Like this Carolina Wren, I’m fixing my gaze on the unknown, senses alert. Temperatures are rising, we’re almost half way through July, and I’m feeling my determination strengthen. What change is on the horizon?
I’ll be over here pondering.
Like this Carolina Wren, I’m fixing my gaze on the unknown, senses alert. Temperatures are rising, we’re almost half way through July, and I’m feeling my determination strengthen. What change is on the horizon?
I’ll be over here pondering.
A friend from my poetry circle honoured me with a birdhouse painted with Ukrainian colours. John has since passed away, and this summer we were finally able to give the birdhouse a home in our garden.
Happy to say, John, that the chickadees have settled in and I am joyfully reminded of you everyday.



Wildlife flirts
blossoms sing
air vibrates
sun and rain
Birds and bees
buzz in harmony
but a single note
thrills my senses
Canada Geese
squabble and waddle
while Mallard Mom
herds young into reeds
A splash signals
presence of beaver,
but my ear is fixated
eyes scanning green
For a glimpse
of brilliant orange
capped with black –
Baltimore Oriole
(Image my own)
How am I to work today
as a black squirrel navigates
precarious saplings
with death-defying sure-footedness?
And the Red-bellied woodpecker
thrums outside my window,
having mistaken brick for walnut bark
his bright red cap catching my breath
And how can I ever hope to focus
when a flit of yellow coming to rest
at our array of feeders, indicates
that the Goldfinch is declaring Spring?
The Chickadees are calling “you-who”
and the Blue Jay dares to ask
“Where are the peanuts?”
and I am feeling a tug of guilt
Even a starling,
perching on the windowsill
peers inside and ponders
what attraction keeps me glued
I’ve papers to write, blogs to read
and, well, a need to fulfill expectations
but how am I to concentrate
when Nature is so full of promise?
(Sketch my own)
It’s a bird’s perspective I envy –
the ability to perch up high,
balanced no matter the weather,
unaffected by the drama below –
I shall never know such calm,
being afraid of heights.
(Previously published 08/19. Image my own)
Cardinal cares not
for human noise, her sweet song
a sprightly muse
even the meanest of hearts
turn skyward at her bidding.
(A tanka for Thursday. Image my own.)
A band of blue jays
gather around, debase
serenity of this garden
party: chickadees and cardinals
scatter, sense danger
in raucous intrusion –
Bemused, I watch, marvel
birds parodying humans.
(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own.)
Mercy bore wings
graced my doorstep
her cheery song nectar
for a weary heart –
initiative all hers.
(Image mine)
A grackle shimmers
sun highlighting blue – my mood
queer melancholy –
absent knocks, talks, minutiae
remains discomforting din.
(Photo mine)