The black walnut we planted is thriving,
even our honeylocust has survived.
A silver maple with six stems switching
every which way, is first to flower, last
to lose leaves. Couple of Norway maples
to string my hammock between. A knock-kneed
sugar maple, made for shade, and a young
bitternut hickory to replace the maple
when root rot takes it out. A white pine grew
like a weed, blocked the neighbor’s view but trees
make better neighbors than people. A river
birch that sweeps its branches like a girl
on a bicycle flying over the roof.
Bittersweet attacks a quaking aspen,
pursuing prey, and an unruly quince
attracts cardinals, rabbits, juncos and jays.
Two crab apples with magenta blossoms
illuminate our Spring and a red spruce
so tall you don’t notice it at all because
the foliage starts high above dead limbs
I keep uncut for wildlife cover.
Hemlocks and oaks where deer lay down their bones.
I’ve thought of adopting a yellow poplar
in memory of Dad, for the wet flat
where the silver maple's doing fine but
tulips need warm, well-drained soil, so no.
Pretty juncos flutter in my backyard.
One sits on a fencepost, clearly on guard.
They wander through the weeds,
eating insects and seeds,
but fly when they hear my big Saint Bernard!
On Februarys third, when winter bites,
We set our tables for feathered flights.
Seeds scattered wide on frozen ground,
Draw tiny visitors from all around.
Cardinals flash their crimson capes,
While chickadees and finches take
Their turns at feeders swinging free,
A backyard birds jamboree.
Sunflower seeds and millet spread,
Like nature's feast of daily bread.
The juncos hop through drifted snow,
While woodpeckers tap high and low.
This simple act of kindness shows
How care through bitter winter flows.
For in these days of frost and chill,
We keep our wild friends' bellies filled.
So fill your feeders, spread the word,
Today's the day to feed a bird.
A handful shared with wings above
Returns a thousand songs of love.
The chittering birds draw his attention.
He sits at the doorway watching them eat
The only thing separating them is a screen
or I am sure those birds would be dead at his feet.
He watches the sky, he watches the food dish,
He's fascinated by all that he sees
and those chittering birds, they have no fear.
They come and they go, just as they please.
He likes the fresh air, he likes the breeze
but mostly he just enjoys the view,
Hummingbirds, juncos, sometimes dragonflies,
every few minutes he spies something new.
He imagines himself to be a great hunter
but of course he isn't , he's just a housecat.
So he's an observer and the birds are all safe
and there's really nothing at all wrong with that.
28/07/2020
waving
to the
cardinals
jays and
juncos
waking
to terns
frigate
birds and
pelicans
Around bushes, trees and pathways, race two lively squirrels
Scurrying speedily up and down playing games of tag together
Spreading its shaggy tail one would sit up tall by taking a halt
Prying off caps, happily chomps on healthy delicious acorns
With flashy chirps a lively Scrub-Jay pair takes off from an oak branch
Swoops down taking sharp turns performing an animated vocal dance
Flying from branch to branch spreading gorgeous blue and gray wingspan
Supports propagation by harvesting and hiding seeds and acorns
Migrated dark eyed Juncos enhance the beauty with their ground-hops
Taking leaps, flit low in underbrush to relish tasty leaves and grass
Lunging forward and hopping backward brown towhees tap dance
Pounce on foliage and berries by scratching their feet to feed on
Tosses of nutty, delightful acorns attract large turkey flocks
Roaming around scraping ground for food under leaf litter and lawns
Clucking and pecking they search and stroll the whole backyard
I watch the visitors with grateful heart filled with nature’s mystical calm
Just outside my window,
As I sip my morning tea,
The crossroads of the local bird world,
Rain or shine, is there to see.
It dangles from a shepherd’s crook,
A dear friend gifted me.
Squirrels climb up to have a look,
Then scamper off, seeds spraying loosely.
Cardinals, jays, chickadees and sparrows,
Flock there for my view.
So do flickers, grackles, finches and juncos,
Mourning doves and yes two ducks waddling by too!
It’s the only one in my neighborhood,
Though I wish others would.
It took so long to attract them,
With just the seeds that could.
They found the pricey pistachio feed quite grand,
Settling into a pampered rut,
And totally ignored the bargain brand,
What choosy beggars – we’ve settled on one with peanuts.
I wonder at the variety,
Even pigeons and gulls find this suburban yard,
And marvel at the lack of propriety,
From birds that get only seed, no lard.
They squabble with their own kind,
Yet like humans are patient with winged cousins.
It makes no sense to my mind,
But I’m glad for their cheery company by the dozens.
M. Renee Taylor
3-19-17
Taking in vistas
breathing in autumn's perfume
squirrels hopscotch from branch to branch
juncos play a symphony for me
the wind whispers reminding me of emptiness on my sides
stinging me to the core with a sense of absence
till we meet again
The spring breeze plays music
With wind chimes nearby
Sweet songs in warm sunshine
With a clear bright blue sky
A patchwork of snow
Is left to melt on the ground
Where slate colored juncos
Are hopping all around
Green buds on the lilac
Are just starting to show
Spring is finally here
The changes smoothly flow
With music to my ears
Fresh breeze on my face
It is time to watch and listen
Enjoy this long awaited place
Heidi Sands
4/15/17
A bright winter day
and not a leaf left
on this skeleton
tree teeming
with sparrows
chirping and hopping
branch to branch
waiting for the feeder
to be free of cardinals
juncos and jays
bickering for seed
while on the ground
four doves
stroll in silence
feasting on spilled
seed near the tree
where a fat squirrel
sits with tail high
in a question mark
ready to dive
and scatter them all
Donal Mahoney
In the holy spot
with the sitting rock,
an oak. Out back
shagbark hickory
and maple.
Ants climb the rock.
August, birds
celebrate flowering
weeds, the seeds
of autumn to come.
I am here to name it
and know it and help it
to grow. These mountains
are my grave. A good grave
to go to.
The crows have been
in conference, again.
A jay, blue, pokes
a hole through reality.
I find sumacs fruiting
and the male sex organs
of the Queen Anne’s lace.
Juncos glean the lawn,
an occasional nuthatch
in the butternut.
I hear a pileated
woodpecker jackhammering
and my neighbor’s skill saw
chirring. Ants crawl
on connecting interlacing instructions.
robin watching
throng of juncos
backyard dances
Cold breeze cutting to the bone
as pitter patter of sleet hit leaves.
Squirrels running around gathering acorns
blue jays, sparrows, juncos
flying tree to tree.
Fountain spraying free
in the lake
as I walk at its side.
Leaves in winter array
lay on the ground
crunching under my stride.
Flakes of white
begin to fly from above
as I round the bend.
Rocky outcropping covered with ice
as go through the valley
my mind floats free
with joy and peace.
Cold wind swaying mighty trees
side to side
in their naked array.
Last year's daffodils
greeted spring with laughter,
waving their bright heads
at dark-eyed juncos
who paused at the fountain
on their journey north.
This year, we waited, watched
their appearance in jubilation.
Yet today, dawn rain poured,
gave weight to their blossoms,
bowed them to earth in surrender.
Sleet mingled with the rain
and ushered in heavy snow.
As daylight faded, the daffodils,
mounded under white,
became merely a part of the dark,
as though their long winter sleep
didn't count.
The gathered birds are making such a cacophonous sound.
It is their way of telling me they now are onward bound.
They are rounding up the young, reminding every single bird.
They are so loud I am quite sure that every bird has heard.
The blackbirds, starlings, swallows, are headed on their way.
It’s time to fill the feeders now for the little ones that stay.
The chickadees and juncos, the towhees and that bunch,
Will be pecking at my window and begging for their lunch.
For just a few small handouts, they will keep me entertained
And chase away my doldrums, when all I see is rain.
With unspoken agreement, they’ll provide the fun and song.
My part their food and water, the whole cold winter long.
received hm in this one
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