A Summer Dusk

     On the evening of June 6, 2015, we had a fire in our back yard just for the beauty and enjoyment of the fire and the sunny, summer evening.  The temperature was pleasant, the gentle wind was from the north and there was not a cloud in the sky.  White clover on our lawn, a thick vine of honeysuckle draped over a neighbor's fence and a rose bush with red roses in our yard were all blooming.  A gray catbird, an American robin, a couple of northern cardinals and a few mourning does were singing, while up to a half dozen chimney swifts and a couple of barn swallows careened  swiftly across the sky after flying insects. 
     About 8:20 pm, I began to watch for evening critters in our neighborhood.  Th sun was setting at the time, but there still was sunlight in the tops of the trees.  For the next hour I kept track of what was happening around the neighborhood as the fire continued to crackle and smoke a bit, and sunshine gradually gave way to near darkness. 
     During that whole evening, the swifts and swallows continued to flash and swirl overhead in their endless pursuit of flying insects until the sky was almost dark.  Meanwhile the catbird, a cardinal and a robin continued to sing nearly until nightfall.  The catbird, as always sang so quietly and gently that I imagined he was talking to himself. 
     Soon after sunset, about 8:45, a handful of male fireflies started flashing their cold lights over the short grass.  There will be many more each evening through June, with a peak of abundance of fireflies around the first of July.       
     And soon after sunset, three little brown bats suddenly appeared over our lawn, while two cottontail rabbits came out of hiding and started nibbling grass and white clover.  The bats fluttered, swirled and dove, here and there, among the tree tops after flying insects.  Like the swifts, swallows and lightning bugs, the bats and rabbits were entertaining in their own time.
     As light faded from the sky, I noticed the sky was still faintly lit by sunlight in the northwest at 9:30, as it always is on a clear day at this time of year.  The northern hemisphere is facing the sun now and the sun never "sets" above the Arctic circle during the northern summer.     
     As the sky got darker after 9:30, the planet Venus and a few stars were visible in the sky.  Without the moon, Venus was the brightest object in the sky.
     This was one of many lovely summer evenings we hope to experience.  Each will be different, but each will be beautiful, intriguing and inspiring.