Laura Oliver

We have just passed the summer solstice, which means, although school only let out a week ago, the world is moving toward fall, but it takes a calendar to convince me of that because light slips from our days so incrementally, we are unaware of its passing. Then there's this. I've noticed lately that when a friend brings up a mutual acquaintance neither of us has heard from in a while, our first response to the mystery of how that friend might be doing is a pause...

You don't have to die to glimpse paradise. One of my two older sisters owns a horse farm nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and we gather there every few months. Because my sister who owns the farm, is a gifted perfectionist, these lush woods and golden pastures are exquisite in design, natural beauty, and upkeep. While others might have constructed a pool, she has created a lake; trucked in sand for a small beach. Built a screened gazebo over the water and a loggia in the grass.