hi all;

I am back home in Bostpn after a month spent out at Brushwood Folklore center in western NY state. Very strange transition as always. The hardest part is getting used to being indoors again after sleeping in a tent and being constantly outdoors for so long...Had a great time, even including the pouring rain of ther last three days there. Met lots of new friends, reconnected with old ones, performed a few times (solo and with band), gave workshops, etc. Went through some difficult stuff, too--pagan gatherings are always good for offering personal challenges of all varieties...

Came home to no keys in my mailbox (which is where they were supposed to be) and having to break in, my long distance service shut off (they did not get the payment I sent on time), as well as a major construction project behind my house (cranes and bulldozers ripping trees up from a secluded wooded area near Franklin Park, starting its horrendous noise at 7 AM...and a student who flunked out last semester calling at 8:20 AM to ask for a grade change...

Anyone else come back from a month or more retreat in the woods to find they can't figure out why they live how they do? Culture shock, yes, but also a clarity that sets in when one gets away from it all...

Ah well. Back to work. Nice to see the Mudcat still u