Friday brings a sultry summer morning.  Perhaps this will be the beginning of an idyllic day, such as I remember, or believe that I remember from my childhood.  Those were endless summers.  My only responsibility was to return to the house by dark.  Otherwise the day was entirely mine for play and for exploration.  Paradise ?  There’s always a flaw, something inevitably goes wrong in paradise.  Those summers came to an end as I grew older, and the responsibilities of adolescence were added. 

This day is reminiscent of those serene mornings.  Today the green lawn glowed with dew in the oblique rays of the sun — except for the dome of haze, residual smoke from the wild fires burning in Oregon and Canada.  I am reminded that all is not well in paradise. 

Here are a few photographs which were taken over the past forty eight hours.  This is the height of the growing season.  I harvested the first cucumber, of many to come, from the vegetable garden.  The vines are dappled with the star shaped blossoms.  The Rose of Sharon bush is redolent with magenta blooms.  A number of buds are visible, the petals wrapped in a spiral, receiving nourishment in preparation for a grand opening.  Summer lilies add their crimson fire to the green of the background foliage.  The dark red, with a yellow center reminds me of a glowing ember. 

The last photo is of a stalk of Japonica, ornamental corn.  The container plant is surrounded by a wire mesh extending for some ways up the plant.  Last year, a racoon living nearby had a taste for fresh corn.  Predictably the hungry animal made short work of the Japonica plant.  I understand, everything that lives has to eat.  I hope my measure will be sufficient to remove this years Japonica from the menu.

How does one live without music?  Enjoy this classic standard by James Taylor: Fire and Rain.