Warming

Both lawns are now the color of wheat stubble, but the trees are green, and their leaves are rustling softly in the afternoon breeze. The respite from the heat is coming to an end. Next week the afternoons will find me cowering in the house with the drapes drawn, most likely sleeping the afternoons away— at least if it doesn't turn so hot that sleep becomes impossible. Should that happen, recourse to air conditioning will again become inevitable. Air conditioning won't make sleep any easier (too drafty, and the fluctuating temperatures are too annoying) but at least it will make being awake less unpleasant.

And there's still all of July and August to get through, plus unpredictable September. It could be three months before another day as comfortable as today comes along, and today is not as comfortable as I'd like it to be. But I should be optimistic and hope that the remainder of summer will not be as sultry as I fear. After all, birds I can't recall hearing before have been calling from nearby trees every afternoon. Perhaps I should take them to be a good omen. But more likely they are birds who used to stay farther south, and now have begun following the heat northward.

This evening should be delightful, though, and I intend to ignore the future for a while. It's not a watering day so I won't be able to listen to the sprinklers, but maybe the breezes will continue and I'll be able to listen to the leaves.