Just Pausing for a Moment to Notice

And in the midst of it all summer is here. Last night the windows in the house were open wide and I looked up from my book and simply listened. The air was alive with the nocturnal sounds of nature: in particular, long high-pitched strings of clicking cricket song, and now and then the soft cooing hoot of an owl. The newly risen moon turned the sky to silver and washed the orchard and hills in its pale light.

Earlier in the day I had discovered the first red tomatoes in the garden, late this year, but finally beginning to appear, and watched the fog winding its way up the canyon (as it is doing right now) bringing with it the cool air from the sea.