Yes, Virginia, Gov. Patrick still has some fans.

With the sun setting behind him over pristine Onota Lake, Governor Deval Patrick was answering questions about wind farms, zebra mussels, even how to get a nonprofit off the ground.

And then Marie Cowell began to cry. She was upset at Patrick’s budget cuts for those with developmental disabilities, pointing to her two children as evidence of the human toll of his decisions.

“We really need support,’’ she told him between sobs last week at a town hall meeting.

Patrick hugged her, lamented how tight the budget was, then conceded that his words “were cold comfort.’’

But they weren’t: Even though she’s angry at his decisions, Cowell spoke approvingly about the governor and his intentions, a distinction that encapsulates a more forgiving attitude toward Patrick in the western reaches of a state he governs from Boston.

With Patrick suffering at times in the hothouse of Boston politics and estranged from some leaders in his own party, he is finding a much more receptive audience out west. For an urbane governor who has lived in the Boston area for much of his life, it is notable that one of his most reliable reservoirs of support lies in the rural, less populated stretches well beyond Beacon Hill. In both personal and political terms, this part of the state has become something of a home base.

“He feels more comfortable out here,’’ said North Adams Mayor John Barrett, after finishing a series of events with Patrick last week. “He does not react well in the political hub of the state. And when he gets out of that and gets out into the vineyards, as they say, and interacts with people, they see a different guy.’’

Patrick, who vowed to be the governor of the whole state, spends a large amount of time outside of Boston, particularly in Western Massachusetts. It is an area that, according to a recent Globe poll, sees him far more positively than voters elsewhere. Many here say that’s partly because the political sensibilities in this part of the state suit Patrick: earnest, policy-minded, less concerned about personality-driven spats or media-fueled controversy.

“Everywhere outside of 495, I have found a little love goes a long way,’’ Patrick said in an interview. “People really feel like Beacon Hill is focused on Beacon Hill, and not on them. And showing up matters.’’

UPDATE: More from the Herald and Michele McPhee.

SECOND UPDATE: More from Jon Keller, Holly Robichaud, Real Clear Politics, Boston Herald and Adrian Walker.

UPDATE: More from the AP and Examiner.com.