Garden report: The forsythia I brought indoors to force has tiny yellow buds that should bloom in a day or two. Some daffodils in the backyard have bloomed.

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Kelle Jewell from the Amherst Survival Center sent me an email about the the Empty Bowls fundraiser that will held Saturday, April 1 from noon to 4 p.m. at the center with onsite food or takeout available. The events includes soups made and donated by area restaurants, a raffle and merchandise. For an extra donation you can have your soup served in a bowl created by area potters. The bowl is yours to keep. Some friends have a collection of bowls they have accumulated over the years.

Tickets: amherstsurvival.org/empty bowls or 549-3968, ext. 108.

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The Arcadia Players will perform the St. Matthew Passion by Johann Theile on Sunday, April 2 at 4 p.m. at the Bombyx Center in Florence. This concert was originally scheduled for March 2021. You know why it never went forward. Tickets:www.arcadiaplayers.org.

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A retrospective of the late artist Bernice Masse Rosenthal will be on exhibit at the Burnett Gallery at Jones Library from April 2 to 29.

An opening reception will be held April 2 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the gallery. It’s free and open to the public.

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Susan Morello sent an email about the Fresh Air Program that is again offering New York City children a week in the country. She is looking for families willing to share their homes with children ages 8-14 this summer. If you can help,  visit www.FreshAir.org or call Sue Morrello 413-256-6463. Thanks.

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David and Betsy Mullins of Amherst sent a postcard of the Oval Plaza and Theatre in Jerash, Jordan. They wrote the amphitheater holds 5,000 people and is still in use. They saw the amazing temples in Petra, Jordan and the pyramids at Giza, where they rode on camels. They also floated down the Nile (not in rubber tubes, on a boat) to Aswan.

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Barbara Puffer Garnier of Amherst sent email photos of cherry blossoms in Japan, where she is visiting family. She also sent a photo of a plaque about the Himalayan Cedar President Ulysses Grant planted at the Zojiji Temple in 1878. The cedar is still there.

If you want to plant something your grandchildren will enjoy,  cedar may be a good choice.

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Send items for the Lehrer Report to phyllehrer@gmail.com.

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