As soon as the railing was up on the deck, Trish promptly hung hummingbird feeders at every corner.  So we were treated to close up in your face aerial combat throughout the summer.  When fall came she hung suet feeders which have attracted a wide variety of birds that she enjoys watching.  We also see an occasional hawk, and I have a pet owl that I see gliding along the treetops in the evenings after dinner.  Bambi, Bambette, and their friends still visit on occasion.  We saw our first rattlesnakes this year.  Kind of pretty, but a rather unpleasant surprise.  I damn near ran into one of them.  We're going to make a determined effort to finally get a garden started up here this spring.

Construction Report

We finished making and installing the oak cabinets and laying the hardwood floor.  We completed (more or less) the music room and the entry way.  Then we finally got back to work outside.  We got the deck built -- a month long project that took all summer -- but it sure is nice.  What a difference a deck can make.  We also managed to finish up the siding, soffit, and facia before winter set it.  We're actually beginning to look almost civilized.  People no longer think they're in Arkansas as they pass our place.  Other than small odds and ends, the only thing left to do on the main house is the front porch.  Fortunately, the fine print in the house warming party contract excludes the garage and basement.  Perhaps Churchill's words are appropriate:  "Though this may not be the beginning of the end, it is, at least, the end of the beginning!"

Bands come, and bands go, and alas the Monroe Sisters are no more.  They played their swan song in Grove this summer and called it quits. Yours truly and the wife, affectionately known as "T & A", have achieved a bit of local notoriety.  People just love to hear me do the infamous "Naked" song.  We, with friends,  also played for a few benefits and parties, including a Jewish Christian revival that was pod cast live overseas to Israel.  Our fame knows no bounds.  Trish got a chance to play with the soon to be famous Chase Foster at the world renowned "Blue Door" in Oklahoma City earlier this year.  We didn't have as much luck weather-wise with the rendezvous this year. The spring rendezvous was chilly.  The fall rendezvous was flat our cold, even frigid.  We've ordered an extra 10 degrees for the spring, and 30 degrees for the fall rendezvous next year.  We've decided to end our rendezvous with our own version of the famous "Burning Man" ceremony (see the pix).   We're looking forward to closing out the musical year with good friends at a  down to earth picking party on New Year's Eve.