A Peter Ralston 4th of July

Dear Friends,

Having just enjoyed the Fourth, we can now unequivocally say that Summer is fully upon us…in all its glory and in all its busyness!

As sort of a follow-up to last week’s “hug from Maine,” here are my two images from the Fourth. In a departure from my usual inclination to get as close as possible to fireworks, this year Terri and I took a picnic basket up nearby Mt. Battie to settle in for a restful couple of hours overlooking all of Penobscot Bay before the main event at 9PM.

In the moment, as wonderful as it all was, I recalled that proximity to fireworks of any size or scale is all-important. While I missed the chest thumping wallop of the thunderous salutes, it was sublime being atop the mountain with Terri…our beloved island-studded bay out there beneath us.
Although the distant fireworks were small, it was a big moment and big evening for us. Here’s the finale:

Adding to it all, a lovely little sideshow chanced our way; shortly before the fireworks began a very spirited group of perhaps a dozen or so young girls arrived with their three camp counselors and settled in for the show. They parked themselves directly in front of my tripod and their frisky energy was absolutely contagious. Terri made a shot of me on site and with my ancient iPhone I made a quick one of the girls. In all, it was nice icing on a perfect cake.