Bluegrass & Boat Shopping

Computer issues and very little time has slowed down my blogging over the past week. Just to catch up, we spent last weekend bluegrassing and boat shopping. Friday night we caught Del McCoury in Baltimore (that's Del on the right picking with the 1963 Blue Grass Boys). Then we met some new friends for a jam session which lasted until after three in the AM. Dianne wasn't too happy with me after that, but it was fun and I picked with a very good dobro player. Incidentally, I've had the good fortune to jam with the some of the best dobro players in the world including Jerry Douglas and Phil Ledbetter. A band is starting to take shape here. I'll keep you posted. Saturday we visited some boat dealers and wound up about 40 miles north of Baltimore in a little town called North East, Maryland. A dock there had an open house with many boats to look at and FREE BEER! I've narrowed my searh down to a 21-26ft cuddy/cruiser with a respectable fishing deck. I'd much prefer a Sea Ray but we're also looking at other makes. After the boat show we had steamed clams and more beer at an Oyster Bar in the town's antique district. I resolved to get some hip waders and a clam rake and try to scrape some up around our dock.

In other news, we're back into a winter weather pattern of gray, windy and cold days. Tuesday night I tagged along with Dianne to a dinner centered on treating wildlife rabies. Since Cornell has a very active ag program a lot of her lobbying concerns farm and outdoor issues. I had an amazing steak and learned a lot about how they're treating foxes, racoons, and coyotes in the wild. Ironically, last week I visited our local vet and spent way too much money on flea treatment for the cats. When I learned that our dinner was sponsored by the same company that made that treatment, I felt a lot better about that purchase!