A photo from August 2010. I believe this is a blue-gray gnatcatcher, but I’m not convinced enough to move the photo out of my “Unknown Bird” archive. Any ideas?
On Edge
Today is the verge
An edgewise day
A boundary zone
Yesterday into tomorrow
As if these hours don’t matter
Won’t add their minutes
To the sum of me
And us, to the total
Of what we’ve done
The slim silhouette of sundial
Shadow fixed in place, open
Angles on a timeless face
Irises and More
Today’s survey of the yard found an abundance of irises, a few sleepy roses, and a single amaryllis.
There’s also a new species of dragonfly–one made of spoons. (Thank you, Sharon!)
And, ruling over it all, a grumpy robin. I’ve been attacked by nesting blue jays more than once, but today’s robin attack was a first. The irony is that I never would have found her nest, had the robin ignored me. Instead, she chirped and complained and tried to pull my hair as I knelt in the irises, which made me very curious…
Publication note: Poetry Breakfast posted my poem “Rinse and Repeat” today. Many thanks to editor Isabel Sylvan!
Grasshoppers
Looking through the Insect Archives, I realized that grasshoppers remind me of childhood, of hot walks on the pasture and long afternoons in the yard. Sitting in my quiet office, I can almost hear them. The click as they leap away and the receding buzz of wings, over and over again. These photos make me wish for tall itchy grass and hot dry wind, for a few hours of summer to spend with long departed friends.
From the Sparrow Archives
My day is too short, my list too long. Books and projects tug at my attention, while bills and guilt lurk in every shadow. I wonder if this is how sparrows feel as they forage and flirt, keeping their constant predator alert…
Rae Spencer 