I'd Have 3 Flowers, Bob had 4.

A few years back, we went up to BB King's in Times Square and sat in a small dark room with Ramblin' Jack Elliott, an upside down Stetson, and a whole mess of coffee. Tim didn't know how to work a camera, I didn't know how to do an interview, but Ramblin' Jack sure did know how to talk. He gave us a little info about him and Bob Dylan touring together as the Rolling Thunder Revue and we just about lost it:"I was the first one to put the flower in my hat on Rolling Thunder Revue. We got into the Rolling Thunder Revue hat/flower contest, who could have more flowers in their hat. At each successive show, I'd have 3 flowers, Bob had 4. I'd have 4 and he'd have 5. We were just playing around with the makeup too. I had a heart painted on my face one time. Another time I had a tear coming out of my eye. We were like rodeo clowns. I remember when Arlo [Guthrie] asked Bob why he always had that clown white on his face. Arlo said, 'What's that shit on your face?' Bob said, 'What face?'"MP3: Bob Dylan - Love Minus Zero/No Limit (Live) MP3: Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Hard Travelin'Youtube: Bob Dylan - IsisYoutube: Ramblin Jack - Salt Pork, West Virginia

Fern Hill

Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughsAbout the lilting house and happy as the grass was green,The night above the dingle starry,Time let me hail and climbGolden in the heydays of his eyes,And honoured among wagons I was prince of the apple townsAnd once below a time I lordly had the trees and leavesTrail with daisies and barleyDown the rivers of the windfall light.And as I was green and carefree, famous among the barnsAbout the happy yard and singing as the farm was home,In the sun that is young once only,Time let me play and beGolden in the mercy of his means,And green and golden I was huntsman and herdsman, the calvesSang to my horn, the foxes on the hills barked clear and cold,And the sabbath rang slowlyIn the pebbles of the holy streams.Here for the rest of "Fern Hill" by Dylan ThomasHere for "Summer Abroad" by the stunning Edward Bostitch.

a hike in the alps

Kufstein is a town of about 20,000 in the Austrian Alps built around a fortress on a hill.  Like so many Tyrolean towns it's also split by a river with alpine hiking abound.  With so many towns surrounded by marked trails and campsites, hiking feels like part of the culture in that part of the world...just be sure you can read the signs.A few hours by train from Vienna or Munich, any of these day hikes might help you find what you've been looking for [Hiking in Tyrol - PDF].MP3: Anton Dermota & The Austrian State Radio Orchestra - Gluck Das Mir Verblieb

Wind, Sand, and Stars

Antoine De Saint-Exupéry might be forever remembered for the Little Prince from asteroid B612, but it's his 1939 memoir that spins heads in these parts. Wind, Sand, and Stars is Saint-Exupéry's memoir of being an Aeropostale pilot in the 1930s and his crash in the Sahara Desert. Exupéry was taught to use lonesome trees, farmers, and streams as landmarks, not maps and compasses. "Navigating by a compass in a sea of clouds over Spain is all very well, it is very dashing, but...you want to remember that below the sea of clouds lies eternity." We don't think we've ever used this word accurately before, but Saint-Exupéry was one brave feller, always optimistic and eager, even when death was a common way to end a routine flight. Wind, Sand, and Stars is one of the more beautiful things your brain will process in a real long while.MP3: Edith Piaf - C'était Une Histoire D'amour

Elliott Landy Photo Exhibit

The Woodstock scene in the 1960s will forever be immortalized thanks to the work of Elliott Landy. Landy was/is the premiere photographer of the town and we thank the heavens that he was around for this one, this one, this one, and all of these. If you want to catch some of his photography on display and you are in New York City tonight, head over to the Belvedere Hotel's Hudson Room and, if you're like us, get super bummed out that you weren't around when the photos were taken.

Surround Yourself With Predators

If you want to surround yourself by the densest population of major predators in the Lower 48, go to the Black Canyon in Yellowstone National Park. Doug Smith, a park biologist, says that the canyon hides as many as one griz, wolf, cougar, or black bear every two square miles. Here."Wilderness can be defined as a place where humans enjoy the opportunity of being attacked by a wild animal" - Ed AbbeyMP3: Viking Moses - Still My Home

Mickey Hart's Rolling Thunder

In 1972, while Mickey Hart had temporarily left the Grateful Dead, he put out his first solo record, Rolling Thunder, named after Shoshone medicine man, shaman, teacher, and activist of the same name. (He's the one talking on that first mp3 below.) The album was mostly recorded in a barn on Mickey's California ranch and features lots of aggressive percussion, fast guitar solos and, most importantly, two songs that would later become Dead staples. "Pump Song", which starts off with a beat from the pump outside Mickey's barn, would later become "The Greatest Story Ever Told" and "The Main Ten", whose rain stick intro lasts for two minutes, is now "Playing In The Band." Both songs are sung by Bobby Weir and are some of the sharpest "studio" versions of Dead songs you'll ever hear.MP3: Mickey Hart - Rolling Thunder (Shoshone Invocation)MP3: Mickey Hart - Pump Song (Featuring Bobby Weir On Vocals)

Red Earth Festival

Oklahoma is home to more Native Americans than any other state. Each year, for the past 23 years, Oklahoma City hosts the Red Earth Festival, where more than 100 tribes come together to celebrate their cultures, dance, art, food, and everything in between. It is the largest Native American gathering in the country. The event took place from June 6th to June 8th this year and, ever since then, we've been waiting to find some pictures to post on Cold Splinters. We wait no longer. Beautiful.William Horncloud - Chiefs Honoring Song (Traditional Lakota Song)

Okie Noodling II

In 2001, Bradley Beesley (Summercamp) made a movie about a subculture of men who go catfishing with their bare hands. He called that movie Okie Noodling. Beesley decided that he'd go back a few years later to visit some of these guys and make a film about the newfound legal issues and commercialization of their sport. Okie Noodling II, due out July 14th on DVD, is a beautifully shot documentary full of men you wish you knew. By the end, you'll feel as though you've spent countless summer afternoons in an Oklahoma river participating in one of the most under-appreciated forms of bizarre Americana. More info here.Oh, what a good day to go fishing.

Bonnie Raitt

You might not believe it, and you might not really care too much, but before Bonnie Raitt gave us something to talk about in the late 80s, she was making some of the sweetest folk and blues records you've ever ignored. Her 1971 self-titled debut sounds like some friends made a big dinner in upstate California, decided that they would play some music after their bellies were full and, in the process, found out that one of their quiet friends, Bonnie, could sing. And play. They pressed record and forty effortless hippie-honeydew-California-blues minutes later, Bonnie Raitt was born.MP3: Bonnie Raitt - Bluebird (Buffalo Springfield cover)MP3: Bonnie Raitt- Any Day Woman

Oh Redwood Tree, Please Let Us Under

"The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe... Respect - that's the word. One feels the need to bow to unquestioned sovereigns..." - John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley MP3: Van Morrison - Redwood Tree

Sweet Annie

Last fall we went up to Unity, Maine to attend the Common Ground Country Fair. There's nothing wrong with a weekend full of alpacas, roosters, sheep, and loads of locally grown food. But I'll tell ya, the highlight of Common Grounds was the smell. Everyone was walking around with crowns made of Sweet Annie, one of the most heavenly things that's ever filled our noses. It might remind most of autumn and rumor has it that some people consider it a weed in their gardens because it spreads so easily, but if you're like us and your garden consists of some plastic containers on your fire escape, then buy a bucket now and plant some Sweet Annie seeds next to your cilantro. In a few weeks, you'll be in the Maine woods no matter what town you live in.Youtube: Rolling Stones - Waiting On A Friend

Heron

One of our absolute favorite records we've ever had the pleasure of listening to is Heron's 1970 self-titled debut. The album was recorded outside in the middle of a field near the River Thames. You can actually hear birds chirping on several songs and at the end of "Car Crash" a band member laughs as he quietly whispers, "little black things are crawling all over me." Heron will make you want to move to the country, buy an assortment of farm animals, and live in a never ending time where spring straddles summer. It's strawberry pies and gooseberry pudding.MP3: Heron - Yellow RosesMP3: Heron - Sally GoodinMP3: Heron - Car Crash

King Of The Wild Frontier

A few people put out versions of "Davy Crockett" during the mid-50s obsession with the Disney television adaptations, but it was Bill Hayes' version that went gold. Here's Bill reading about the Creek Indian War from Davy's autobiography.MP3: Bill Hayes - The Creek Indian War (From Davy Crockett's Autobiography)"I must give an account of the part I took in the defense of the country. If it should make me be president, why, I can't help it. Such things will sometimes happen and my pluck is never to seek or decline office."