James at 28

"There is a young cowboy, he lives on the range. His horse and his cattle are his only companions.
He works in the saddle and he sleeps in the canyons, waiting for summer, his pastures to change.
And as the moon rises he sits by his fire, thinking about women and glasses of beer.
And closing his eyes as the doggies retire, he sings out a song which is soft but it's clear
as if maybe someone could hear...


Goodnight you moon light ladies, rock-a-bye sweet baby James.
Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose, won't you let me go down in my dreams?
And rock-a-bye sweet baby James.


Now the first of December was covered with snow
and so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston.
Though the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on account of that frosting,
with ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go.
There's a song that they sing when they take to the highway,
a song that they sing when they take to the sea,
a song that they sing of their home in the sky, maybe you can believe it if it helps you to sleep,
but singing works just fine for me.


So, goodnight you moon light ladies, rock
-a-bye sweet baby James.
Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose, won't you let me go down in my dreams?
And rock-a-bye sweet baby James."

James Taylor ~ Rock-a-Bye Sweet Baby James

Today saw us enjoy a trip to Winchester to meet up with our son James who is 28 on Tuesday, and a birthday meal with him and his fiancee Katie. Needless to say, being a child of mine he is not great at having a massive SLR pointed at him, having endured quite a bit of it during his years growing up. So this shot is a bit more serious than I would ideally have liked - he's not that serious normally :-) 

The musical reference track is of course by James Taylor - an artist with a voice of such purity, and a favourite of Cathy.  This song was played quite often when he was tiny and we couldn't get him to sleep, partly to sooth James, but also to try to sooth Cathy and I. Oh the joys of learning to parent with a first born!