Thinking about this interaction further, I don’t recall seeing a male’s ruby throat. I think I assumed it was a male because the buzzing was identical to the courtship flight in sound—but was only a brief back-and-forth in front of the othe…
Clear and cold at sunrise. The dawn chorus is down to field sparrow, common yellowthroat and goldfinches. Distant crows. A truck jake-breaking through the gap. A red-eyed vireo starts up. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me
Overcast and cool. A rain shower comes rustling through the grass as a pileated woodpecker drums up on the ridge. I crush a mosquito, but not before she has bequeathed to me her itch. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of n…
Overcast and cool. Here and there, black walnut leaves are beginning to yellow. A deer foraging at the woods’ edge breaks into a trot to try to escape her flies. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Thi…
Breezy and cool, with the smell of smoke a bit diminished. The patter of rain. Three yellow walnut leaves flutter to the ground together. A rumble of thunder. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. This s…
Sun in the treetops as the tanager revisits his hit song, no longer in heavy rotation. A firefly sails past with his light off. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam…
A white bindweed flower has opened in the yard—morning glory enough for a sky more white than blue. Wild garlic heads have almost all straightened up and begun to split open. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts
After a downpour at dawn, the sky brightens, then darkens again. The aspen and tulip tree saplings in my yard take turns trembling in the breeze. The tanager sings. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.
Rain subsiding into mizzle by mid-morning. The distant thunder of a pileated woodpecker. A scarlet tanager sings quietly from the small trees below my mother’s sitting room. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts b…
Low clouds merging into fog. In the front garden, several dozen bergamots are in bloom, rain dripping from their purple locks. A very sodden chipmunk runs past my feet. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by ema…
In the morning coolness, a groundhog lies on its belly on a flat rock beside the porch, where the soapwort is in bloom. Up in the woods, the thrush sings a few bars and falls silent. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of ne…
Warm and humid with an occasional breeze. Mosquitoes are out in force, both large and small species, flying with disconcerting speed. I clap and clap. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. This site uses…