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Midsummer night's dream~

Midsummer eve~
Click on photos to enlarge them.

What better way to spend a midsummer evening than a picnic on the lawn overlooking a vineyard … listening to live music … drinking wine … watching kids play the air guitar… smiling at the others enjoying the same thing  … while the setting sun puts on a fantasia in light?

Being there with friends, maybe. But last night we made a last minute decision to go to Westport Rivers Winery for the Friday night concert. We tossed sandwiches and fruit into a cooler and went by ourselves. We sat in the crowd, eating and drinking to the mellow sound of One Bad Ant, a local singer—Gary Duquette--with his unplugged mix of country songs. Good stuff.

 Summer concert~

The evening was a people watcher's delight, and I'd often find people watching back. I'd been glancing at a nearby woman who reminded me of a younger friend. This is just how she'll look when she ages—pleasingly plump and like she's a lot of fun. The kind of person who's always wearing a smile.

Later this woman saw Bruce and me doing the "you-take-my-picture; I'll-take-yours" thing, and she came over and offered to take one of us together.

"If you saw me watching you, it's because you remind me of a friend," I told her. She said a man once told her she had a Norman Rockwell look about her.
 Bruce and me~

Indeed, the whole event would have had Norman sketching to beat the band, so Americana it was. There was a group of mixed-race families and their children sitting together. I wished Rockwell were still here to capture this changing face of America and let its beauty shine.  We need these pockets of humanity, people spending a few hours together for no purpose other than enjoying the moment, to remind us that we're all in this together--sharing a brief moment in a world that depends upon working together and recognizing the similarities beneath the thin layer of skin that holds our important parts together.
-----
One of my theories is that the hearts of men are about alike, no matter what their skin color. ~Mark Twain

Comments

Wanda said…
Oh Ruth, what a delightful evening. Could feel the warmth and enjoyment coming from my computer screen.

Love the picture of you and Bruce. How I would have loved to pull up a chair and visit with you.

I had the privilege of visiting last night with a friend of mine who lived in Tucson...We've been friends for over 60+ years. Life if good!
Carmella said…
That first photo is absolutely stunning!
Anonymous said…
What an entertaining & beautiful post. I too loved the first picture... stunning! Of course, the one with you & your husband was priceless too. :)

Sincerely~ Andrea
xoxoxoxo
Pauline said…
What a neat evening - sounds like Tanglewood on the lawn. Don't you love it when folks get together just to have fun and no one minds what the other looks like?
Ross Eldridge said…
That first photo is truly fabulous. One doesn't need to be standing at the Bright Angel Lookout on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to be rendered breathless. And to think your sunset came with music! Ain't summer grand, though?

R.
Alice Folkart said…
This makes me resolve to go to more stuff like this. It's happening all the time here on the Island. One of the beauties of your experience though is that it is relatively uncrowded. But the best is that you just decided on the spur of the moment to go--no big deal. We all need more of that!

Sunset photo with barn is spectacular. And I love seeing you and Bruce - I feel as if I'd been there too.

Alice
Anonymous said…
I just put up Midsummer eve~ as my desktop image. Fair use?

Stunning.

Barry
Ruth L.~ said…
Fair, indeed, Barry. I'm honored!
Bob Sanchez said…
Sounds like a wonderful time, Ruth. Nice photo of you and Bruce, and that sunset photo...Oh my!

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