6.1.2013... quarter clouds, no wind, no rain

Days of fierce wind have kept our windows closed and the birds fairly quiet. I’ve been reading Wim Wenders’ Once and found myself looking up all the names he’s dropped… slowly shutting down to the world around me. But today I woke to a sunrise and nearly blue skies. I opened the windows and was rewarded with the usual birds who brought me back to where I am. John sited a mourning dove. I understand they are common, but I have never seen one before. I confirmed them in the bird book and ran across these prose…


Two white eggs in a loosely constructed twig nest

built on the limb of a tree, low in a bush, or on the ground.

Both parents feed their young milk secreted from their crop.

Breeding season starts early and continues to mid September.

Up to four nestings a year maintain their numbers,

even though they are hunted extensively.

5.31.2013... moderate to heavy wind, no rain

There is a bit of definition in the clouds today, the sun’s location visible by it’s searing light through a thinner layer of clouds. It is a relief after two days of a gray dome. Regardless, there were pleasures. A pair of sandhill cranes foraged in the neighboring field close enough to see without field glasses. Their sinuous necks and slender delicate legs hold nearly egg shaped bodies colored a rich red brown with accent colors of white, black and red around the head confirming their royal strut. But when the cranes faced east, the wind picked up the feathers on their backs giving them a punkish spike.

5.30.2013...

Several days ago we noticed a prong-horned antelope lying still for hours in the field. Today I watched her eating for a while but not straying far and I got suspicions. Eventually a fawn got up wobbling around its mother’s legs. She spent time grooming it, at one point knocking it over, but it popped back up with the resilience of youth. In the evening, deer grazed near by… a peaceable kingdom, at least until hunting season.

5.29.2013... completely overcast, light rain

The road is puddled and slick from a night of rain. Richard will report in tenths of inches, but the standing water is confirmation. Without a dramatic sunrise I slept till 7. The sleep was delicious with restful dreams, a relief after two nights of turmoil. Transition always asks its due. It doesn’t matter if you are moving toward your hearts desire; a toll is paid. I paid in dreams of tidal waves and firings and everything turning its back on me, but now I think my balance sheet is level and I am truly here.

5.28.2013... few clouds, no wind

I woke suddenly at 5:40. The room was deep in orange light. Dreams shed from my face, my shoulders, my consciousness… the sun purging all that is unsavory in the moment of its arrival. The valley has been short on rain, but yesterday’s 3 maybe 4 tenths of an inch made a difference… paid the price, if you will, for this glorious light.

5.27.2013... half cloud cover, no wind

At 5:15 I propped myself up in bed to watch the sunrise, John lying beside me sensibly still sleeping. Deer were out eating my rose bushes at first light. They are gentle and sweet, but I am getting a fence. As the sky lightened they moved on, but the birds remained: meadowlarks and other chirrups that I don’t know. The sky is less pink now, the clouds less dark and everything is getting brighter. There is the sun at 5:40, a sliver to a ball in less than a minute and me blinded and writing by feel. A mourning dove calls out the beginning of the day. Horses, new in town, whinny and geese honk their way into the air. I suspect they all know not to look into the center of the sun as I have. I may see pink spots all day.

5.26.2013... overcast, warm, no wind

First full day in the schoolhouse. We are opening it for the season. I woke at 6:30, late with less than a month to go before the summer solstice. The sun had already climbed from the horizon. There is very little noise other than the layering of birds, insects, and the occasional car on the highway. We are happy. The next few days will be spent cleaning and finding our bearings. Last nights arrival wasn’t too difficult. The new water pipe we laid last September provided extra water pressure and surprised some of our pipes, but the water was contained to the furnace room. Only a minor hitch.