For a day that will end with the splashing of light across a night sky, that would if I were close enough to it, also include loud pops and bangs (but which will not since I’ll be viewing the fireworks from a ridge across the Potomac) … it is starting out calmly and quietly.

Bluebirds have been flitting between the neighbor’s yard and ours, their cerulean wings flashing out against the green grass of the yard, which backgrounds the birds when they perch on the chicken wire that now encloses the garden.

The deck, cleaned of the dried bamboo fronds that usually litter it this time of year, is blown clean and fresh. The air is cool, not yet humid.

It is a lovely, calm Sunday morning, a time to pause, reflect and enjoy.