Not even a day in mid-June need be perfect. Saturday might have seemed perfectly cloudy, with an overcast that seemed impregnable. But that was not the whole story.

       In Washington clouds did seem to cover Saturday’s sky, from horizon to horizon, in every place, at all hours. And, now and then, to enhance the sensation of dreariness, rain did drip from the grayness.

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       Yet scrutiny of our overhead environment revealed moments of sunshine. Occasionally, the June sun beamed through.

       For brief intervals the movie of our day seemed transformed into a full color production.

       Few as they were, those brief instants seemed to demonstrate the meaning of June and its ability to infuse brightness, glitter and dazzle into lives and landscapes.

       In the meantime, the almost constant clouds helped create a day of uncommon coolness.

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       On Saturday the high temperature amounted to 73 degrees. But that could deceive. In a reversal of the normal order of things, the high reading came at 12:44 a.m.

       Rather than at such a dark early morning hour, it is normally late afternoon when we reach the day’s thermal pinnacle.

       But on Saturday, Washington spent many daytime hours in the upper 60s. Those readings fell well below the average June 11 high of 84.

       It gave a surprising feel to Saturday. Cloudy or clear, days with highs of 73 come seldom at this time of year.

       In fact Saturday’s 73-degree high made the day Washington’s coolest in more than two weeks.

       Not since May 26 have we had a high so low as 73.

       Notably, we flouted the averages at a time when the temperature trend is in the opposite direction: up and up, toward the searing heights of sweltering summer.