I just have to write about the mornings after giving due justice to the night. And let me tell you, living out here in the country with Grandmother Tree, and all the different birds and animals that habitat in this area, something always interesting is going on. There have been times when I honestly feel what it must be like to be Snow White!

This past Sunday morning I was sitting out on the back patio with my darling Man, Alan. The birds were singing, loud and long. In fact, the Merlin app for identifying birds from their songs, listed thirty-two birds! (By the way if you do not have the Merlin app on your phone I highly recommend it. It is free, too.) They were quite delightful, performing like a glorious orchestra of free flowing music. The sun was out and the Tall Beings on the other side of the pond were reflected in the water. The cat tails, a tall, slender plant that loves to grow on the edges of ponds, stood like towering, green sentinels with fluffy, tan spikes about to burst open, on the right side of the pond. On the left side is an open space about six feet wide and ten feet tall, surrounded by trees, and the ground covered with green grass. Then suddenly, as if by magic, a female deer stood in that opening, a dark, full body silhouette against the green background. She seemed to be watching us as closely as we were watching her, her eyes wide, her ears alert. Slowly she moved forward and began to graze on a little bit of grass, then moved on, hidden in the trees.

We watched a mama Downy Woodpecker feed her young offspring, one baby bird. She would travel to the bird feeder and back to the tree branch where her young bird waited. Then she would crack open the sunflower seed and gently place the inner seed into the bird’s mouth. Over and over she did this, seemingly tireless, with the baby bird happy and content to wait on her offering each time she flew back and forth.

Then Groundhog appeared, chewing on grass and clover in the yard close to the natural spring. Suddenly another groundhog appeared, munching close by to the first one. I told Alan I hoped they were not mates as groundhogs can be destructive to property and perhaps it is best to keep the population down! As I looked back over to the bird feeder, Squirrel appeared, and right next to him Chipmunk. Squirrel did not appreciate the competition with the bird seeds on the ground, and took his front paw and batted Chipmunk out of the way. Chipmunk complied, and scurried over to the fence line, feeling safer I think, out of reach of that furry paw.

Several birds had also found the feeder to feast on the sunflowers: Cardinal, Mockingbird, Mourning Dove, and Red Winged Blackbird. And a lone Hummingbird fed from the hummingbird liquid feeder. We could hear the zip-zip sound of its wings as it flew around Grandmother Tree.

This area where Our Treehouse sits is surrounded by nature and so very giving if one only pays attention. I noticed several years ago when I would drive down my home street after finishing my hospice nurse day some of the same birds would follow my car. It seemed to me the birds were watching me just like I would watch them at times. And when Sonny, that special Mockingbird that stays close to the house and sings all the time, Including sitting high on the chimney flue and sending his songs down into the living room, well, I feel as if he is singing straight to me and my heart. And I ‘ll never forget that magical day a young deer licked the palm of my hand. My neighbors had rescued him as a newborn fawn, deserted my the mama deer. They named him Bambi of course. He grew up strong and healthy. One morning I walked up their sidewalk to knock on their door and Bambi stood up from lying in the bushes. He startled me at first because I had not seen him. He slowly approached me and I stretched out my arm, lying my right palm open for him to inspect. He gently licked my skin, and his tongue felt as soft as velvet.

Yes, it’s nice feeling like Snow White some mornings, watching and listening, and paying attention to the details. Who knows, if I keep practicing the watching and listening maybe I’ll see some dwarfs!

c   Love, Joan