If you’re a birder in Ohio, this might qualify as the most exciting thing you’ve heard all week. I’m not a birder, but I still find this story neat – for a few reasons. First, what is a sage thrasher? What was it doing all the way in Ohio, when its habitat is much further west (think Colorado, Utah, Wyoming)? And what is it about…
“I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.” It’s a sentiment that resonates with a lot of us, at times stronger than at others, I suspect. That is one of the best-known lines from “This World Is Not My Home”. And Ben and Rose are back to tease another upcoming (I assume) production, with this little demo sample of the well-known hymn. This song…
We’ve got another new tune from Mike & Marty, this one a Dolly Parton classic – “Coat of Many Colors”. Not having any other paper at hand, Parton famously wrote the lyrics to this song down on a dry cleaning receipt while on tour in 1969. This is a favorite song of many. The coat of many colors here is not the Biblical coat given…
Not quite a month ago, we got Ben and Rose’s short preview version of “Hold Fast to the Right”, a 120-year-old hymn. About that, one commenter wrote “I have not hear this song in 70+ years—what a joy to now hear it again!” Now the duo have just today released the full studio version. So this is happy news not only for that commenter, but…
A nice new song was recently released by brother and sister duo Mike and Marty Fisher. First a note on their name. We’ve known them til now as Third Fret Harmony – a group which also once included their sister Rose, of Ben & Rose. Mike has confirmed with me officially that yes, they have a new name – simply Mike & Marty. I think…
This new short from Ben & Rose is another old one – a hymn written in 1906 by James D. Vaughan called “Hold Fast To The Right”. One commenter on YouTube writes “I have not hear this song in 70+ years—what a joy to now hear it again!” This 25-second clip is just a snippet of the chorus and some nice guitar playing, but it…
Ben and Rose return with their first full video in a little while. This one is called “If I Needed You”. In contrast to some of their latest, this is a more contemporary song, written by Townes Van Zandt in 1972. I would call this an “upbeat ballad”. Nice guitar playing and wonderful singing together as usual. Interestingly they are in a different setting here…
While we haven’t gotten a full video in awhile, Ben and Rose have been pouring on the shorts lately. Their latest is “Stroll Over Heaven”. This one is simply Ben playing guitar and singing with Rose in a 37-second clip (below). The simple description attached to the clip is “Ben and Rose work out ‘Stroll Over Heaven’ at Ragamuffin Hall”. Sounds like another lovely tune….
An Amish community in Ashtabula County, Ohio has apparently been making quick work of cleanup, after a community member lost their home in a devastating fire Monday. From the report at the Star Beacon: WILLIAMSFIELD TOWNSHIP — Debris from a fire that destroyed a two story home along Route 7 Monday was removed by Amish crews Tuesday, clearing the site of the home to prepare…
How do the Amish keep their food cold? That can vary, based on the community. But for Amish in some places – including one tiny New England community – the answer is good old-fashioned ice. A just-released piece in Down East Magazine explores the ice harvesting tradition in the young Amish settlement at Hiram, Maine (Oxford County). What really makes the piece are the excellent…