Night and Day...

Last night the sunset looked like a watercolor painting.  There were drifts of yellow, streaks of vibrant orange, tints of red, all blending into a breathtaking mélange against the deep shadows of the mountain range.

After watering the back garden, I sat outside, watching the light fade, the colors change, and reveled in the cool breeze.  Yes, the cool breeze.  The heat is finally beginning to dissipate a little at night, and the daytime temps have dropped about 15 degrees, though it's still too humid, and by late afternoon I'm in a sweat of misery...as are the boys.  The Sun has become my nemesis: hateful, dreaded, always lurking, waiting to spear my eyes, burn my skin, fry my brain; a rabid monkey on my back that I can't shake.

This too shall pass.  A mantra I have chanted over the years, in many situations.  And though it's true--nothing stays the same--sometimes it's very hard not to squirm with impatience, wish for time to speed up, wonder when this too shall pass.  I know that Fall follows Summer, it's a given, no matter what's happening around us, to us, because of us. 

By this time next month I'm hoping for goosebumps whilst walking the dogs in my Hawaiian shirt, happy in the realization that it's finally time to shift them to the back of the closet for another year.  I will wait, and smile with anticipation, for the first morning I reach for a hoodie because of the Fall chill in the air.  I'm going to relish the joy of planning, and making, a big pot of Irish stew, the dogs underfoot as they recognize the smells wafting around the kitchen.  They love my stew.

But, until then...

This morning the birds were at the bath, as they are most mornings.  It made me smile to watch them, lined up in the tree, waiting their turn.  I put three large rocks in the water, to give them a perch, and to help the smaller birds get drinks without drowning.

   
And since I will miss this morning ritual of the birds, when the air cools and the water in the bath ices over, I'm going to just enjoy each moment. 

Because this too shall pass.