Notes From the Cabin: July 3, 2024
pennsylvania: who knew? // wildlife report: cuteness // more shows on the horizon
Hey, there!
It’s now July (!!), and here in the Adirondacks that means summer has officially begun and the vacationers are currently rolling in by the (literal) boatload. But even at the busiest part of the season, there are still lots of moments where it feels like we’ve got the place to ourselves. Like the other morning, when I took this photo…
Tour Report
Our recent outing to the Keystone state inspired an idea for their new motto: “Pennsylvania: Who Knew?”
We didn’t do any research on Bethlehem before heading down there for our show at Godfrey Daniels, so our expectations were low. Imagine our delight, then, as we drove into a beautiful town full of wonderfully preserved historic buildings and tree-lined streets! (If anyone knows the folks in charge of Bethlehem’s city planning and development, please clone them and send them to Nashville immediately.) And then at Godfrey Daniels we discovered the kindest crew of humans running the coziest little listening room! And then that inviting room filled up with the most attentive listeners! What a very special space they’ve created at Godfrey’s. We are already looking forward to our next visit.
The next morning we wandered through a whole bunch of breathtaking Pennsylvania geography (that Susquehanna river—holy moly!) to meet up with Jerry Zolten on our way to a show he’d lined up for us near State College. Jerry and Kieran have known each other for ages, having worked together on producing an album by the Fairfield Four sometime back around the turn of the century. Once we arrived at their place, Jerry’s wife, Joyce, wisely ignored our shrugs about food and pulled out the lunch fixings. It was a lovely and too-brief stop (definitely far too little time to explore all of Jerry’s cool STUFF), but it certainly won’t be our last.
The show there was originally planned as an outdoor event on the lawn of the Colerain Center (aka the Colerain Forges Mansion), but due to the heat dome it had to be moved inside the house. The mansion/art center is a cool and funky historic building in a winsome setting “out in the middle of nowhere” (as one of the show attendees described it), and they’ve only recently begun having public music performances there. We’d been prepared to play for a small crowd, but ended up with a packed room. The acoustics were such that we could play without a sound system, so it was a very intimate, house-concert type of show, and it was a real kick. Once again we were impressed with another freakishly attentive audience (I don’t recall seeing a single cell phone the entire time). Plus they were very receptive to the notion of folk golf!
Speaking of Folk Golf…
After the Colerain show, we overheard some folks chatting about the concept of “folk golf” (which we’d explained between songs) and saying they were going to try it out, because it sounded fun. We were like, “Yeah!! Do it!!”
But then on our drive back to the cabin we were kicking ourselves for not taking a moment to explain how to get STARTED with folk-golfing. As in: what do you need in order to play your very first round of golf? So we’ve updated the Folk Golf blog on our site with a few thoughts for those of you interested in testing the waters.
Movie Corner
Recent viewing we’d recommend: Wings
This 1927 silent (re-released in 1928 with music and sound effects) was the very first winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture. Neither of us had seen it, and we were blown away. It’s absolutely bonkers what they pulled off! Even on our dinky little TV it was breathtaking, so it’s hard to imagine the experience of audiences in theaters at the time. They must have been freaking out.
You can watch the silent version for free on the Internet Archive, but check your library for the version with music and sound effects.
Wildlife Report
It’s baby season here in the Adirondacks. Since we last wrote, we spotted a mama merganser hauling somewhere between 15-20 of the teeniest ducklings on her back. We’ve seen plenty of goslings, fawns, turkey chicks, and wee little bunnies. We stopped on the road the other day to let a grouse and her offspring cross. And there are a crop of groundhog youngsters at the golf course that are the ABSOLUTE CUTEST. (If you know of anything cuter than a baby groundhog, I’d sure like to see it.)
I’m still longing to see a moose or a porcupine or a fisher so I can feel like I’m getting the full northern woodlands experience, but so far no such luck. We’ll keep you posted.
Upcoming Shows
July 13: Paul Smiths, NY / Paul Smith’s VIC
July 27: Cabot, VT / Cabot Music & Arts Festival
Aug 2: Saratoga Springs, NY / Caffe Lena
Aug 23: Putnam Valley, NY / Tompkins Corners Cultural Center
Aug 28: Whately, MA / Watermelon Wednesdays
Local Tidbit
Our much-loved local food source and community hub, the JF Farm Store in Northville, used one of our tunes as the soundtrack to some impressive drone footage of their farm. Check it out!
Stay Tuned
We’ve got the studio set up in the bunkhouse now, and have started doing a bit of recording on quiet evenings. So in between golfing and kayaking, there IS music happening! We’ll try to share some soon.
In the meantime, we always love to hear from you in the comments &/or via email.
Till soon —
xo rg & kk
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Baby raccoons rival baby groundhogs as the cutest things ever. :)
So glad to hear that you enjoyed the trip to my home state of Pennsylvania. I can attest to the charm of Bethlehem and the wonder of Godfrey Daniels, having had some of the best musical experiences (as a performer and audience member) there over the years. Also growing up in State College I know where you were playing and like any small town know Jerry from way back. I hope you all make it down to my new home area of Winchester, VA. Also quite lovely.