Shad at Shad Bake

Between putting together a rhubarb-strawberry-ginger crisp and trying to get all my camera gear in good shape for an afternoon "project," I didn't have much time for a natural history walk. But that was OK, because my agenda for the day was to document one of the oldest and best traditions in my calendar year: the annual Shad Bake. We're pretty sure it's been happening during every Memorial Day weekend for at least the past quarter century, but last year, because of health problems with the sponsors, the Bake took a holiday. It came back on a perfect weather day and the shad, basted with butter and bacon-fat-drippings as it slow-cooked on oak planks by an open fire, never missed a step. The fish, and every dish brought by the participants, was spectacular. So was the company. These are the things you live for—and, in between bites and conversation, things you thank God or whatever spirit you believe in for putting you in the presence of good friends and good fish.