Thursday, January 1, 2009

Bugstock #5 Report - Oct 24th - 26th, 2008

Hurricane Gustav - September 1, 2008

Bugstock #4 Report - Aug 8th - 10th, 2008

I took Friday off to prepare things for Bugstock 4. We started driving up at about 11am and all was fine until we were just south of Opelousas where we were confronted by a wall of water in the form of rain. We got to the farm in the down pour and almost didn't make it up the hill in the pasture where we started to slide backwards. We made it to the cabin and unloaded what we could and began straightening up the cabin and hoping the rain would stop. I had a new idea for the sleeping area that involved partitioning off areas of the room into separate sleeping quarters by hanging sheets on bamboo poles.

After a while the rain stopped. Nicki walked down to the front gate to try to shovel gravel into the drive so people wouldn't get stuck while Emma and I mowed. We got quite a bit done but the belt came off of the mower and we were forced to change chores (for some reason, just driving over the tall grass does not have the same effect as when the blades are spinning). Emma got a trip in the wheel-barrow down to the front gate to meet Nicki. I hung the Bugstock sign on the fence post. It was good to see Gayle and Jeanell drive up while we were down there. We stayed for a bit longer then abandoned out lithic-relocation program and headed back to the cabin. I put the walking planks out so everyone could stay out of the mud. Linda setup her rig and we had a small jam around 1:00 A.M.

Sat: Aug 9th: Got up early and checked the Lost Tooth trail then put sign up for Magnolia Mound trail. Mike helped me put the belt back on the mower so I could fix up the camping area and some of the trails. Mike and Logan’s was setup near there and featured electricity, an air conditioner and a microwave. Andrew knapped flint for a bit in the afternoon while a few groups went on hikes. In the evening Linda got her rig warmed up and James and I tried to break the record for largest light rig ever (see photos in gallery). We had a big jam around 7:30 with banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bagpipes, bodhran and guitar. Michael cooked some boudin over the fire. The Luna moths came out later in the evening and some were sill waiting for us the next morning.

Sun: Another lazy Bugstock Sunday morning. We started slowly cleaning up and went on hikes. Linda’s group came back with the first Phanaeus ever found on the Farm. Billy came back with a speckled King Snake. After sifting through the nights catch Linda broke down the light rig and Lep tent. Folks started grudgingly heading back to civilization. Another fun Bugstock weekend!