We stayed through Monday am & took a leisurely drive home, stopping to pick strawberries, buy fresh rhubarb, & have a lobster lunch at a restaurant near Albany that Sandy Paton recommended (Thanks, Sandy--yum!!!). It was the perfect ending to a great weekend. We got back to real life at about 3 pm, exhausted but happy.

As Burke stated, we had some inconvenience on Sat. from rain (including many of us having flooded tents), but we set up & broke down camp w/ dry conditions. Friday night was fine, all of Sunday was acceptable, weather-wise, & Monday morning was just wonderful! SINSULL, wish you had risked it & come.

We arrived at about 6 pm Friday & camping spaces were pretty tight. By dumb luck, we ended up right next to kendall & Peg & Dharmabum & all of us stayed through Monday, as did some great folks from Ontario & others.

I didn't manage to see all the Mudcatters who were there, but I did meet some for the 1st time, got better acquainted w/ others, & had some chances to chat w/ those who are already near & dear. I still get such a kick out of the way we can continue thread discussions in person that we've started on the Internet, without dropping a beat! Felt just like home away from home! Susan A-R, I'm sorry I missed you!

I'm shy about singing, so I mainly sang along. Highlights for me were the chorus songs & gospel sessions on Sunday. Boy, did we get in a lot of spontaneous harmony-making in large groups! That has got to be good for the soul! Berryman & Berryman sang a new song that explained the ecological problems of the world have been caused by Noah leaving certain animals off the ark; it was really funny! Barry Finn sounded wonderful & it was truly a joy to see him & meet his wife! I had the chance to meet George Ward & to tell him how much I enjoy his song, "You Gotta Talk My Language" & how I've used it w/ my students. He seemed really pleased to have the feedback. We helped the Patons break down the Folk Legacy stand at the end of the weekend. If I had never met anyone through Mudcat except the Patons, it would have been enough.

I did sing a little bit at the song circle Sunday evening in the campground. And I gave a personal concert of a few songs that are special to me to one Mudcatter.

Bill Sables, you were missed; Old Songs is no longer complete for me w/out you! Catspaw was much on our minds & in our thoughts, as we were away from our computers & couldn't check his progress. As soon as a walked through my door at home, I checked the Mudcat threads for news!

As others have said, I was proud to be associated w/ Mudcat. Many talented folks who were active participants this weekend are Mudcatters & the site/community is becoming ever more widely known. Oops, Max, I see another upgrade coming soon!

We are gonna have to think seriously about trying to make it to the D.C. Get-Away in October. Times like these shouldn't be missed; they add flavor to life.

love,

bbc