The Window

outside my window
midday celebrates
alive with September sun
and the scurry of creatures
warmed by late summer

nature
in splendid voice

the chuff of tree’d red squirrel
blend with the song
chirp
and trill of birds

chickadee
goldfinch
western bluebird
and others

fly
flutter
and flit

cracking the black-oil sunflower seeds
that spill from their feeders
under the patient eye of a red-tailed hawk
casually calling
from the top of a Sitka spruce
swaying in the crisp blue sky

woven into this sonic tapestry
the muffled belling of a deer
wandering in the safety of the old-growth
whispering in these foothills

the quiet bark of a neighbor’s dog
echoes through the basin
up along the stream
signaling its curiosity
reminding me we have friends nearby

the soothing rustle of leaves
large and small
stirred by the breezes
waft through this valley
smartly punctuated
by the staccato of conifer cones
that fall from time to time
wrested free by chickaree
and chipmunk
chattering high in the Douglas fir
busy with their forage

wap wap wap

they strike the ground
and bounce off our roof

closely followed
by the scamper of their liberators
crunching their way
to the heart-meat of the cone

the delicacy
that elicits this furious industry

I sit by the open window
with tea
and fascination
mesmerized by all I behold

intoxicated
by the heady fragrance
drifting in

cedar
pine
fir

lily
rose
morning glory

grasses
loam
and more

a rich earthy bouquet

I breathe deep
exhale
free a smile

and marvel