Bluegrass!
July 8, 2016

Prescott's bluegrass festival is one of my favorite events of the year.  A free-for-the-attending weekend-long affair on the downtown Courthouse square, it entices locals and furriners alike to relax, visit, listen and enjoy all day and into the evening.  What a splendid setting - I revel in it . . . and the music!  How nice to be able to remain right at home for some adventures.

Various bands rotate performances throughout the weekend.

The cowboy on the right seems a bit stoical about it all.

 

 

Impromptu jam sessions coalesce, dissolve, blend and transform as musicians move from place to place.

Even the wee ones do their bit.

Relaxation is the name of the game and some have it down to a fine art.

This guy drew his fair share of admirers.

Hmmmm . . .

Connections & serendipities

July 9, 2016

One of the things that brings me the most pleasure in life is experiencing and acknowledging the many small world! and imagine that! happenings.

Those serendipitous things abounded during our recent short stay in southern Arizona.  We traveled there to be with my brother and sister-in-law, Frank & Pat.

And of course Bubba.

It is astounding how much can transpire in a few days.  We enjoyed our visit immensely and got to work in their wonderful gardens - one of the things I miss the most in our current smaller abode and property is all the gardening work.  At the same time, one of the things I miss the least is all the gardening work.  At any rate, it was fun to get my hands in the dirt; besides satisfaction, the treat of those luscious yellow pear tomatoes was great.

Pat told me to bring an umbrella, but I forgot it.  Deluges and floods while we were there necessitated purchasing another to add to our collection which is always either in the vehicle when we are inside or inside when we are in the vehicle or at home when we are somewhere else.

But back to the serendipities.  Our motel's preparer of excellent breakfasts, Paula, was a friendly sort with whom we struck up a conversation.  Turns out she also grew up in Phoenix just like me.  Turns out she also went to Washington High School just like me.  We weren't in the same class, but did I know Neela Perry? she asked.  As a matter of fact, I did know Neela and remember her very well as we were in the same class; she just happens to be Paula's first cousin.  What are the chances, we thought, as we reminisced about the much-changed place of our childhood and together remembered the incredible Japanese flower gardens.

My grandmother took this photo of the flower gardens probably in 1969.  As with the early color photographs, it has faded with time.

Taking a back road to Frank & Pat's took us through the very small town of St. David, where we saw a sign for the Holy Trinity Monastery, a place we had passed on a prior trip and thought we would like to stop in, so we took this opportunity to do just that.

 

The pecan orchard and grounds are beautiful and serene.

 

 

 

Pea fowl freely roam the grounds.  This hen seemed singularly unimpressed with the male's display . . .

. . . so he favored us with a look at his impressive tail feathers.

It must have been first cousin week: conversation in the monastery gift shop with the welcoming attendant, Linda, revealed that her first cousin is Grant Turley, whom we knew way back in Chino Valley.  In fact, Grant's son was in the same high school class with our daughter, who took dance lessons from Grant's wife, Pearl.

Now for number three: we returned to the monastery with Frank & Pat to attend mass in their little chapel.  As we exited after the service, I was amazed to see a bench placed in memory of Sal Mennuti.  Sal was a friend who taught for the lifelong learning program I administered at Yavapai College.  I was not aware Holy Trinity was the monastery he was associated with, nor that he is buried there. 

A small world after all . . . and now how to erase that tune from my brain!