Stepping out this Morning to dump coffee grounds into the compost bucket rain was still dripping from low-lying clouds.

Still half asleep, I fretted that today would dreary. But while Jilda and I sipped steaming coffee and read the morning news, I noticed a shaft of light on the birdbath outside our great room window. When I saw a fat cardinal perched on the feeder preening, I smiled.

The wind out of the north kicked up and flapped the flag on our arbor. When I stepped outside to dump another scoop of seed in the birdfeeder, I headed back inside for my vest.

My phone chirped. Our friend Fred needed a hand sometime today on a project. After we walked the dogs, I went over and helped him move and secure an antenna. I held the antenna while he secured the guy wires. The one thing I noticed was the sky. It was remarkable all day.

This evening, we met friends at a restaurant not far from the newspaper office where I work a few days a week. We laughed until our cheeks were sore.'

I should have taken a picture today, but I didn't. So, I went back to a photo I took nine years ago. As you might guess, it's a picture of the sky.