Quiet Hour

The peaceful hours just before dusk are a cherished time for me. For one thing, if it's been a hot day, as most are now, the air cools and a light breeze fans the heat from the day. This is the time I most enjoy in the garden.
The sandhill cranes call from across the fields, frogs pick up their evening chorus from the pond, and birds are taking their last dizzy spirals above the garden. The setting sun touches the swallows with gold as they swoop low over the plants, snatching bugs on the wing - bless the swallows!
A time for pure enjoyment. Quiet, golden, solitude. "In this quiet hour, Let me see Thy face, Lord, Feel thy touch of power". Words from an old 1920 hymn. The simple melody touches my heart. You might enjoy listening...

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/q/i/quiet_hr.htm

I browsed the strawberry beds for the last handful of sweet ruby morsals, bursting with sunny flavor and passionate color. Little treasures, the best of the season. All the more cherished because they are the final gifts from our happy strawberry beds for this season.

A bowl and kitchen shears now accompany me for any stroll through the garden - there are always some crisp lettuces to harvest, baby zuchinni and cucumbers to search out from cloaks of leaves, herbs to snip for a morning omelet. This evening the peas were suddenly at the right stage for the first big picking. That's the way peas are, they poke along, poke along, giving a teasing filled pod here and there, then when you aren't looking they ripen in a rush. Fat little new peas - the "pop" of a pod splitting beneath my thumb makes me smile in anticipation!
The sky stages dusk with glowing color and cloud shapes, changing from moment to moment. Sunsets here are incredible, with towering thunderheads catching the light with more drama than any stage hand could manage for a rock concert. I stand and watch in complete awe, saturating my mind in the peace and beauty of the vision.
Each day brings it's separate joys, each evening special gifts of grace and peace. I am so grateful.

Especially for mosquito repellant.