The Bovine Bugle

Barndance II a big success!

Above left: Some harvest time decor after tha dance; Above right: the scene of Barndance II.

What a great time everyone had Saturday night at Barndance II. (See the Sept. 21 entry for more about this event!) All the hardwork that went into getting ready for it was definitely worth it. Through the day sister Patty oversaw the final decorating and setup while Karen and I snuck away to son Ben's X-C meet in East Montpelier. We arrived back at the farm around 3:30 to find everything looking great, and the afternoon chores well underway. Chores were done and everyone was getting cleaned up when the band arrived.

The band, Ten Rod Road, arrived in two Volvo and one Subaru stationwagons. Welcoming smiles, handshakes,and hugs were shared and the band went right to work setting up their gear. Mom made sure the band was fed, taking orders for turkey sandwiches made with Howmars Farm turkey. With a final tune-up and sound check they were ready to go. Shortly after 7 o'clock the band started to play and the people began to arrive.

Relatives and friends arrived with food to share, chairs to sit in to rest after a twirl on the dance floor, and stories, jokes, and news to tell to everyone they met. Toddlers, grade-schoolers, teen-agers, and teen-agers at heart all took a turn dancing to the rock-and-roll buzzing from the band. And when the band took a break, the food table was quickly swarmed, the coolers were slowly emptied, and marshmallows were toasted on the bonfire blazing in the fire pit that Aunt Patty and her nieces and nephews had made a few days before. One of Karen's cousins, around the age of 40 or so, actually had his first S'more that night!

By midnight the band was packed up and headed to a nearby hotel for the night. The dancers that were left slowly packed up their things, piled them into their vehicles, shouted their thanks, and headed down the dirt road to bed. Two campers set up on our lawn, on belonging to Karen's brother Kris and the other belonging to Patty's good friends Ray and Denise, were filled will sleeping party-goers. Five hearty souls--Patty, Ben, Kris, Karen, and myself--sat chatting around the dying fire, reliving the evening's events and just sharing some time under the beautiful 3/4 full moon that shone down brightly from the clear night sky. We finally called it quits about quarter to 2. Boy, morning chores were going to come awfully early!

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

Below, kids and cousins in attendance show off their t-shirts autographed by the band members.