The Tale of Two Evening Walks

And so begins our walk.

One of the things I like about living at this latitude are our summer nights. The sun stays out until after 10 pm.   It reminds me of the summer nights in Canada or Schleswig-Holstein.*  

As Jean-Loup, Anne and I walked to cool off from the warm day we'd had (84°F), we were reminded of a similar walk we took back in Missouri a few years ago...

  

 Only sailboats and paddle craft 

In Missouri motorboats buzzed around in the background like mosquitos searching for their prey. The noise was so loud I almost didn't hear the scuffling noises coming from the woodpile.  I was surprised to see an armadillo digging around.  

Tonight, a loud motorized noise broke the voices drifting across the lake and the laughter of children playing. I looked out on the lake, half expecting to see a huge motor boat go flying by-nope- just a car in bad need of a new muffler.  My reaction must have been a Lake of the Ozark reflex I guess. 

Sprinklers on the soccer field.

In Missouri we left the cool air-conditioning to get some fresh air only to arrive home soaked with sweat and more exhausted than when we'd begun.  The heat from the day just doesn't dissipate like it does here.

Even before sun starts touching the horizon, the temperatures start dropping quickly around here. The cool lake breezes had been refreshing, but the walk back home is all uphill, like it was in Missouri.  Arriving home we were sweating again, but not soaked to the skin like we were in Missouri.  In both places the sunsets were colorful and enjoyable to watch as we walked. 

 Tonight we arrived home at nearly 11pm, the sun had finally dipped below the horizon.  It's dim glow guiding us home. 

 * We shouldn't have the same sunset time as Canada or Schleswig-Holstein, since our latitude is much further south.  However, our longitude is the same as the U.K., and our time zone is with continental Europe thus giving us an extra hour of daylight this time of year.