For the first time in quite a while, I rode home on a summer night. I used to do this all the time, when I worked at a theatre near here, often working until 11:00 pm or later. It's been a couple of years, and my current job at the bike shop doesn't keep me that late, luckily. Tonight, however, I had a meeting to attend after work, and didn't start home until after 9:30. It turned out to be a lovely ride!
A summer rain storm had passed through earlier in the evening, and the ground was still wet, and a slight drizzle was still falling when I left. The rain tapered off right away though, so it left me just a vaguely misty feeling and a little cooler than it had been.
About half of my ride home is on a rail-trail, which is pretty well surrounded by trees and shrubs. The first thing I noticed was the amazing number of fireflies that were out, flashing and blinking alongside me in the trees. Add to that the song of katydids (funny, their call sure sounded more like "Katie did!" when I was a kid) and the chirping of some frogs, and it was a classic summer night.
But that wasn't the end of it... soon I found myself watching bats zooming around above me, and then came face to face with a lovely deer, who scampered to the brush and stood to eye me suspiciously. I talked to her for a minute, to assure her I meant no harm, then was on my way. Finally, shortly before I pulled off the trail onto the roads, I saw a few bunnies hop into the brush just beyond my headlight beam. What a wonderfully alive night it was out there tonight. I'm glad I had the chance to see it all.
