Feast of the Hunter’s Moon

[osprey_archer]

I had a whirlwind weekend! The first weekend in October is always the Feast of the Hunter’s Moon, a reenactment of a French trading post that was active in the mid-1700s, and for the first time ever I was not merely a spectator but a participant: on Sunday, I spent all day playing my dulcimer with the Dulcimer Gathering.

First, however, came Saturday, which I did attend as a spectator (although in costume), because I had a friend visiting and because I needed to buy my dulcimer. Hitherto I’ve been using a cardboard loaner from the Dulcimer Gathering (you can get a surprisingly nice tone with a cardboard dulcimer actually), but there’s always a dulcimer seller at the Feast and my plan from the beginning has been to get my dulcimer there, so I could try out an array and find the one that called to me. And I did indeed find a beautiful sweet-toned cherry wood dulcimer.

I also got fry bread and meat pies and a red-and-green cockade for my hat, which may have plighted my troth to God knows what political movement (there were some tartans that I sedulously avoided), but it really put a nice finishing touch on my costume so if I’m now a Jacobite I guess I’ll just have to live with it.

Fortunately, after all this gaiety, Monday and Tuesday were fall break, and I took both days off to recover. On Monday I spent the day with Mom and Dad, who were watching my niece, who is one and a half and talking up a storm. Does anyone understand most of what she’s saying, no, but most of the time she seems to be talking to herself anyway, and she has a special voice that she uses when she’s actually trying to communicate with us: slightly louder and more demanding, as mostly she is communicating her wants. “Up!” “Don!” (Down.) “Kib!” (Crib. She likes to play in her crib.) “Mek!” (Milk.) I’ve heard her say a very clear “ap-pul,” although she didn’t on Monday.

She also seems to call her grandmother “Mama,” having perhaps adopted this as an all-purpose word for trusted female caregiver. Also much easier to say than “Grandma,” of course.

Then on Tuesday I had the day completely off, with no responsibilities, and spent the day happily puttering. I ambled downtown (it’s within walking distance from my place), replenished my stock of notecards at the local artists’ cooperative, crossed the bridge for a happy morning catching up on correspondence in Starbucks, and then recrossed the bridge and stumbled upon the early voting location, which had such a line that I went over to the library to grab a book before getting in line. (The book was Katherine Applegate’s Odder, the story of a sea otter, which is very cute.)

And I painted a watercolor portrait of Bramble! I was not quite brave enough to do it with his eyes open (eyes so often break a picture), but it is recognizably a cat, perhaps slow-blinking at the viewer from the top of his cat tree.

Comments

[littlerhymes]

This sounds like such a lovely weekend. Congratulations on your dulcimer! Is it traditional to name dulcimers, and even if not - will you?

[osprey_archer]

I don't believe there's a dulcimer-naming tradition. We'll see if a name calls to me, though!

[asakiyume]

Hurray dulcimer! What songs did you guys play? ... Well actually I realize if you played all day I'm asking for a long list, but maybe, What are *some* songs you played?

Kids' first words are adorable. I like "mek"--very nice ^_^

And hurray Bramble painting!

[osprey_archer]

As you say, we played MANY songs, but we do have a special call list for the Feast that highlights our older and/or French songs: Alloutte, Frere Jacques, Entendez-Vous le Oiseaux?, The Bear Went Over the Mountain (I can't remember the French name; it's also the tune of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow"). Simple Gifts. (That was the first song I called on my new dulcimer.) Grandfather's Clock, always a crowd-pleaser, because the frogs come out to make the tick-tocks. And of course River, quite a few times, since we were so close to the Wabash.

[asakiyume]

When you say "the frogs come out to make the tick-tocks," what are the frogs? Because I'm thinking... real frogs? Can't be? But maybe?

[osprey_archer]

Wooden frogs! They are hollow and have little mallets that go with them. They also have ridged backs, so for a different type of song you could run the mallet around the ridges for a thwackety-thwack-thwack.

[asakiyume]

Oh neat! They sound cute.

[sanguinity]

What a busy and satisfying week!

Jacobites wore white cockades, so you're safe there. What you are now, I don't know. Wikipedia suggests Bolivian or Portuguese, depending on the arrangement of the colors.

[osprey_archer]

I don't believe Bolivia was an independent entity yet in the mid-seventeenth century, so Portuguese it is, maybe! (My friend got an Irish cockade, which has the benefit of being quite clear, but I wanted the red as well as the green, so.)

[philomytha]

That sounds like a delightful weekend! And now I have looked up the dulcimer, because I'd only heard of hammered dulcimers before, it looks like fun to play!

[osprey_archer]

I play the mountain dulcimer, but we have hammered dulcimers too! Also a violin, a banjo, a couple of tin whistles and recorders (these are played by the dulcimer players who bring them out for certain songs), and a marimbula.

[konstantya]

Echoing what others have said, that sounds like a lovely weekend! Also, respect for your watercolor endeavors! (I haven't dabbled with them since high school, partly because while I love the look of them, I find the actual process of working with them daunting.)

And because I HAVE to ask: There wouldn't happen to be a picture of this Bramble portrait about that you'd be willing to share, would there?

[osprey_archer]

Your wish is my command! The Bramble portrait is in my next entry.

Watercolors are a bit scary tbh. I may not ultimately decide they're my medium, but I'm having fun playing with them for now. But I have my eye on some other art styles to try... once work calms down I'd like to take a charcoal class at the art museum.

[lokifan]

This all sounds lovely :)

[osprey_archer]

Thank you!