The house is quiet. The woods are quiet. Everyone is asleep and there’s a heavy fog on the lake. All will be gone with the sun. The quiet and the fog. The woods will stir, the house will stir and the day which has already begun will truly come to life. Bird song, kid song, wind in the leaves. It’s a nice final morning for my week in the woods.

The far shore of the lake is shrouded in a dense fog this morning, and there’s no birdsong to speak of, eerie. But fitting, given that we visited the home of Stephen King yesterday in Bangor, Maine. We must have stopped by just long enough for his spirit to catch our scent and hear that I’ve never read one of his books. I promised my traveling companions I’d remedy that oversight, so this morning’s fog is probably only a reminder.

When you sleep with the windows open and no shades drawn, morning comes right into the room as soon as it’s ready. The day starts with little regard for a clock. It’s light and time to get busy. The crows seem to wake up first then come the little songbirds followed by me, one of the people. The kids, of course, have no idea what’s going on, partly because they stayed up half the night and partly because they’re kids and more a part of nature than any adult, and like little bears, they’re going to sleep.

It’s a drizzly, rainy morning here in central Texas which is good news if you’re a gardener, not so much if you’re a Fourth of July party planner. I’ll take the rain. At this stage of my life Fourth of July fireworks are more of a nuisance than anything else, and that was especially the case when I lived in Houston, because there was always the neighbor who liked making noise. Although if the weather improves, I might wander over to the courthouse for tonight's big show just to say I did.

It’s a good feeling to sleep through to the alarm. It’s a good feeling to roll over with no pain because your DO popped your hips into alignment yesterday. It’s a good feeling to lie in bed with today’s words huddled in your brain like chickens ready to escape the coop. It’s a good feeling to sit then stand and not have the muscles in your back feel tight as knotted ropes. It’s a good feeling to know you’ll get a massage today, that will chase away the residual soreness.