This a great time of the year, season wise. Mid-May in this era of Virginia mean it’s not too hot yet. The days can get very warm, where wearing shorts gets you to the ideal balance with the weather. And at nighttime, it gets nice and cool. A slight chill deep in the middle of the night. Where the cool breeze coming in from the open windows means you need blanket to snuggle under. And with the windows open the sounds of the neighborhood roll in. At night you can kind of hear your next door neighbors in their yards, chatting or working. But at this moment, when I am waking just after the sun has risen, but before I usually wake up, the dominant noise are birds. Bird calls from a bunch of different types. Loud and insistent, taking control of the day that is beginning. Sustained trills, rhythmic tweets, calls for food by babies in nests. This is their moment, before the humans start their racket. So loud, you wonder how you could have been sleeping through it. It is good to wake up to. It be reminded that we are part of a larger system. That is around you whether or not you notice it.