Blogging on the Porch

The sun is beginning to set and the evening chill is setting in. The 64 degrees of earlier has given way to a seemingly much chillier 60. The sky seemed to turn a switch and suddenly it grew grey and still. The last beams of bright sunlight shine on a distant hill to the east. I can see it's top through the trees. Elk are bugling in the woods around the meadow just a couple hundred yards away from me. Nuthatches are clicking and clacking their ways up and down the pine trees. A silent bunny hops from underneath one juniper to another. A chipmunk scampers onto the porch. When I look at him, he darts off as if his very life depends on it. Grey Breasted Jays land clumsily on the feeders that are too small for them. Gravel clatters from beyond my view under the porch as birds scratch out the bird seed flung out of the feeder by the jays seeking only the sunflower seeds.

As I pause and just take in the stillness of the trees and air, I feel myself receiving the restfulness of it all.

The elk. Two bunnies hopping. Birds scratching. Wind in the tree tops. A moment of complete silence. Then they begin again.

All but the elk seem to be quieting down. It seems they are taking the cues of the greying light and are thinking about heading in for the night.

I will do the same.

Front Porch

I love sitting on our front porch. Especially with weather like we've been having. This year has been a gift: we've had monsoon weather a whole month early. While it's a little warm and still from morning to mid-afternoon, later on the clouds roll in and a breeze pays us a visit. Thunder rumbles and we might even get some rain.

This afternoon I sat with my journal on our slider bench enjoying the drop in temperature, the distant rumbling thunder, and the occasional sprinkle. Our cat, Bobo, was sitting inside on the window ledge enjoying the air and being close to me through the open window...his whiskers were poking through the screen as he sat there almost asleep. Humming birds darted around the feeder - the one rust colored Rufus chasing off the other lone customer, a little guy of the green and fuchsia variety.

While most of the house is still a mess, I have worked on some spaces. The porch was a priority. It needed some color though, so today after church I went and bought some flowers on sale at Wal-Mart, all perennials which I hope I'll remember to water early enough next year so they actually come back. I planted them in some of Mom's pots when I got home. I had bought them and planted flowers for her knowing she would love looking out the windows at them. So now they are on my porch...our north facing porch, sadly enough. Actually our front porch faces northeast, so the northwest corner is the only spot I can place flowers where they'll get any light.

I love sitting on the porch. It's a peaceful, restful spot to enjoy the quiet, the cool, the trees, the sky. And now, my flowers.

(There will be more color when the red dianthis (I have no idea how to spell that) and bright pink vincas bloom more.) Those are two of her pigs. One is a funny ceramic planter and the other is one I spontaneously bought for her at the Safeway floral department last year. It makes me smile to remember her delight at this new pig, saying it was the cutest one she'd seen. She had a LOT of pigs so I was very happy to have found her a new favorite.