This past Sunday, I went to a wonderful late August party. My friends Susan and Vlasta held the party at their beautiful place in the country. People sat near the pond for a while and soaked up the gorgeous evening. It was one of those times where you realized summer was coming to an end but we were happy just enjoying what was left of it.
Then it was time to eat. Susan and Mac got ready to barbecue burgers and boil dozens and dozens of cobs of corn for the hungry masses. Mmmm! It was yummy! Food always tastes so good outside on a late summer evening.
As the sun began to set, a bonfire was lit and people gathered to chat and watch the flames. Food, friends, and a last beautiful summer evening. What more could one want!
Last Saturday, my friend Lisa and I went to a concert in a barn which turned out to be a truly magical experience. This was held at By Chadsey's Cairns Winery, Prince Edward County, by the shores of Lake Ontario. As the brochure advertising the concert said, there was "wine, food, hay bales, and light streaming through the barn boards."
I took a shot of the exterior of the barn because I really liked the way you could see through, to the opening on the other side.
Across from the barn, there was a wine store that sold wine made from the grapes growing in the fields behind. Lisa and I tasted a couple of different wines before purchasing some bottles - white for Lisa and red for me.
Before the concert, we sat outside overlooking the vineyard and drank some of the delicious red we had chosen.
We were served a meal by an Ottawa chef named Jonathan Korecki, from Restaurant 18 in the Byward Market. These appetisers were really yummy!
Then it was time to go into the barn for the concert. I loved this cathedral-like view of one wall, with all the light coming in through the boards.
The musicians were all members of the National Arts Centre orchestra. Here is Michelle Gott, the harp soloist, warming up.
There were three other musicians from the NAC orchestra. In this picture, Yosuke Kawasaki, concertmaster, and Joanna G'froerer, principle flute, are playing Beethoven's Serenade for Flute, Violin and Viola (I couldn't get Jessica Linnebach, the viola player, in the picture). It doesn't get any better than this - music, food and wine on a magical summer evening.
