Old Songs Weekend

Every June I head out to the annual Old Songs weekend folk music festival at an old county fair ground near the rural town of Altamont, New York. Unfortunately dogs (except for service dogs) are not allowed on the festival grounds so that I could not bring Olive with me. Fortunately I had several offers from dog-loving friends to look after her for the weekend. I decided on my sister and brother-in-law, since Olive seems very comfortable with them and their home.

The festival includes a tenting area which is what I have been doing since I started going there in 1991. I have a small tent just large enough to sleep in comfortably (with the help of an air mattress) but small enough so that putting it up and taking it down can be easily and quickly done by one person. I had a good time Friday night and Saturday; a session of Quebecoise music alone was well worth the trip. Unfortunately the weather turned quite wet Saturday night just before the evening's main concert program. My tent seems to have developed a small leak (which I believe I can easily fix with a spray sealant) making sleeping on rainy Saturday night much less pleasant than dry Friday night. In the morning I evaluated the schedule and found that most of what I had been planning to do would be outdoors. The weather outlook was not good, so I reluctantly took down my tent in the rain and stashed it in my car, changed into some dry clothes, and left the festival for hot coffee and a vegetable omelet breakfast at a nearby diner. My tent and sleeping bag were wet enough that I wanted to put them in a place to dry before any mildew developed. I also was anxious to get back to my border collie.

When I got home I figured that I could get a number of things done more easily and quickly without Olive pestering me to toss her ball or otherwise pay attention to her. I set up my tent in my living room to dry, hung the sleeping bag in my dry basement on a clothesline, did a load of laundry, and took a shower. Then I called my sister and let her know I was on my way.

As I expected, Olive was quite happy to see me after a two day separation. I was informed over tea that she was reasonably well-behaved, ate well, and kept the family busy. Hmmm.....doesn't sound as if she missed me THAT much. :-(

My friends Kathryn and Mark, who I visited in the Berkshires a few weeks ago, have sent me some photos taken during the visit (see my previous blog entry). The photos were impressive.

Note the viaduct in the background, the remnants of an old mill.

"Look at me in the water!"

At the Buhrmaster Barn contra dance: her eyes are aglow with happiness (and camera flash)!