Dear Friends,

I'm on the eve of much-anticipated vacation to the islands of Maine and looking forward to both cool weather and rain. My garden is in shambles, with the notable exception of a bumper crop of a wide variety of hot peppers. My lawn crunches when I walk on it. The only things getting our meager water ration are the venerable old maples around the yard. Local and regional farmers are bearing a greater share of the burden than I, but it's been a weird and withering summer.

The year began more temperately. My annual Left Coast Tour began with a rendezvous with my old friend Utah Phillips up in Nevada City, California. (Three different states in one sentence!) I visited old friends and communities throughout California and Florida getting home in time to watch the Grammys from the comfort of my own home and family. My predictions were off a bit this year. While I correctly conjured that I would walk away empty-handed a fourth consecutive year, it was Elmo (really!) and not my pick, Tony Bennett who took home the gold. Springsongs is in the field of possible nominees for this next year and we'll resolutely throw our hat in the ring once again and mount the Drive for Five.

I licked my wounds at a rousing Folk Alliance Convention in balmy Albuquerque, New Mexico. Local 1000 was again a major presence at the gathering and our Showcase Free Zone hosted some absolutely transcendent singing sessions. We're well on our way planning the 2000 Convention in Cleveland, one of my favorite towns, and plan to blanket the city with music and dance in mid-February.

Son Peter and I spent ten days in Nicaragua during his spring break. One of my best pals, Eduardo Baez, hosted us once more. His work with Libros Para Niños continues to expand and impress, offsetting the desperation the country endures after years of natural disasters and political opportunism. While there are signs of life among the many who were deposed and depressed by the onslaught of Reaganism and now the IMF and World Bank, the veneer-thin economy booms for the few, while unemployment figures in the 40-50% range haunt the many. For a poetic travelogue of our trip, visit the Nicaragua Journal section of the WWW site.

The balance of the spring was spent in communities far and wide. I had the pleasure of visiting the amazing Indiana Fiddlers Gathering and the honor of closing the final Southern Michigan Hammer Dulcimer Festival. Kudos to the organizers and supporters of both of those wonderful events.

The finale of my touring season, however, was the Guy Clark Great Southern Golf Scramble up in Ann Arbor, MI. I was shamed into finally participating…not being a golfer…by the involvement of Christine Lavin, who I figured had to be a worse golfer than I. The other "celebrity" participants were blues great Chris Smither and, of course, Guy Clark. We had a great time performing together Sunday night and then amusing one another (and hundreds of other real golfers) Monday. It was great fun and I know Jim Fleming will have years of stories to tell about my prowess about the links. Tiger has nothing to fear from this quarter.

The boys have had an active summer…one that, I know, they fear is slipping away far too fast. Will, an incoming high school senior, took a filmmaking class for a couple of weeks and his 7-minute film about an old Charlottesville neighborhood will debut at the Virginia Film Festival this October. His computer consulting business keeps the rest of his free time unfree. Peter, after a sweaty summer of league lacrosse, found employment courtesy of a new local ice cream parlor.

Me? I've been writing, practicing my circular breathing on the didgeridoo, reading up a storm and lamenting the fact that the rivers are so low that there's no real trout fishing to be had. My new Huss & Dalton guitar is a dream and I hope you'll have a chance to see it first hand at a concert hall or festival near you. See you in January and, hopefully, out on the road before then.