Camping...

... at Falcon Ridge... As you can see, this folk festival takes place on a farm, and everyone is invited to camp and share space in the fields... There are alot of different tents, campers, and accoutrements... Lots of ideas... Richard and I camped way up over the hill, about 1/4 mile from the arcade and stages... Our tent and gear worked well for us, we only came up with a couple of ideas that might make it better... For the most part though, we thoroughly enjoyed tenting and living outdoors for 10 days or so... It was fun to see how compatible we really are... Anyone else have experiences in large group tenting situations?

Sunday Morning Gospel Service

Falcon Ridge was an awesome experience... 10,000 people from one report, all camping out in the field, coming together for dancing and music presentations, a true large scale communal experience... This is the Sunday morning gospel concert which was so great... People in the audience were engaged in singing, swaying, and really just sharing in the oneness of being in this place at this time... I felt very lucky to be part of this, and to be sharing it with Richard...

Pam's Fiddle Gear

Here at Ashokan, you see my fiddle and bow, ready to be played... I carried around my green hooded sweatshirt most of the time but didn't really need it... It was cool where we camped under the tall pines but warm out in the common areas... My small bag (right) was quite handy for carrying rosin, bones, schedules, dinner napkins and various other items... We had a great vacation which really was like a honeymoon for us as it was our first opportunity to get away and just be with each other... We did instructional music and dance classes, and spent a good amount of time with people, but we also had some good time playing music or walking with each other... Great week...

V.A.C.A.T.I.O.N.

Well, we're off on our music vacation! Richard and I are headed to Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in Hillsdale NY until Sunday when we then go to Ashokan for music camp... We are happy to be taking a little R&R together... It has been pretty busy for us... Getting married, moving, selling the Topsham house... Yep, we're ready to just hang out and listen to music and play some tunes... We're bringing the lap top and I'm hoping to continue posting while we're on the road, but don't worry if you don't hear from us, it just means that we'll catch up with you later!

Front View of the New Compound

Richard is checking things out on the Bamford Hill Road. Sunday was a beautiful day to be outside, hot and sunny... perfect summer weather in Maine... The Bamford Hill Road would be to the left of the house, and if you could see it, this front side would face down the hill toward Ray Gosselin's place...

For Bryan....

... here is the back side of Omah and Opahs new house. As you can see, there is a nice metal roof... This side with the sliders faces south, and will have the kitchen area near the right window, and the living room on the left... The middle will probably have their table set... The windows upstairs are their bonus space since they couldn't get the trusses and went with rafters... It will be nice space for people to use (I'm thinking of Joline and Danny in particular, or great grandchildren)

Forefathers Memorial

Not many visitors to this memorial in Plymouth MA... Interesting points~ the women have no eye features but the men do/ men's names and their sons are listed but the women are listed only as 'WIFE'... Really makes you think about how things were in colonial times...

Wandering Scot

Kilts, Scottish dancing, and bagpipes were the order of the week at Pinewoods Camp...

FOUND!

We found the country cousin to our Highway Flamingos, you can see 'him' here on the right... The bird on the left is kind of 'fru-fru' compared to our more substantial and healthy looking birds!

Richard's Girl

Here we were, sitting in the kitchen, talking about our days events... Richard was captured by the late afternoon lighting and had to snap this photo...

In Love

For those of you who have been wondering about the fate of the flamingos, they are still living on Murray Street. They are becoming more inseparable as each day goes by, and as you can see here in this photo, they are quite in love...

My Wonderful Husband

Richard and I pose for a photo taken with the new camera, a Canon PowerShot S2 15~ very, very nice. Richard purchased the camera on-line and we picked it up in Portland just before we went to a dance in North Yarmouth. Here we are after the dance at our friend Rachel's house. She has just finished getting her living room together, and we must say she has wonderful decorating taste~ the room is beautiful and these love seats are very comfortable. It was after midnight when this was taken, that may explain why we look a little tired :) It was a great dance, even though we were only there for about an hour or so.

Avery with Uncle Toby

Toby and Avery are fast becoming good buddies. Toby got to spend part of the weekend in Hampden and as you can see, is very comfortable with his little nephew.

New Home for Sofa

The sofa made a safe arrival in Hampden, and is a welcome addition to the Richard living room. Lots of seating for large gatherings!

Birthday Bouquet

These beautiful flowers have brightened our home all weekend.

Shopping...

... for a new camera~ my faithful Canon is broken and doesn't seem to be repairable... We may go to Best Buy later today and get a new one... I have been a little lost without mine... I had been getting into a pretty good habit of photo-journaling and having a lot of fun with it... We're also going to start looking at fiddles, I may be ready to trade up!

Stove Ash?

How many of you knew stove ash was recyclable? Not I, said the fly... Really, there is a collection area for almost anything you can think of... And if you don't see an appropriately marked container, just ask for assistance, there's always someone readily available to direct you to the proper disposal location.

Idyllic Pond Scene

In making this transfer station, a lot of clay had to be dug and moved... In the process, it made several areas that would eventually be filled with water to create 'the ponds'... Richard tells me there are fishing derbys held here, and that (even though it is not technically allowed) there have been reports of people swimming in the ponds...

The Hills Are Alive...

...with the sight of flowers... This was an especially beautiful sight... After we had disposed of our recyclable items and the household trash, we were invited to go out and see the ponds... On our way, we saw these beautiful early July wildflowers blossomed on a sunny hillside... Looks like a nice place for a picnic, heh?

Battery Hymn of the Republic

Okay, I'm still hooked on the 4th of July :) This shows how tidy this facility is on a regular old work day... Very clean and organized collection with each category prominently displayed for the newcomer...

Aluminum and Peanuts

Just a few of the many things that are recycled here at the Topsham Transfer Station... I wasn't even aware until recently that there are different cans... Some are made of aluminum (and collected here) and others are tin cans... Do you know the difference?

Welcome...

... to the Topsham Transfer Station, a truly wonderfuly effort toward recycling just about anything you can think of. I have had a few occasions to visit here, and am impressed with the order in which things are marked and kept, and also with the voluntary cooperation of residents who bring their 'no longer needed' items for disposal and transfer... How does your town measure up?

A House of Oil

Waste oil is collected in its own little building, set apart from all the other areas...

Final Clean Up

Today is the final cleaning up of the Green estate in Topsham... No recent photos, but I am hoping to get some good shots today of the Topsham transfer station, and possibly the digital tv guy... Those will hopefully generate some comments from our viewers :)
Til then...

Stone Soup

Do you all know the story about stone soup? You can look it up at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_soup. Here is a fine collection of stones that have been harvested from Ken and Janet's garden in Fayette. Though I'm sure we won't be eating real stone soup, (evident by the crops growing in the background) the concept is one worth sharing~ everyone sharing what they have creates a bounty for all. Janet is the gardener of this plot and she's doing a great job. Ken maintains the fence and provides back-up support. They are an inspiration to any couple to work toward cooperative living.

Laughing Out Loud

Avery was all smiles and baby noises today as he made the rounds visiting. He has got a really fun, sweet personality and was perfectly content to be handed frome one set of willing arms to the next.

New Digs for Ken and Janet

This is the closed in framework of the new Davis household in Fayette. Doors and windows will arrive this week. The views over the surrounding lower valleys are just beautiful, you can see all the way to Turner.

Avery On the Road

Gram and Gramp Davis get a visit from Avery on Saturday. We enjoyed being out in the fresh air after the rainy week we've had!