"The summer night is like a perfection of thought" (--Wallace Stevens)

It's hot as Hades here in North Carolina and it's only June. Thank goodness for air conditioning and a cool spot inside for sketching:
the figure sketching practice continues.

I remember life without air conditioning. (How old does that make me!?) And how did we ever manage, years ago, in schools, without a/c? When I was young, we had an attic fan, and room fans throughout our home. My sisters and I were big babysitters in town, and I used to be thrilled when I'd get a call to come for an evening and watch some of the little kids whose houses had central air. I can't remember how old I was when we finally did get central air ourselves, but now I can't imagine living without it...especially here in NC.

In retrospect, it seems to me that as kids, we spent the entire summer in and out of pools, at the beach, and on our bikes throughout town. I guess we didn't think so intensely about the heat when we could leap into the deep end of a pool to cool off.

No wonder some countries have siestas mid-afternoon, or close shop for the day on really hot days. Get out your sombreros and nestle down under a cool, shady tree...it's supposed to be a scorcher every day this week...

"It is summer, it is the Solstice
the crowd is

cheering , the crowd is laughing
in detail

permanently, seriously
without thought"

(--William Carlos Williams)