Saturday, January 26, 2008

A Sight To See


Every time I woke up last night it was raining. That gentle, steady sort of rain that gets the job done, soaking the ground and going straight to the still-tight buds of the dogwoods and azaleas and the roots of the oak trees.
That same rain must have called up the bugs of the dirt, too, because when I got up this morning and went outside to feed the cats and get the newspaper I could barely believe what was going on in my side yard. There were hundreds of chirping birds: brilliant cardinals, fat robbins, doves, crows and even the guinea hens from next door, walking as they do in a line, chuckling in their rusty tongue as they marched along.
But it wasn't just birds I was seeing. There were squirrels perched on stumps who would suddenly leap down and run across the yard and skitter up the pecan trees like they were playing some sort of child's game of I-Dare-Ya.
The horses and chickens and goats next door were out, strutting around in their respective pens, looking sassy and glad to be alive and I swear it was like a damn Disney movie and I expected to see a lion and a lamb stroll by together any moment, or at the very least, Bambi and his mother, tentatively nosing their way into the midst of all this animal life, nibbling at the wild violets and Florida betony growing crazy-green here in the middle of winter in North Florida.

5 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. "The middle of the winter in North Florida" is an oxymoron (like Army intelligence)! Try living one winter some place north of Washington DC and you'll learn what the word 'winter' really means!

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  3. Well, this is NORTH Florida. We've had several killing freezes this winter. But I know, I know- I should have said "what we call winter here in North Florida."
    But I tell you what- I could not live through one of your winters. I just would die of being cold and miserable. I truly would. More power to YOU.

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  4. I kept waking up the night that it was raining and thinking how beautiful that sound was. The rain really never did stop, and I loved that it was there each time I opened my eyes during the night. Of course, I didn't notice how rich and lush the rain made all of nature feel since I am in the middle of town. But it makes me feel good to know that even though we are a bit apart we still are experiencing things together. I love you!

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