Last Night's Walk

It is too hot out this week. I don't like too hot, and this is "how are we even alive, a person could die out here" hot. It's been in the very high 20s (or mid-80s, depending on how you measure temperature). I know some people like this much heat, but I do not.

As such, my evening walk last night started around 10:00 when it was no longer insanely hot and was nicely cooled off. By then the sun was just a red streak in the west, but it wasn't actually dark. Even when I got home 45 minutes later, it was only getting dark, but not fully dark. It's a nice time to walk.

As a side note for any readers who are wondering about the "light at 10:00" part (I know there are places where that's not a thing): I live rather far north (although not quite "midnight sun" far north). Right now the sun rises at 5:04 am and sets at 10:06 pm. And it's light for a while after sunset.

There are walking paths all over my neighbourhood, between and behind housing complexes, and through green spaces. There's a pond that I often walk past because it's usually peaceful and I can feel myself slowing down and relaxing when I reach it. Last night as I turned onto the path leading to the pond there was a lady coming up the path with her dogs. She stopped to tell me how still the pond was, and how peaceful it was, and there were no other people there. We both smiled at that last point; it's always nicest to be alone at the pond to enjoy the peace. She was right: it was still and peaceful and there were birds singing and it was nice. I saw the beaver swimming by, so that was an added bonus.

On the way home it was quiet and dusky and I could feel the world settling down for the night. The playground was deserted and there were only a few other people out walking. I got home relaxed and ready to sleep well.