Shake, Rattle and Roll...with a Mountain Dulcimer, a Guitar, and a Harmonica!

This afternoon I've been listening to some of my recent recordings.  Here's a sample of the sounds of Table Hill....that's the name of the duo and/or trio that I play in at the Radio Springs Hotel & Pub in Lyonville, Victoria, Australia.  This is an unrehearsed version of "Shake, Rattle and Roll."  Click here to listen!  For wikipedia information about the song, please click here. 

Peace by the Pond

I spent the day taking pictures by the pond.  It was quite peaceful.  I am thankful for that.

Birds in Tasma Gardens, Daylesford, Victoria, AU

Yesterday I finished an iMovie that I have been working on.  It is a bird slideshow.  Since I've been taking SO many pictures of birds this month, I decided to group them into a "birds in July" collection.  All these birds have visited Tasma Gardens in the past few weeks....plus some!  I had to narrow my pictures down to the few that would fit my soundtrack....which was graciously and musically provided by Adrian Kosky.  Thanks, A!

Listening to Recordings from the Radio Springs Hotel in Lyonville

As I type this blog entry, I am listening to recent recordings I made during performances at the Radio Springs Hotel with Phil Mac and Adrian Kosky.....Adrian played guitar, tambourine, and strumstick, Phil Mac played harmonica, bowed saw, egg-shaker, and triangle, and I played a mountain dulcimer.


Reflecting on yesterday's musical moments feels good.  I enjoy thinking about the kindness and generosity of my new friends Ken and Jackie (they are the proprietors of the Radio Springs Hotel & Pub) as well as the smiling faces of the people who happen to be in the hotel during these performances.

After our performance yesterday, Adrian, Phil, and I lingered long enough to hear some wonderful sounds from one of my other new friends, Australia's Queen of the Double Bass -- Liz Frencham, who played beautiful music with her friends Myles White (guitar) and Pete Fidler (dobro).  The trio was fantastic!  At one point, Liz invited Phil Mac to join them for a song  That was pretty cool....hearing my friend, Phil, perform an original poem/song and capture the hearts and attention of the entire pub whilst accompanied by Liz's trio of double bass, guitar, and dobro.  Yes....very cool.  I've got video.

I haven't yet uploaded to the internet any of the sounds that I've been listening to, nor my video clips that I've been reviewing, but I'm looking forward to sharing those things, in time.

For now, here's a picture that, hopefully, will relay the idea.....without an extra thousand words.....of just how warm and inviting the Radio Springs Hotel & Pub in Lyonville, Victoria, Australia, is.  I like it there, and I'll be sharing those sounds soon.

Listening to Recordings from the Radio Springs Hotel in Lyonville

As I type this blog entry, I am listening to recent recordings I made during performances at the Radio Springs Hotel with Phil Mac and Adrian Kosky.....Adrian played guitar, tambourine, and strumstick, Phil Mac played harmonica, bowed saw, egg-shaker, and triangle, and I played a mountain dulcimer.

Reflecting on yesterday's musical moments feels good.  I enjoy thinking about the kindness and generosity of my new friends Ken and Jackie (they are the proprietors of the Radio Springs Hotel & Pub) as well as the smiling faces of the people who happen to be in the hotel during these performances.

After our performance yesterday, Adrian, Phil, and I lingered long enough to hear some wonderful sounds from one of my other new friends, Australia's Queen of the Double Bass -- Liz Frencham, who played beautiful music with her friends Myles White (guitar) and Pete Fidler (dobro).  The trio was fantastic!  At one point, Liz invited Phil Mac to join them for a song  That was pretty cool....hearing my friend, Phil, perform an original poem/song and capture the hearts and attention of the entire pub whilst accompanied by Liz's trio of double bass, guitar, and dobro.  Yes....very cool.  I've got video.

I haven't yet uploaded to the internet any of the sounds that I've been listening to, nor my video clips that I've been reviewing, but I'm looking forward to sharing those things, in time.

For now, here's a picture that, hopefully, will relay the idea.....without an extra thousand words.....of just how warm and inviting the Radio Springs Hotel & Pub in Lyonville, Victoria, Australia, is.  I like it there, and I'll be sharing those sounds soon.

Happy Ducks in Daylesford

This week I have been enjoying the blessing of the beautiful Australian Wood Ducks in Daylesford.  These beauties were too bashful to be photographed last year.  Whenever I would try to capture them with my camera, they would waddle away as fast as they could.  This year, they are hanging around and seem happy to receive my hand-outs.  I'm happy about that.

Mountain Dulcimer in an Australian Mainstream Magazine!

Today I received by mail a copy of The Wanderer magazine, "Australia's Largest RV Club Magazine," July 2010, Volume 25 No 7 issue, which includes my story about making music with a mountain dulcimer on road trips in Australia!  I'm so excited that publishers were interested in my musical mountain dulcimer story which Adrian Kosky submitted to the magazine for me.  Here's one of the pictures we sent in with my story:

From The Wanderer, July 2010

That's a self-portrait I made after a play by the pond one day last year at Tasma House Music and Arts Retreat.....no doubt one of the days spent pondering up my story that I hoped would be published someday.

Click the little magazine picture below to follow a link to the photo album that includes pictures of my mountain dulcimer story, if interested in reading it.

The Wanderer, July 2010

A Picture From the Porch in Daylesford

It seems I am into bird themes this week.  This is a picture I took this morning after brekky, and the beauty in it amazes me.  I am thanking God for showing me this sight.

Another Beautiful Bird

Since I've been exploring the Birds in Backyards site and forum, I remembered this little guy that I photographed in Shoreham, Victoria, Australia, during Easter 2010.  I was so excited about seeing two koalas (in one day) that I forgot about this beauty!  I think this is an Eastern Yellow Robin.  So beautiful!

The close-up makes him look bigger than he was, I think.  So here's another view:

So cute!

The Little Pied Cormorant Came Back

I guess I made my iMovie too soon!  I thought I would never see this bird again after its first visit.....but I was wrong.  I think it's making itself at home in Tasma Gardens!

A Little Pied Cormorant

I've spent the weekend watching this bird

It has been swooping the pond....stalking the goldfish, as I have stalked its stalking.  I googled birds of Australia and found a wonderful website and forum for finding out what's what on this side of bird world and found out that this big bird is called a Little Pied Cormorant.  It was not happy with the camera, but I have lots of pictures of it.  And a movie, too.  This has been my entertainment for the weekend, and it has been good for me.

The Australian birds website is:  Birds in Backyards (Click here to visit that website.)  And the forum that is attached to the website can be accessed by clicking here.