mini vacation

Well, maybe not exactly a vacation, but we got in a few hours of touring yesterday afternoon. Artists living on farms around 20 miles from us had a weekend of open shops—mostly sheep related, or expensive art for your garden (who wouldn't want a hand-carved bird bath for $600?). We were too late for a lot of the yarn shops, but we made it to the end of the tour and checked out the newest winery in Montgomery County.

If you look closely in the next shot you can see the 5-year old who was chosen to pull the lever to dump the grapes. Tempting to try and plead for letting an old woman try this, but it wasn't going to happen. Cabernet Franc, planted in 2004, no bigger than Burdick blueberries, and just as sweet.

Having toured a few winerys once with Bridget in California, I give this place high marks. We met one of the owners, a retired Irish judge, who could step right into any PBS miniseries. Our wine was served by women who must have learned from the hospital auxiliary code book how to run a tasting tent—sensible shoes, gray hair, and lots of cheerful bustling around. And we were back home before dark. For old folks, about the right pace.