Sarah had to share riding space with lavender and purple coneflowers on our way to Northport Friday morning. The sun was glaring bright down in the harbor.
Besides stops at the farm market and for a dog run north of town (picture those two activities to yourself, or refresh your memory by looking at other postings), there was cleaning and organizing to do at the bookstore. On event day, the guest author gets the table all to himself.
But surprise! (There are always surprises in a bookstore.) We had an unexpected visitor from the U.P., singer-songwriter-author Carl Behrend, bringing books and CDs (“Great Lakes Fisherman” is the song that breaks my heart), quite ready and willing to hold an impromptu signing right then and there.
The hours sped by. Soon it was time for the scheduled poet’s visit. Here he is with darling little granddaughter, Ava.
And here he is with a new group of admirers.
There’s always a joker in every crowd (Steve is a good sport; he won’t mind this), but we fooled this one by serving mint tea and nonalcoholic punch.
Poet Todd Mercer came from way the other side of Traverse City.
As an added bonus, he brought me copies of the new Dunes Review. It’s here in Northport, and it’s gorgeous! There are also a couple poems in it by Benjamin Busch, who will be here next Thursday with Anne-Marie Oomen.
Three overnight guests joined us later at the farm—that is, Sarah and I joined David and everyone else when we finally got home—but by that time my picture-taking urge had completely died away, so you’ll just have to imagine our sunny, breezy, convivial evening. Hint: kick off your mental picture with plenty of smoked fish and fresh garden produce—and yes, wine, too.
4 comments:
That is a very happy post. I'm going to just go live in it for a little while if you don't mind. A well-mannered dog, a well-organized life, a nice surprise, good books, good music, grandchildren, a nice glass of mint tea. Yup. I'm there and I'm staying there until later.
"Well-organized life"? If you'd been here materially rather than virtually, you might have noticed a certain harried look on my face and maybe a bead or two of sweat. But you're right to think that it was a lovely day and evening.
It is fun to look at the pictures and remember being in the bookstore. To know now where you sit, where the people are positioned, and where Sarah might be lounging. Nice to have that impromptu visit. I am not familiar with Carl Behrend, sadly.
Kathy, I'm surprised you don't know Carl. You must have heard some of his songs on CDs from "Legend of the Great Lakes" on. He's a Munising guy.
I have fond memories of your bookstore visit, too!
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