Sunday afternoons

Sundays afternoons... the stormy weather has broken, letting the sun shine for awhile in our part of the Golden State. Sitting here in the yard, under our patio umbrella, the 70 degree temperature feels cooler, as a gentle breeze blows turning leaves from the limbs of our trees, a silver maple and two alders. The birch trees cling to their leaves, which have yet to turn the awesome colors of fall. Only cooler weather yet to come will start them that way.

In this part of the country summer tries to hold on well into fall, meaning a month or so from now, the TV weather forecasts will be peppered with references to Indian Summer, which Webster defines as " a period of warm or mild weather in late autumn or early winter" . That it certainly is.

The dog lies sleeping not three feet away, her ears twitching occassionally, her breathing so silent that at times I have to stare to see a breath drawn, often fearing the day my faithful companion no longer can share these peaceful days with me.

My honey, bored with TV, has wandered to the bedroom for a nap, casually quipping "wake me when you start dinner, OK?", and the door clicks shut. I am for the time being as though I am alone, and able to relax and do nothing except be.

Sundays means no worries about having to look "professional", I am free to look and act as I like ...a simple grey top, my hair as ratty as I want, my sparse makeup, khaki pants and plastic shoes give me away as the average person i am.

I don't look forward to work, as next weekend starts my vacation. Thinking of it floods my mind with thoughts of places to go and things to see, which always happens when vacation gets this close .

By this time next week, I will be sitting on a beach, watching the surf, as our dog runs, barking at the retreating waves, and then running like a maniac as the fresh waves surge in....how she can do that for hours I have never been able to understand..maybe if or else we will be inside behind the picture windows, admiring the same scene as a Pacific Northwestern squall blows thru.

My money is on this being the case, as it has been 4 our 5 times when we go up there on vacation...We went to Utah and Arizona at the end of April, and near Flagstaff it snowed, which when I mentioned it to people, "Oh no, this is weird, it never snows this late in the season"...thats our luck..like the time we went at the end of summer to a resort in Washington, and when it was time to leave the "worst rain storm in 40 years" caused the main highway out to be flooded. On my Flickr page is a picture of Mt Rainier I took while we bounced along on a logging road to get over the mountains to Olympia...Oh well...