Summer Morning

The sun rises to the north-east long before sleep is ready to give way to the day. I half wake as the first rays of sunshine creep in my window. I can guess the time from where the sunlight hits the wall. Not six yet, my eyes close and I sleep some more.

There is something very lovely about ‘sleeping in’ on a sunny summer day. It is not related to obligations for the day. It is just a feeling you get when you can sleep a little longer after the sun has come up. This happens almost every day in summer. It hardly ever happens in winter.

It is well worthwhile to rise between six and seven this time of year. Mornings are quiet. Peaceful. Not many people are out and about. The songbirds give a daily concert. I wouldn’t want to miss that!

Most days I’ll sit on the bedrock right at the edge of the lake. My toes dip into the water. It’s cool now, but not frigid as it was a few weeks ago. The early sun is warm and soothing. Eventually, I’ll slip into the lake for a morning swim.

The lake surface is perfectly flat, but for the little waves that fan out from my butterfly stroke. The water is clear and refreshing. I feel I could swim all day. But I don’t. I climb out of the water onto an island not far away. Drink in solar energy as the sunlight dries my skin.

July is blueberry season, and blueberries are the reason I’ve come to this particular island. There is nothing better than a wild, ripe blueberry that has been warmed by the morning sunlight. I savour each one.

As the sun rises higher in the sky warming the air, a breeze comes to make ripples on the water’s surface. A gentle south wind rises, whispering as it strokes the pines above. I swim back to the bedrock shore of home.

I take some time to soak in more of the gentle morning sunlight, listen to the waves lapping gently on the rock.

It has been a very hot summer, and dry here. We could use some more rain. As the sun rises higher in the sky, it gives more heat. Too much heat. The house gets hot, the air thick. I hide outside in the shade when I can. Catch the breeze. Take refuge in the cool lake.

When the evening comes and the sky darkens, I thank my lucky stars.