Howdy Folks, we're back from three days in the country.

As I was looking through the pics to put up this blog, i realised we had more pics of the journey than the destination. upon further reflection I have determined that to be entirely appropriate :-)

Therefore, for you nutshell inclined people; We had 3 good gigs, people took lots of vid and pics of us playing music, it's bound to be somewhere on the web. i suggest the google.

For thems whats appreciate that travelling is it's own destination, read on. there are a lot of pictures of trees.

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........And so, as Stormcellar tales do, it begins with packing

Rosie and I opted for a hire 4WD this weekend and unfortunately its carrying capacity still isn't as good as a people mover (see previous blogs). Nonetheless, with country driving in mind, we opted for the Germanically named 'Kluger' (Ein Kluger!)

Stealing away from reality on Friday morning to head for the country still smacks of naughty schoolboy. I am sure I should be attending some other task. With the GPS programmed for a wide boomerang around the fire stricken mountains, we headed towards our national capital along the amazing freeway network of Australian Awesomeness (more on that later)

I looked to the sky and thought some sappy 'gee what a bright blue day' Hallmark card thought, right until I realised it was simply, the polarisation of my sunglasses.

Luckily the iPhone camera shares the polarisation, so you and I can bask in the beauty of a slight chromatic illusion.

Pretty.

 It was a lot greener than I was expecting, by and large. With things being what they are you could be forgiven for thinking all forms of vegetation were merely present to provide a fuel load for the next bushfire. Still, green is good.

Travelling once more through our own backyard and comparing it in our minds to travelling through the cornfields of Illinois.

no corn here folks..

This is reasonably busy arterial road between Cowra and Yass, reminding us that civilisation only extends as far as the pavement

We pulled into Forbes in the early evening 

To our deluxe cabin accom

Complete with Gift Basket.

Bless your dear heart Lynn.

It just goes to show that a little thought and attention makes everyone's day, I mean, who wouldn't smile to be greeted with fruit, Cheese and

Organic wine

And remember, a Happy Drummer is a..a...err...Happy Drummer!

The Kalari Lachlan River Arts Festival is a bi-annual event that brings music, theatre, art and performance to Forbes.

This is simply an outstanding effort and it's this kind of community involvement that keeps the heart of rural Australia beating. 

Our first stop was the drumming parade start point where we'd be playing later that evening.

As dusk fell, the music was happening

We took a chance to stop and have some fair dinkum Australian food.

Chinese.

Yes, since the 1800's, the Chinese have been saving us from Bland. In Bathurst we counted 5 chinese places on a single street.True Blue Tucker.

After some very respectable chicken and corn soup we went to the Truck to setup and play.

Cheers to the members of the Ukes of Hazard for sticking around for us and to Terry and Allan for sorting the production. A good night of playing was had

And after our set retired to the cabin to deal with our abundance of Cheese.

Day 2

Just looking at this Blue sky should calm your nerves. I read about it in New Scientist. Go ahead, look at the Blue :-)

We were due to do a set on the mainstage that evening, so we arrived at Frog Hollow (love the name, very wind-in-the-willows) and looked for the dressing room.

Note the organic carpet!

Whilst the setup was happening I stole away to the river bank. I can see why they celebrate the river.

I also took a wander around the stalls where, yep, you guessed it, my fascination with folk art signage continued

A classic

These two young lasses were paying tribute to Raggedy Anne.

Migrating Hay bales

And the most important sign

Appropriately caffeinated and bearing some scented candles of local manufacture, it was time for our set.

Up on stage i spotted some familiar percussion equipment..

We had the wonderful Jo Fitzgerald with us for the Festival, which encouraged the boys to bring out songs like Wine to Water and Even in a lifetime, which are always made better with Jo's presence. 

Cheers to Merill, Lynne and the Festival goers for making it such a wonderful afternoon by the river. Badger would be quite proud.

As we finished, it was time for the big Marimba orchestra to set up. Rosie got some footage so hopefully he'll post it in the next few days.

Day 3

Over breakfast I spotted this article in the local paper, the Forbes Advocate, that made me think 'only in Australia'.

Holding celebrations for a historical armed robbery...

Given that we've played the Ned Kelly reenactment weekend I guess I should say no more :-)

As mid morning sent the light a little paler, the highway beckoned and it was time to hit the road towards Oberon.

You could see the colour change in the landscape from the greens to yellows as we moved across the plains towards Bathurst

Stopping at Jack Duggans in Bathurst for a quiet Ale, we spotted this poster for our great mates Finn

Sydney's Best huh? I immediately posted the controversy to Facebook where some fierce debate (and hopefully some free publicity for the gig) will ensue.

Nice one Jim.

From Bathurst it was a simple and clear run to the foothills of the blue mountains

This broken sign has featured in our pictures for the last three years. I am going to keep taking snapshots of it for as long as it remains so perfect.

We had a great night at the Oberon RSL, starting with a random assortment of acoustic numbers, the most free flowing I've seen the boys ever. No need for set orders, just call'em and play'em. Wow. Normally I get snarky looks if try and change the set order. They must have been pretty relaxed.

We followed up after the big raffle with 2 hours of danceable stuff that had patrons joining in singing, some without recourse to words.

Congratulations to the chap who correctly identified the passage of poetry as being from The Black Swan by Banjo Patterson - that was pretty damn good as it was only 1 stanza from the middle of a poem.

Cheers to Loz, Grahame, Pete, Laurel, Pam and all the folks in Oberon for making that a great way to end a festival weekend.

With news that the roads across the mountain had been cleared (thanks Vertical) we packed, repacked and proceeded up the slopes and down the hills to the Sydney plain and home once more.

The Blue Mountains towns were eerily quiet, even the late night Sunday traffic seemed subdued, as if the whole of the mountains had finally let out a collective sigh as the fires became quiescent.

We have weekend off next week and meanwhile we'll be completing the percussion overdubs for Travelling Song and getting ready for some more recording.

Stay tuned for updates!