the summer noon
It was cool in the woods , even though warm light was pushing its way through the redwoods here and there , but when they emerged from the trees , and took the winding dirt road that rose to the hilltop , suddenly the day seemed hot . Alix , driving , threw off her coat , and Cherry felt the moisture prick her forehead . She gave an exclamation of delight when they reached the cabin . It was a picture of peaceful beauty in the summer noon . There were still buttercups and poppies in the fields , and in the garden thousands of roses were growing riotously , flinging their long arms up against the slope of the low brown roof , and hanging in festoons from the low branches of the oaks . Beyond the house the mountain rose ; from the porch Cherry could look down upon the familiar valley , and the rivers winding like strips of blue ribbon through the marshes , and the far bay , and San Francisco beyond . Inside were shady rooms , bowls of flowers , plain little white curtains stirring in the summer breeze , peace and simplicity everywhere .