• Mood: happy
• Music: clickity clack of the keyboard, a windchime

YOU PULL BACK THE CURTAINS AND THE SUN BURNS INTO YOUR EYES

I'm not sure there could have been a more perfect summer day than this one.

Summer Sights:

• A monarch butterfly that landed on my footrest and breathed in and out with his wings. As soon as the thought "I should fetch the camera" crossed my mind, he lifted and floated away.
• The grass-marinated slickery limbs of my children as they slipped and slid in and out of the pool
• The nodding, sun-saluting red red RED heads of the bee balm flowers and a crouching, mud-brown toad blending into the woodchips
• The sinuous wavy curves of water from the hose sprayed through the sunshine
• A bowl of blueberries and 3 cucumbers from Mom's garden, served with dinner
• The pattern of maple and birch leaf shadows on my book
• The green-skinned sky preceding a sudden stillness and short storm

Summer Sounds:

• The plastic-crunching noise of the ice dispenser as it spits cold crescents into a glass
• Karin grumping that the pool is "too splashy!"
• Martin shrieking with glee as he runs and dives into the water, gliding across the slick bottom in a splashing wave
• The background narration of the tractor mower fading and growing, punctuated by birdsong
• The whirring whirl of ceiling fans in every room
• The drumbeats of the evening rain pounding crescendo on the roof, then easing

Sunshine-filled Summer Birthday Wishes to into_the_blue!