This morning is a delight. The air, blowing a bit from the north, even feels a little chilly. It is 70° with no humidity. Later it will get warmer, 78° being the high for the day. I haven’t a list so I feel a bit at sea. Yesterday I not only completed my list but also filled the bird feeders, not on the list. I feel accomplished.

Every season has a feel about it. Every season even has a wardrobe. My favorite season is fall, but I do love summers, especially summer nights. The doors and windows are open. The air is filled with the chirping of katydids and crickets. Sometimes I can hear a frog, and I swear I sometimes hear an owl. My neighborhood is always quiet. I can see the lights in the windows of my neighbors’ houses. In my house, the lights somehow look dimmer at night, a bit diffused. Out the back door, white lights are on the fence. I keep lit candles in the windows. Sometimes I go out just to sit on the deck in the dark. The dogs come with me. They lie down but stay alert. I keep watch for fireflies. The dogs just keep watch.

When I was a kid, Duke, our boxer, followed us everywhere. We used to yell at him to stay, and Duke would sit. We’d walk a little bit then turn around to check on Duke, and he’d still be sitting, but the distance between us and the sitting dog never changed, never got any bigger. Duke knew how to dupe us. My father and mother were also his victims. Duke sometimes escaped in the morning and would start to follow kids to school. My father would yell out the door for Duke to come. He’d turn around, give my father a defiant look and then keep walking even a little faster. My father would get so mad he’d hop in his car and chase Duke. He usually caught him as Duke couldn’t resist a ride in the car. My mother tried to bribe Duke with bologna. She’d hold the meat out the front door, shake it so Duke could see it. He’d run to the door and snatch the meat. My mother never caught him. Nala has a bit of Duke about her, a big bit of Duke, and I am her victim.

I don’t know what I’ll do today. Maybe I’ll sweep the deck. Maybe I’ll check a few stored bins as I’m missing some shirts I hand made in Ghana. I might even make my bed, but then again I don’t want to go overboard. (I’d like to point out that I started this with an ocean idiom and am finishing it in like fashion!)