Although it went unnoticed, it was there.

As a young lad, I liked walking through the fields on our family farm. After a long day of work, those fields offered me solace and hope. It was quiet. There was hope. There was beauty.

Strolling through a field of corn, there was a sense of hope. We hoped the weather would cooperate and the yield would be enough for us to feed our livestock for a year. The hushed walk was enriched by the tall stalks of corn, the large ears of developing corn and the occasional slap in the face by a corn leaf. Yes, a bit annoying, but the dream of a good year was prevalent.

In the same manner, walking through a field of maturing oats offered a dream to me. The dream was that the harvest would, again, offer enough food for our animals, and that meant we wouldn’t be stressed by the lack of feed. Carefully, because I didn’t want to destroy any plants, I walked and listened to the swish of the oat plants against my jeans. The scent of the crop was a dream come true.

Then, the magnum opus! There was the field of blooming flax. The pale blue color of the plants blossoms would capture every nerve in my body. The color was so magnificent — although fleeting — and the sweet aromas held the dream of a good yielding cash crop.

It seemed life was full of dreams. However, the thing I didn’t realize that was always present was my dream of a continuing peaceful life. I had a dream.

As we all know, just when you are expecting life to throw you a fast ball, it throws a curve ball and things get rearranged.

My field of dreams has changed many times over the years, but those past farm fields have never left me. When I visited my very first winery, I was enthralled by the production methods, and of course, the result of that production. Then, I asked the vintner if I could walk through the vineyard. That vineyard walk reopened my past field walks, and I felt that at least one dream of mine would continue.

It was the dream of being connected to the earth via the scents, sounds and sights of a growing plant.

Once again, I felt the quiet, the hope and the beauty of my old dreams.

Every time after that vineyard stroll, I was offered a tasting of the wineries wines. Once again, there was that scent, the sounds and the hope of an amazing tasting adventure. I was never disappointed.

Today, I like to think my dreams will continue. That our country will positively come through its current terrible dysfunction, and the dream encompassed by the Statute of Liberty will be continued and embraced by future generations. Our country is like one vast field that is filled with differing crops of people who will come together to continue our country’s dream of a quiet life, a hopeful life and a life filled with beauty.

Yes, I had a dream, and now I still have a dream. But, like the work that was needed to ensure good yielding fields of corn, oats and flax, we must all work together to ensure that the dream for our nation goes on for many more years.

May you notice your fields of dreams and have the opportunity to fulfill them.

As always, eat and drink in moderation, but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!