One Fine Summer Night

Actually, summer nights here are almost always fine.  The sun lingers high above the horizon, spreading out its soft golden glow until late at night, long enough to enjoy the evening's serenity, and then sinks down at around midnight but leaves behind a profusion of its sunlight that remains all night long until it slowly intensifies again in the morning. The blue sky is either devoid of clouds or painted with them in gloriously diverse  forms.

It is one of such nights, at past 8:00 p.m., when I went out to our little backyard patio, armed with pen and paper and ready to write a draft of a story that had been hatching in my head. Usually, when I want to write something, I'm sitting in front of the computer, busily pounding my fingers on the keyboard. But that night, I didn't want to sit in this dark corner of the room and let the glory of that summer night slip away. 

And so, I laid down my pen and paper on the table, sat comfortably on one of the stools and looked around for a few minutes before penning down my first word. Our little flower bed magnetized my eyes and I found myself admiring the plethora of colorful flowers that filled that barely 1/2 x 2 1/2-meter plot that we have cleared to plant these summer flowers. I was amazed to find them yield flowers in such unexpected opulence even after leaving them for about ten days without anyone watering them at all.

My hubby also came out barefoot, pulled out unwanted weeds and watered the flowers. It was actually he who arranged  this flower bed. 

For over a year since we moved here, we had been longing to have a little flower garden in our backyard, but since we were unsure whether we would stay in this unit or find another later, we put off the plan. But this summer, we decided to plant anyway, just to have something nice to feast our eyes on, something that would relax us when we come home after work. It's amazing how such a little flower bed can do wonders to one's psyche, just as it did to us that lovely night.

I completely forgot my writing project, but instead, I kept on taking macro shots of our little flowers.

After reveling in such floral pulchritude, I turned my eyes to the sky. Another beauty loomed overhead!

The rowan tree standing nearby had its twigs swaying with the soft breeze that wafted in the air while basking in the light and warmth of the evening sun along with the clovers that dotted the grass surrounding the tree.

 

A group of frolicsome swallows were  flying around in circles and back and forth.  Their flight was so fast and erratic that I had difficulty capturing them. I tried so hard for several minutes until I gave up and ended with this blurry shot. Anyway, it gave me sheer pleasure just watching them playing blithely.

As the night advanced, I spotted this couple just a few steps from us, obviously allured by the loveliness of this night, to savor their togetherness outdoor. My hubby  approached them and had a short friendly conversations with them. They were from Colombia. They didn't mind him taking this picture of them.

That night wore on but the magic of it trailed behind. My writing project totally abandoned, I went back inside the house, still feeling high for these little blessings that abound everywhere, which only those who have the eyes to notice them and the heart to embrace and appreciate  them can truly get to the pinnacle of joy and satisfaction that such things bring.