The End of the Day

  For all intents and purposes, summer has arrived in Hoonah. School is out, the leaves on all the trees have finally shown, the flowers on the salmon berry bushes are blooming, as are the Forget Me Not's. The hummingbirds have made there way  here on their annual migration north, and while the bugs haven't hatched yet, the tourists certainly have. They've arrived en-mass on the cruise ships, crowding the streets, hopping on buses and taking pictures of whatever they find photo worthy, which apparently is almost everything. After a two week stint of rainy, mostly normal weather for Southeast, we've gotten a break and the sun has been out for the past few days. It always amazes me that we can go from needing a jacket to wishing that running around nude was an acceptable practice here, all in the course of a single day. When the sun  comes out this time of year, it can be intense. Of course sunny days mean beautiful sunsets, and as of late we've had some great ones. I went out the other night to get a few pictures. The cruise ship was gone, and it had taken all the tourists with them. The buses and vans were parked at the cannery, the zodiacs and whale watch boats were tied to the dock, the kayaks were pulled up past the high tide line on the beach and all was quiet in Hoonah. Like shy little creatures of the night the local residents started coming out of their homes and going out to Shaman's Point near the cannery to watch the sunset. Cars were parked like they were at a drive-in  movie. There were more than a few cameras present as we all enjoyed the majesty of God's handiwork. As the sun started to drop behind the mountains, the temperature started to cool and the fish ducks that nest in the rocks by the tunnel circled around and found their favorite spot while the herons made their way down to the water to do a little fishing. With the setting of the sun there is a sense of peace that settles on the town and everyone seems to be content. At least for the rest of the night the hustle and bustle of the day is over and quiet can reign again.