Dusk

[rejectomorph]

The clouds turned cirrus today, for the first time in ages. A few of them are still floating over the house now, feathery and pale in the evening sky. For a while, there was a lark nearby, singing about the sunset, but now there are only the crickets, and a dog barking in the distance. The neighbors have their lawn sprinkler going, and the evaporation is cooling the air nicely. The mist drifts across my yard, intensifying the scent of all the plants. Now that the bees have ceased their buzzing about for the night, and the heat is diminished, it is a good time to sit under the tree and listen to the gathering quiet. A few cars still pass on the road beyond the pines, but each, as it vanishes, leaves a deeper calm behind it. Dusk sweeps away the busy noises of day and its details. The darkening houses settle toward sleep, and night will waken with starlight, soft footfalls, and the flutter of bat's wings.