On this First of July in the Year of Our Lord (A.D.) Twenty-Ten, with the Independence Day holiday coming up in just three days, I reflect back on the past month and what it presented to me. Obviously, getting to see and hold my darling Theresa, my first grandchild, tops the list of memories which June presented to me! (See my posts on 15 and 20 June.)
I also rejoice in the fruit of June (and July), my fave -- the apricot. Funny that the fruit I enjoy the most seems also to have THE SHORTEST SEASON. And it was almost the end of the month before I remembered to go to the produce section in the grocery store to pick some for purchase.
And then there are the lightning bugs (aka fireflies). Memories of my childhood in the PAcific Northwest don't include these fascinating insects. Neither are they to be found in the parts of Texas where I live. But in Middle Tennessee they're abundant! Ah-hah! Yet another reason for me to be glad I moved from San Antonio back to "the greenest State in the land of the free"!
Because my worksite (or where I have to begin & end each work shift) Goody Wagons, is two blocks off the bus route (Dickerson Rd.), I walk up-hill a block, then down-hill a block. Coming and going. But I hardly mind the end-of-day walk away from the ice cream wagons. That direction, the second, downhill, block presents a wooded area to the left, and being a dutiful follower of pedestrian rules I walk on that side. The walk is always after dusk, and in June I would be greeted by at least half a dozen twinkling lights for the lightning bugs! And when the sky was clear, the critters seemed to echo, in a way, the stars up above. For the nighttime light pollution from Music City is dimmer right in the Goody Wagons area of town.
Alas! there's one blot on this otherwise idyllic scene. A block closer-in on the other side of Dickerson Rd. from my bus stop is a garish, strongly-illuminated, purple-painted building -- an "adult" store! What a contrast between the good lights of God's creation, and the evil lighting by humankind!
Nevertheless, the lightning bugs are delightful. And they easily keep my focus, so I can ignore the blemish.
Nor are these little flying luminaries the only fauna I've been enjoying as a result of my driving around in an ice cream truck. Early in June one of my Facebook Friends, who became my cyber-buddy eyars before FB and who shall remain anonymous, posted about how twice during a short car trip in an adjacent State a bear had crossed the road, and when they reached home "Thumper" was munching down a meal in the flower bed! Well, I've seen "Thumper" several times in the Nashville neighborhoods where I sell ice cream, and the rabbit's tree-dwelling, bushy-tailed cousin!
Finally, Tuesday's sunset, the eve for June's final day (no pun intended), literally took my breath away! Some of the scattered clouds in the western sky shone with a pink hue that got deeper until it was almost red at the end. Other clouds, shadowed, presented a blue-grey tint. The downtown skyline silhouetted in a similar tint, accented here and there by the usual lighting. The entire vision, with God's nature-painting above and human constructions below, was absolutely awesome!
What a beautiful ending (minus a day) to a beautiful month!
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