Late Nights

Swooping Cloud Owl – Photo: L. Weikel

I’ve had a couple of really late nights recently. I was up into the wee hours of the morning last night writing my post and yet I didn’t make up for lost time (if that’s even possible) by sleeping in.

While I did manage to squeeze in a walk – and a longer one at that – it nevertheless felt like my timing was off all day. For instance, most of the day there was a rather reliable blanket of overcast lurking above. It managed to shield us from the direct rays of the sun for most of the day, but yowza! When the sun did break through, the air instantaneously turned even swampier than a moment earlier. The air became so thick it was almost like breathing jello through a straw.

I waited and waited, keeping an eye on the weather and hoping something would shift enough to make a ‘walk-around’ an activity that would make either Spartacus or me keel over. Finally, as the afternoon became late, we decided to set out. We even decided, perhaps impulsively, to do a walk-about instead.

Naturally, I kid you not, as soon as Spartacus and I started down our flagstone path, a handful of fat splats of rain fell from the sky. Internally I shrugged. I’d waited long enough. A glance at the variations of darkness mottling the sky above me suggested that these were mere drops squeezed from the clouds above because there simply was no more room at the inn.

Chanced It – Worth It

We decided to set out on our walk in spite of those aggressively hefty raindrops nipping at our heels. It was a wise decision, as not a single drop fell upon us again for the entire four miles.

In fact, as we crested Fox Kit hill (I just named it for this lovely one from exactly three months ago) the skies had cleared and magnificent thunderheads were dressing up in the distance. One, however, looked distinctly like an owl swooping in on us.

I’m partial to owls, as many of you know. They, like hawks, are messengers of a sort.

Judging from the size of this Cloud Owl, I’d say if there’s any correlation between messenger and message, I’d better pay attention.

So I’m going to address the immediate message before me: I’m heading to bed. If there’s more to this message, I trust revelations will continue (if I’m lucky).

Here’s to all of us as we head into this final week of July 2021. I wonder what will be revealed this week.