Key to the images:
1. I’ve been seeing this hawk up in the greenery, no not that greenery, I mean the greenery! For months. Here, she fluttered down to engage in some scrutiny with me, her only human friend. It was a lengthy, calm, formal visit. I spoke English. She listened. That is our dynamic.
2. This is my favorite deer. “You’re a good-looking deer,” I tell her. Now, before you wicked people start with your quips, I am already involved with a fox. The other deer are like bounding here, bounding there. Whatevs. I need dependability in a deer. Like a newspaper: she’s waiting, daily.
3. Behold the mole kingsnake! I nearly jogged on this fella. It’s a perfectly good snake, only you don’t lay eyes on it very often, so you’re like “copperhead?” but no, that’s not a copperhead. To be clear, I don’t like snakes: most of them can go f*** off. But I like this one.
4. Here we see a renegade member of Brood X reclining comfortably on a stalk of grass. I remember when everybody was like “Where’s Brood X?” blah blah blah (impatiently) but not anymore. Cicadas everywhere: mating on my car tires, ffs. Good thing I’ve got all-weather radials.
5. The Fox in My Life. (a) She jumps the creek but looks back to see where I am. (b) She appears suddenly in the grassy grassy lea. (c) She jogs with me at a remove, on the edge of the woods. (d) She checks on me in the snow, after I had slipped! (e) This is just heartbreaking, I will confess. Here she is, waiting for me, sitting as a dog might sit. I have been pandemic-isolated from so many people and places but this fox has been my friend.
4 comments:
We have a relationship with a Catbird family in our back yard similar to your relationship with the hawk. It's magical!
Hi Ted, the catbird is basically my favorite bird. They're plenty smart and they "mock" just as good as their cousins, the mockingbird. Also, though not spectacular birds in terms of plumage -- I like how they look! Good luck with your cross-species friendship, my friend. --BA
Mine, too, & that is probably why we are kindred spirits. Myew. Myew. It is part cat / part peacock. There is nothing wrong w/ that. Strategic theater is what I believe perpetuates the catbird life. There was a fine specimen of a catbird at Johns Hopkins who gave me daily solace. I have not seen her for a week & that worries me but makes me all the more grateful for yr critter extravaganza.
There's a certain elegance in the catbird. Like, it's always got the best seat in the house. The so-called catbird seat. Then it busts out all its mocks; it can mock like the mockingbird and the brown thrasher. Cousins, them all. But I digress. When I see a catbird, I feel better. It's all I can say.
I have seen the hawk, and the hotfoot pelt, and the slithery kingsnake, and the brood; I have cavorted with the fox. The critters! Love the critters and our world shall improve.
ba
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