I took the umbrella outside and planted it in the middle of the glass table so I could eat lunch on the deck. This weather is fantastic! So is this place. We have silence indoors, but that is nowhere near as beautiful as the complex outdoor stillness. I am reminded of our first few magical days in this house last July before we had our own wireless connection, when I would bring my laptop out here to take advantage of some neighbour’s unsecured network. I loved—still love—the soft movement of air, the bright light and the lack of street noise.

Although in the middle of the city, our house backs onto Hanlon Creek Conservation Area. Yet I can hardly believe the quiet is so profound. The drone of a small plane plus some other distant vehicular muttering leaks like the memory of a dream. Mostly I am enfolded in the whispers of nature.

You can hear the pines even in the slightest air movement but today, despite the breeze, they stand mostly breathless under the sun. Occasionally they whisper a soft: “Aaaaaaaaaaah!” A goldfinch twitters brightly in the distance. A pair of crows flies overhead with a faint sigh of flight feathers. I absorb as much warmth and peace as possible before returning to work.