From June to July

It seems defeatist to consider summer over in mid-July, but by my mark, the season is winding down.

That mark is the onset of cicada buzz, turning the quiet, firefly-lit nights of June to sleepy-hum earlier sunsets of July.

The daylight changes, too, as the sun slants down lower in the sky. But I love what the lower light does: it highlights colors in the garden and deepens shadows, making lingering outside an experience as lush in its own right as those bright spring days are exhilarating in their own.

This July day in Pittsburgh passed with cerulean blue skies and temperatures in the 90s. The Dormont Pool was packed and I'm sure the movie theaters were, too. Watermelon from a farmer's market chilled in my fridge.

In the evening, fireflies flashed and a bit of a breeze cooled the night air.

In the depths of winter, these days keep me warm.