Leaving Little Switzerland (last day of bassoon camp for me)

The last day of summer camp - melancholy, bittersweet....

This has been a very nice experience, with some standouts . . .

Getting to know people a little better, for instance:

Yvonne Kershaws album "Canciones" is my new all time favorite bassoon CD. She brought a pile with her, and I sold almost all of them. I can't stop listening to it. She chose great music for guitar and bassoon, including Canadian/Celtic folk songs, South American tango, American Spirituals and a little Vivaldi tacked on for good measure (pun intended). Yvonne is a very sweet and interesting person, which really comes through in the music.

T.D. Ellis (the fourth apparently), and I could possibly be long lost brothers. Who knew?

Mark Popkin is ailing in body - but his intellect and spirit are just like always. Mark was taken for some tests about four days ago, and the docs were a bit unhappy with some results, so he is not coming back for the duration of the camp, but rather, getting some medical attention. Being able to present him with a copy of his incredible book, "Bassoon Reed Making", which I was able to bring back into print this year, was a very special moment. I wonder what will happen next year, if Mark is in worse shape? I sincerely hope that the bassoon camp can continue without the daily presence of the master.

And then there's the book. I've been writing a few different books for about a decade now, and this trip was the place that one of them took off. Tentatively titled "Easy to Reed", it's about oboe reed making with a healthy dose of philosophy and poetry thrown in. I think I should apply to a writers retreat to finish it, there's something about being separated from daily chores, and having some spare time, that really got my writing going.

There are so many other memories, and not enough time.

I'm about to finish packing for the journey home to New Hampshire. I'll have four days to enjoy Sarah and Theo and the garden, and then John Cotter and I turn around and drag twice as much stuff to the IDRS conference in Ithaca. Rather than fly, I'm renting a van and it's road trip time!