on a rare cool morning, instead of being inside with my coffee, i took it to the porch. a few days ago i had scattered sunflower seeds for the birds and it seems this morning those seeds have been discovered. a small female cardinal chirps conversationally to the large jay who is also seed gathering. a few other cardinals stop by, and then fly off when either i make a noise with my cup or bear's mournful cry of frustrated hunting is heard.

i didnt realize the jay had a call like that and when i check online, its a little different from what the bird call website plays for me. i hear another unfamiliar cry and walk carefully to the other side of the porch just in time to see the tail of a mockingbird heading towards the neighbor's house. its song sounds like he once was close friends with a parakeet or another kind of parrot.

i hear the breeze more than feel it, and although it is a soft, soothing sound, its not enough to mask the rumbling of the traffic only one block over. the jay grabs a berry from the holly (wait, no, chris said its not a holly tree; either way, the berries are bright red) and cocks its head at me. maybe i was too close since he dropped the berry and flew off to the cedar amid the hedgerow. some needle-like leaves of the cedar blow to the ground, looking like a small, slanted rain storm and the spanish moss is at the mercy of even the slightest movement of air. the jay has disappeared into its branches.

bear, no longer able to contain his wild side, puts his ears back and crouches. an unsuspecting puppy emerges from the door, looking in every direction but the way that bear lies. he takes this chance to attack and the silence of the porch is broken.

i finish my coffee inside.