I am shocked and saddened by John's death. John was such a fine player and a gentleman! He encouraged me on my mountain dulcimer journey and I am grateful to him for doing so.
Thank you, @geoff-black, for letting us know here at FOTMD and for including these wonderful photos. I offer my deepest sympathy to John's wife, Angela, and to you & all who knew John.
@dusty-turtle I'm glad to see Joellen getting notice, too! In my view, her Pelican Ballet cd is one of the best recordings in my mountain dulcimer collection-- and I have lots of cd's in the collection. And her mountain dulcimers are works of art.
@don-grundy So glad you were able to make music outdoors!
Friends, the international day event called Play Music On The Porch Day is always the last Saturday in August-- not far away. Do you have your tune chosen yet? If not, you have plenty of time and can even decide on a tune at the last minute. :)
I just watched the video (with this article) featuring a young musician out of N. Ireland and enjoyed seeing her very much.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-northern-ireland-57510337
Yes, @dusty-turtle, that's the collection. After all these years, I'll get to listen to Blue straight through.
Dusty's call of Bonaparte's Retreat sounds right to me. If memory serves, I think I heard Don Pedi say some years back that he thought that "snake charmer" part was a later addition to the tune.
Great video, Dan-- so glad you shared it!
I've wanted Blue yet don't have it. Yet. I've pre-ordered a new collection coming out from JM in a few weeks and it includes Blue.
Somewhere around a baker's dozen, @kevin-r yet I have about 5 of them promised to a couple young players. In addition, I have 3 bowed dulcimers and one of Michael Fox's Dulcijos (which is a little 3-string banjo).
John, with one exception, I am in the process of thinning the herd here. We're thinking we're going to get a much smaller house (and no steps/next to none) someday. Even if I don't own one of your beauties, I admire them greatly.
John, that Will Singleton dulcimer is a treasure!
@james-phillips Have fun catching up with your mom and playing Scrabble!
@susie I'm glad Nightbirde touched your heart-- she touched my heart, too.
I saw this America's Got Talent video this morning and found it very moving. The young woman in it is originally from the county just north of where I live. Also, I saw a young real-life friend of mine post that he & she have been lifelong friends.
Jill, when my tuners have seemed to have too much give, I've tightened at the screw end of the button and it works. So, as the first way to address the opposite problem, I second Dusty's suggestion.
I've never participated in a Zoom gathering yet I think it's a great idea!
PS- The link to the TTAD site for the zoom only works if one is logged into the site, I think. When I was logged in it worked when I was logged out it didn't.
Susie, enjoy that lovely new Ginger!
There may be some enablers here at fotmd yet I'm not one of them. 
My apologies for the odd spacing on the posting! I have tried to compact things yet have not been entirely successful. I hope you like reading the tribute to Larkin!
Here is a lovely and lovingly written tribute to Larkin posted on facebook by a dear music friend of mine, Kim, and used with permission here:
Most everything I know about the dulcimer I learned from Larkin Bryant. Almost every Friday afternoon for five years, I would go to her house for a dulcimer lesson (with an old-time fiddle lesson thrown in occasionally). We'd sit in straightback chairs in her front room across from her piano with our backs to the windows so the sunlight could shine in onto our sheet music. The sheet music was for me, as Larkin could play anything from her heart and memory. Her elderly black and white cat, Sweetie Pie, would snuggle in on Larkin's lap in the space between her dulcimer and stomach. Ariel, Larkin's beloved Weimaraner, would sit directly on top of my feet, chewing her heavy-duty blue rubber dog bone until she fell asleep. Mr. Kitty and Hannah, her two other cats, usually found spots in our instrument cases to curl up and snooze. We'd usually start our lessons catching up with news in each other's lives. Larkin always took time to ask and genuinely cared about what was going on my life. She was a fantastic listener and always spoke carefully and with wisdom.
After talking a bit, we'd play music! She was a wealth of repertoire and music history, and she loved telling me the stories behind the songs. I soaked up everything I could. She would often walk me out to my car after my lesson and we'd talk about the many beautiful plants and flowers she had growing in her front yard. It seemed she even knew everything about those as well! A couple times, when I'd go back to my next lesson, she would have a clipping of one of the plants or a cutting of some of the flowers I had admired to give to me.
) She even generously offered to let me display some of her precious antiques at my wedding, and I gladly took her up on that offer. But even more special to me than displaying those beautiful antiques at my wedding, was having her play at my wedding. She played her mountain dulcimer during the lighting of the unity candle and then she played several Celtic and fun old-time tunes on her hammered dulcimer and fiddle at our reception. Most memorable of all was a surprise she had planned. As Jon and I were walking to our car to leave town, Larkin followed behind us and began playing a farewell fiddle tune for us. That was so special to me. 
@steven-berger So, you're who has that checkerboard TMB John built-- I remember it! You've got a cool collection of instruments which, I imagine, give you lots of joy in making the kinds of music you want to make.
@susie I can imagine those little Gingers are much handier to have when traveling and space is at a premium. Enjoy your little DAD Ginger, your final dulcimer (you think).
@ken-hulme Or we've made a newer player afraid of what they might become? 
On a serious note, coming to the mountain dulcimer has made my life better-- making music at home is such a joy! 
I have been unable to find a public obituary for Larkin to post. Here is a link to the webpage she shared with her husband, Andy Cohen:
http://www.riverlark.com/about.html
I treasure Larkin's dulcimer instruction book and her Lark in the Twilight cd-- I wish I had more of her music!
I've followed this thread and have enjoyed it!
I have 5 dulcimers which are promised to a couple young dulcimer friends-- I own them yet they will be leaving my house when opportunity presents. And I have one out on loan and another I keep for lending. When all is done, I may still have 6 or 7 (or 8) mountain dulcimers-- this is including the instrument being built by Blue Lion this year. I have 3 bowed dulcimers.
Nice-looking functional stand, @richard-streib!
@james-phillips I'm glad you both got in your second vaccines! Though we rarely make videos anymore, we still play music to brighten the days. Hope you've been able to make plenty of music!
@brian-g I appreciate you and all who have worked hard and tirelessly on all phases of dealing with SARS-CoV-2! I know people who were sickened and I know people who died from this virus. So much heartbreak for so many. Thank you for posting here! I hope you are able to take some time to play a bit of music.
Musician Larkin Bryant has died. Larkin's mountain dulcimer instruction book is a treasure I enjoy. I also have Larkin's last mountain dulcimer cd and it is one of my favorites. I post the following video in memory of Larkin-- in it, Larkin and Bonnie Carol are playing music together.
@ken-longfield Our new mower is battery-powered-- neither gas nor oil needed for an engine. We have a string trimmer coming today from the same company from which we got the mower. Our new mower is a self-propelled walk-behind mower-- we don't own a riding mower-- and we don't have a string trimmer yet. :)
We just got an electric mower. Mark had a chance to try it out before the cold snap hit and I look forward to getting to use it. Very lightweight and very quiet-- big pluses!
@ken-longfield Anything for you, my friend! :) On a more serious note, very cold temperatures are coming tonight and lots of fruit trees are in bloom now. Time will tell how it goes. Keep warm there in PA!
We woke to a pretty snow this morning here in Ohio. No morel hunting for us today. :)
@lisavb Yay! Our side effects were minimal after our first Moderna; after the second inoculation we felt badly, beginning about 12 hours after getting the shot. The effects lingered for 24-36 hours or so. We are so glad to be fully vaccinated for now! And plan to continue to exercise caution.
I enjoyed the piece, Ken-- thank you! The cardboard mountain dulcimers I've heard sound just fine for music-making.
I hope you have luck finding some, @leo-kretzner. Even just a few morels cut and sautéed in butter then eaten with whatever pasta you like is such a treat!
