There are two reasons for the change. Yard and garden work increases exposure to the sun. By comparison, Bay Area residents have pasty skin. I cannot bear to look at those ghoulish white arms and legs. I wear dark glasses when I walk around San Francisco just to give these pale people some color. The second reason is the influx of migrant farm workers. Spanish is heard on the streets and in stores more frequently and Latin music rolls over backyard fences.

Longer days mean more time spent walking around to admire the flowers my neighbors plant and lovingly tend. Davis has been Tree City USA for over 20 years. I am sure we qualify for a similar award in the rose bush category. So many nice people contribute to the beauty of the public environment. With the traffic pollution reduced in summer, you can smell the flowers. In some communities, strolling is discouraged by barking dogs or worse, large animals (probably canines but who knows?) hurling themselves against a chain link fence in a vain attempt to attack you. Dogs in Davis are polite and no self-respecting Davis canine will chase bicycles. When we walk the neighborhood at night, we are likely to see the yellow glow of cats’ eyes under parked cars or in driveways.

The bountiful harvest of the Davis summer is a mixed blessing. There is the tangy taste of tender tomatoes anticipated all through the gray winter and the crisp sweetness of fresh corn, but July also produces the great zucchini explosion,