There are no more crickets in the front yard. There are still a few in the back yard and about the neighborhood, but the front yard is very quiet these nights, until the birds wake. I watch the waxing moon settle among the shaggy oaks and the pines, and all the sounds I hear are distant. Last night the stillness was so disturbing that I decided to water the sourgrass just so I could hear the water burbling from the hose.
The tiny spider who took up residence under my windowsill a few days ago remains in the same spot. I wonder if it is a descendant of the spider who lived in very nearly the same spot for a while last summer? The house has been here decades longer than I've lived in it. Maybe this spider is the latest in a long line of related arachnids who have occupied these premises since they were built. Maybe they think of it as their house. Maybe it is their house. I can easily imagine their generations continuing long after I'm gone.
Only slight and intermittent headache tonight, but, damn, does the back of my neck ever hurt! This has been going on for over six weeks now. I'm on the verge of being downright annoyed.