An Evening of Fireflies and Sticks

I’ve been staying indoors this week because the days are still too hot for me. But, at night I like to sit in the front yard and watch the galaxy of fireflies, which is sometimes eclipsed by a zooming car or a mini-parade of strolling people.

Tonight, was no different until Ish came over to play. Shane had to go in the house so Ish could come inside the gate. (That's him in the picture, looking out the door, ready to do battle—for what, I'm not sure.) You know, those two dogs just can’t make peace. I’ll bet they don’t even know why they don’t get along. Well, really, it’s not Ish’s fault. He’s still too young to know that it’s not a good idea to jump on Shane’s face.

Ish ran around the yard and wagged his tail. He tried to get me to play, but, come on, I’m too old for that sort of thing. Joan threw a stick for him, and he ran after it. Over and over and over, he ran after that stick. I don’t get it. What’s the big deal about running after a stick?

Then, he and Joan sat on the stoop, and she put her arm around him. Harrumph. It wasn’t right to for me to be so far away from the loving, so I hauled myself up and claimed my spot on the other side of Joan. She petted both of us for a long, quiet time, and I felt a little sorry that Shane had no way of feeling the peace.

Finally, Ish went home, and Shane was able to come outside and take a nice walk with us.

It was dark already.

The breeze lifted everything—the tree branches, the heavy air, the low clouds, my spirits. The walk progressed very nicely until I heard a noise. No, it wasn’t a firecracker; it was a human who was very angry at a ball for refusing to fall into a hoop at the end of his driveway. Well, what did he expect? It was dark, after all.

I had never seen anyone get mad at a ball. Every day brings a new experience.

Best wishes, Juno