Bonjourno:

“With no bird singing, the mountain is yet more real” ……………………………………………………………Zen Master

“Got a good reason- for taking the easy way out, now” …………………………………………………………Lennon/McCartney

“My poop in the woods was most satisfying” …………………………………………………………………………The Queen

Floatin’ like a butterfly…. stingin’ like a Bee….as autumn continues its very slow momentum at emerging in the mountains. Still a hit or miss whether the Foliage will explode late this year, or just mutedly fade away in pastel-like solemnity…. damn drought……though there have been a few real rain soakers over the last two weeks, which has The Pond smiling again, as it has risen to only being about 2.5 feet down from its all-time record low…and…… we are having to resume cutting grass again….no climate change here…

Started the week with Sunday dinner with The Erstwhile Russian Spy and The World’s Most Beloved School Marm, which was delightful…. TQ made some form of yogic enchiladas and TWMBSM, who is always on a meditative, healing diet, still found it in her heart to create a magical dessert of some kind that somehow was still in the generally healthy realm (no ask- no tell) …………………………………………

Tuesday, we took off for our first Fall- Outing of the year…up to The Northeast Kingdom, in search of the Woodchuck Mafia. Though it was predicted to be rainy, it turned out to be quite a good day, until late when we arrived at our cottage around beautiful Lake Willoughby in Westmore, Middle-of –Nowhere…. in time for soaker – to Marysue’s little hobbit house, which is so cozily comfortable that we don’t even use the sleeping oft, opting for all three of us on a trundle bed in the central living area. We meandered our way north up the ancient Connecticut River Valley discovering a surprisingly nice hike at Tucker Mountain, where we actually made the summit for the views, a rarity for us foundlings.

Consistent with living in the (maybe) post-Covid world, not a single nearby restaurant was open early in the week, so we had to graze our way through the general store to find something to eat for dinner, which actually turned out quite good, though I could not bring myself to buy their homemade chop suey, which resembled hamburger helper, rest its soul. Wednesday was a really pleasant fall day (shorts weather for Papi) for our annual tour of The Kingdom, which took us over multiple mountain ranges to Island Pond (major woodchuck rustic), Derby (fought the powers that be to have the state’s fifth Walmart despite the furor over losing its pastoral charm), Newport (post hip renaissance north) and down to Coventry (site of the famous gigantic Phish show at an airfare base)- where we made the annual pilgrimage to the real thing -Martha’s Diner -for the US’s best fried chicken (USA today 2012)-no disappointments there as we labored with love on the nearby picnic table on the town green. Wound up the day at majestic Brownington (the historical village home of Alexander Twilight, the country’s first black physician……who knew?) for our yearly walk around the massive property. Returned back to the cottage to find no eateries yet open (supply chain, no employees, blah, blah, blah), so creatively made some form of dinner via the cooler remnants, which was pretty ok. We made a detour to Willoughby Falls (a locally well-kept secret) to check out the spawning steelhead trout, but we missed them by about five months.

Check out the massive photo gallery for the real story.

Meandered our way back and forth across the state on way home Thursday crossing two major gaps for the peakish views and on down to Rutland, with emergency dispensary stop in Middlebury, just in time for the new super-duper booster shot to ward off The Plague……………… then a mad dash back to the house to intercept the auto crash appraiser, who comes to Vermont once a month from the flatlands, before he headed back into the woodwork……mission accomplished –so may yet get my car repaired by the end of 2023.

On Friday night, The Queen went to the monthly gathering of the Lady Mount Mystics for dinner and conviviality…and to see DA Bears….….30 minutes of Mama and Da Cubs apple eating right outside the door…we don’t need no damn zoo here….

Check out those pix…and see Sloanie bike like a mermaid…. Papi bad with metaphors….

Yesterday was one of those awful, unsettling, humbling, erratic (get the picture?) days that had an unexpectedly good turn. Spent around six hours trying to deal with failed technology, failed car repairs, failed overdue work assignment….much of it on the phone with a series of beleaguered Pakistanis….finally got one thing partially working, cashed in, and got motivated to head out…..skedaddled down to Londonderry and well-kept secret Lowell Lake……where we hiked the entire lake trail (3.5) in late day majestic autumn sunlight, ending at the early 1700s graveyard……..Forest Healing….impulsively stopped on the way home at the early 1800’s Fullerton inn, in quaint Chester, for a dinner in their formal dining room….all of which significantly changed the tone and tenor of the day….

So…. enuff already……. yer killing me…. Good Shabas to all……miles to go….keep your motors running, running down the highway, lookin for adventure, take whatever comes my way……BTBW………..Love Ya’ll Neville……

Papi

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Guten Morgan:

“The fireflies’ light. How easily it goes on. How easily it goes out again.” …………………………………Chine- Jo

“From the evening breeze to this hand on my shoulder, everything has its truth” …………………. Albert Camus

“Seeking Love” Letter of the Year (From Vermont Seven Days):41 y/o loner male, formerly moderately handsome, now world weary, depressed and socially isolated——– looking for 30-50 y/o female to share time with. I’m considerate, but years of depression and self-doubt have rendered me something of a self-hating loner. Interested to hear about you and your story.      Hmmmmm……………………………………

The Greens continue to unexpectedly remain mostly Green in this extended drought year, tho hints and teases abound. Have settled into a week of mostly perfect fall days and very brisk nights……I can feel the color, but not see it…. next big rain…. for The Pond…. for The Leaves……. For The Soul……………………….

We started this week last Sunday night with a potluck dinner at some activist friends of ours………………………………… activist enough that the lady of the house at one point said “ I spit on republicans”…….so probably not going to work across the aisle, per se…..there were five couples of a certain age (mine) in a rainbow of colors….the most distracting of which was a very nice 82 year old man who was the absolute doppelganger of Gus Frigh from Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul….despite being a very kind and witty man, I was afraid of him all night….being in Vermont, every single person brought a dish that featured corn and tomatoes (last of season)…and we had bread that the Retired Postal Mensch had waited at the Woodstock Fahmers Mahket for 4 hours to get….every person aside from us had read the NY Times start to finish that morning…whilst I was reading a  steamy detective novel…..all quite stimulating…

My stunted work life took a turn while doing a 4 hour on-line live training session this week on some new Zoomish platform with almost three hundred people…I did put on a nice shirt along with my uniform of lounge pants and sweat socks…. was everybody wearing lounge pants out of sight? ………………………………Still?

Spent hours this week trying to find someone to fix my injured auto body…. best I could do was some guy telling me I could leave my car with him for three weeks and he could then probably get it done by mid-November vs. next March……this guy also featured a major junk yard and a snarling dog outside his door and………… never took his feet off his desk while we talked…there were many guns mounted on the wall……car care in Vermont….

Big birthday week…for Jenn, Sister Jane, Ry and Lauren…all in 2 days……HB to all………………

I broke down this week, after a month of some form of sciatica and related countless home remedies, and got a message. The Masseuse in the Trailer is not up to it right now, so went up to our friend Linda’s abode, where a host of feral young adults coalesce. One of them happens to be a licensed massager. So picture this—-walk in to have a message with a stunning and underdressed 25 y/o woman…………and start thinking it would be good if Phil were here to see this………… I already had my silent mantra ready in the event of any overstimulation, but upon arriving found that I has recently sat in something that smelled like poop, so had to run into the bathroom and clean my inner and outer garments, to avoid total smelly diaper embarrassment. KS, the massager, is really quite good, but 25 and, thus, somewhat distractible…..so she had to refrain from digging deep into the problem gluts because (I later learned upon inquiry) at some point she apparently had a vison of sailboats, which intuitively led her elsewhere (these are her exact words)….when I was done, dressed and emerged…..the whole kabob of ferals was outside to greet me and my washed out underwear. It’s possible this is too much for gentleman of my years….

For The Queens big day on Thursday, I had a shakily-conceived plan for fanciful takeout, but when time came …had two local places tell me they were “too busy for takeout” …is this really a thing????…..the whole supply chain-understaffed scenario has lost it sheen with me…..so- zipped down to the Wallingford to see Mr. Sal and his red gravy extravaganza……….for gifts, got her a Retro, a Currently Fashionable and a Future……..quiet evening in the mountains….

So, Saturday was actually the birthday extravaganza. After a quick stop to exchange insults with The Dumpmaster and his cronies, we picked up an unparalleled Turkey Town grinder from Curmudgeon Bob at Baba’s and had the Ludlow Cemetery lunch overlooking the reservoir and then a hike…. then meandered our way up to tiny Reading to the Hall Art Foundation- which is a middle of nowhere relation to MOMA and has galleries in New York, London, Paris and Nowhere, Vermont. These rich folk bought a zillion acres back in the 80s and turned all the old barns into spanking new state of the art galleries, along with acres of grounds with statuary. For this season, thy were featuring the sublime, bucolic water colors of the still-painting, 95 y/o Lois Dodd- set against the tyranny, fright and anger of the Golem-like woks of Leon Golub. Serene-Intense………………Lucy was allowed in for the birthday and is becoming quite the art hound. We finished off our day out with birthday-dinner at the Maple Kitchen…….high up on the mountain access road to the once world renowned Ascutney Ski Area….which has fallen into disrepair but still hosts a colony of enthusiasts…local Roast Duckling, Butternut Squash Ravioli, Harvest Salad and a decadent Lemon- Raspberry cake- all concocted by an imported Moroccan chef.

And that’s about all I got. The Erstwhile Russian Spy and the Worlds’ Most Beloved School Marm are coming for dinner tonight, and we are off this week to the Northeast Kingdom for our first fall-outing of this year….

The harder they come, the harder they fall…. for one and all…..

Stuber

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Happy Hallmark- Grandparents Day:

“I pack no provisions for my long journey- entering emptiness under the midnight moon” …………….Chinese Sage

“I exist as I am, that is enough” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Walt Whitman

“We’re on a Mission from God” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………Jake and Elrod Blues

A thumb goes up; a car goes…. by It’s nearly 1 AM and here am I………………… Hitchin’ a ride…………………………. Well, it’s been a busy week here in Mt. Holly- Begone, our home town (sometimes)……Started the week in recovery from a 48-hour experience with a sweet 2-year-old and it was suddenly very quiet here on Monday. Had a neat threesome (not that- get yer mind out da gutter) at Folk Club that night- rainy and nasty and no one else showed up, but got to spontaneously combust with Claudine and Dennis, who are both mighty musicales, so all I had to do was keep da beat……. boom, chuck…boom, chuck…. boom, chuck……

Speaking of rain, we had out first real soak since spring with two days of yuck……but, ah (De Doova) ……The Pond rose a foot …leaving only a minor crater in our yard…….and setting off a small seismic shift in foliage…may yet change colors this year….

The Queen (the remaining one that is….so long to the mighty one) had asked me to block off a day this week and we scadoodled down across the state line to Williamstown, Mass….the quaint home of lovely, bucolic Williams College…for a day of art….School had just started up, so we grabbed an outside table on the street to watch the co-eds do their mating rituals , while feasting on a some very real-deal Mexican chow…again marveling at the diversity that exists once you leave the Tidy-Whitey of the Greens  (can’t believe I strung those words together)…….

From there…………… is was on to the college’s museum- which allowed Lucy to tour the galleries with us………….thinking she was a service dog because of her bright orange harness…who are we to disagree…and she LOVED the floor sculptures….cool little museum…then around the town to the bull- goose- magnificence of The Clark Art Institute …which is a like a lil’ Louvre in the midst of the Berkshires…..and was featuring a once in century retrospective of Rodin….it was almost like being at the Musee Rodin a’ Paris…..almost….not quite……the rest of the Institute houses what may be the finest collection of classic Europa art I have seen this side of The Pond (not ours, THE BIG ONE)….

After such a fine day, the next day was marred by  my having my first car crash in years- albeit a fender bender….woman turns in front of me, decides to stop turn-hits her brakes half way through…I role into her….my front, her back, my fault……no like….no like…..stopped at a body shop in Root-land to get an idea of what it would be for self-pay…and for a few small scratches/dents and a broken headlight….around $3400….whoa, is this the twin of Big Pharma or what….and…..they can put me on the calendar for late January-maybe……we have transformed to bizarre….

After a day of brooding about the whole car mess we hopped over to the mountain ville pf Shrewsbury on Friday night for a Harvest Moon Walk with the local landed gentry………. picture a group of woman who came to Vermont to commune in the 60s and stayed……………. with long gray braided hair…. talking moon cycles… Lucy loved it….and there was homemade pies and ice cream on the porch of a circa 1802 beauty as reward…plus a big ol’ red moon over the hillside……………. I came home and got out the I-Ching……

Followed that up with a drive and walk on a picture perfect Saturday afternoon…stopping at the Golden Honey Festival in Proctorsville…one of 4,977 Fall festivals in Central Vermont….schmoozed, snacked….and then over the hill to wonderful Springfield Lake (another incredibly expensive undertaking by the Army Corps of Engineers- which I believe is really a Masonic secret society)for late day walk…..momentum and hangry carried us over yet another mountain range to the utterly out of place, surreal Brownsville Butcher Block…a New York style and priced store in the absolute middle of nowhere- that has really great $15 fried chicken sandwiches….

And, so it goes…. how ‘bout you? Wishes to all for a week of light……

Ferlin’

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Bonjourno:

“The place you are right now, God circled on a map for you” …………………………………………..Hafiz

“The butterfly counts not months but moments……and has time enough” ………………………Rabindranath Tagore

“Even Richard Nixon has got SOUL” …………………………………………………………………………………..Neil Young

Well, it’s been a thing here on The Mount for the last week, filed with wonder, discovery, and the long slow coming of autumn. The Greens are turning to a lesser green daily (de-greening?), but not much color, which may be the result of our extended drought (oh, the poor POND) or in general protest of the effect that Herr Trumpster is still on the loose.

And, what a couple of g-daughter weeks, not only did Sloanie-Baloney start pre-school, but our oldest, the grand Quin-Lily traipsed off to kindergarten, starting her journey towards adolescence, when we will find her temporarily psychotic for 6-7 years. Time flies, NO?

Monday we made the trek to Albany in almost 100-degree heat- it’s a lot hotter down there than up here- to get Sister Jane off and back to Cow-Town and wandered home with stops at the Grand Wally world and the classic Diner drive through (ostensibly for lunch, but mostly for the Greek rice pudding to die for) on way home and got back to the contemplative life (well, not The Queen, who got busy with Monarchy duties).

I made my fourth trip to try and find a primary care doc in either Vermont or Ohio since my beloved doc of 42 years had the audacity to retire….it appears one has to find a 20-year-old kinder-doc to be assured they won’t die or retire before you…. I am just about done answering questions about my bowel movements (regular)and use of recreational drugs (never-how dare you).

Thursday, we made the long awaited trip down to the bowels of Connecticut to check off one from my bucket list and see Van the Man in Bridgeport. The trip down I-91 is a breeze until you hit the crazed Northeast corridor once south of Springfield, Mass. And then it is suicide bomber central- but we made it to the fair Grand Marriott and then had a gorgeous night in cosmopolitan B-port…where we saw more people of color in five minutes than in the last three months in The Greens. Wandered around the late urban afternoon sunlight and found a Jamaican food dive where we had best Rasta food outside of Caribbean (for less than the cost of one beer inside the amphitheater). The Hartford Health amphitheater is a beauty- around 2K seats with a dome cover for rain and wonderful acoustics and they even let me go back to the car (despite a hundred NO-REENTRY signs) to get my glasses.

What’s there to say about Van the Man? He is a legend in our time (and clearly in his own mind). Two hours of musical magic with an over the top down and dirty 11-piece band –and a surprise visit-from Irish R&B legend (and Van protégé) James Hunter. That is way upside for The Man who has released 56 monumental studio albums since 1966. Downside? He is one the worlds’ great curmudgeons, never smiling or having any contact with the audience (not even a nod) and barking at the terrified musicians who must never last more than one tour…a genuine a-hole of a human, but-oh-the vibe-……Van played a gutful of harmonica and sax, which is unusual these days, and closed with a rousing Gloria from his 1966 album The Them. After he rooster-strutted off stage with nary a nod, the band kept at it for a full 20 minutes- clearly, freed from tyranny, and gleefully soloing, even working in an extended Moondance riff.

Checked off the bucket box-one and one- love the musician, can do without the man.

Morning after had the GRAND buffet breakfast at the hotel along with all the band members, who clearly stayed and traveled separately on a tour bus, while Van was at some penthouse and being chauffeured to the next gig.

Got back Friday afternoon, having had as much time away as we could stand from our third, Ms. Lucy- Lu; we get melancholia leaving her behind when she generally goes everywhere with us. And since out weekend guests, had postponed arriving for a day, we went down to Okemo for the annual visit of the Beatles Wannabes at the free mountain concerts. They still have the same two brothers leading the outfit for years (John and George) but the new Paul was around 90 and the new Ringo around 14, and it was definitely a downhill trend. My late, great friend, Steve (the Jewish Fish Monger) was rolling over in his grave at the dishonor to his beloved Fab Four I’m sure…………………but a gorgeous night on the mountain with picnic and frolicking mutts everywhere.

Late Saturday, my young friend and former Yard boy (all time 1^st ballot YB hall of famer) Marcus arrived with wife Sara and little 2 y/o Maddie–and we spent a delightful weekend traipsing around. Headed into Rutland on Friday for Ramuntos pizza pick up and dining al fresco at my chiro’s office by the lovely pond and then in search of Creamees before closing which we scored at the West Rutland snack bar. Sunday we coaxed Maddie for a walk on the Appalachian Trail-and lasted as far as the magic swinging bridge and rock throwing in the dwindling river, then home for nap. Spent the afternoon at the annual Blues/Folk fest at the Calvin Coolidge historical site, which could not have been more perfect- with classic fall day and the mountains surrounding in the background.

The Queen did her toddler-whispering with lil’ Maddie and won her over, though she seemed to regard Papi as potential Cookie Monster right up until leaving time this morning, but she was transfixed by the kitty Kats. And we got to visit with our old friend, big Lucy, who is in decline, but was our Lucy’s first mentor when she was a pup. They took off this am for the Vermont Country Store for tchotchke heaven -and the trek back to Philly -and we are now trying to settle back in after all the excitement- and it’s a perfect rainy day for it.

Was sitting at a stop sign coming back from the Fest yesterday, when some guy in a badass pickup (foreshadowing?)- turned right, going by me and putting head and hand out to shoot me the bird-out of nowhere- which made me reflect on the level of unprovoked hate we live with these days. Tell me baby, why you been gone so long?

It’ be a long time comin’…gonna be a long time gone……

Buenos notches, Estuardo

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Greetings Earthlings:

“Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck” ………………………………………………………………The Dalai Lama

“Don’t try to steer the river” ………………………………Deepak Chopra

“Six minutes of thunder and lightning” ………………Loretta Haggers (Mary Hartman)

Word of the week: Obfuscate (try to use this word three times in the coming week)

Future News Predictions for this week”

• The St. Louis Cardinals will win the world series with the legendary returning and retiring Albert Pujols going out in a blaze of glory (trying to find the corner bookie to place my far-fetched bet, but we have no corners here)
• Donald Trump will be soon calling his tailor to design some orange jumpsuits for him
• Our local mountain rivers and streams will be bone dry by October- and then……. the Zombies will arrive (not the British band kind)

I think the pix tell a pretty good story of the week in review, so I will just highlight and summarize (believe me? …………………Yes, or no?)

Sloanie Spumoni had her first day of school this week……oh my……might be more profound than turning 70…………………………

Papi and Lucy love them some short walks on the AT (come on –you can figure that one out) ……. though Lucy is terrified by the swinging bridge one has to cross to get there

The West River Trail in Londonderry is a great hidden find…and close to Grandma Millers magnificent Vermont-style Patisserie, and inflammation palace

The annual visit from Sister Jane is a blessed event…she moves in and it’s like she never left…not sure she has left her master bedroom for five days…. not really, but it could happen……

And we are expecting a slew more of visitors between now and the end of foliage…check the website for our rates and amenities…..must be the end of The Plaque?

Finished the 2002 local Music on the Green series, with our little folk club preforming its unique brand of dissonance…we may be out of tune, but the locals love us as their own….and I generally love it, despite the competitive sound guy routinely turning off my microphone mid-performance……that is a mountain thing…

The Vermont Country Store is a pretty good place to spend an hour or two…. with the most Tchotchkes per yard on the earth….and then when the sun comes back out- a follow up visit to the Silent Ones at the Weston Priory is the ultimate juxtaposition (anti-tourisme)

What’s better than picking SJ at the Manchester airport and moseying up the coast and beaches of Live Free or Die and into Southern Maine on a sunny day?

Shuckin’ and Jivin’ through dinner prep of peek corn and peak meat from our beloved local farmers…with a bit of French red and bit of Bill Frissell….is a major source of calm…compared, to say, pizza and Arrowsmith….…

THE POND……NOT FADE AWAY, NOT FADE AWAY, NOT FADE AWAY…………PPPPLLLLLEEEEAAAASSSSE….…….

And, The Green is fading and muting daily now……but the return of the magical light of autumn dusk is a sight to behold………………………

And, TQ is abounding the ville in her thorny crown (yes that begins with a “T”)…………………………..and the beat goes on…..IF ya gotta go….GO NOW….GO NOW….

Love and snatches, Yo Papi

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Bonasera, Bonasera:

“Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop” ……………………………………………………………………………………………Rumi

“Beside the roadway a flowing of clear water in a willow’s shade: I thought for a short while to linger and take a rest” ……………………………………………………………………..Saigyo

“Did I see you down in a young girls’ town, with your mother in so much pain; I was almost there at the top of the stairs with her singing in the rain” …………………………Neil

It’s been another wonderful temperate week here in the Greens as late summer turns into early Fall, but the Heavens remain closed. As I tooled around the grand sweep of the hills this week, I draft (past of drift?)  to pondering some of the mystery of life questions, which I, of course, felt compelled to share, et, voila:

• When one gets invited to grand dinner with our local German national M&M’s, should one have the right to expect sauerbraten, kartoffel, schnitzel, and such……apparently not, as the ubiquitous salmon and quinoa seem to always dominate the menu in our yoga-land……but the visit last Sunday to the M&M’s little cottage with the grand view was quite compelling…and the pre-dinner view on the newly built tiny deck with AstroTurf and no rail (at 2000 feet) was quite delightful……………………….

• If you are musical royalty, do you have to hit the big time?……………………………….apparently not. Lucy and I drifted up to the hamlet of Pittsford on Tuesday night for their Summer concert series, whilst The Queen sat on her throne at the annual convening of the Association (THE association!)…..and what a delight…..a farmers meadow surrounded by mountains, dozens of older singles alone with their dogs (Lucy and I both got us some phone numbers)…..a farm to table tantric food truck, and the scintillating stylings of the Krishna (yep, that’s his name) Guthrie  Band……threats of serious rain evaporated along with the many wisps of vape into the thin mountain air….and Hari, Hari, who is the progeny of Arlo, and the grand-progeny of Woody, seems to like being a local musician rather than pursue the big time, tho he’s good enuff……what a sight…..Vermont….

• What does it mean when The Queen asks you to nab, grab, snap or snatch something? …. snatch, really?……..It generally means the gathering of unrelated objects into a bag to transport many different or diverse artifacts and not have one’s hands needlessly tied up…. this week’s installment of nabbin’ resulted in a 2-day loss of my camera, which had been snatched into a bag of chocolates and put away…. snatch, crackle, pop……

• Is climate change simply socialist propaganda?…..after our most recent heat wave, which we all know does not happen at elevation….and one rain shower in 2 months(delightfully, just as we readied to play on the Green a few weeks ago), and streams and rivers with no water…..I say …No, Nyet, Non, No Mas……no sissy shit here…..I now believe that the heat, drought, torrential storm pattern is simply due to our multiple slights against our higher powers, which has made Hell rise up much closer to the surface…just to get us all knowing what to expect…Yeah, that’s the ticket, Yeah…climate change—Feb, Pui…..

• And, is climate change just maybe responsible for Hot Flashes?……well, I had dinner with two of my favorite gals one night this week, and endured an ardent display of removing articles of clothing and putting them, and more, back on……………………. over four courses and an hour a half…on and off…. off and on….is this a real thing?…………..or more Socialist Propaganda?

• Are we indeed paying more for everything?…..well, I’d say generally, yes…..and in Vermont….MEGA- yes….picked up Chinese –got sticker shock….picked up Tex-Mex, got sticker shock….not talkin’ Gore-Met here,……stopped at a roadside deli for a sandwich…are you kidding me….milk 40% higher than in the heartland….and what about housing?…..in our booming metropolis of Burlington, there are 1400 candidates for every rental vacancy, leading kindly landlords to raise $1200 dollar rents to $3600….climate change, anyone?

• And, what happens when your new potential doctor informs you-at your fist meet and greet- she is giving you the same advice she would give her own father…. are you kidding me…what happened to sexual transference?……Lusty projection……I AM…NOT…. YOUR…. DAM…. DADDY……damn it…. …………………………………and..……………………………………………I’ll damn well flush whenever and only whenever I want to….so there…

Did I really say any of the above……oh boy, oh girl, oh mama…………………… there goes that man again…………………..Love Ya’ll……..THIS MUCH………

Stu

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Happy Augustus, Mes Amis:

“A fallen flower…Flew back to it branch!…….No, it was a butterfly” ……………………………………………………………………Moritake

“Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth” …………………………………………………………………Alan Watts

“Let go or be dragged” …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Zen

Well, it been recovery week here on The Mount. The leaves are slightly turning, the weather has resumed normalcy with Autumn-ish temps and brilliant sunshine and the house is somewhat restored…and eerily quiet.

After the eternal band-mates left early Sunday last, the Nave stayed on, and we did our second annual celebration of his birthday at the Home-style Hotel in Ludlow……masticating on the plethora of small plates on the lovely wrap around porch on a very warm summer night. As part of the Empress of GE’s retirement extravaganza we had agreed to take their pup, Rogue, for the week, while the entire miscpachah retired to Maine (there’s an amazing amount of Empress foundlings living at that house-almost resembling a Kentucky hollow more than a Vermont mountain hamlet). Originally, we had planned to take the girl on Monday as Nave was to bring his two dogs along, but when the plan changed (and he came alone for Bunty week), we said we could take the Rogue-ster on Sunday…. which may have been a slightly unsound idea, as she arrived extremely anxious, and was here a brief while- panting and salivating- before we abandoned her for the long-ish dinner. Returning home, she was nowhere to be found, which seemed impossible- until we found she had hurtled her 55-pound frame through a one foot by one-foot porch door window- busted out and headed up the trail to home………………where we found her hours later. See pix and try and imagine her getting through this opining……unscathed, mind you, tho glass everywhere. Fortunately, the cats did not follow suit….

And speaking of birthdays………the last of our four granddaughters, Baby Parker, turned the BIG One on Friday……that is, last, unless The Prodigal decides on a surprising course of action, and provides #5…which seems unlikely, as he remains committed to surfing the Web and the ocean, into the California sunset (all those colors in the sky, kiss another day goodbye) ……….

I am now experimenting with a tincture or Reishi mushroom to alleviate all of my kind-of-old white guy body disruptions…….and possibly see God…. feelin’ pre…tty Vermonty….

Spent the week re-connecting with all my virtual clients (that’s an odd statement, no?) …and they all miraculously survived my two-week hiatus…tho all hell might be breaking loose just beyond the range of my camera…

Met up with the Jewish Pig Farmer for red gravy at Sal’s in Wallingford……. where I was able to consume permanently banned foods, as The Queen, was out of eye shot……. we were there for 2.5 hrs., in a record setting display of terrible service…. but who was counting…and we got to stare outside the window at the   traffic idling through lovely Wallingford…and the JPF is never at a loss for words…so …. rundown complete….

It was a God-like day on Friday, so we took off for a small road trip with the now entrenched Rogue and Lucy-lou…..heading by cover of day, into the Live Free or Die unchartered territories, where we got in a few dirt road hikes and a trip to the Super-Mart in non-bucolic Claremont (no tax or die)…..and found the mother lode of rundown sub-shops , that looked like a bombed out war site from the outside, but turned out to be one for the ages…..the dogs loved them some pulled pork and brisket under a willow tree picnic table behind another restaurant…… we traipsed back in time to the Ludlow Farmers (Fah-Mahs’) market in the late afternoon autumn like cool sunshine….Magnifico…….

After a Saturday of menial catching up, whilst The Queen cavorted with horses and autistic children, we took a late afternoon closed-road walk with the girls and then down to Rutland-town for gas station Indian food at another of a long line of middle-of-nowhere picnic tables….then rambled in search of Creamees, stumbling upon a- surreal -other -roadside attraction on 4-A near West Rutland , with a food truck, Creamees stand, game parlor  and remote controlled car racetrack, which was no joke…intense racing going on….the end result of what may be the best yet Mountain Creamees…who knew?…..

And speaking of bizarre, has anyone ever seen the film “Dead Man” with a very young Johnny Depp…all I can say is WOW…and a double WOW, for the live grunge guitar Neil Young soundtrack……hallucinogens desirable……

So, Rogue goes home today, which will be sad, now that we have discovered how to keep her from running away, and become uber-attached….and we are off for a Hosenfeffer dinner with our Munich friends down the road…before they cross The Pond for the winter….

And that is all they wrote (note the pronoun usage) ……Be well, stay in touch, keep the Trumpster in your prayers…..

Estuardo

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Fellow Wanderers:

Well, they, came, they conquered, they left…. Band went on the run this early Sunday morning –except for the Nave –who remained behind to catch some much needed Z’s and help with the aftermath. It was an extraordinary week with my good ol’ boys………………….

We got settled in last Sunday just in time for the Monday arrivals- Mitch with daughter Rachel and Granddaughter Supreme, Lil. Then Brother Al with his have- bass- will –travel- kit-from the land of Desantis, and finally The Nave after his long day’s drive, from the Heartland. We all made it to folk club on Monday night, which was quite the surreal event and The Bunties passed the musical baton around the sacred drum circle. Tuesday brought Brothers Phil (Jersey) and Johnny 99 (Outer Space) to complete the Bunty arrival contingent. We managed to find a bed for all with brothers Phil and al sharing some heavy duty quality time in the big cozy, king bed…you go, boys….

The week was filled with long dirt road walks, long hoe-down practices with our added local Vermont musical siblings, Marty, Amazing Mike, John and Fiddler Bob…all amounting to a giant Country and /Eastern orchestra.

We ate a lot, we drank a lot, we did other things we shan’t mention……and we played a lot of music…a lot of music.

After 2 practices we were primed for our first show on the Belmont Green, Thursday night. Got set up a-did a sound check, were mixed perfectly for a roving band of 10-11……… and just as people arrived for the splendor in the grass…the storm  from hell descended on us ……our first rain in over a month, and only for the hour we were to start playing-and-…………….only where we were -apparently with a thin line of major t-storm action,….leading to a frenetically berserk hour that had us scrambling to  find tarps and garbage bags for the electronics and a dozen of us huddled under the tiny gazebo, hoping for a pass, while indeed, we were the center of the hurricane….eventually succumbing to our higher power and giving up, moving our mountain of equipment into the library –sanctuary across the street. Wound up playing a truly inspired set of tunes to a tiny audience of around 20, who were wildly enthusiastic, once everyone got dried off.

After a day hiatus on Friday, we hit our stride at our 23^rd annual Tie Dye to honor the retiring Empress of GE on Saturday, and amazingly, despite all kinds of threatening reports, it was just dam hot, but no rain. We did a wildly passionate three plus hour set, that had the local diva gentry dancing in the streets, that more or less made up for the Thursday debacle.

So- what did we learn this week:

• People can actually live in our bunkhouse as Rachel and Lil proved
• Long-boys can handle a week together in close quarters and still consider coming back again
• Apparently (according to a source, I will not name), Indian people have legs to wobbly to ski
• Sometimes smaller is better (sometimes not)
• It is good to pay in sanctuaries
• Plastic Jesus and Cardboard Elvis can live harmoniously
• We should always be careful in invoking the Soggy Bottom Boys (see the pix)
• The Queen is the absolute hostess with the mostest…and tireless
• There is some benefit to having the Festival on someone else’s property and not have hosting duties, while getting appropriately, cosmically prepared for long music sets
• We will never run out of set list tunes
• Our Vermont friends are priceless and our local-musician buddies beyond compare

And the Bunties-Chops keep moving after 45 years…we are the Band of Brothers.

So- the opening quote from our friend, John Manning: as he was drifting away after the show at closing time of The Fest……in a feel-no pain state of clairvoyance-“Imagine that you’re driving down some dirt road, as you are wont to do, and you come across this thing……………………… you are doing” ………….…and you say…………………..…“WOW,….THIS IS The Best of America”

RIP-Sonny Corleone and Bill Russel- two great Godfathers……

Every picture tells a story, story……

Worn out in The Greens.

Ferlin’

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Greetings Earth-Mates:

“And, the gun that’s hangin’ on the kitchen wall dear….is like a road sign leading straight to Satan’s Cage” ……………………………………………………………………. Gram Parsons

Well, it seems like three weeks might be a long time to stay away from The Ramblin’, especially after just getting back to the story again, so a quick and dirty to keep us all in it the never ending loop. Really…. quick and dirty…. Believe!

Just got back from our whirlwind week in the Heartland yesterday and the prep week before is like a blur. Had the whole Mishpocheh (look it up) here for the first Sunday potluck dinner in a while- dinner on the ground with Plaque concerns longing. A veritable feast, highlighted by The Jewish Pig Farmer breaking the necks of several fat chickens and cooking them four different ways, and The Worlds Most Beloved School Marm, who does not eat sugar, making some only- in- Vermont mess of chocolate mousse with a conflagration of sweet fillings and berries, leading to immediate stupor upon consumption

On Wednesday of the leave prep week, we took Linda DD, the Empress of GE out to dinner in Proctorsville for her retirement- sittin’ on the deck of restaurant on the hottest day of the year- baking at 93 in the shade-and then to their music on the green, for three Dead wannabes, who had clearly left their earthly environs, to pursue their inner Jerry, Bobby and Pigpen…. Surreal but quite Dead-like- exceeding expectations………

Caught Music on the Green at ours (catch the little British affectation?) on Thursday with perennial hometown fav, Jeb and friends, in scouting preparation of our turn this week.

Bolted the Manor on Saturday for 12-hour jaunt with the two of us, and three loose animals, in the car, and back to Delaware (as if we never left) in time for dinner.

The rest of the week involved my doctor shit (all good)-  a regular part of life it seems, at some point……………… and a ménage of granddaughters: had Sloanie for two nights, took her up for an overnight with Quin-Lili and Harper in Cleveland that left us a shell of ourselves after 24 plus hours with a 2,3 and 5 year old , did a group outing with the Nave and Suba for Sunday night in the park music and KFC picnic (really) and got to baby sit Sloanie and baby Parker and play 300  rounds of treasure hunt in the back yard.

Easy drive back this weekend with overnight stop in usual Binghamton haunt-and no lost cats.

This is the start of music week here at the Mount. All of the Bunty Station/Steaks and Chops gang- past, present and future will be arriving today and tomorrow for our annul show on the town Green this Thursday and the 23rd Tie –Dye Fest this Saturday. By tomorrow we will have 10 people staying at the Manor, so will be quite cozy and bit wild week and a constant experience in herd moving….so gotta go get the homestead in shape before the invasion.

It’s gonna be a lotta love…….see you soon, , my friends with greater detail.

Stuber

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•