Utopian weekend, Flurry of dancing, singing, & music

These are pictures from the Flurry in Saratoga Springs, NY which happens every President's Day weekend. You would love it if you like smiling, dancing, music, happy people, all ages, spinning around and getting high, no drugs, no alcohol, no ego!!!! Not one person spent a lot of money on an outfit to wear to this thing!

4000 plus people gather for something like 800 different events of all the above including the HUGE contra dance you see in the photo. Imagine. Dancers from 2 to at least 80's if not older. So many young (teens, 20's, etc) and young feeling people are here that you feel you have gone to heaven because everyone is happy. My fave was a French Circle Dancing from the 16th century which had us jumping up on a beat. It was called something like popping peas. Quite esoteric.

The other pics are about the teens, the children, the English Country dance and one of Bill Vanaver sitting around practicing with friend.

Think about joining next year. Oh yes, the pic of me is my new crazy collar knitting pattern. It uses all your leftover yarn.

Accepting Love

Here I am now, living in Kingston, New York. Just a few miles away the Catskill mountains lounge serenely waiting for snow to nuzzle them. And in another direction, the Shawangunk mountains are, in their purity, holding the energy of the original lay of the land when natives were here. I have fully given over to making and creating and quiet contemplation. In the past few weeks I put away many pears from my tree, some in jars for jam, gorgeous red peppers, and have mucho chicken stock frozen, waiting for cold winter evenings to warm up the insides.

All in all the fall has been a beauty so far and more to come. The dancing here is outrageously good with local venues attracting a night crowd of experienced dancers who are dedicated to twirling and stepping to the rhythms of zydeco, my favorite, waltz, contra, salsa, west and east coast swing, country and western, English country, squares and of course I am still doing African here with Pam and Mimo and several drummers.

And what's all this about accepting love? It came to me today that so many of us are surrounded by it and don't even know it and don't let it in even when it comes and hits us upside the head. Well, not literally, but the feeling of love is always in the air and I just think that if one is interested it is good to start by opening up and feeling it inside and all around and hold onto that feeling and it will permeate and become value added -- a treasure that we have been wanting for a long time. A longing that consumerism has not been able to satisfy. So I for one am going to open up and accept that feeling of love and see what happens, become permeable. It might be the only true antidote for fear. It's gonna be good.

These photos are from this summer at the Ashokan Reservoir which is surrounded by the Catskills and of Doug and his beautiful sculptural property in Vermont with dear Pixley.