Young birdersA couple weeks ago we ran our Audubon Bird-a-thon. It’s a typical “-thon” in most ways, but instead of collecting pledges for how many miles we walk, people pledged based on how many bird species our various teams saw. Here in northwest Connecticut, with among the highest diversity of breeding birds in the country, we can often accumulate quite a list.The Audubon Bird-a-thon also provides an opportunity to get outside and enjoy a good day of birding with friends, old and new. The group that I went with consisted of my wife, Laurie, and me; an Audubon staff member; a couple of local birders; and a mother and her 8-year-old son, Caleb. Now I must admit that when Caleb’s mother called the night before asking if they could join us, I didn’t know quite what to expect. I have led nature hikes and gone birding with lots of kids and it’s always great to watch their natural sense of discovery in action, but when the goal is to keep moving and find as many species of birds as possible, could this boy keep up?He could! Our group met early on a Saturday morning at the Audubon Center and our first stop was the front lawn, where we spotted a black-throated blue warbler, a northern parula, a Baltimore oriole and maybe a half dozen other species. Caleb kept right up with us, training his binoculars on each bird to try and get a good look — which is not always possible, even for the most experienced birder. We all knew he was serious when he asked if the Baltimore oriole we were looking at could possibly be an orchard oriole (this is an 8-year-old boy!).And so the morning went. Spotted sandpiper, great blue heron, black-throated green warbler, great looks at a barred owl in our scope — all fairly common birds but fun to see nonetheless. Every once in a while Caleb would yell out “Yellowthroat!” as he pointed to a beautiful common yellowthroat (warbler) flitting by or “Crow!” as the raucous corvid squawked in the distance. I encouraged Caleb to continue to learn bird songs as that can be a satisfying and easy way to know what birds are around you. He agreed and proceeded to list the ones he knew already. Where he got his interest in birds none of us really know. His mother thought it started with the purchase of a birdfeeder; you never know, it just happens. The trick is to continue to nurture the interest and keep it going. It is obvious that his family does, and we will do what we can to help. Any other young birders out there should give us a call. And thanks to all for a great day of birding! Scott Heth is the director of Audubon Sharon and can be reached at sheth@audubon.org, (subject line: Nature Notes).
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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