As the hot Summer sun moved slowly across the evening sky, the long shadows of the pines stretched across the floor of the woods. Soon enough, the trees’ shadows would be absorbed into the darkness, joining with the evening, completing the transition from day to evening to night.
I lay on my hammock watching the close of the day, dressed only in shorts, my skin still sticky from the sweat of the day. I spread out on my back, looking up into the tall tree tops and watched the day pass into evening. The trees were especially beautiful in these early evening hours as they caught the parting rays of sunlight. Their leaves and branches and needles, being bathed in horizontal light from the west, glowed orange and reddish. The air felt still and humid, but high in the trees the leaves and branches rustled very gently, a sign of a cooler evening ahead.
The evening insects found me again as I lay there gently rocking from side to side. Their annoying buzzes interrupted the pleasant white noise of wind and leaves and evening birds and crickets. But soon most of them went on their way, and the few that remained were easier to ignore, so I fell asleep for an evening nap.
When I awoke it was nearly dark. I gathered my things and went back to the tent. Still tired, I went straight to bed, only to begin sweating again in the stale, still air inside. There would be no sleep until I cooled down, so I filled my water pot and went outside for a bath. I slowly poured the cool water over my body and let it trickle down my skin. A breezy evening would have been perfect, but there would be little wind evening. I continued to pour water on myself until the pot was empty. I was a bit more comfortable now so I went back to bed. I lay back on the damp bedding, my body still damp as well, and was soon able to fall asleep.
I slept well for some hours until I was awakened by a Summer storm that had built up some distance to the northeast. Heat lightning was lighting up my tent. And the accompanying thunder, grumbling slowly along as it passed through my woods, spoke softly of a powerful storm several miles away.
I was wide awake now, so I went outside to enjoy the cooler air that the storm had brought to the area. I sat naked on the pine needles outside, found a fairly comfortable spot that offered some softness, and looked high into the trees to the southwest. It was a dark night with little moonlight so the woods appeared black. Then, the distant lightning would strike again and for a brief moment cast the trees in a flash of light, only to drop them back into darkness again an instant later. Between the flashes, the woods returned to their normal night time state, with only fireflies and a few stars making their way through the darkness. I sat there awhile longer, smiling at the activity of the night. Before long my sleepiness returned and I went back inside to bed.
I awoke the next morning and immediately thought about the evening and night before, and how wonderful these hot Summer nights are in the woods of my home.
