A perfect evening

 

It was one of those evenings the other night. Perfect.

Sun was setting. Day had been clear and warm, with the temperatures in that glorious comfort zone where a t-shirt works perfectly and the sweat isn’t dripping off of you.

A breeze was coming across the yard. With lavender, peonies and several other flowers blooming, it brought along a wonderfully fragrant air.

Fireflies are out. With the daylight fading, their dancing across the lawn offered a wonderful accent to the elements coming together.

A perfect evening. Such evenings are few and far between.

Rain is a big one to spoil it. Even if it isn’t falling, overcast skies along with wet chairs can be a bit of a downer. We like to light a fire from time to time. But for every delightful fire there’s usually one where the smoke just lingers or blows in your face, and occasionally it seems to blanket and smother everything around.

Good conversation, making s’mores, and just quietly sitting and staring off to the heavens. The elements necessary can change from event to event. There is no specific list of ingredients necessary to create brilliance. A bit of this, a bit of that, mix, relax and enjoy.

This year, Terry and I haven’t even uncovered the tables on the deck yet. We did buy a propane fire pit though. Have some graham crackers, marshmallows and assorted chocolate on hand.

Neighbors are prepping for the arrival of a pool. Actually, just a guess that they are. The circle of dirt, which a couple of people spending a tremendous amount of time focusing on what appears to be an effort to level it out, is the giveaway to us. Should be one of those nice above-ground efforts, likely 21-feet or so with 4-foot walls. No clue if they have plans for a deck or fence yet. (And, from what we’ve observed from these recently arrived and never truly sighted neighbors, we are also of the belief that grandchildren are involved.)

Terry and I are good with all of this. The sounds of children laughing and enjoying a summer day is actually a happy thing to take in, at least as far as we’re concerned.

And here we are on a summer evening, clear skies, with a relaxing place to sit down and watch it all play out. Pretty nice.

A couple of friends of ours hate the summer. Not fans of hot weather. They prefer a lit fireplace, picture window with a comfortable chair facing the view, a smooth blanket of snow outside and mugs of hot chocolate inside. (Preferably hot chocolate plus any number of add ins such as butterscotch schnapps, amaretto or raspberry liqueur.) They have their own design of perfect.

I suppose we end up at a combination of things that can make anyone happy. Doesn’t need to be more complicated than that. Probably a few that would be fine inside watching the rain outside. And so…

I wish you a good evening, whatever it may be that creates it for you.

 

If you have any comments or questions, please e-mail me at Bob@inmybackpack.com