;~)

Just in case anyone is worried about us, we're having a great time hold up in Danny Spooner's house in Daylesford, Victoria. Danny and his wife Gael are wonderful hosts and their home is a joy to explore, all kinds of odd rooms added on by generations of people, bizarre roof lines, a flock of chickens, a lovely vegetable garden, not to mention lovely flowers, all in bloom to greet us, and two ancient resident cats to befriend.

We're learning about the old gold mining days, the Eureka Rebellion, the art museums, the current tourist trade, local wines, smoked dead critters, other interesting things to eat, or interesting things that might eat us. And I had no idea that the surrounding landscape was shaped by active volcanoes just a few thousand years ago.

Danny and I did a live radio interview to help publicize the Malden Folk Festival. Once I got over forgetting the first line of my favorite C. Fox Smith song, I did quite well but I'm somewhat humbled. I hope to do better at my workshop Saturday morning, and I do hope a few folks show up.

We've been having a fine time swapping songs, and Danny does have a nice version of "The Yangtse River Shanty," maybe the best one yet!

The weather is a few degrees cooler than Sydney so we're glad that we brought some long-sleeved shirts in addition to the boating jackets. But it's really nice to enjoy spring again, while our friends back home are enjoying fall.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble