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Changes

Rae Spencer5 Comments

The days are definitely getting shorter, and the yard has changed accordingly. Tired leaves litter the grass. The roses bloom erratically, producing smaller and smaller flowers with less and less scent. Few dragonflies remain, only a handful of Blue Dashers.

Spiderwebs lend the yard an autumn feel, harbingers of Halloween and the brittle months to follow. And there’s a silence, under the muted cricket chorus, that sounds like an echo of winter.

No more robins, no more blue jays, no love-struck doves on the fence. Only an occasional mockingbird, and even they tend to hide from view, flitting through the wax myrtle as if they would rather not be noticed. Or photographed.

So the yard reflects summer’s dwindling hours, despite the lingering heat. And I’m torn between sorrow and anticipation, a permanent state in the last few years. Tomorrow is always exciting, mysterious and unwritten. But today is satisfying, too. As for yesterday? Well, yesterday wasn’t bad at all. In fact, I was kind of sorry to see it go…

Questions

Rae Spencer2 Comments

I’m ready for fall because this summer has felt relentless. Today’s ninety degrees might sound mild, compared to the year’s earlier high temperatures, but the air is so thick with humidity that I feel out-of-breath. What’s more, the yard’s mosquitoes no longer confine their activity to dusk. They descend in a visible cloud as soon as I set foot outside, and they seem immune to repellents.

Twenty minutes was all I could stand, this afternoon. Then I fled to my office, immensely grateful for the luxury of air-conditioning and fans. Grateful, also, for books and computers and sleepy cats.

And when I say “grateful”, I’m talking about the marrow-deep, guilty gratitude that comes from acknowledging my unearned leisure.

I cannot embrace a purposeless world, one ruled by selfish survival and numb probability. And yet, I can’t deny the powerful evidence of observation. Fate does appear random. Life is decidedly unfair. Very bad things happen to very good people, while very good things have happened to me even though I have done nothing extraordinary. Who am I, to deserve these gifts of comfort and freedom? And what should I do with them?

A Leopard Frog and a Blogging Meme

Rae Spencer4 Comments

I believe this is a Southern Leopard Frog. Frogs are rare in the yard, so I was excited to add this one to the archive. After getting these photos, I tried for a macro close-up. That was when the frog decided my paparazzi persistence was too intrusive. It quickly hopped away.

Actually, hopped is the wrong word. The first hop was a regular, modest jump with a lazy arc and about a foot or so of forward progress. The next jump was an impressive flat leap of at least three feet. Then the frog found another gear and zoomed off in grass-skimming lunges, each “hop” covering five or six feet. It disappeared under the deck in the blink of an eye, a beeline retreat that made me wonder if the deck is its home.

I haven’t seen the frog again, and I don’t expect to. Even so, I slowed my mowing pace yesterday, especially around the deck. Just in case.

I also made certain to mark the rabbit’s nest before starting the mower, because my mind tends to wander as I mow. Rather than mowing right up to the nest, I wanted to leave a wide margin. Hopefully, when the baby rabbits start exploring in a few weeks, the patch of grass around their nest will be tall enough to hide them from the sharp eyes of hungry hawks.

And now… a blogging meme!

Many thanks to Jackie at Swerving for Butterflies! Her posts remind me to look beyond myself (and my yard), to see the world’s tangled web of joy and grief, grace and suffering. She reminds me that I am not alone unless I choose to be. I’m honored that she thought of me, and that she enjoys my blog enough to encourage her readers to visit.

So, here are seven things about me:

1. I have registered for the Hampton Roads Writers 4th Annual Conference, which takes place September 20 – 22 in Virginia Beach, VA. I have not attended this conference before, and I’m looking forward to an inspiring weekend spent in the company of writers.

2. While my publication credits (so far) all involve poetry, I also write fiction. My first manuscript (a literary fantasy for young adults) has received positive attention from a few agents, but no offers for representation. Yet…

3. I recently submitted four photographs for publication in a literary journal. My first photography submission!

4. Submissions are the most difficult part of the writing process, for me.

5. I am working on a poetry chapbook, as well as a full-length poetry manuscript. Both will include photos.

6. My favorite piece of technology is my iPhone, and my favorite app is iBooks. I am learning to love eBooks.

7. When I grow up, I want to be a writer!

Finally, I’m supposed to pass along the “Seven things about me” meme, but I’m going to break tradition a bit. Many of the bloggers that I follow prefer not to receive award nominations and meme tags. So, rather than pursue the formal process of nominating and notifying, here are links to seven of my favorite recent posts. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Mystical Magical Mantis (The Iris and The Lily / August 24)

Stuck up a tree (WILDEN MARSH:  Another Year Living with Nature at Hoo Wood and Wilden Marsh Nature Reserve / August 24)

Cicadas’ Concert (Lynn’s Creativity Post / August 23)

In the Mirror (Momentum of Joy / August 23)

Seeing Things (random acts of writing [+ art] / August 23)

As Above, So Below (Simone Lipscomb / August 21)

Little Toddler Loves (Boomie Bol / August 17)

A Busy Evening in the Yard

Rae Spencer14 Comments

Yesterday evening started out calm and quiet, with little visible activity in the yard. Then my husband phoned from the driveway. He didn’t want to get out of his car because there was a hawk in the front yard, one that was having trouble subduing a rat. He didn’t want to frighten it away.

This area has a growing roof rat population. Our shed is constantly under siege. We clear nests as we find them, keep our birdseed in a sealed container in the garage, and never fill the feeders with more seed than the birds can eat in a day. Rats still invade the shed. Recently, one has left an unmistakable trail of new evidence. We’ve been considering a more aggressive policy for our rat, one that will involve traps, but it seems such drastic measures won’t be necessary.

I believe this is a young Cooper’s Hawk. It eventually killed the rat, then carried its prize into the back yard.

We weren’t thrilled with the hawk’s decision to dine on our deck railing. Even so, we hope it will come back, the next time it craves a rat. (Just to be clear… that’s RAT. Not RABBIT.)

After the hawk left, a rabbit emerged from her hiding place under the deck and began digging a new nest. (The above photo was taken on August 16th. I believe it is the same rabbit.) I was skeptical of her efforts. I let myself get too excited, during construction of the last nest, which doubled my disappointment when the rabbit abandoned the site before finishing the nest.

Maybe this time? I didn’t want to watch too closely, so I turned my attention to the ginger lilies.

Each fall, I become obsessed with sphinx moths. This year the moths are a few weeks early, but as long as the ginger lilies keep blooming, the moths will keep coming. We typically see Pink-spotted hawkmoths, though the last few nights have brought mostly Carolina sphinx moths. My earlier photos were underexposed (except the one that was badly overexposed…), so I was happy to have another chance to practice with my camera’s flash.

After it grew too dark to see moths, I checked the rabbit’s progress. She had completed the nest and was nowhere in sight. I feared it would be another false-start. Another abandoned nest. But a closer look showed several tufts of hair around the nest, which seemed a good sign. (In the final stage before birth, rabbits pluck their own fur for the nest’s innermost lining.) I was tempted to look inside the nest, but forced myself to leave everything untouched.

Can you see the nest? The disturbed area in the foreground is where she harvested grass to line the nest. The smaller spot is the actual nest.

This morning, I couldn’t resist the temptation to check for babies. Success! Inside the nest, the babies are snug in a water-tight pocket of hair, which is surrounded by a thick pocket of dry grass, which is all cleverly buried and nearly invisible.

Now comes the hard part. As much as I want “our” rabbits to thrive, I know the odds are against them. The world is a dangerous place for baby rabbits. It teems with stray cats and hawks.

For that matter, the world is a dangerous place for all of us. Take away cats and hawks, and the world would be no safer. It would only be less beautiful.

Painted Lady Butterfly

Rae Spencer4 Comments

This Painted Lady butterfly visited the ginger lilies today. It ignored the new blooms, drinking instead from wilted, overripe flowers.

I wondered if the nectar might be fermenting. The butterfly certainly seemed to lose coordination, as it drank.

After fifteen or twenty minutes of steady feeding, the butterfly spent some time coiling and uncoiling its tongue, as if uncertain about what to do next. Then it sat perfectly still for a while.

When I moved to find a new angle, the butterfly startled and fell from its perch, catching itself upside down on a low hanging set of blooms. I would almost swear it hiccuped. Then it dropped into flight, fluttered sideways a few yards, and staggered off toward the north.