musings under a toasted indigo sky

I just came in from a midnight stroll around the neighborhood, a much-needed respite from I don't even want to count how many hours spent sitting at my desk staring at the computer screen today.

A collection of observations and conclusions, old and new:

* One of the things I love most about the west is the way the hot summer days cool down--a lot--to wonderfully pleasant summer evenings.
* The only thing that denies a western summer evening the status of ideal summer evening is the absence of fireflies. At least I've never seen fireflies in Utah, though there are reports of sightings. Anyway they're certainly not as abundant out here as they are in Maryland where I grew up. They're a part of me and still very much awe-inspiring.
* The goal of the midnight walk is better achieved at an hour somewhat past midnight, when things have really quieted down. There are still a lot of cars on the road at 11:30 pm, but not so many at, say, 3:30 am, when I ventured out for last night's meander.
* As much as I love the pulse of the big city, something in me really values the luxury of wandering around the neighborhood at any hour of the night without worrying about personal safety. I wonder how much I'll miss that in San Francisco...?