I have always been enamored with picnics. Eating outdoors seems so exciting; anything can happen! You can imagine yourself on the French Riviera or in a garden in Italy. There are indoor picnics too, more about those later …

Personally, I define a picnic as food eaten in combination with an activity or excursion. Sometimes an errand determines the nature of your picnic. If you needed groceries from Hillsborough’s very own Weaver Street Market, you could first pass through the store and assemble a basket of cheese, salami, olives, pears, lemonade and baguettes. They also have a very good mustard selection (I would invest in a bottle).

The Eno River runs just behind the market’s parking lot and is spectacular in all seasons and weather. Spring, for example, comes at least two weeks earlier on its banks with double daffodils and Johnny-Jump-Ups. It will give you hope in February, I promise. I like to keep rubber boots of various sizes in my trunk and drag people down to the riverbanks whenever possible. This picnic also works well for a quick after-school afternoon coffee ramble. You will be able to face the rest of your day and grocery shopping rejuvenated and civilized.

My family always walked to the graveyard after summer dinners when I was growing up on my grandmother’s farm in Hendersonville. If you were very small you were pulled along in the little red wagon. This was more exercise for the grown-ups. It’s good for them — I mean, us! I have kept this tradition alive for my own family and friends where I live now in Efland. There is nothing like getting up from a late spring outdoor supper party and strolling a mile or two down a green country road. Your assorted guests, children and dogs, as well as your own fascinating hostess ensemble, are sure to be a topic of conversation in your neighborhood.

One more picnic before I go: This one my cousins and I made up for when you’ve reached the depths of winter and can’t go on. Rent surf movies from the ‘60s such as “Gidget,” a classic. Buy the most lovely fresh fruit and berries you can find: pineapples, mangoes and limes to squeeze on everything. The fruit is your entr/e, but some oven-roasted french fries, white and sweet potatoes would be very nice and warm up the house, too. Put blankets down in your living room with beach towels over them and crank up the heat. Put on something summery, or pajamas (they’re always wearing pajamas in those movies) and away you go. Later you can play records and dance — just a suggestion.