Paul Smaldino is the lead singer of The Small Dinosaurs, a strange band dedicated to singing songs about the little things that matter. Their first album, Household Songs, is entirely about household chores, and is available everywhere on the internet. Their second album, Dad Songs, is due out in 2023.  Listen in, get to know Paul, and learn a bit about little things that matter.

Some 30 years ago, while sitting in Sudwerk listening to a young singer on a stool performing popular songs of the day, my companion -- Bill Morrissey, who had mostly done original songs at his Palms' gig earlier that evening -- turned to me and said, "When I was starting out, I did lots of covers too, but never with an Ovation guitar!"

Singer-songwriters, like Bill, often include a cover or two in their sets. A good cover song should seem fresh, almost as if the singer owned the song. On today's show, I included a few instructive examples: Joel Rafael covering Woody Guthrie, Valerie June covering John Prine, and Stan Rogers (pictured) covering Mary McCaslin.  

The night sky is one of the best parts of Davis during summer and early fall. Hot days yield to mild evenings that make it easy to spend time outdoors after sunset, and a bright moon on the horizon can feel elemental, inviting thoughts about subjects that go far beyond the daily routine.

On today’s program Vinita Domier from the Davis Astronomy Club talks about the attractions of the night sky. With the James Webb space telescope, humans can now see farther in space than ever. We also we hear from stargazers at two recent nighttime events where the club's members brought out their telescopes: one event in the Explorit Science Center parking lot, and the other at a Yolo Basin Foundation benefit held one Saturday night deep in the Yolo Bypass.

On today's program: Citrus pruning, redbud trees, encouraging hummingbirds, lifecycles of spider mite predators, and more.