For me music has been sort of on the back burner for the last 3 months.  Sure, I have played the Monday night jam but that’s it.  No practicing, no band gigs, no going anywhere playing anything.  I was about to start getting a good thing going at Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company but that fell through because I couldn’t afford the time.

Finally, I have broke that cycle for a couple days.  I am in a Hotel in West Plains MO.  You may ask, why are you in a hotel 2 hours away from home?  The Old-Time Music Ozarks Heritage Festival is going on…that’s why!

Friends, Fiddle music and Fun are on tap for this weekend.  David, Ashley, and Travis are the Square dance fiddlers along with Emily the claw-hammer banjo player and anyone else who decides to join us for our traditional Spring float.  What is that?  Its where we go down to the place on the river and float the river down to the spring.  We get out and walk around the cold water (so we don’t feel it yet) and walk up to the bluff and SWOOPAAAA!!  We jump off and get a major awakening! After we are in we continue to swim as fast as we can to get out!

I visited with James Bryan last night!  He and Gordon McCann were playing in the lobby area of the Civic center here and were wowing the onlookers.  James has a very smooth fiddling style and he really can make that wood box sing, not to mention he is famous!  His teacher was Kenny Baker and as a result sat in for Kenny a time for the Great Bill Monroe. What an excitement to meet someone who made a really good livin’ off of what he really enjoyed doing.

Brandy is doing well we had to stop a few times on the way here but she is doing very well considering she is at 30 weeks.  We are excited and a bit scared at the same time.  More scared of the unknown really than anything.  Pardon the picture, We are in the hotel and I thought you all might like to see what Brandy is looking like.  While trying to get a good picture here in the hotel room, the camera died…dead.  New batteries are required, not even warming the batteries by the light would work. Brandy wasn’t happy but we she allowed me to post this.

I wanted to give you a little update on the barn.  I have begun building the lean-to so that I can clear out the room we plan to use for the baby’s room.  We have a whole room that is just storage because we have been unable to get time to go through it.  Hopefully when Brandy has had the baby and is beginning to have a bit of free time she can begin to sift through that (since she will be staying home after the birth of our baby).

If you will remember, back in the spring we planted some blueberries.  Well I finally got some blueberries!

Yep, a half of a handful.

I have notice that more and more people are dumping dogs and cats of which I am assuming that they are having financial difficulties taking care of them. Almost regularly we find new dogs or cats roaming the place and I must deal with them (dogs/cats and chickens dont go well).  However, we had one dog that was dropped off in front of our house we decided to adopt.  It is a beagle puppy.  She is a bit wormy so we are medicating that but she minds well and stays around the house (we dont even have to pen her up) of course when she becomes an adult there may be a difference but for now she is doing well.

She would not hold still long enough for me to take a picture so here is the best I got for an up close picture.

Thank you all for your prayers and I pray you are blessed by God just as you have blessed me.