Summer Heat Rocks are showing everywhere along the bed of
the stream, and it is hard to see the course of the water, for the flow has almost ceased. Under the overhang of bushes and weeds a cloud of midges turns and dances. Along the hedge an old horse stands on a patch of ground that he has worn bare. He tosses hi head and switches his tail and waits for the cool of night, and in the meantime has no appetite for the grass of the open field. The heat brings an earthy smell from the banks, and at the gate the footprints of cattle have baked into solid form that might serve as moulds. There is no movement until half-a- dozen heifers come galloping down the slope, tails swinging and legs splaying as they come to a sudden halt. After a while they move into the shade, jostling each other and ready to stampede again at any moment. A bright blue dragon-fly alights on a stone, and poses for several minutes before skimming off in search of something less hot to perch upon. This is summer between hay- and corn-harvest when everything groyoing exudes an odour that makes one long for the fresher air of autumn when the stubble is brown and the day only warm at noon.
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