Fond Memories

The weather here in Santa Barbara got all summer like this weekend with temperatures soaring into the 80's both yesterday and today. This sudden surge in temperature not only sparked many to swarm the beaches and the many parks around town, but also got me thinking about some of my memories growing up in Ohio.
One of my favorite times of the year were the summers when it would get cool enough at night on the weekends that we would have fires in the backyard. I know some of you are probably thinking oh no they burned down the neighborhood. Rest assure, my parents are very responsible people. My Dad dug us a fire pit and we used an old charcoal grill to contain the blaze.
We would sit in lawn chairs and talk till it was time to turn in for bed. Many a discussion would be had followed be a comfortable silence as we each watched the dancing flames before us or the emerging stars of the night above us. What bonfire would be complete without s'mores. I can't count how many a marshmallow I killed trying to brown it on all sides and it just sliding off the skewer into the flames. We would listen to the sounds of the night; the crickets, the owls, the bats flying overhead, and of course Shadow barking at anything he actually heard or thought he heard.

I definitely miss those nights, but not the mosquito's!