TheBanyanTree: evening

[Jodene]

Ah, so very lovely.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 10, 2010, at 8:18 PM, Julie Anna Teague <jateague at indiana.edu>  
wrote:

> Tonight we had a wonderful family outing to a lavender farm north of  
> us--my mom and stepdad, husband, son and son's girlfriend. Great  
> singer-songwriter, beautiful grounds, scent of lavender in the air,  
> picnic dinner on blankets, heirloom tomatoes and basil from the  
> garden, a peach pie made with the peaches from our own peach tree.  
> Evening was setting in as we lingered, drinking my stepdad's  
> homemade wine--a nice dry, white Muscat. The shade of the pines  
> deepened, the air cooled, and we sat on our blankets, laughing,  
> catching up, enjoying our time together. As husband and I drove  
> home, feeling happy and connected to the people who love us, a  
> spectacular sunset was unfolding over the rolling hills. Windows  
> down, fireflies, sky going pink, orange, purple. Midwestern  
> midsummer's evening. This is why, I think, exactly why I am so  
> deeply connected to this place. It's not a place everyone would want  
> to live. It takes someone who can see beauty in a sunset over round- 
> topped grain silos, in the particular spicy scent of a field of  
> sweet corn, in the peace of a slow, wide river, in a tree heavy  
> burdened with rosy-skinned peaches. It takes, maybe, deep  
> connections to family and a childhood spent smelling these smells  
> and catching fireflies in these sunsets. I crave different places  
> myself sometimes. I crave mountains and thundering rivers with white  
> water. I crave ancient rock faces and sea breezes. But evenings like  
> this, a sense of place passes over me. A sense of peace passes over  
> me. I am happy right here, right now, on this amazing Indiana summer  
> evening.
>
> Julie
>