In the Dark

Heat intensifies the smell of gardenias tonight, the cloying sweetness underlain with an odor of decay. They will soon be gone, half the blossoms already having turned brown. I will not miss them. The inoffensive daisies, though, I will miss. They too have suffered from the intense days, and fall into decline, withering atop their long stalks. In nearby yards there are large oleander bushes with red blossoms which will also soon fall. Only the persistent rose bushes still produce new buds, and will continue to flower throughout the summer.

Tonight, the waning moon picks out a few of the paler roses, and they glow amid the shadows. Other objects catch the light, as well; a window here, a weather vane there, a mailbox, an insulator on a utility pole, a television antenna, a small stone painted white that marks the corner of a driveway. All these mundane fragments of the daily world are transformed by reflected gleam into things that catch the eye, suggesting hidden wonders scattered through the night. I forget their familiar true nature and imagine them to be glimpses of something larger to be discovered. The summer night has fevered my brain.

Ouchie

Chiropractor day was today, so I feel a bit queasy, but I think it might be over for a while, as long as I don't do anything stupid to get out of alignment again. I have the ice pack on my neck, so it's nice and cool while the rest of me is all toasty from the hottest day yet.

A while ago, I saw a bevy of quail across the street. They used to be a common sight here, but have been rare in recent years. Too many cats in the neighborhood. The cat across the street is not one of the too many, though. She was sitting in her driveway while the quail were pecking about, passing within a few feet of her, but she didn't go after them. That has to be the most mellow cat on earth. She almost never fights with other cats, and I don't remember ever seeing her chase birds. My cat would have been after those quail in an instant if they had come into our yard. Strange kitty.

Going to go lie down until some of the soreness leaves my neck.