We went to
OREGON IN JUNE

for the wedding of Jeremy, one of Tim's stepsons in Klamath Falls; met a bunch of really nice people there and had a good visit with Tim's ex-wife Phyllis. We ate at the restaurant of Tim's other stepson, Andy, in Portland (Oregonian restaurant of the year, Pok Pok); then stayed with friends Marty and Julia near Leanne's old stomping grounds in Eugene, and visited our Cousin Kate in Seal Rock, who works at the Canyon Way bookstore/restaurant/bakery/coffeehouse in Newport.

We did a show at the Canyon Way, we told stories and played music on concertina and a borrowed uke. We got a respectable audience, and people liked the music just fine without the harp, which was interesting. (Our touring has been somewhat limited ever since we decided not to fly the harp anymore, fifteen or so years ago.)

Rebecca, the Newport town librarian, came to our Canyon Way show; she remembers us from ten years ago when she caught us do another good set at a big storytelling festival outside Seattle. She likes us a lot, she says.

So she's booking us
2 WEEKS OF OREGON SHOWS

in libraries along the coast June into July of next year. We'll keep you posted. If anybody has an idea for a place we should go while we're out there, please get in touch & let us know.

We did a bunch of summer shows
IN VERMONT
which is just about our favorite thing to do in the world. Lucky us!

It felt really good to be back at Basin Harbor Club again, after last year's break. We really missed it, it's been a 17 year run. The good news is, they really missed us too, and told us so a lot.

As usual (so far) we showed up at camps, festivals, resorts, weddings and parties, and libraries around the state.

This picture
was taken at the Lyndonville library summer reading program show about a week ago, by Amy Nixon, for the Caledonia Record (thank you Cal Rec).

That picture
helped publicize our library shows this summer. The reading program theme was "Make a Splash At Your Library," which translates into: "like, stuff about water." So we rechristened our King and the Thrush show Jackal's Pond for the duration. We drew fine audiences, and they and we and the librarians all got happy.

Library shows don't pay so well, but they are wonderful in other ways. How many other places really want to give you their stuff to take home for free, and then somehow make that seem normal? What a great tradition to be a part of.

Storytelling began to disappear from everyday life in America just about the time libraries took on their modern form, back in the mid-eighteen hundreds. And libraries immediately became storytelling's number one refuge.

I have loved libraries, anyway, from an early age. Really loved them, crazy about them like Elliot Rosewater was crazy about fire departments. I used to take the subway downtown when I was a kid in Philadelphia, walk down the Parkway from City Hall to the Central Branch, and read and read and read. And listen to records. And look at stuff in the Rare Book Room. And nobody ever asked me why I wasn't in school.

PONDER'S FOLLY part 1

This year Leanne started buttercup squash from seed. I scoffed: nonsense! Too early, I said, they'll be much too big by the time it's warm enough to put them out. And they did get awful big for their peatpots. But we put them out anyway, and it was a warm early spring, and we kept them watered and covered them up during the cold snap, and behold! (Thank you Vermont Compost!)

That's 6-foot asparagus fern in back there, that the vines are growing up & into. We ate tons of asparagus this spring, first time we've ever really had enough. This was our 8th summer here, we begin to feel like we're taking hold.

PONDER'S FOLLY part 2
A cabbage-moth-proof tent made out of bamboo, tennis balls, nylon tutu lace and clothespins surrounds our brussells sprouts. I scoffed: nonsense! -- and it does look a little Fellini-esque, but by golly it really keeps out the worms. Alas, the lace deteriorates from the UV after a couple of years and starts ripping, we're going to have to modify the system next year.

PONDER'S FOLLY part 3
Actually Delicious Stuffed Big Zucchini
I scoffed: nonsense! such a thing cannot exist. But it does! Slice in half, scoop out the seedy part, sprinkle salt and pepper, cover with a slurry made of olive oil plus lots of basil, chopped fresh hot peppers & crushed garlic (about a head for each giant zucchini) with a small dash of fish sauce and soy sauce. Shake crushed red pepper over the slurry. Fill/cover with a mix of turkey sausage, coarsely chopped canned black olives, and crumbled feta. Lay anchovy filets across the top and bake at 375 until thoroughly done-- 45-90 minutes. Remove from oven. If the filling has gone watery, press in w.w. bread cubes. Cover with grated hotpepper jack cheese. You can stop here and freeze it for later (in which case it doesn't have to be quite so thoroughly done.) Or, return to oven or run under broiler until the cheese is melty brown. Drizzle liquid in pan over top, then serve with a very simple tomato sauce, grated romano, and (if you like) more crushed red pepper. MMMMM. Like pizza, it's great cold for breakfast next day.

In 2002 I began a Calais School residency by telling my old stand-by, "Dimwit," a Jack Tale version of the three-brothers story about a battle of wits between a Princess who always has to ge the last word and a clever fool. Afterwards, a sixth grader told me, "I know another story about that guy, it's a family story, we tell it in my family."

This never happens, but sure enough, he told us a fine old fairy tale, the real deal, He spoke with great simplicity and authority, telling his story over and over in front of many different audiences, and it never failed to magnetize.

Here are the boy's words, taken from a live performance. Try saying it aloud, simply, one thing after the other like the verses and choruses of a song. I hope you'll agree that it is a wonderful tale.

Nick tells Simpleton

Once upon a time,

there were three men. A big brother, a smaller brother, and the smallest brother, who was named Simpleton. And they went off in the world to seek their fortune.

And soon along the trail they came upon an anthill.

And the big brother said, “Let’s squish’em.” And the medium sized brother said, “Yeah, let’s do.” And Simpleton said, “No, they aren’t bothering us, let's let the ants be.” And they all agreed to go with Simpleton, and they all rode on.

And then, soon after, they came to a pond, with giant trees around it, and grey, clear water.

And the biggest one said, “See that duck swimming out there? Let’s go kill’m and eat’m.” And the medium one said, “Yeah, let’s do.” And Simpleton said, “No, let the duck be, we’ll find other means of food.”

So then they agreed to go with Simpleton. And they walked on until they came to a giant oak tree, with a beehive on one limb.

And the biggest brother said, “Let’s smoke’m out.” And the medium sized brother said, “Yeah, let’s do.” and the smallest brother, Simpleton, said, “No, we can find something somewhere else, let's let the bees be! ”

And so they agreed to go with Simpleton, and they walked on until they came to a great castle. And in front of the castle there was a King, crying. And they all said together, “Why are you crying, Mr. King?” And the King said, “Three of my daughters have been plunged into a deep sleep, and I do not know how to get them out.” And the biggest brother said, “Well, we shall help you. What shall we do?” The King said, “There are three tasks you must do before you can get to my daughters.” And they all asked what it was-- what the first one was.

And the king said, “You must go into the forest and find one thousand pearls. This is before sunrise tomorrow.”

The oldest brother said. “This is easy! I shall do this in half that time!” And so the oldest brother went into the woods and found one hundred and fifty-three pearls, and fell asleep. At sunrise the next day, he was turned into stone.

The medium sized brother said, “I shall do this better than my bigger brother.” and he went into the woods and found ninety-three pearls and he fell asleep. And he was turned to stone.

And then Simpleton went into the woods and said, “I shall try.”

And he went into the woods, and he found ten pearls. And before he fell asleep, the queen of the ants came up onto his finger and said, “You may rest now, friend, and I shall help you.” And so Simpleton went to bed. And all the ants in the queen’s colony picked up as many pearls as they could find and put them in a large pile next to Simpleton. And when Simpleton woke up, he brought all the pearls to the King.

And the King said, “Well, the next task is, you must dive to the bottom of a great lake and retrieve a golden key.”

So Simpleton marched through the woods until he got to the edge of a lake. And on the lake was a duck. And the duck waddled over to Simpleton and said, “I shall get the key for you. You may rest now.” And the duck dived to the bottom of the lake and picked up the key and brought it back to Simpleton and jumped in his lap.

And Simpleton brought the key to the king. And the king said, “Now you must climb to the highest tower and find out which girl has eaten the sweetest thing before they went to bed.”

So Simpleton climbed to the highest tower, unlocked the door, and as soon as he opened the door, in through the window flew the Queen Bee, and the Queen Bee said, “I know there’s one of these girls who eats honey! I shall figure out which one for you.”

And the Queen Bee landed on the lips of the youngest daughter and said, “This one! This one! This girl has been eating honey!” And Simpleton went over and shook the girl. And all three of them woke up with startled expressions on their faces.

And the king came huffing and puffing up the stairs after Simpleton. And the King said, “You may have three wishes, now that you have awakened my daughter.”

And Simpleton said, “I wish that my two brothers were not stone. And for my second wish, I wish that we could all marry your daughters. And for my final wish I wish that we could live happily ever after."

And so it was: the brothers changed back from being stone, and they all three married the princesses. But Simpleton married the youngest because she was the prettiest. And they lived

happily ever after.

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Weatherbeard (CD)

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