It doesn't get dark until 9:30 here, which reminds me of childhood summer evenings in Scotland, where twilight stretched out well beyond our bedtimes. When night falls here, it takes with it all the day's heat, the temperature steadily shedding degrees until the sixties take hold. The whole house fan strikes up like the motor of a giant ship, sucking out the day's heat and coaxing a steady streem of cool air through the house. By the middle of the night, we'll have a lightweight comforter pulled over our shoulders to ward off the hint of delicious chill. It makes for deep sleep and makes every minute of the daytime temperatures worthwhile.
Chris and I both woke early this morning, well before seven, thanks to the cats, who were persistently pursuing their base needs for food and affection. I can relate. After a cup of morning coffee and a quick glance at the Sunday New York Times (courtesy of the previous tenant, I suspect, whose address change has not yet been updated), we headed out for a quick walk around the neighborhood to get the blood pumping before the sun was too hot. I adore these streets, peppered with cute bungalows and the occasional ramshackle property, yards landscaped like prairies, echinacea and black-eyed-Susans narrowing the sidewalk. Everything works together well, but there's no cookie-cutter predictability to the houses. A Cape Cod with peeling paint but a jaunty front yard sits next to a red brick house that could be South St. Louis next to a 1970s wood paneled cabin with wild grasses in the side yard.
I'm enjoying my first summer in Ann Arbor. We had dinner and coffee and lots of chatting with Fara Warner last night, which was a treat and made us feel like we were indeed somewhere we live and not just somewhere new. And today, we followed up our walk with some errands, which included picking up an end-of-season bargain outdoor tables and some cheapy chairs that will let us take advantage of the deck in the evenings.
Chris then made a couple of runs to the storage locker and we both frowned and laughed at the new pile of stuff we'd forgotten we had. I spent an hour or so on the deck, hiding in the shade and repotting some plants that survived the trip but desperately needed some TLC.
In the afternoon, we tried to escape the heat by packing up our things and heading to Espresso Royale. Unfortunately, it was quite warm in there, perhaps all the heat eminating from so many laptops. Still, we killed a few hours, Chris tending to business and me fiddling with the Sharelseuth.com blog design.
Now, it's just past ten and we're in our living room, enjoying the feeling of the temperature dropping around us. I have a bowl of dark red cherries and Chris is working on his own favorite, a pile of Rainier cherries. We're certainly not lacking for sweet summer fruit here. It's blueberry season and yesterday we brought home four pounds of Michigan beauties for just four bucks. It's time to eat up or learn how to make a pie.