June 4: River

After an excellent early dinner at the new restaurant Shepherd's Pie in Rockport village, I arrived home with a sated belly and an urge to take a brisk walk. (Listening to the Rolling Stones on the drive home also helped get me jazzed up for some activity.)

As the days lengthen, it feels like such a luxury to have sun and blue sky after dinner. I tied on my sneakers and hit the pavement. The birds were still singing: house finch, black-and-white warbler, robins, cardinal. Flowers are bustin' out all over the neighborhood, including a lawn full of purple lupines up the street at my office. On Washington Street I followed a young man as he carried a six-pack two houses down, obviously ready to jump start his weekend. It feels like mid-summer already. It smells like summer--fresh-mown lawns and someone grilling on the next block.

As I crossed over the Megunticook River, I breathed deeply. This time of year the water smells clean, like fresh-caught fish and swimming. Now back at home, that same river rushes past the house, beautifully audible through the open windows.

River carries light
on its back, silvery fish,
birdsong's liquid notes.