Japanese women picnicking c. 1910 (Source: the article linked below).
Naturally, eating outdoors isn’t a Western invention, nor is it a new one. From National Geographic, a collection of fascinating pictures of picnics then and now, here and there, morning or afternoon, young or old: Nice Day for a Picnic
Now this is artsy picnicking. The city of West Palm Beach, Florida, has enlisted the skills of local artists to paint picnic tables depicting classic Aesop tales. How do you choose which one to sit at?
The Pickwick family in The Pickwicks’ Picnic is heading out of the city for a special outing–a picnic! This article from the Atlantic, “The Seductive Nostalgia of the Picnic,” may make you hanker to plan an outing of your own; it talks of picnicking, its history, its logistics, its delights. Here’s a snippet:
In my youth, [the picnic] was still a thing. Upon the announcement that a family picnic was in the works, an anticipation of bliss took hold. What was so transporting about the idea of taking grandma’s hamper, with its chipped enamelware, and the fringed wool blanket that otherwise went unused in the back of the car, just to go eat in the countryside?
What are your fond memories of picnics past? I’ll share mine in a future post.
Carol Brendler Books 
