Yesterday I went out into the backyard with a bottle of frozen water, sat down in a lawn chair, and watched night fall. This week in July is historically the worst week of summer, and the week had lived up to its reputation — over 90 degrees every day, oppressive humidity, warnings to the old folks to stay indoors. Our Hart bus even parked an air-conditioned bus on Main Street, inviting sufferers to come in. Relief was predicted for last night so I went out to watch the sky and wait for its coming. Have you ever just watched the sky darken as night falls? The rain did not come but Martha and Dan came over and informed me that our Mimosa tree, which is now in bloom, is being frequented by hummingbirds. I’ve never seen a hummingbird on this property and it was too dark to see properly but I look forward to a daytime sighting. I expected mosquitos, but saw none. It was a good musing time.
My birthday festivities are all over now, save for a raincheck for lunch with Sis Ann. They seemed to go on and on, such that a church friend deemed it “celebrating the octave of Dottie’s birthday.” There were several lunches, a big cake, a small cake, a designer cupcake, and tiramisu, flowers and plants, sundry gifts, numerous cards including four that actually said, “For your 90th birthday” and only two were duplicates! Plus Facebook, which is a good place to gather wishes from far afield.
It was good to be able to spend a length of time with the grass and the sky, to check out the two new pear trees and the fig tree that looks like it will really produce many figs this year. I note just on the other side of the fence a tree that has suddenly (where have I been?) grown huge, to shade-tree size, and I don’t even know its name. It is definitely not a maple, perhaps an elm? I must check it out. One should know the name of a sizeable tree so close at hand, even though it’s not mine.
During the night it apparently did rain some but no storm as predicted. Another hot day coming up, only in the eighties. I hope to watch night fall again in the near future–it’s a nice change from watching one TV program after another until I fall asleep. A good time to commune with nature and count one’s blessings.
Nightfall. Fireflies in abundance as a bonus. Haven’t seen any for years!