Gettin' Rural

One book on my personal reading list this summer is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. For me, this has been a refreshing read- its topic is one of my favorite subjects-FOOD! And after the Welty workshops last summer and my AmeriCorps term this summer, I've become so grateful to my surroundings, which is a shared sentiment I found in this book. And since I will soon be changing surroundings soon (I think I'm tearing up!), I wanted to express my gratitude.

So thank you, Nashville Public Radio and Lightning 100 for telling me about shows at the Ryman, about www.picktnproducts.org, and for commentator Frank DeFord's cheerful voice every Wednesday morning.

Thank you, Lewisburg, Tennessee, for Forgie's Fruit Farm, where we picked Harvester peaches on a beautiful landscape.

So delicious, it's "forbidden!"

And thanks to tastespotting.com (not really part of my surroundings, unless you wanted to call them my "cyber-surroundings") for the recipe that turned those tasty peaches into this:



Thank you Middle Tennessee, for the twangin', the pickin', and the drinkin' at the Full Moon Pickin' Party in Warner Parks.

These players (above, not below-:) ) at one point played the Bluegrass version of the Scooby Doo theme song. I kid you not.

Oxford, MS (not a completely different landscape at all) is just a wee 4 1/2 hours from Nashville, TN (and only 2 1/2 hours from my home in West Tennessee), so I don't think I'll be much deprived from anything. However, I will have to hide my Vanderbilt and Go Vols T-shirts, unless I want the wrath of the South upon me!