Herewith, we present a fête, a feast, a fest, a festival of art and craft to fill your summer with beauty and awe. Readers submitted some of the work; some we searched out to remind you what older women are up to. You just may be surprised.

We were astounded by what was available online when we went looking. Google Images. Vimeo film clips. Photos, slideshows, galleries, and blogs yielding a flood of work: women doing wonders.

Videos are tricky to incorporate in the magazine – and mostly impossible to edit. But in the end our webmistress, Laura Zaki, saved the day again and again; you may have to click to see or listen or perhaps just be patient as the work unfolds.

The poetry contest winners from the Western states and the anecdotes in Short Takes are the sole non-visual parts of this issue. Don’t worry: future issues will once again feature fiction and nonfiction. We have a pile of excellent work just waiting for editing and posting.