Couple evenin's ago our little red headed granddaughter, and family, came down for a visit. Maddie "big gurl" was kinda dissappointed because gram ma wasn't home but decided she could have fun with her old grandpa. We grilled outside, eat inside and back outside to play. Built a little fire with twigs and other small burnable stuff. It was gettin along towards dark and her folks wanted to go home. She didn't! We built a BIGGER fire! Pullin dead limbs from the fencerow and kept stackin'm higher and higher on that fire. Purty soon it was bright nuff to illuminate the entire front yard! Maddie runnin around playin and the old fat man draggin more limbs out to put on the fire.

The smell of the wood smoke, on the heavy aire'd evenin, was enough to make her mommy and daddy want to move back to the country. Course Maddie would move in with Lil Dumplin and me in a minute, I think. When her and grandma are together---well I'm the third cog. Nobody else matters but grandma for Maddie!

The cool evenings are fast approachin with fall and then winter not far behind. I'm most blessed to be able to live where we do with the many song birds, wildlife and those cool, quite, absent traffic noises evenins. In the meantime believe these cool nights will be just what I need to cool off a mite after those "dog days" of summer.

Next time Maddie "big gurl" is down for a visit we'll just have to have some "Grandpa! How bout some marshmellows and hot dogs to cook?", for the "big gurl". How's the evenins where ya'll live? old hoot gibson. Matt.24:44

-- hoot gibson (hoot@pcinetwork.com), August 18, 2001

Answers

Too warm here at night to be building fires in the yard, LOL...lows in the 70's with chicadas and tree frogs and crickets and whipporwhills and Bob Whites and the neighbors' dogs..I cannot believe surrounded as we are by forest that we never hear any owls...they are the only thing missing from the "nighttime symphony"..When we lived in the city, we had to close the windows to hear the TV...now in the middle of the country, if there's a good movie on, we have to close the windows to hear the dialogue because of all of the "critters" who like to make noise at night! They get LOUD!!!!! Even with lows in the 70s, we keep the central air on because of the humidity. I cannot wait for cooler nights and open windows! God bless.

-- lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), August 18, 2001.

Well up here in these Missouri hills I think we have every frog and bug known to mankind that likes to make noise at night....I think we even have some birds that sing at night(at least I hope that is what that noise is :o). Contrary to what I have always thought...deer are not quiet. I can hear em walkin around the house at night through the dead leaves...oops guess ya'll know what kind of a lawn I keep now. Add to all of that my neighbors mentally unstable rooster that crows all night(he quits at dawn) and I sometimes think it would be quieter in town. When I'm in Tx it is the coyotes howling that keeps me up at night...I swear they surround the house! Even as noisy as it is at night it is a restful noise. I can't wait till it cools down some so we can have some bonfires(not gonna let me son supervise this one..lol...he sets too many things on fire). I'd sit out on the back porch but some of the skeeters we have around here are downright dangerous....liable to carry someone off iffin they wasn't careful.

-- Amanda in Mo (mrsgunsmyth@hotmail.com), August 22, 2001.