A Right Fine Settn' Porch

There are few things I find more enjoyable than sitting on a proper porch with my beloved and a glass of cold lemonade on a warm summer evening.

This evening is one such. Temperatures during the day had gotten up into the mid 80s, but as the sun slides down behind English Mountain across the valley from us the temperature eases. The sky splashed with pink, rose, mauve and vermillion slowly deepens into amethyst, violet and plum. A few bright stars burn through the gauzy haze of high, thin clouds which provide a canvass for the setting sun to paint upon. To the south the multiple ridges of the Great Smoky Mountains slowly disappear into the dusk.

A Chuck Wills Widow sits in the top of a tree across the hard-road from us and serenades us with his gentle melody. Crickets chip, cicadas thrum, tree frogs trill. A flying beetle thumps determinedly against the glass of the porch light. It looks like a June bug, but it’s too early for June bugs, unless he’s an eager beaver June bug. I switch the light off to save him from endangering his well being (and annoying us) and so we can get a clearer view now that the sky is dark.

It occurs to me that too many people have lost the art of porch settin’. Many newer homes have no porch to set on – just a sort of stoop. I suppose one could sit on the step of the stoop, but that’s not the same. No, a proper porch is a comfortable refuge even in a light rain. Though we have no rain tonight. No, tonight is a perfect porch settn’ night. Warm enough that an icy glass of lemonade is refreshing, cool enough to be comfortable, a light breeze to keep the gnats and skeeters away, and a utopian peacefulness to the sounds of the evening.

When the wind blows the right direction, the singing tires of 18-wheelers on Interstate 40 will traverse the 4 miles separating them from us and invade the natural sounds we enjoy so much more. But not tonight; tonight we could be a thousand miles away from anyone.

We sit in our new sling chairs – some call them umbrella chairs because the fold up like an umbrella. We bought them to keep behind the seats of our truck so we would always have chairs handy for outdoor events. They’ve come in handy even for a few indoor events. These we bought new this spring; we wore out the old ones. This time we sprung for the extra couple of bucks to get chairs with arms on them – one arm even has a mesh pocket for holding a glass of refreshment. Originally we planned to put a pair of rocking chairs here, but I haven’t had time to build them yet and these sling chairs are very convenient. When we need them they are comfortable, when we need the space for something else, they fold up and stow away easily. We may just keep these as our porch chairs.

Drowsiness eventually overtakes us and we go inside to get ready for bed. It’s been a long hard day and this respite was the perfect prelude to a restful night of sleep. Just one of the many reasons we enjoy living here in the mountains. It’s a great place for porch settn’.