Two More

Here are a couple more fall splendor pics. I may be getting carried away, but that is what fall does to me. Clicking on the smaller images will load larger versions.

These are pretty big. I wanted you to see what I saw in the morning sunshine.

These pictures have not been color corrected at all. It was just that beautiful this morning. ¶ 2:03 PM 0 comments

Climbing Mountains

I had a mountain of paperwork to scale in the office today and it was about as beautiful outside as it could possibly be. It was, however, work I absolutely could not ignore. So, as my reward for finally scaling mount administrivia, Hershey and I hiked away the last couple of hours of remaining daylight.

I brought my camera along expecting to see something spectacular. Its funny how when you begin your journey seeking beauty your bound to find it. The first picture of the three I've chosen to post from today's hike was taken from my front porch. No I didn't get very far to begin with. The range of colors in my own front yard could keep me amazed for hours. Hershey on the other hand wanted to hike. So we headed down to green gorge for the trails along shoal creek.

I spent a good deal of time today trying to look at things I'm used to seeing from a different perspective so I was under, over and sideways a lot. The second picture is from underneath a small tree that was showing more shades of red than seemed possible.

The third picture from today's hike is Hershey again who appears to be as happy to see the creek filled with water as I am. Click the images for larger versions. ¶ 9:46 PM 0 comments

Hammers

I'm about to add a new item to my store. They are hammers made by Jill Weimer and they have become my favorites. I don't have all the code together to put them on the store yet but if you'd like to take a look at photos of the hammers and the 'under construction' web page then click here. ¶ 10:56 PM 0 comments

Simply Beautiful

I've been using the word beautiful a lot lately as the color on Signal Mountain is stunning. We've had two days of solid rain and this morning were greeted by blue skies and fall at its best. The pictures speak for themselves. Click the photos for a larger image.

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Normalpalooza?

It's a grass roots fund raiser for Normal Park Elementary in Chattanooga. They had beautiful weather for their annual street fair and big crowds all day today. I was the last act of the day and I had the enjoyable feat of playing solo after a great latin combo that had at least 10 members. I was afraid my hammer dulcimer didn't stand a chance but I held my own.

ZitherjaZ had another recording session Friday afternoon that went quite well. We're on track for having our CD released in January and are getting close to releasing a few more teaser tracks. Don't forget to hear our tribute to Malcolm Dalglish on my MySpace Page. Click the play button to hear the track.

Tomorrow is another busy day as we head back down to the Chattanooga Market. I'll try to remember my camera this time. ¶ 10:18 PM 0 comments

A Good Day

Angie, Hershey and I had a very enjoyable day today which started with a trip down and then back over Signal Mountain on the picturesque Suck Creek Road.

The fall colors are close to their peak and this road winds and twists like something you'd expect to see in a sports car commercial.


Our destination was the Ketner's Mill country fair in the Sequatchie Valley. I played a couple of sets in the brisk fall air, we ate some junk food and let Hershey play in the creek. Hershey's not been feeling too well the last few months and had gotten quite lethargic. We stopped giving her the medicine she was prescribed and changed her diet and she's her old self again, 11 years old which is 77 in people years, so we know we won't have her a lot longer. I was beginning to think that we'd seen her last good days, but I'm more hopeful now that she has a few squirrels left to chase.


I snapped the above picture of a happy Hershey and framed it using Photoshop. Unfortunately the result is a picture that looks as if I've had happy Hershey's head mounted. I promise, she's OK and asleep at my feet right now.

One surprise at the Ketner's was finding a shirt vendor for the 2007 Chattanooga Dulcimer Festival - the tie-dye will be back, but with a twist that I'll reveal later. By the way, we still have a few t's left over from the 2006 festival. You can purchase them by using the store link above.

After Ketner's Mill we headed to downtown Chattanooga and the Chattanooga Market, which is next to a dog park (which Hershey wasn't so sure about) and skate park. The place was bustling with live music, art and people having a good time. We were glad to soak up our share of the fun and were reminded once again why we like living in the Tennessee Valley. ¶ 9:29 PM 0 comments

Put down the camera, I'm on the pot.

I couldn't resist posting this picture. I think Tiger Lily was warming her feet in the warm dirt.

I'm back down at the Aquarium street performing this afternoon. Come by and say hello if you're in downtown Chattanooga.

I'm performing two sets at the Ketner's Mill Country Fair Sunday. Ketner's Mill is in the Sequatchie valley which is a beautiful drive no matter which way you get there.

Check my calendar link for times and directions. Unfortunately, the forecast is for rain. I hope we stay dry.

We've had quite a bit of rain over the past few days which is actually very good news. The creeks in the area had gone bone dry, which I don't recall seeing since we've lived on Signal Mountain. Last night, just before sunset, Hershey and I took a hike along Shoal Creek in Green Gorge and the creek was back to its bubbly self. It was like a visit from an old friend. ¶ 9:29 AM 0 comments

Summer, Meet Fall

Leftover summer flowers are facing chilly nights these days as we're just beginning to see the glory of fall on Signal Mountain. Angie and I have been keeping ourselves quite busy with outdoor projects that were supposed to be completed over the summer.

We also gutted and reorganized my studio in preparation for my latest project which I'll tell you about in a moment. In the process of cleaning and rewiring (with the help of Alan Shikoh) we decided that the only way I was going to be able to keep the space organized was to get rid of anything unnecessary for recording and the creative work that takes place down there.

That process made it clear that I simply needed more space, so I added a room for recording drums which is also where I teach lessons now. It has been a couple of weeks since we completed this and so far so good, I'm still organized and I've done several small projects. This feels good.

My current major project is my first hammered dulcimer teaching book. It is based on the 40 Percussive Arts Society (PAS) drum rudiments. I've been teaching bits and pieces of this for years but this is the first time I've organized it into book and DVD form. It looks as if it is going to take 2 DVDs to handle all the demonstrations and I'm glad to have Philip Luckey and Jody Cox working on video portions. They are pros and great friends so I'm anxious to see the final product which is scheduled for release in early December.

There's lots more to write but the ZitherjaZ guys just showed up for a recording session (our CD won't be ready until early next year) and I have to run.

Make sure you stop by the forum and sign my guestbook. ¶ 10:45 AM 0 comments

Nutmeg

Angie and I awoke to a rainy day in New England this morning after saying goodbye to the Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival in Hamden, CT, and many new friends, last night.

From all accounts festival organizer Sam Edelston and crew are happy with their third year and they should be. The festival was organized and relaxed with a great blend of teachers, vendors and performers.

I got to meet and hear for the the first time the faces behind the names of many players I've read about in Dulcimer Players News over the past 20 years: A.J. Bashore, Heidi & John Cerrigione, Cliff Cole, Carrie Crompton, Ron Ewing, Rudy Gabrielson, Carol Lehrman, Tom MacKenzie, David Marks, Steve Miklos, Antoinette Montague, David Neiman, Curt Osgood, Chuck Scheffreen, Susan Trump, Bob Wey and Dwain Wilder.

It was especially great to meet Carrie Crompton. I've recommended her hammer dulcimer solos books for years now. Check them out at:

http://www.carriecrompton.com/index.html

Robert Force and I were the bill for last night's closing concert. Robert is a dynamic entertainer overflowing with energy, wit and wisdom. His resume as a musician and educator speaks for itself, take a look:

http://www.robertforce.com/?page_id=3

Angie and I had hoped to take a walk and do some photography on a New England beach or two but looking out of our hotel room window right now I see it is raining buckets. I guess we'll travel down the coast today in search of sunshine and if it eludes us point the truck toward Pennslyvania where our next stop is to visit Neal and Coleen Walters, Nick and Joanie Blanton and Maddie MacNeil.

I'm going to start a new discussion in the Forum section of this website for anyone who'd like to chime in about your Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival experience. Click on over! Dan ¶ 10:21 AM 0 comments