Tune In and Then Go Out

This weekend you will want to be outdoors with me! Ct. Outdoors Radio with Suzanne Thompson will tell you all about it. So tune in your dial early to hear about the A-MAZE-ING Story Slam outdoors, all natural and on the air in 3 - 2- 1
Hi, This is Carolyn Stearns and Suzanne Thompson coming to you from the radio studios of WLIS and WMRD. Ct. Outdoors guest is Carolyn Stearns and she is going to tell the audience about the story slam at a corn maze.

The A-MAZE-ING Story Slam www.A-MAZE-INGStorySlam.ning.com is where Arts and Agriculture Meet! Come out and listen to stories in this free program for the whole family. In fact pack a picnic and come at 12 to hear the Crustaceans a surf band play! www.myspace.com/crustaceansrock Then at 1 the stories begin.

Where to listen as Suzanne and Carolyn bring you this interview on the radio. A large piece of Eastern Ct. fits in the listening area of the two stations. Here is where to set your dial: WLIS 1420 AM Old Saybrook and WMRD at 1150 AM - Middletown will broadcast the Ct. Outdoors Show at the following times. Tuesday Aug 31 12:30 -1 p.m. and again at 6:30-7 p.m. Sat. Sept 4 you can hear it if there is no Uconn Football being aired, the show time will be 1 p.m. and on Sunday Sept 5 tune in early from 7-7:30 a.m.

You can find more of Suzanne's work at www.theday.com/ctoutdoors as she urges people to get Outdoors we recommend this weekend in Thompson , Ct. Take a walk in Fort Hill Farms Corn Maze before or after the slam, enjoy the 70 gardens, savor the farm fresh ice cream flavors and pan for gem stones in the water. Under the tent stories will be told the winning storyteller to receive a hot air balloon flight from www.brighterskies.com Anyone can share a story 5-7 minutes on the theme; In A Quiet Corner. Tune in your radio and listen and then come outdoors and join us at the A-MAZE-ING Story Slam!

A-MAZE-ING Give A Donkey an Ice Cream Cone

Summer was soooo boring for Jassper and Tabasco, just green grass .... and more green grass. Jassper and Tabasco needed a DAYCATION! Their owner understood when they told him. After work one day they were loaded in the Corn Pro Trailer to go on a Daycation trip. How Excited Jassper and Tabasco were. They were guessing where they might go.

They passed a beautiful town green when they got off the highway. It had not been a long ride, what excitement could be in this quiet country town?

A sign showed them where they would turn and pointed the way to Ct. Grown at Fort Hill Farms http://www.forthillfarms.com/ . Blue Hill donkeys at Fort Hill, Jassper and Tabasco hoped they had more than green grass.

Tabasco helped find a place to park their trailer.

They soon new they were welcome at Fort Hill Farms and it would be a great Daycation!

They got tickets for the Corn Maze. They had never been in a corn maze before!

Jassper and Tabasco tried all the paths, up and down the hill and to the towers and had so much delicious fun!

Winding through the green paths was fun, and relaxing and sometimes they even felt like running a little.

They found answers to the quiz and looked at the secret maps. At the end they looked at the big map again and saw all the places in the maze they had visited. They wished more friends had come to the maze with them.

Back under the big tent they were told about the

A-MAZE-ING Story Slam

coming on Sept 4, 2010 at 1 p.m. They asked if they could come too.

Of course the answer was yes! Jassper and Tabasco would be "All ears" when listening to the stories at the A-MAZE-ING Story Slam. They could be really good listeners!

Jassper whispered to Tabasco that they would look it up on the barn computer when they got home. Tabasco had to try to remember the site address.

www.A-MAZE-INGStorySlam.ning.com



After all the fun in the maze little Tabasco was sooo hungry he was happy to see a little grass. Jassper had a better idea. He had heard from a friend at the Farmers Cow about the new ice cream and he really wanted to try it!

Jassper looked near the fishing pond but it wasn't there.

They found the Creamery and had a hard time choosing a flavor!

Other people were in line to place an order and Jassper got in line next.

Finally it was his turn to order, Mint please! and make it all natural.

Jassper's cone was so delicious!

Got Ice Cream?

It was an exciting Daycation at Fort Hill Farms for Jassper and Tabasco!

Now they will be counting the days until

Sept 4, 2010 when they can come back.

Will they be seeing you at the A-MAZE-ING Story Slam?

Jassper may tell you a story about Scarlet the new baby donkey at Blue Hill, but he may be to busy trying a few more flavors.

THE END!

On the Radio in 3....2....1

Wed. August 18 at 7:20 a.m. I hope your radio is tuned to WILI 1400 AM in Eastern Ct. That is when I will be guest on Wayne Norman's Morning Show. http://www.wili-am.com/ I will be up and out early to bring you the latest news and updates on the A-MAZE-ING Story Slam http://www.a-maze-ingstoryslam.ning.com/ to be held Sept. 4 in Thompson Ct. at Fort Hill Farms http://www.forthillfarms.com/

A story slam is a competition in telling a story. Short and to the point the stories come from everyday people and professional storytellers. Everyone has a story to tell, come tell yours! We will have all kinds of great prizes, the best being the top prize of a hot air balloon flight, now that is a bucket list item if there ever was one!! Before and after the slam the corn maze at Fort Hill Farms will be open and our " All Ears " Listeners from Blue Hill Farm ( donkeys) will be on hand to charm you. There is a place for picnics before hand and the Fort Hill Farm Creamery will be scooping ice cream all day!

If this hasn't convinced you I suggest you tune in to WILI radio 1400 AM tomorrow morning and hear it for yourself. Live on the radio in 3...2...1. This is Carolyn Stearns and Wayne Norman coming to you from Willimantic Ct.

Time For Story

1:10 p.m. Time for milking at our farm Mountain Dairy ( http://www.mountaindairy.com/ ). We all have chores that are set by schedule maybe none quite so time demanding as milking cows. None the less we set up certain jobs for certain times and it is no different with our storytelling.

Making time to get things done is a battle we all fight on a daily basis and when we start to get a real handle on it usually Murphy's Law is invoked and the whole system is in chaos for a bit. We make time to do the laundry because otherwise we won't have that fresh outfit for the next gig. We never miss time for coffee, well we don't want to be around each other if we do! We have time for parties, time for pizza and Ice Cream! There is time allotted for the income tax annually even if some take until the 12 strokes of the clock in the bell tower on April 15 to turn it in.

Storytelling is all about time and there are lots of stories that deal with time, didn't Cinderella have to heed the clock as well? I make time on Monday's to update my web presence. Usually it takes both cups of coffee to get the job done. Sometimes its half in the morning and half at night, that's OK part of storytelling is being my own boss, I'm never late for Me! Scheduling my chores to fit my life at a given moment in time is a real asset, especially around the farm schedule where everything can be changed with a rumble of thunder.

Tonight I made time to listen to the Teller-Phone. Not the phone call that offers me bargain windows, reduced rates on loans, a great new roof or any other deal of a lifetime. This Teller -Phone offers me a true deal, a free story. Better yet I can call next week and get another free story, and the week after, and the week after.... you get it! Tonight I made a little time for me. I dialed 617-499-9662. There was the momentary pause as the circuits connected and a slight click of the line opening and the clear voice of Clare Vadeboncoeur. www.goodheartpro.com Funny thing was it was a Donkey story. I had just sent a donkey joke to my donkey owning friend. Earlier I had posted pictures of Donkeys to my http://www.A-MAZE-INGStorySlam.ning.com/ because some are coming to listen and be "All Ears! I had an email recently about the latest birth at Blue Hill Farm Franklin, Ct. another new black donkey.

This week Clare was the host for the LANES Teller-Phone. ( www.lanes.org ) League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling. Each Sunday a new teller will come on line and tell a fresh story. I've already put the number in my cell phone so I can call often. I can't wait for the look of surprise the first time I do that and hand the phone to my nephew or niece. Instant quiet! Just so happened for me the story was a perfect fit for the unexpected donkey theme to my days.

Next I opened my email. There was the weekly post from Library of America, a publishing house who sends out a new story every week to read. www.loa.org right on the home page is a banner to sign up for the story of the week. I'll be going back after I finish writing this to read my story. Sometimes I only read the bit offered on the front page, some days the story is a perfect fit I click through to get it all!

Now I have made time to read, listen and write in my day, it's been a good day. In fact they don't get any better in a storytellers world than to read a story, hear a story,write a story, next is share a story. When my son comes in I think I'll have to tell him the Donkey story from Clare and finish out the day right!

Event Planner - That's Me

Among the items listed on my resume should be event planner extroidinaire! In the job description of "Mom" there is a whole section on planning, the usuals being birthday parties and sleepovers, vacations and family holidays. Each deserving the remembrance as either incredible or awful, and usually it was unforseen circumstances that brought on the awful.

I've taken those skills and developed them to new heights lately. It began with being a 4-H leader for so many years. Once you have planned an event where every child brings a cow or horse well the rest of the events look pretty tame. It was all good training my 33 years in the ranks as leader of the Cock-A-Doodle-Moo 4-H club. We had all kinds of livestock projects so juggling a day with children and multiple species became routine. They were some great events and the best days nothing got away and no one got hurt! Do over? of course I dont think any of us would trade a moment of those wonderful days.

The most challenging event was probably the Oxen drive across Eastern Connecticut. That was a planning and logistics exercise on the level of the Boston Marathon. Five days on the trail with two boys and two teams of oxen , what would we eat, how much could we carry, what if the oxen decided not to take aother step 50 miles from home? In the end we made it home with no major glitches. A tree across the trail provided a few moments of panic its massive trunk and branches to much work for my portable folding saw I was carrying. In the end we made them jump through the branches and they did it. A lot of prayer went into that moment but I was not turning around and the steep embankements on either side of the old railbed there were nightmares themselves. Some places I carried a bucket to lower off bridges to water the oxen but on one leg of the trip we stopped at a resevoir for them to drink. The oxen had never seen a lake before or even a pond. One thing I didnt count on, they dove in. Still yoked together the pair Scooby and Shaggy dove straight into the water and began swimming. So did I, one water rescue with oxen accomplished and onto the resume. The stop by the old graveyard to lay flowers on the grave of the ancester who made the walk in 1772 was a lifelong memory and incredible time warp moment. Then the last day we made the last couple miles all up hill to the home farm and they knew, they wanted to run in celebration. Those oxen were amazing stepping off from the front of the church we went on our way picking up speed the whole distance. Yes, after that event, they are all easy. I still remember the feeling of incredible accomplishment when we sat at the picnic table eating pizza and cake ( ordered by the boys age 8 & 13) All that was an event for the towns 300 th birthday, we started it off on the right foot literally!

Now I'm in the midst of planning many small events and one big Heritage Sunday for our church which is now celebrating its 300th anniversary. I have been planning some of the events and some are done by other committees. My latest was the building of a mini church. A small replica of our beautiful New England white church. It's purpose is to help inform the town and neighboring areas of our church birthday and be a symbol of our community outreach and desire to let people know we are 300 years of Faith in Action...and counting! First Church of Christ Congregational ( http://pages.cthome.net/FCCMansfield/ ) There are 3 parades in the area annually, Memorial Day, July 4th the infamous Boom Box Parade, and a newer one the Festival on the Green Parade in the Fall. What better way to inform people of our anniversary than a float in the parades I thought. I was able to get a carpenter in the congregation ( http://www.funkandlittle.com/ ) to scale down the church dimensions and draw us some plans to go by. From there we began gathering supplies and the construction over several days and evenings until the very final hours and minutes before Memorial Day when in the line up for the start of the parade I drew the front window in with a marker! The little church did its job and was a great hit. We all had lots of fun at the parade and now everyone sees what my vision was for this event. The 4 th of July parade will be easier as everyone is excited about making it happen again , bigger and better. So here we go more event planning.

I'm also planning the A-MAZE-ING Story Slam for Sept 4, 2010 at Fort Hill Farms ( http://www.forthillfarms.com/ )in Thompson, Ct. ( http://www.a-maze-ingstoryslam.ning.com/ ) this will be patterend after story slams ( competitions) in cities like New York and Boston. We have a great location, a big tent, a backup location, we are working on judges and prizes and signs and websites and camping and food for people who choose to spend the weekend in the area. A lot of little pieces, but I dont have to pack any food for cows, there are no lakes that need lifegaurding, there is no trail to watch over and nothing to build, so a Story Slam while it is a event for the public it's really .... a piece of cake!