Sounds of Silence

Lilac
Originally uploaded by emmasdaughter

My morning routine has settled in along with spring.

Coffee, in the form of an iced mocha or hot, depending on the weather,

Jammies still on,

Boy-o off to school or in bed of a Saturday morning,

Me time.

The back porch beckons.

It beckons daily.

This morning was no exception...

As I sit on my back porch enjoying my morning coffee and relative silence, I realize that the silence is not quiet.

Aside from the cars traveling past, an annoyance at best, are the birds.

They are raucous in their joy of the morning.

The songs they sing a harmonious tune to the rising sun.

A lone red-winged black bird sits in the middle of the expanse of lawn, looking for his sheltering grasses. "They are down the hill at the pond," I say more to myself than to him.

A brave chickadee sits quietly on my porch rail as if to give me company.

So brave.

A robin joins the blackbird as a raven sends his boisterous call into the beyond.

A pair of doves, cooing at their approach, land beneath the feeding station to clean up after the rest of the diners above them.

A pair of bright, yet diminutive gold finches exchange seeds in a lover's ritual. He must have dropped his as she is now scolding him severely.

Ernie and Earl, the resident chipmunks get into an argument over the pumpkin seeds in the ground feeder.

Earl wins the disagreement as Ernie runs off, squeaking his departing threats.

A nuthatch, living in his upside down world, watches the encounter before resuming his downward path on the old maple tree, disgruntled chipping sounds aimed at Earl.

A fat squirrel, larger than Earl by at least 100 chipmunk lbs, joins Earl and dares him to pick a fight. Earl slinks off to bully the more easily frightened doves as another squirrel attempts to approach the ground feeder.

No luck.

Mondo, mega squirrel, the titanic, the gargantuan, looked at the interloper.

That is all.

So long.

So much noise.

So much activity.

I think I am tired now.