It is just another summer day. The birds are all gossiping to each other, catching up on the latest news. Occasionally I hear wings beat against the gutters on the side of the house. The sparrows have decided gutters are the best place for their nests. I happen to disagree with them, but not enough to forcibly remove said nests.
In the distance a dog is barking, announcing to any one listening that this particular patch of ground is theirs. Step on it on pain of licking.
Someone in the neighborhood is mowing. Their mower is the bass in the concert of summertime. A low rumble that carries through the air. It could be miles away and I would still hear it.
In tune with the mower is the swamp cooler, grinding along on its quest to keep my house at an agreeable temperature. For all the noise it makes, I think it does a good job.
It is noisier out in the countryside than I thought it would be.
Wafting through my window is the sweet smell of cut grass. The person industriously mowing must be close by. Or perhaps I am still smelling my own yard, its grass cut just yesterday.
If I look outside my bedroom window, what catches my eye first is the row of trees. Their branches sway in the summer breeze. The leaves catch the sunlight, becoming little green reflections while leaving everything below them shady and cool. The nice thing about a dry heat is the tiniest bit of shade brings relief from the unrelenting sun.
Above the trees stretches the deep blue sky of a Colorado summer, accentuated by a few fluffy clouds. The sky is limitless, far away from the minds of mere mortals. Even the little birds nesting in my gutter don’t quite seem to reach the sky. They flit from branch to branch, more comfortable to stay below than to go soaring. The true masters of the sky are the hawks and eagles. They can reach up into the deep blue, riding the wings of the wind and sharing secrets with the sky.
I, myself, am stuck down on earth. My two feet are planted on the ground, no wings to lift me towards the clouds above. But my imagination can take me anywhere.
Have a beautiful summer day.
Shaina Merrick
The Beauty of a Story 