from the Audubon Center and Sanctuary. It is given annually to a college-bound high school senior or Jamestown Community College student who intends to pursue a bachelor's degree in an environmental or related field. Kulakowski will attend the SUNY College of Environmental Studies and Forestry in the fall to major in aquatics and fisheries science.
And here's a double thumbs up to his parents for setting the stage for Kulakowski's love of nature during family camping trips in Allegany and Cook's Forest state parks. He also credits his experiences at Audubon as a young child for piquing his interest in the environment.
So, yes, parents, there can be a great payoff when you turn your cell phone off, uncinch your children from whatever electronic device they are attached to and then simply step with them into the great outdoors.
Let's all give a thumbs up to everyone we encounter taking a child for a walk this weekend.
And speaking of the outdoors, we acknowledge the loss of lilacs to repeated hard frosts this spring is not at all in the realm of the hit that farmers will take because of frost damage to tender buds on grape vines and fruit trees. But still, here's a thumbs down to Mother Nature for depriving whole neighborhoods of the customary sweet scent of bounteous lilac panicles. And we note as well that time seems to be out of joint because the few lilacs that are in bloom are weeks early.
Finally, we will balance that with a thumbs up to the big and bright full moon tonight. The Associated Press calls it a "supermoon," which is the closest and therefore the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. At 11:34 p.m., the moon will be about 221,802 miles from Earth.
The AP tells us that is about 15,300 miles closer than average. As with any full moon, the supermoon will look bigger when it is on or near the horizon at sunset - or about 8:21 this evening.