<p>&nbsp; On Friday, July 25th, my wife and I got an early start to Dixon&#8217;s happy with the weather report that an unexpected late July break in the normal heat was in the weekend forcast. I had read an early e-mail that Horn Book editor Bill Carter was not coming , and I was met [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The calendar says it is not quite Summer, but all week here in central New Jersey it&#8217;s been 85 and humid.  Not that I am complaining, especially after a prolonged winter 2013-2014.  It sure is hot without a breeze. Fortunately our old farmhouse sits among sturdy shade trees and the open fields to the Southwest let  breezes flow [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Membership: The warm conviviality of our Guild Meeting in March seeing old and new faces and hearing of each other&#8217;s winter of discontent with the weather, has rapidly receded with time.  The meeting itself was refreshing with speakers knowledgeable of their craft, a lot of original horn and bag examples gathered together by the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>This is my first &#8220;Message from the Guilmaster.&#8221; Jeff Bibb is a tough act to follow as Guildmaster, but I will do my best. It is indeed an honor to have the opportunity to try to keep up the pace of our previous Guildmasters and their accomplishments in expanding membership and national stature of the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Hello: I am looking forward to seeing many of you this coming weekend in Carlisle. Our annual meeting is always a special time, and this year promises to be a spectacular event. Right now it is snowing in central Virginia with a forecast of four to six inches by this evening. Temperatures are predicted to [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Hello: I hope that the advent of February finds you in good spirits. We are anxiously awaiting the coming of spring and some relief from the cold, stink bugs, and high heating bills .I suspect our forefathers felt much the same way, and looked forward to hearing the birds sing, the greening of the fields, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Hello All: Happy New Year! 2014 has arrived with a vengeance for much of the central and eastern portions of our country. Temperatures in central Virginia are expected to fall into the low single digits by tomorrow evening and extend into Tuesday. In the interim, we are watching  freezing rain cover our mountainside with silvery [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Hello All: Monday, December 2nd.,  the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 77 points. Various analysts commented that the market  was “disappointed” with Black Friday sales levels and fell off its previous record setting trend. Seems that ever how many millions were spent last Friday just weren’t good enough for our economic growth. I find [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Greetings: In central Virginia, November arrived with the first cold weather of the season. Whether you subscribe to the theories regarding our changing climate or not, it is hard to dispute that our weather patterns are very different from the past. Our ancestors described the colder seasons beginning much earlier than our current times.  I [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Hello: Fall has officially arrived in central Virginia, although it is hard to tell since the temperatures remain in the 80’s, the trees have not turned, and only a few scattered leaves are falling. Usually we have had some chilly nights, and a hint of the cold to come. Some years have provided a light [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Hello: With the coming of September, fall is beginning to make its presence. A few leaves are changing colors, and nights are definitely a bit cooler. The sun is a little later coming up each morning, promising to lose some of its intense heat from prior months. We look forward to the changing colors, and [&hellip;]</p>

<p>&nbsp; Dear Members, The Honourable Company of Horners has had a longstanding, positive relationship with the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association; one would be hard-pressed to find an issue of the NMLRA&#8217;s membership magazine that does not reflect the closeness of our two organizations. We are  excited to see that Bob Albrecht&#8217;s &#8220;Guilmaster-End of Day&#8221; [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Hello, On the drive home from Dixon’s Gun Maker’s Fair last Sunday night, I had a lot of time to think and review the events of the weekend.  Dixon’s is always a special time for many of us. This year was no exception. Our HCH table was well-staffed, and a special Thank You goes out [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Greetings! Let&#8217;s fill the guild&#8217;s table at Dixon&#8217;s Gumakers Fair.  (www.dixonmuzzleloading.com) Here is an opportunity for you to bring your First Powder Horn to be displayed on the Horn Guild&#8217;s table! Please tag your horn with your name and the approximate year you made it. It will be fun to see where you started in [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Greetings: The summer seems to be flying by, or maybe it is the advent of older age, where one feels there is never enough time for everything. July 4th. is just past, and I spent another rewarding day at Poplar Forest where the holiday is celebrated in grand 18th. century fashion. This year Rick Sheets [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Greetings: Summer has arrived in central Virginia with a vengeance. Temperatures in the upper 80’s are combined with frequent showers and thunderstorms. The humidity is approaching its normal sticky level of discomfort. This year also marks the return of the cicada, and we are assaulted with a loud thrumming drone each time we step outside. [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Hello all: Here in Virginia, spring has taken a turn backward. After a couple of weeks of warm weather, we are experiencing a week of much cooler temperatures, unending rain, and thunderstorms. May is traditionally much warmer here, but the month is still young, and we shall see what it brings for the next several [&hellip;]</p>

<p>This Message was originally posted on the 8th of April. There was a small issue that necessitated this reposting. Thanks, Rick Sheets (webmaster). Greetings: Spring is in the air. I don’t know about your part of the country, but in central Virginia the buds are popping, the grass is getting greener, and early flowers are [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Greetings: I am still reeling from our annual meeting last weekend in Carlisle, PA. There was so much going on that it often became hard to keep track of it all. Between the excellent displays in the main room, the non-stop workshops in the hall, and Roland Cadle’s two thought-provoking presentations on Friday and Saturday, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Greetings: In late winter or early spring, a lot of folks look forward to the celebration of Mardi Gras in new Orleans. This annual event reaches a fever pitch with Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. For a century or more, one particular faction, the Mardi Gras Indians, make [&hellip;]</p>