Friday evening my sister and brother-in-law invited us to go with them to Music in the Meadow, a family-friendly outdoor concert in the Connecticut College Arboretum. We brought our lawn chairs and enjoyed the beautiful weather and setting. After walking through the woods we found a spot for ourselves up on a hill overlooking the lawn where most of the audience was seated.
After we got settled I took a little walk and tried to capture with my camera some of the plants growing in the meadow. Suddenly I spotted an eye, a little bunny was looking at me, frozen in place. I kept my distance and used my zoom lens, delighted with my discovery.
The bunny wasn’t there when I checked back later so I worried about it. But I think, although small and young, it was old enough to be on its own. Phew!
Baby rabbits leave the nest when they’re 3 weeks old and about the size of a chipmunk. If you find a chipmunk-sized but fully-furred rabbit with eyes open, ears erect, and the ability to hop, they are meant to be on their own. As small and helpless as they may look, they are not an orphan and doesn’t need your help.
~ The Humane Society of the United States website
The first performer was an amazing folk singer-songwriter, Kala Farnham, and the four of us agreed her hour of singing was the highlight of the whole show.
Nestled away in the Quiet Corner of rural Connecticut, a pint-sized songstress set out into the world with one vision: to inspire and heal through the transformative power of music. Decades later, Kala has performed at listening rooms across the country, garnering numerous awards and media attention, including The Rose Garden Performing Songwriter Contest 2019 winner, 2020 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Grassy Hill Emerging Artist, and Great American Song Contest Finalist. Drawing from a classical education and a professional background in musical theater, Kala presents a hallmark reinvention of the folk tradition. Her passion for fairytales, ancient history, and storytelling draws audiences from around the country into the reinvented worlds of alternate times and places.
~ Kala Farnham website
However, our attention kept being drawn aside to the excitement of lots of children playing on the glacial erratics at the back of the lawn. Their shouts of glee as they darted from stone to stone, climbing and jumping… it was pure joy to see. To be young and that quick and flexible again…
When Kala Farnham was done with her set and The CarLeans were setting up for their hour, I took another little meadow walk. They were good, too, a blend of styles, folk, Cajun, Latin, and Americana.
It started getting dark when The CarLeans were done and then Ward Hayden & The Outliers (“a mix of old school country, early rock ‘n’ roll, blues, and country rock”) started setting up. We stayed for one of their songs but then headed for home because we were getting cold and tired — old folks — as my father used to say. It was a wonderful evening.
We’ve been busy the past few weeks getting ready for another change in our lives. Tim’s heart disease has progressed to the point where he now needs a pacemaker. He will be having surgery to put it in on Tuesday and will spend one night in the hospital. His cardiologist hopes this will help with his shortness of breath, abnormal fatigue and very low pulse. Time will tell. ❤️
A lovely way to share the day with family. The rabbit was certainly a surprise guest.
The gorgeous mountain laurels in your area are very different from the Texas mountain laurels. I think that we saw the same magic moon though.
Sending positive energy your way. These are trying times.
Thank you, TD. There’s always that apprehension about facing the unknown… Ah yes, I remember we discussed how different your Texas mountain laurels are from ours on the east coast. 🙂 Spotting that little bunny certainly filled me with delight! I bet it hopped away as soon as the music started…
You have a very good memory, Barbara. I don’t remember discussing the differences of mountain laurels, but I’m sure you are correct.
I don’t trust my memory one bit, TD! Sometimes I think I get details from different recollections mixed up — it may well have been the Texas version of any number of things I think I remember — lol. 🙂
Glad you got out to enjoy a little nachtmusik, Barbara. Your meadow shots are lovely, esp. enjoyed the cute bunny. I love meadows!
Best wishes to Tim that all goes well and recovery is quick.
Thank you, Eliza. We’re hoping the procedure will be as routine and uneventful as we’ve been told. Enjoyed looking up the nachtmusik word, what a lovely way to describe the event. “Nachtmusik auf der Wiese”
Your meadow captures are beautiful, Barbara! And what an adorable bunny!!
Thank you, Donna!! It was an enchanting moment, spotting the cute little bunny!
I can vouch for those baby bunnies, Barbara. The ones nested in our yard — that Monkey wrote about — have already hopped their way to freedom! Prayers for your hubby’s heart procedure … and that the pacemaker will ease both your worries!
Thank you, Debbie! I think the pacemaker is already making a big difference with the shortness of breath, low pulse, etc. Oh what wonderful news, your bunnies hopped away before Monkey could act on his impulses, good job protecting them, Mama!
What a lovely idea – a concert in a meadow. Your photos brought me right there. I could even hear the buzzing of the insects and the happy crowing of the children. Early summer bliss. Thinking positively on Tim’s upcoming surgery. May it be successful and help him breathe easy.
Early summer bliss definitely sums it up, Pam. We’re hoping to make the most of all kinds of outdoor activities this summer, especially now that it seems like Tim will have more energy and less shortness of breath. So many plays, concerts and festivals to enjoy. Wishing you a happy summer, my friend!
What great news for Tim, and for you! Enjoy Summer. A most wonderful wonderful season.
Thank you, Pam! 💙
Another lovely musical outing in nature with delightful interludes filled with flowers and a bunny and capping off the day with sunset and the moon. I think you were having as much fun as those kids on the erratics. I’ve not been so limber in a while and after working in the yard all day yesterday, I feel like a Mack truck ran over me. I didn’t know the stats on baby bunnies. Yours was very cute.
I’ll wish you good luck to Tim now. I have heard it is a routine procedure as well. My friend’s husband and her best friend both had pacemakers put in years ago with no issues. Soon Tim will not only be posing next to the erratic, but trying to climb it and you will be yanking him down! You’ll both be in my thoughts Tuesday Barbara – take care.
It was great getting to two concerts in two weeks. 🙂 I love people-watching and haven’t had much of a chance to enjoy that during the pandemic. So it was refreshing to get out there and see what people are up to these days. Watching the children took me back to my own childhood playing with the neighborhood kids on summer evenings.
Thank you, Linda. So far everything is going well with the pacemaker. He can walk up the stairs without huffing and puffing. And the pulse monitor can picks up a reading now. All in all it was as easy and routine as people were saying it would be. I think it will make a big difference in his quality of life!
That is fabulous news Barbara! Any apprehension you had beforehand flew out the window with those great results. I took a quick look at your post and will read and comment tomorrow, but I saw that you will visit the same venue you went after Tim’s heart surgery in 2007 … that is good and very confident feeling. Modern medicine has certainly made a big difference in Tim’s quality of life and your time spent together, especially for walks in nature.
It’s amazing when I think of it, how modern technology is what is giving us the gift of more years to enjoy mother nature. ❤️
Yes – thank goodness for modern technology Barbara, because now you two will only bend to the weather forecast/conditions in planning nature excursions. Instead of moon missions, scientists should be working on cures for diseases to eradicate them. They’ve done great with heart disease … now to tackle other medical problems.
I suppose the reason we have so many treatments for heart disease is that it is so common and the drug companies can make a lot of money off their discoveries. But sadly, rare diseases don’t get the same attention or efforts. I remember when I got my first prescription for Zomig in 2006 and it aborted the next migraine I got. I was astonished! That put an end to years of suffering from chronic migraine for me.
That’s true as to heart disease. I used to work with a girl who got cluster headaches and when she felt one coming on, she had the same type of symptoms as a migraine and went into a dark room and would lay down to try and abort it. She began treating at the University of Michigan, enrolled in a study because the headaches were so severe. She was attending school part-time to get a CPA degree and had to drop the classes as the headaches were so frequent and severe.
I wonder if your co-worker who would get cluster headaches was finally treated with Imitrex injections or Zomig nasal spray, which act faster than pills. Migraines and cluster headaches are definitely disabling, as I can testify. I hope she finally found some relief!
Somehow I missed this post so I missed the news about Tim. I’m so glad it went well. For “old folks” you guys sure do get out a lot! Loved the kids playing on rocks! And the beautiful moon. The moon down here has been magical this week as well.
Thank you, Anna! It does seem like we’re getting out more than we did when we were younger. Probably because we’re retired and then with the pandemic quarantine, getting out, to get fresh air and move our bodies, was the only way to cope with the stress, fear and isolation. But we still refrain from indoor events. Summer moons do seem extra magical, don’t they?
Many blessings as he continues to heal, dear Barbara. This evening musical interlude by the meadow (with children playing on the erratics) sounds like a balm to your hearts as you prepared for the surgery.
Thank you so much, my friend. It was an enchanting evening, one I won’t soon forget. Every moment seemed to unfold as an extra-special gift from Presence, filling me with gratitude for the magic surrounding us.
You’ve described it so beautifully. May Tim continue to heal with his new found energy.
Thank you, Kathy. 💙