Twilight time on the farm.

                The days work is done.  The chores are finished.  Supper is over.  A great peace is over the land.  You hear some neighbor calling, "Soo, Bessie, soo!", you know someone's cow has not come to the barn for milking.

                We, the children, are chasing fireflies (lightening bugs).  You can hear the neighbor children calling, "Bull bat, bull bat come and get your wool hat".  Then we see the bull bats and we began to throw our hats, chasing around telling them to come get our wool hats.  They swoop low.

                    We get tired.  Then we hear the whippoorwill calling and the doves cooing.  We rest.  Then mothers begin calling, "children, it's bedtime".  We go in and mama is on the back porch with pans of water and towels.  She says, "don't forget to wash your feet".  We wash our feet.  We go in, blow out the kerosene lamps.  Everyone tells everyone goodnight.  We take one last look out the window at the stars.

                    Then all is quiet but we know when we wake up in the morning we'll hear the roosters calling, "cock-a-doodle-do", the robins twittering, the chickadee calling, "chickadee", the saucy jaybird.  Then you'll hear the cocky mocking bird mocking them all and you're glad you're alive and are able to  hear all those sounds.

                    You know you'll get up and papa and mama will be there.

                    Start light, star bright.  Let me have the wish I wish tonight.

             Louise Weir Frasier

    January 1, 1992