If the day is fair, my husband and I take supper on the porch. Dining on soup and fresh bread, or some other light Summer fare, we watch wild rabbits loafing in the cool grasses of the meadow. Often I tell the bunnies to please help themselves to grasses, but not to nibble my roses. Though they watch me lecturing with their wide, dark eyes, I can see in the morning that they have still enjoyed a munch or two of roseleaves.
The crickets sweet sonata is lively in this season. They make their steadfast music all through the long Summer night. Nearby, peepers may be faintly heard. At times I also hear loons or wild geese singing at evenfall from the river’s banks.
The swallows enjoy the Summer evening with us. There are so many tasty bugs to be caught and no one, no one, flies with mastery more than the swallows! To watch them is to be filled with wonderment and delight.
Soon after, we are joined by bats who fly down from their high homes in the old oaks. I like bats. Did you know they are a symbol of good fortune in Chinese lore? I read in a book that the pronounciation of the word for bat is the same as that of the word for good luck. How lucky for bats!
Deeper and more richly indigo the sky becomes until, at last, it is inky black and today is almost tomorrow. Then the little creatures of the night come out. In the gathering darkness, I can hear them walking the woods as the wind sings gently through the soft boughs of the trees.
When at last we turn from the loveliness of blue eventide to again enter our little cottage, I often find myself returning to the open windows. For, beyond them, fireflies illumine the gloaming with their soft luminescence. With their wandering flight and temporal light, night pictures are revealed that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Midsummer Eve (1908) by Edward Hughes
May you find delight in the plentiful riches of Midsummer!
2 comments:
Your description of your summer solstice evening is absolutely magical.
I *did* make your sorrel soup - which I enjoyed immensely. As soon as I boil another chicken, I'll have to do it again!
Thank you so much, Tara! I feel that our little Orchardwood is so beautiful that my words do it little justice.
I am very glad that you liked the soup. I made a batch from a whole chicken, too, and it was especially delicious! Happy soup to you!
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