A magical evening

Today one of the grad students from the lab was awarded his PhD (congratulations Dave!). Afterwards we celebrated with dinner hosted by my boss Tony and his family.

Tony's backyard is a place of wonder. After the meal was finished, I was introduced to the newts and frogs in the pond. Shared the wonder of holding the newt with a 2 year old. Watched dragonflies the size of small birds dart among the reeds. Sat by the fire, ate my first s'more (that's a toasted marshmallow with a slice of hershey's chocolate on top and sandwiched between sweet crackers for my Australian friends). Watched the fireflies come out to play in their thousands. Saw tiny bats dart overhead as they chased the abundant insects. Swung on the swing, stayed barefoot in the garden after dark, enjoyed good company and beautiful weather.

Truly a magical evening.