Fritz and Fagan, and Philip

I'm hoping I have finally managed to upload this cutting from the Red River Miner.
The photo shows me at the Aspencade Festival, 2006. (Thank you Fritz and Kerry for allowing me to reproduce this article)
In one ear is Fritz Davis and in the other, Jeff Fagan. Yes they surprised me. I had no idea they were there until that fuzzy beard appeared to my right. So here we are, Fritz, Philip and Fagan in action once again. The article was written by Fritz and the photo was taken by Ray Seibert of Dallas, Texas. Aspencade is a very nice festival celebrating the turning of the Aspen leaves to their beautiful yellow. At this time of year it can be a little cool, especially at 10:00am., the time I started. This year the weather was quite nice and Red River is such a great place to be during the fall.

Thanksgiving 2006

We had thanksgiving at the lake. There were fourteen of us and we had a great time.
Philip and Nora stayed over through Sunday and we managed to hike one trail and part of another. Friday and Saturday at the Beef Baron went well even though there must have been quite a few people out of town. On the way back to Athens we listened to Georgia Public Radio as Dr Barbara Brown Taylor talked about her new book.

Salida, Colorado.

Well, I sold my little house in Red River but still have the other one. My plans were to purchase a place in Salida, Colorado but that hasn't happened. I was looking for a little Victorian on E. through G. street but they seem to be in short supply right now. As you must already know, Salida is my favourite Colorado town. I'm taken with the number of cyclists, the local tolerance for them and the totally flat area the town is located upon, plus all the opportunities that exist for recreation.
I'll miss the little house in Red River but I know the new owners will enjoy it as much as I. I'm still looking in Salida. If you have never been there you need to take a look.
Today I talked with my friend Ray Seibert in Dallas. He makes incence sticks using the resin from pinion pines collected after it has fallen to the ground. It is collected by the inhabitants of Taos Pueblo. The sticks smell great and take me right back to Red River. I ordered some to see me through until January.

At the lake

I'm at the lake and have been here since Tuesday, except for going to Atlanta for one day and work at the Beef Baron. It is so peaceful here and I sleep well. Cornelia has got to be so noisy lately with trains, sirens, lawnmowers and leaf blowers, neighbours dragging out their trashcans at 6:30am and car alarms that fire off for no particular reason. I had forgotten how peaceful the countryside is and how we have all taken noise pollution for granted. It would be nice to move back to sanity and a simpler, quieter life.

Saturday at the Beef Baron

Saturday was a really nice, busy night at the Beef Baron. I got to see a lot of friends I hadn't seen in a lot of years. It was also the busiest night they'd had since the re-opening. When I arrived at 6:45pm every parking place was taken. I'm pleased for Fred things are going so well. If you're in the area, stop and say "hello". I'm there almost every Friday and Saturday through the end of the year and start at 7:00pm. I'll try to remember to take some more photographs.

Schaefer westernwear

Here I am about to leave the studio and head over to the Beef Baron.
Something that concerns me is the loss of manufacturing jobs here in the U.S.A. The shirt I'm wearing was made in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, by Schaefer Ranchwear.
It seems that if they can make a profit with American labor then so should the other companies who have shipped their jobs overseas. Thanks Schaefer for quality, American made products.