• NIGHT AGAIN

    It is well past midnight and outsidethe birds and frogs in the wetlandannounce the rain, unnecessary really,as it beats a steady rhythm on the roofand windows, pierced onlyby claps of thunder and the lightningwhich gives them short announcement.The light dances through the closedwindow blinds on what ought to bean ink black night, and I knowthe…


  • A PLEASURE

    The phone rang as I stepped from the shower. Soon dry, I listened to the voice of my neighbor saying a long slithery snake was crawling up my gutter’s downspout. This I had to see and I did, phone camera in hand. He was about four feet long, kinked and moving slowly. He studied me,…


  • PEKING

    Chi-Chi was a cute pekein a very “runt of the litter”sort of way, cuddly buthardly the show dogher breeders had intended.I asked why she was calledChi-Chi and my father searchedand showed me her AKCpapers, with the full namethat would’ve made thoseof Spanish royaltypause to consider the brevityof their seemingly endless names.She was a simple joy,…


  • NO CLICHES HERE

    The birds in this part of Floridahave found a way around the clicheand we are thankful they have done so. As we saw last week whenthe neighbor’s yard was regraded,and before the new sod arrived,the “soil” was mostly sandand there was not a wormto be found anywhere. Yet the birds, early and lategot all they…


  • ABSURD, FL

    The utter and complete absurdityof living in Florida canbe ever so easily illustrated. Last evening the neighbor’sdog decided it neededto express itself and did soin clear and loud terms. The limpkins and gallinulesin the wetland behindboth our homes shouted backand based on my admittedlylimited vocabulary of birdthere were several fourletter words and at least oneupraised…


  • THE TALK

    She sat us down this morning for a heart to heart conversation. We had mentioned the neighbors’ new dog, their second, this one little smaller than a pony. She smiled at us, but we could tell it was a false smile, something was hiding about to be set free. “That is the problem with dogs,”…