Sunday, June 20, 2010

The Backyard

The backyard, for me, is a wonderland of sights, sounds and scents. Depending on the time of day, the variations of this are seemingly endless. If I am motionless and quiet, I am privy to these treasures.

The old trees which tower and sway are my private gazebo. There is no need for a man-made gazebo, because privacy is always present. Some of these trees have been here for a very long time, and they house the various birds and wildlife that enjoy a life hidden away from view.

During the day, the birds make their appearance. Blue jays, cardinals, and robins flutter by from tree to tree, branch to branch. A family of baby blue jays can be heard from within one of the trees. I await their appearance one day soon. A resident chipmunk skitters by every now and then, stopping to sit on a tree stump, and eat a morsel of gathered food. The squirrels race by, sometimes in singles, other times in pairs, chasing each other along the fence.

At night, a whole new world unveils, most of the animals find their homes, and disappear, but three local felines skulk around. One of these is a tortoise shell, very reminiscent of my Cleo. Another is a black cat, who sometimes musters up enough bravery to visit the back screen and stare into my world. A newest addition is an orange tabby, who the other night, stared at me from the furthest part of my backyard, in the hopes that I would retire and allow him to exit my yard. At some point, the noise of traffic dies, and still quiet can be enjoyed.

Sometimes when one lives in total quiet, it is not always appreciated. It is moments like this which make me appreciate the quiet. On a clear night, stars are clearly visible.

Sometimes we just need to sit back and appreciate the treasures of one's backyard, treasures which are priceless but always memorable.

4 comments:

Jeni said...

Ah yes, Mau. The peace and quiet around here where I live often scares city people visiting here. Very quiet in this little village and also, very dark at night too as along our street there are only 2 street lights! If one isn't accustomed to that, it can be a bit of a rude awakening. One night last week, someone had put a bag of trash on the back deck -instead of carting it down to the burn area in the back yard -and as I went to get myself a cup of coffee, I heard a noise outside, turned the deck light on and there was a big old, fat raccoon feasting away and making a huge mess too on the deck! Oh well. It's pretty much to be expected but I'm just thankful it wasn't a skunk or worse, a bear!

masgblog said...

Thx for the visit, Jeni. We have animals here who are industrious...they can pry tight lids from containers in order to get at the contents.....grrr

Barb said...

Your words paint a picture of your backyard that no photograph could ever capture. Bravo!

masgblog said...

thx Barb..I have taken some photos but will post at some point...:)