Sunday Morning on the Back Porch

Since we had the back deck rebuilt last summer, this is really the first opportunity I've had to sit here and relax on a Sunday morning.  The back deck seems to be in a different world from the front porch.  It seems that there is so much more activity here.  This morning I'll just enjoy the scene.  No deep thoughts for today.

I'm sitting in my favorite Adirondack chair which has been moved to the deck to accommodate the new porch swing.  I can see almost the entire backyard from my seat.  A family of deer saunter through the yard, occasionally stopping to sniff at the wet, soggy ground or munch on a low hanging branch.

The noise is amazing.  I can count 4 or five different bird calls and even variations among them.  It sounds a little like our dinner table when my wife and my daughters are carrying multiple simultaneous conversations.  The birds are flying from tree to tree in a seemingly random sequence.  They move too fast for my eye to catch their color.  I think about how wonderful it would be to fly like that.  Would it be scary until my skills developed?  What would it look like approaching a tree, looking for the right branch to alight upon?  I wonder if it's a complicated decision for a bird or if any old branch will do, like selecting a park bench to sit and rest for a few moments during a walk.

The temperature is a little chilly this morning, but it is seasonable.  It's about 50 degrees, warm enough to sit comfortably, but cool enough to feel my fingers tingle ever so slightly if I don't warp them around a warm cup of coffee frequently enough to keep the chill at bay.

Now there is a sound, perhaps a squirrel arguing with a bird of some sort.  No, the sounds are too synchronized.  Maybe it's two squirrels doing their thing.  The sound is a staccato, almost morris code cadence.  One tone is low pitch and the other is much higher.  It almost seems like a fast-paced, call/response communication.  I cannot, of course, see any of it because the sound seems to be coming from deep within a small cluster of pine trees in the corner of the yard.

In the SouthWest corner of the yard, I see a patch of wonderful colors.  Among the green bushes there are a few purple lilacs, some white lilacs, a bush with deep red leaves or berries (I cannot tell from here) and behind a large crabapple tree towers over the montage with its pink flowers.  It is quite stunning.

The sun is just now high enough to cast its light over the trees to in the east.  Long shadows appear on the lawn which now reflects multiple shades of green.  It may be a very nice day today.

But, alas, my eye is also drawn to the work that is needed around the yard and I am realizing the time is near when I have to start to get showered and ready to go to church.  I have enjoyed this morning and now I must move on with my day.