Today the summer took control, the sun dappled on the hillside as the starlings gathered in a circle to pluck at twigs; the shadows were short and the daylight spread itself well into the night. We attended a joint birthday party for two of our child friends, hung out in the park after, and ate an amazing meal in Bremerton near both the verdant slopes of Puget Bay channels and the gunmetal gray battleships of the naval base.