2 Wineries and a Church

September 2

Through literacy you can begin to see the universe. Through music you can reach anybody. Between the two there is you, unstoppable. ~ Grace Slick

It’s hard to believe, but it had been three years since BAT last performed in Alex. And when he and Brenda showed up at Carlos Creek Winery, with all the old regulars there, it was like a reunion party . . .

I have terrible hearing trouble. I have unwittingly helped to invent and refine a type of music that makes its principal proponents deaf. ~ Pete Townshend

August 28

[The morning dawned looking like this . . . ]

[Somehow BAT went on as scheduled – outside from 1 – 4:00 – on a day in which we received a quite necessary 3 1/2 inches of rain. The rain stopped at about 12:30, and started up again shortly after 4:00 . . . ]

[Picking up as last we remembered him. Restringing his guitar before performance, and then going straight through from 1 – 4:00 in his bare feet . . . ]

[The Super’s “missing you at . . . ” shot for Facebook . . . ]

If you really love guitar, you’re going to spend every waking hour stroking the thing. ~ Frank Zappa.

My guitar is not a thing. It is an extension of myself. It is who I am. ~ Joan Jett.

[Once always on the road, BAT and Brenda settled in Flora-Bama a few years ago and now come to see us when they can . . . ]

I’m only myself when I have a guitar in my hands. ~ George Harrison.

I wanted to create music that was so different that my mother could tell from anyone else. ~ Les Paul

I wanted to connect my guitar to human emotions. ~ B. B. King

Everyone has their own sound, and if you’re heard enough, folks will come to recognize it… ~ Chet Atkins

Sometimes the nicest thing to do with a guitar is just look at it. ~ Thom Yorke

I would advise you to keep your overhead down; avoid a major drug habit; play everyday and take it in front of other people… ~ James Taylor

Playing guitar is a never-finished journey. ~ John Fogerty

As a guitarist, I’m usually able to play any sort of instrument – as long as it has strings… ~ Ramin Djawadi

Let me, entertain you . . . ~ BAT

[My camera equivalent of BAT playing the guitar backwards over his head . . . ]

[The Super takes a shot . . . ]

I just go where the guitar takes me. ~ Angus Young

[The regular crowd has settled in . . . ]

[The sun is shining, the temperature’s fine . . . ]

I sing a bit and play guitar. ~ Jesse Metcalfe

[Abandoned the kitties at home. They will never forget it . . . ]

I couldn’t find my rain hat . . .

[All available as a result of a county work release program . . . ]

[All have been approached for cameo appearances on “American Pickers” . . . ]

[All have discovered the true meaning of life in their latter years . . . ]

Rock guitarists usually do not wish to think trains of thought about anything but their own guitar playing during a long solo… ~ John Frusciante

[Thank you, BAT! Come back and visit us again soon . . . ]

August 29

[It was a beautiful late August day. The Super and I decided a ride in the convertible would be suitable for the conditions. We had never been to Rolling Forks Vineyard before (when you come to the “fork” in the road, take it) – and it would require driving beyond the city limits of Alexandria. The storms that hit the day before (surrounding BAT’s performance) produced a lot of fallen trees along the Lake Reno shoreline heading south on Highway 29 to Glenwood . . . ]

[Rolling Forks has been open for about a year now. It’s on the SE side of Lake Minnewaska. This view is looking directly north where if you could be elevated a tad higher you could see Alexandria about 23 miles distant . . . ]

[A view of some of the vineyards just below us . . . ]

[More grape vines directly ahead, with Lake Minnewaska (the 13th largest lake in the state) in the background . . . ]

[Zooming in on some vines . . . ]

[A bird of prey circled above . . . ]

[It was not a great crested grebe . . . ]

Wine is sunlight, held together by water. ~ Galileo Galilei

[The Super at our front row seats . . . ]

[We are on the edge of the prairie, at some altitiude above the lake. It was quite windy (somewhat akin to Ted Cruz) . . . ]

[This is a full service vineyard, with food, beer, tap beer, goodies and souvenirs . . . ]

[We hammed it up for our server . . . ]

[Of course, I had to ask “What’s the capital of Burkina Faso?” when she asked if we had any questions . . . ]

[We would soon venture out upon that grassy overlook . . . ]

[Said grassy overlook zoomed in upon . . . ]

[The back of the winery for outdoor seating and music . . . ]

[The view from the aforementioned grassy overlook . . . ]

[And we are thus closer upper to the lake . . . ]

[Looking west toward the Starbuck end of Minnewaska . . . ]

[The Super provides perspective . . . ]

[We came all the way by highway, but figured there must be a direct route down to the lake . . . ]

[This is it, Selnes Road. The winery is located at 21505 Selnes Road. At the bottom is Lakeshore Drive, where a right turn almost immediately deposits one at Peters Sunset Beach Resort . . . ]

[Arriving at Lake Minnewaska . . . ]

[And then Peters Resort . . . ]

[A family gathering at said resort in the early 2000’s . . . ]

[Also home to Pezhekee Golf Course . . . ]

[Resort stuff in the water for entertainment . . . ]

A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature. ~ Henry David Thoreau

A lake carries you into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable. ~ William Wordsworth

[Continuing on past Peters Resort . . . ]

[The rain of the previous day greened things up . . . ]

We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun. ~ Winnie The Pooh

A lake is a landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. ~ Henry David Thoreau

[Glenwood’s city beach . . . ]

[On the way back home, north on Highway 29 . . . ]

“Old cowboys go to heaven, but what happens to their boots?” asked Suzanne Blair, stating that the question was the inspiration for what started off as a cute project for her family that they now refer to as “Boot Hill.” Blair and her husband, Ted, first put up a couple fence posts and an American flag at the edge of their property more than a decade ago. They then placed old Western boots that belonged to them and their kids on the fence posts. They thought that would be it. (Echo Press 9-11-15, w/ following photo)

[Said boot posts as we speed by . . . ]

[The spoils from Rolling Forks Vineyard . . . ]

August 31

When my information changes, I change my mind, What do you do, sir? ~ John Maynard Keynes or Paul Samuelson (“The Nation” 9-3-21)

[On this day, to some degree or another based on the above, the local chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby reconstituted itself at the Methodist Church. We haven’t met since before the pandemic began. It’s never too late, but there isn’t much time. Just ask Senator Sanders . . . ]

This is not a partisan debate; it is a human one. Clean air and water, and a livable climate are inalienable human rights. And solving this crisis is not a question of politics. It is our moral obligation. ~  Leonardo DiCaprio

If you really think that the environment is less important than the economy, try holding your breath while you count your money. ~ Guy McPherson

Up Next: Appears to be music and family (of course, you can say that everytime) . . .