Pretty Trees

What a beautiful setting. I'm sitting out behind the dining hall with my laptop, because it's the only place in reach of the wireless hub in Father Tom's house (short of camping out in his living room). There's a 100-foot Douglass fir above me, and I can hear the McKenzie river rushing over rocks just beyond the rhododendron bushes.

The main buildings are three long A-frame style lodges, with bedrooms above and common areas below. They are set in a U-shape with simple lawn in the middle. The bedrooms are literally monastic cells. The facility was originally built as a summer retreat for brothers of the Western Dominican province. Simple but comfortable is the rule.

We just got done with our second singing session of the day. The first song we tackled this afternoon was a medley of 3-part shape-note tunes, which I will bring back to my friends Mac and Janice to sing in our trio. Then we spent over an hour on a Georgian folk song about 7 brothers who went out hunting. Each brother took seven shots at the big white stag and missed. Old grandpa took it down in one shot. I and 3 others will get a solo, while all the other people drone the choruses in between. Polyphonic singing is very ancient in Georgia. The ancient Greek historians wrote about Georgian soldiers singing in harmony as they marched into battle.

I've got an hour until dinner. Time for a nap.