On Wednesday there was an outing in the Hocking Hills at Ash Cave for the kids involved in the Ohio Virtual Academy, so of course Nessa and Izze and my nephew Montana and Izze’s Learning Coach, Shannon and I drove up from Meigs County to the Hocking Hills for a lovely day in the woods and a chance to meet our online teachers in the flesh as well as some of the local kids that are in the program. Now, I’ve been to Old Man’s Cave a number of times but I had never been to Ash Cave before. Beautiful… simply beautiful.

Here’s a little foto gallery:

The parking lot where we meet some of the families

On the walk to the cave

What a beautiful place!

Ash Cave

Not bad, eh?

More perfection!

Nessa at the Cave

The land time forgot

Don't forget to duck your head

A place in the universe

One great shot after another...

Pool in the mist

We're on the upward trail... singing, singing

Bridal veil?

Ice stalagmites

What a sound...

The trail back to the truck...

What a glorious day.

Yesterday, Myron and I drove up to Newburg, N.Y. for a gig in Beacon tonight at the Town Crier Cafe. It’s nice to be playing music again, but somehow, on some days… nature just rules!

Really big show tonight!

The weekend premiered the 17th year of our amazing Fur Peace Ranch. Aside from the great classes we offered, Verlon Thompson with a songwriting class, Jack Casady with a bass workshop and Marjorie Thompson and me with a fingerstyle guitar class, the theme of which was, ‘Love Is Strange, we also had two concert nights with the Marty Balin Band.

Vanessa an Johnny Hurlbut welcome the folks to our 17th year

Here is Tuna’s set list from the first night:

Hot Tuna 33, 2014
The Acoustic Duo
Jorma Kaukonen & Jack Casady
Fur Peace Station
Darwin, Ohio
Saturday, March 22, 2014

1. Hesitation Blues
2. Living In The Moment
3. Trial By Fire
4. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
5. Heart Temporary
6. Bar Room Crystal Ball
7. Water Song
8. In My Dreams
9. 99 Year Blues
10. I See The Light

Living the life I love

Foto by Dennis Powell

It was more than great to see Marty and his friends after all these years.

The man hasn't slipped a bit

Marty played a fabulous two plus hour set and Jack and I joined his for a rousing rendition of Volunteers…

Lloyd Goldstein... playing upright for Marty

Marty’s bass player, Lloyd Goldstein, playing some absolutely amazing music over the course of the two nights.

Here is Tuna’s st from night two:

Hot Tuna 34, 2014
The Acoustic Duo
Jorma Kaukonen & Jack Casady
Fur Peace Station
Darwin, Ohio
Sunday, March 23, 2014

1. True Religion
2. Death Don’t Have No Mercy
3. Sea Child
4. Good Shepherd
5. Barbeque King
6. I Am The Light Of This World
7. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning

A lovely Sunday night for the boys!

There's nobody like this guy...

Foto by Dennis Powell

This time, I brought my LP-295 for the sit in with the boys… nothing like a Les Paul I always say… and some serious rockin’ got done. We played three songs with Marty… Volunteers, Plastic Fantastic Lover and on of Marty’s new songs. Marty also sat in on Jack’s class and gave the students some insights into his art!

Marty and Lloyd were joined onstage by Charles Morrongiello on guitar. Helluva picker, this one!

Here I am with Charles in the green room

What a treat this weekend was… we’ve got to do this again… maybe even a tour!

Jorma, Jack, Marty and Charles

Sue took this pic with my iPhone.

A grand time for all… I can’t wait for the next time we all get together!

The Orphanage in Guiping City

Izze’s ‘Gottcha Day,’ Wednesday, March 19, 2014

In 2007, I was working in Italy when Vanessa and I got the call to go to China to bring our daughter, Israel Love, home to Ohio. You never know when these calls are going to come so families must be ready. Vanessa’s sister Robin, (Lady Robin to all of us) went in my stead and the ladies headed over halfway around the world to Nanning, China.

The first picture they sent us of Izze

We knew even before we saw her first picture that Izze was our daughter, and that she would be ours forever… that she was family even before we met. The Red Thread is everywhere in this story.

When the girls were heading back from China, I drove up to Columbus to meet them at the airport. A late winter storm changed everything and I had to head down from Columbus to Cincinnati to meet them there. When they left the secure area and we walked down to baggage claim, the first thing Izze did when she saw me was to burst into tears. In her young life she had only been around women and a male figure was something new and somewhat disconcerting… especially the beard!

The road from there to here has been an amazing one. The infant who cried when she first saw me performed with her Irish Dance Class on St. Patrick’s Day and went ice skating with me yesterday… is reading at an eighth grade level and is full of love and amazing opinions.

The girls step out!

The process of adoption is like an elephant pregnancy… to say the least it is long and nerve wracking. At the end of the road is boundless love… and a lifetime of family.

‘Could you bring my book downstairs?’ she says to Vanessa? The answer, of course, is ‘Yes!’

I cannot imagine life without her. She is my heart of hearts.

Welcome home Izze… on this day and every day!

'I think I'll have the udon... plain please...

For those of you familiar with Hayao Miyazaki, this little entry needs no elucidation. I first became aware of his work when we took our much younger daughter to see Ponyo. As parents of an adopted child, this masterpiece really had some resonance with us as adults… and the little one liked it too. Last night we went to see his most recent American release, The Wind Rises. This anime feature was a historical drama, and the youngsters didn’t get it in the same way that I, born in the early years of WWII, did. Of course those of us of a certain age, will remember Jiro as the designer of that most famous of Mitsubishi planes… the Zero… that very fast but under armored Zeke.

Anyway, thanks to my daughter, I have now seen almost all of Miyazaki’s films. You will need to see, Spirited Away, Castle In The Sky, and Howl’s Moving Castle.

I don’t know why Miyazaki’s work has resonated to deeply with me, but I’m going to catch up on the rest of it and I’ll find out.

And you should too!

Thursday, March 13, 2014
Skating On Thin Ice, But Smilin’ All The While

So Izze had a skating session at the Bird Arena at OU in Athens this afternoon. Vanessa was working at the Psylodelic Gallery getting ready for Grace Slick’s art show opening next week at the Fur Peace Ranch so I offered to take our girl to the rink. Now I got to thinking… it’s been three decades since I strapped the blades on, but I figured, what the heck, I’ll rent some figure skates and we’ll go together.

When I was nine or ten, I studied figure skating with Dick Button when we lived in D.C. I loved to skate, but figure skating wasn’t really my cup of tea. The ballet requirements were just too hard. Years later when I go turned on to Speed Skating watching the ’72 Winter Games, Jack, myself and Margareta wound up taking some speed skating lessons from Red McCarthy who was teaching in a rink in Los Angeles. (check out the video)

Red... the man... the legend

We had been skating in San Francisco at a rink owned by Harris and Phyllis Legg… also Olympic skaters from the thirties. Harris and Red both barrel jumped and did stunts in the Ice Follies and the Ice Capades. What a treat.

Anyway, training and skating really consumed me in my ‘off’ time from 1972 to 1980. Today as I laced up my rented figure skates, I wondered how it would go. After all, it’s been a very long time and I am, by any one’s measure, an older man. That was the question.

Then answer was… it went great. Izze took it upon herself to pass her lessons on to me and I had such a great time, that I’m buying a new pair of skates, and I’m going to start skating again. Zero impact, great exercise, great fun… and… I know how to do it. Next week, I’m going up to Columbus to the rink there an order some new short track speed skates.

That's my girl

As always… youth leading the way… age following as best we can.

Goodnight Moon

Onward!

Pictures don't do justice to this paint job

Back from Jamaica on Sunday last. Monday and Tuesday were warm… Tuesday was 75 degrees. I took the opportunity to take my Harley Ultra Classic to the shop for some Spring servicing. Just in the nick of time, I might add since yesterday the temperature started to drop and we had a dusting of snow last night. This morning, it was 16 degrees. Not quite Spring yet and a good thing he bike is not ready to be picked up. My bike is not a garage princess and I don’t trailer.

All well and good things were. Yesterday Vanessa was at the Psylodelic Museum at the Fur Peace Ranch getting ready for our opening next week with a concert by Marty Balin and his band and a new Gallery showing featuring the art works of Grace Slick. That left me as the learning coach home schooling Izze. Let me tell you… my hat is off to all teachers of young people. It is so important and so hard to do. We are home schooling right now because we have issues with the Common Core Curriculum that our government forces on the states, but I am not going to get into a political diatribe here. Anyway, she is thriving on the accelerated learning that home school allows for so far. We’ll see how this plays out as she gets over the next couple of years.

Those of you who home school, know how arduous and time consuming it is. Vanessa and I are fortunate that our life style allows for this so far.

Yesterday was History… we got feudal Japan and finished her second grade requirements. She is reading at an eighth grade level and her language arts are off the charts. Today is Science… Thank goodness I’ve got the Learning Coach books… I’ve forgotten more than I can remember to tell you about.

Today she is practicing cursive handwriting and then we’re going to do Science. Later this afternoon, it’s ice skating and I’m going to rent a pair of skates and hit the ice with her. It will be the first time in decades for me. We’ll see how that goes.

Being home is more than great… but it is certainly not kicking back as many of my friends seem to think I would do when I get home.

Life is full, time and energy consuming and good…

Off to do some science…

View from the stage

Last night at the Ramble at the Grand Lido I kicked off the show with this set:

Ramble On The Island
Jorma’s Show
Negril, Jamaica
Friday, March 7, 2014

1. Trial By Fire
2. Living In The Moment
3. I See The Light
4. In My Dreams
5. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here with Larry Campbell
6. Barbeque King with Larry C
7. Children Of Zion with Larry C & Teresa W
8. Bar Room Crystal Ball with Larry C and Teresa W
9. Water Song with Larry Campbell

The night was beautiful… sound spectacular and more great music followed. Today we took a trip around the island, but more about that later. Tonight is the last night of this gig about which more shall be revealed.

The other side of the island

Nessa and Izze and Myron and Mandy and I got down here Tuesday afternoon. It snowed Monday morning at Hillside Farm… we shoveled, plowed and went to the airport. The pace is quite different here in the Caribbean of course, but it is more than easy to adapt to.

Tile at Johnny's cabin.

This is not the Ohio River

In the evenings I got to play with Little Feat as well as David Bromberg and Larry Campbell and the Ramble Band. During the day, we did… well, a lot of things.

Somebody's got to do it... watch the sunset...

New Friends... woof

OK... nuff said...

A man's gotta eat...

Look.. a picture’s a thousand words. I’ll update more after my solo show tonight…

Went kayaking with the kid today… good times…

Well, just about a week ago, Hot Tuna finished up what might be our longest tour with the most number of jobs… ever.

Now the following list brackets the two weeks that I was teaching at Fur Peace Ranch In San Diego so we’re really talking about stuffing all these gigs into about six weeks. Check it out!

Tuna Gigs 1 thru 32, 2014
2/28/2014

1. Hot Tuna 1, The Iron Horse, Northampton, Mass. Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014
2. Hot Tuna 2, The Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, Westhampton, NY, Friday, Jan. 3, 2014
3. Hot Tuna 3, The Flying Monkey Performance Center, Plymouth, New Hampshire, Saturday, January 4, 2014
4. Hot Tuna 4, The Opera House, Boothbay Harbor, Maine, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014
5. Hot Tuna 5, Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, Connecticut, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014
6. Hot Tuna 6, The Wilbur Theater, Boston, Massachusetts, Thursday Jan. 9, 2014
7. Hot Tuna 7, The Keswick Theater, Glenside, Pennsylvania, Friday, Jan. 10, 2014
8. Hot Tuna 8, State Theater, State College, Pennsylvania, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014
9. Hot Tuna 9, The Birchmere, Alexandria, Virginia, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014
10. Hot Tuna 10, The Neighborhood Theater, Charlotte, North Carolina, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014
11. Hot Tuna 11, The Variety Theater, Atlanta, Georgia, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014
12. Hot Tuna 12, Plaza Live, Orlando, Florida, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014
13. Hot Tuna 13, Sunshine Music & Blues Festival, Miner Park, Boca Raton, Florida, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014
14. Hot Tuna 14, Sunshine Music & Blues Festival, Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg, Florida, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014
15. Hot Tuna 15, One World Theater, Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014
16. Hot Tuna 16, The House Of Blues, Dallas, Texas, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014
17. Hot Tuna 17, The Talking Stick Casino, Scottsdale, Arizona, Friday, Jan. 24, 2014
18. Hot Tuna 18, The Rialto Theater, Tucson, Arizona, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014
19. Hot Tuna 19, The Belly Up, Solano Beach, California, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014
20. Hot Tuna 20, McCabe’s Music Store, Santa Monica, California, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014
21. Hot Tuna 21, McCabe’s Music Store, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014
22. Hot Tuna 22, The Tower Theater, Fresno, California, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014
23. Hot Tuna 23, Freight & Salvage Coffee House, Berkeley, California, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014
24. Hot Tuna 24, The Crest Theater, Sacramento, California, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014
25. Hot Tuna 25, Humboldt Brews, Arcata, California, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014
26. Hot Tuna 26, The Rogue Theater, Grants Pass, Oregon, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014
27. Hot Tuna 27, The McDonald Theater, Eugene, Oregon, Monday, Feb. 17, 2014
28. Hot Tuna 28, The Aladdin Theater, Portland, Oregon, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014
29. Hot Tuna 29, The Triple Door, Seattle, Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2014
30. Hot Tuna 30, The Egyptian Theater, Boise, Idaho, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2014
31. Hot Tuna 31, The State House, Salt Lake City, Utah, Friday, Feb. 22, 2014
32. Hot Tuna 32, The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2014

Not bad eh?

Meanwhile, back on the farm, even though we have wintry mix today, Spring was evidenced by birds earlier and by Late Models in the Mall… when I was getting my haircut… Before the FPR, I used to sponsor one of these behemoths.

Go fast... turn left

If you're not the lead dog... the view is always the same!

That’s it for now… gotta walk Maverick, Dog Of Destiny…