The Magic Hour

For me there's a special quality of light on sunny summer days in the late afternoon.  I glimpsed a hint of it today when the sun found a patch of blue sky in all that grey, and shadows of the cottonwood trees stretched their way across my deck. 

It reminded me of summers past, when I'd walk from a comfortable temperature inside, into heat laden air that wrapped itself around me, slowing my brain and my body.  Though I don't like the extreme heat, there's something comforting about that warm embrace. 

I miss those lazy Saturday afternoons.  It's so relaxing to recline on the rattan sofa, while an icy drink sweats on the table beside me.  Pages turn slowly in the palpable heat until I become too drowsy to hold up my book and nod off for a while.  I haven't given up hope that we'll have a few of those days soon, after all we still have more than half the summer left!