This week brings so much. Old friends return and new friends go.
The fourth of July did include fireworks. I ventured in the foggy cold night to where all the oyster farms are and ended up on the bay with other local friends from the community. Traditions felt as if they were beginning. The comfort of community and the joy of celebration. The first few years in this insular, coastal community were a bit lonely, but now it's gotten to the point where those people I used to pass on the street are my friends.
And Vic came to town, unbeknownst to me, he texted me as he was driving to the coast. I scolded him all night long for not giving me a heads up. Blokes. Vic and I did harvest together years ago in Napa and he has since moved to Oregon to work as a winemaker. Tori and I went and joined his crew in in Sonoma, we picnicked we drank a lot of bubbles and a lot of natural wine that Vic and Molly had picked up from Cory at Selection Massale. Tori and I were left wondering what that Sonoma community would be like? More sunshine, more people...
That same day I heard news of a new friend losing his life in a car accident. We were supposed to take pictures together, that text still in my phone. It's hard to not obsess about a loss of life when someone is your age and so talented and so, so, so nice and passionate. I can't stop thinking about it. I can't stop thinking about how we put things off but time really is short and we so easily forget to live each day as if it were our last. This was a reminder that it could so easily be. But he left his photos. And I suppose, in honor, I have been with camera this week.
This picture. It was taken at work on a slow day. Jordan grows the flowers and makes bouquets. Her and I were at a festival all day and while I was slammed pouring mead, I'd hear glimpses of her enthusiasm about the gardens and it brought a smile to my face. In the same vain that life is short, I am blessed that the people I spend my days with at work are people I deeply respect and love being around.
There's so much beauty around from really old friends who love you no matter how foolish you are, to the bounty of colorful and aromatic flowers, to connecting with others, to laughing with them and supporting them.