Winter has come to an end. This is the first post "from away."  I will struggle to capture for you what it is like to encounter Cape Breton Island, some 41 years ago for the first time, and what it is like to be completely enthralled for the last decade.

Today, it is about the music. We are addicted to Cape Breton's unique flavour of Celtic music, my wife and I.  We are so far gone that we import the music to New Hampshire 6-10 times per year for a house concert series. Tonight is not a house concert. We have made good friends of many of the musicians. Tonight we will feed and shelter two of our favorites (it is a long list, but these two are very dear). Colin Grant is touring with the Celtic-rock-pop group Pogey, on their way from Buffalo, NY, to Rangeley, Me. This will make a perfect sleepover for them.  Andrea Beaton, an ECMA award-winning fiddler from Judique, is free tonight during her stay in the U.S., and she is coming from Boston to join us for the night. It just so happens that another new best friend of ours, Kate MacInnes, a very fine Cape Breton fiddler in her own right, is available tonight as well, her last night in town before a six week tour of duty to San Francisco on one of her many medical school rotations.

We will get a monster dose of a music addiction fix long into the night.  Seven world class musicians, one glorious kitchen party, bye bye winter, hello light!