I take my book and go out to sit and read on the screened porch.

First, I listen for the cicadas. It's not as hot an afternoon as some recently have been; the cicadas aren't making the racket they were several days ago in the extreme heat! I sit very still when I see goldfinches dive-bomb to land on the bird bath. I love the way they do that! There are three of them this time, one a brilliant yellow-and-black male, and two females more muted in color. They take little birdy sips of water, and then make the five foot flight to the Corn Flowers and Black Eyed Susans. Those perennials are pretty much nothing but seed pods at this time of the summer, which suits the goldfinches just fine. They get to work, diligently plucking seeds, the weight of their tiny bodies making the flower stalks sway. A hummingbird darts here and there, checking out various blooms.

I'm totally, wonderfully distracted. I haven't yet opened my book!

After a while, I do, though, and begin to read. It's an engrossing book. We are all co-existing in the environment then, doing our thing: the insects, the birds, and the human being.