A Midsummer Nights Dream

Midsummer, it was forecast to rain all day but it turned out nice. I tidied the house, got some dinner and then headed out for a walk to celebrate the solstice and watch the sun set.

I made my way around my usual route and mindfully meandered – taking in the sights and sounds. It was a beautiful, still evening – not too cold or too warm either. The birds were in full voice for the Dusk Chorus. I watched a family of chiff chaffs, then a family of reed warblers, and a family of long tailed tits. The hedges and trees were full of new life. There were slugs and bugs on the ground and swifts and swallows trawling the air above. The diversity of grasses, flowers and foliage was amazing.

With every step the sunset developed and got more and more dramatic. Turning from pale pink to neon red – burning an aura around the setting sun. I drank it all in!

On exiting the Millennium Green on to Smite Lane the sky fractured and burst into pools of lava. Islands of coral floating in the darkening ‘ocean’. I tore myself away to head home and scanned the woods to my right and came face to face with a large female deer. We froze and locked eyes – both of us too scared to turn away. Processing the situation, assessing the next course of action. She dipped a shoulder, turned her head and was gone – disappearing into the head – height cow parsley. Her hooves beating a retreat that echoed the pounding of my heart.

The sky gave a farewell finale, a pyrotechnic show that burned into my retinas and will stay with me whenever I close my eyes, a negative of a treasured memory, a keepsake, a souvenir to cherish.