The moon hung high in the sky, casting a yellow glow through thin clouds. A hazy late-summer heat lingers well into the dark hours. The big dipper winks in the west, surrounded by a thousand other constellations known and unknown. Crickets trill their evening songs and a screech owl calls from deep in the woods. At the water's edge feeding fish break the surface with small splashes – smiling, perhaps, at the fisherman who got away. August is almost over and the nights are soft and full of quiet wonder.