A childhood friend of mine named Emily Anderson is driving a re-built 1909 Maxwell across the country in honor and memory of Alice Ramsey. Alice was the first woman ever to complete a transcontinental journey by automobile - only 100 years ago.

Film Trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgDc5b_T6mM

Follow Emily's journey at http://aliceramsey.org/

Strawberries in the "driveway" are ready for eatin' and we're settling in. There's a forest of milkweed and prairie sage in the front yard, sidewalk chalkin', neighbors talkin', poppin' bubbles on the run. Now booking regional gigs....

Thanks to all our new Ozark friends for a fantabulous adventure!

Magic Mama is gearing up for another Summer of fun on the water! Check out the kayak camp schedule at MIZIZAK KAYAKS and stay tuned for some new musical paddling additions. What? Musical Paddling? You'll just have to cultivate some patience and wait for the details!

Magic Mama and the Peace Pirate Crew are setting sail for Wisconsin! We just played our last gig of the Spring 2009 Eco-Tour and we're ready to get our hands into the home soil. Looking Joyward to seeing our family and friends in the upper midwest again.

This picture was taken near Sweden Creek. These are all oak logs, stacked in the traditional Japanese way and left to dry for two years. The logs are soaked in spring water and inoculated with shitake spores and they harvest between 12 and 15 hundred pounds of mushrooms a week!

Carole and Curly, the owners of the farm, supply Whole Foods nationally as well as many regional restaurants and markets. Turns out, these organic mushroom farmers are also master musicians and travel the country performing old-time banjo music.

Check out The Old 78's

The Headwaters School in Red Star, Arkansas is a hand-built work of art! Straw bale, post and beam, mosaic, solar powered community gathering space. The kids favorite part seems to be the massive outdoor playground and open field. Watch out for Copperheads!

The original school began in the mid 1960's and the building itself was created in the early 1990's. Three generations and forty years of community love, what a beautiful example of the "new" paradigm.

Visit Headwaters School online

There are so many beautiful creeks, caves and waterfalls out here! Check out the color of the mineral rich spring water. Some of the crew caught several crawdads the other day and cooked them up for a snack.

Magic Mama prefers the fresh garden greens and gorging on blueberries in the sun while listening to the wood thrush. The Thrush has two voice boxes so it's song is a pure note, always a different melody yet immediately recognizable.

In order to get anywhere really worth visiting in rural Arkansas, you need to leave the pavement. The Dasher has held up on some seriously rutted roads, crossed rushing creeks and survived the sharp flint and chert scree. The van busted a flat near Pettigrew. Fortunately, we had the tools and the skills to swap the spare, the local garage only charged us six bucks to repair the tire.
The folks here could probably make a living filming "reality" commercials for Toyota, there are some places the Dasher will never go.

The first time we came to a concrete bridge with water rushing over it we thought, "no way, this can't be the right direction." Nearing the end of this tour we've grown rather fond of the crazy clay driveways. We now have a collection of pencil-drawn maps to a variety of friends homes....way, way out there. Thanks y'all! We'll be back for more love - for sure!

What a treat to share the stage at the June Bug Jam with some incredible musicians! Dango traveled from Colorado with his upright bass on his way to Waukarusa and Joe Credit stopped in from Kansas City with his mandolin. Another guest musician appeared with Magic Mama for a few songs and played trombone, his "name" is Hot Butter. I wish I had a board recording of this set!