I finally felt the wind escort Summer in tonight.

I just realized it a moment ago. The windows are all drawn open, and the curtains are blowing lightly about. I felt the lightness of the air shift just slightly from the heat of the day, and carry with it the scent of grass cooling beneath the stars.

Summer has begun.

It makes me want to sleep outside. Not in a tent, mind you. Just a tarp, an air mattress, my sleeping bag and me. I've spent so many countless nights doing that very thing in the dry heat of the valley summer... I can't imagine letting the season slip by without it.

From an early age, I was enchanted by sleeping outside. I would watch my brother sprawl out on the old brown sleeping bag, staring up into the sky. Eventually, I was allowed to join him out there in the front yard... and I didn't dare spoil the priveledge. Even though I was 9 years younger, I knew when something was just too cool to ruin.

Some nights he would load up his tape player with those huge batteries, and bring it outside with us. Pink Floyd was a recurring soundtrack... though there were others. It didn't matter to me, though. As long as I was included in the ritual, I would listen to anything he wanted. And that's how we would lay there side by side on our sleeping bags, staring up at the stars.

So, summer has begun... and it's time for me to carry on this ritual. I'll watch for falling stars and sattelites, just like I did back then. I might even slip 'Dark Side of the Moon' into my MP3 player, just for the heck of it. And I'll just gaze up at the Big Dipper... and appreciate this little piece of timeless tradition, here on the hill above the valley.